The Sheeple thread

[FishyFolk]

Since I started this Bushcraft stuff a couple of years back, I have purchased a number of items that have been used once, and a few that never saw any use at all.
Mainly due to shiny kit syndrome inspired from here and youtube.

Here are a few choice ones:

G.I canteen mug with lid and pouch - I have another cooking kit that I like better, so used once.
Opinel #8 folding knife. -A gifft from Jakob, always in my go-bag, used once to carve a return gift for Jakob. Never taken out of the bag, as my belt knife is just easier to get to.
Trail Hawk - Come on, its a toy!
Sling shot - Always in the bag...never taken out after being put there.
Camelbak type water bladder: Since when did one have to carry 3 liters of water in Northern Norway? Never used.
Various pots and pans...I refuse to count them...

There are a lot more, and I am shamed to say I am not ready to give up any of them!
But will lend any kit I have to anyone who needs it, includin those in daily use....except for my prrrrrec....uh....my sharps. :ashamed:

So how 'bout you?

[MongooseDownUnder]

I find for myself a lot of my excess gear is from trial and error. There are a lot of things which didn't work out quite as well as I hoped. Like you I find the trail hawk one of those. With a light weight head and narrow blade it is relatively useless.

[jus_young]

Welcome to the community MongooseDownUnder :welcome:

Jump over into the intro thread and say hello to folks, linky below -

http://www.naturalbushcraft.co.uk/forum/forumdisplay.php?37-Introduce-Yourself-amp-Welcome-to-the-Community!

[FishyFolk]

I find for myself a lot of my excess gear is from trial and error. There are a lot of things which didn't work out quite as well as I hoped. Like you I find the trail hawk one of those. With a light weight head and narrow blade it is relatively useless.

Oh yes, the trial and error excuse :ashamed:

The thing is, a lot of this stuff is working for someone. The trouble is, I either had something better, or something else doing the same thing equally good when the urge came
to get whatever it was.

Take that GI canteen complete with stainless steel canteen cup and lid. Brilliant piece of kit, But I already had a Nalgene bottøe, nested in a an Ollicamp stanless steel cup, when I purchased the G.I kit,Well, "everyone" was using those millitary canteen cups to brew up on Youtube, so the sheeple syndrome kicked in and I had to have one.

So how to stop?

It's like this:

You have item A. It is doing its task brilliantly...why do I feel the urge to also buy item B,C,D and F that does exactly the same thing!
Okay,..redundancy in case something goes wrong. But how many do you need?

I have to stop, lol...

...yeah, yeah, soon there will be a post in the look what I bought npow thread...aaaargh!

So whats your sheeple items?

[Dreward]

Svord Peasant Knife....the miserable quality of the handle has made me wonder if it will stand up to any pressure used to cut timber. Haven't been in a bushcraft or survival situation yet, but, will let you know.....

[MongooseDownUnder]

Svord Peasant Knife....the miserable quality of the handle has made me wonder if it will stand up to any pressure used to cut timber. Haven't been in a bushcraft or survival situation yet, but, will let you know.....



Correct me if I am wrong but isn't the Svord Peasant a folder? I guess depending on your definition of 'cut timber' it's hard to know how long it may last.

[Tigger004]

I'm guilty of all of the above, but my shameful excuse is that different things work in different situations, :ashamed:

eg. a day hike compared to a week on the trail, or summer versus winter. This applies to shelter, sleeping kit, cooking and all the other stuff. SOME of it JUST DOESN'T WORK :(

Sometimes I like to rough it other times I like creature comforts too, it all changes the kit I take or want to carry

Plus I like shiney kit, I do have favourites that go everywhere with me

[ian c]

I am also guilty of the above and have a garage full of kit that I don't use and keep getting more stuff than I need, I will have to sort it all out at some point.

[Rasputin]

I'm guilty of all of the above, but my shameful excuse is that different things work in different situations, :ashamed:

eg. a day hike compared to a week on the trail, or summer versus winter. This applies to shelter, sleeping kit, cooking and all the other stuff. SOME of it JUST DOESN'T WORK :(

Sometimes I like to rough it other times I like creature comforts too, it all changes the kit I take or want to carry

Plus I like shiney kit, I do have favourites that go everywhere with me

Same here Tig

[Humakt]

I'm pleased to say that I've not bought too much unneccesary kit.
When I buy something new that's because I see it as an upgrade, so I will generally get rid of the old thing rather than just horde items.
That said, I do have more than one stove, and I do have more than one pot/pan combination. But those different items all have a use for different needs and circumstances and all get used.

But I have made a couple of duff buys and I don't know why I bought them (beyond being a bit of bushcraft uniform).

First is a laplander saw. I'm being a tad unfair on this one. I also have an Opinel saw and that's the one I use the most. The Opinel is smaller and lighter and perfect for cutting the size of sticks I need to go into my Nimblewill stove. So, for me, the laplander is...well, not useless...but still never gets used. For my needs, the Opinel saw is perfect and is the one that gets used.

Secondly, is a hatchet. Again, for my needs and what I do, I never use it. It sits in the shed. I bought it solely because I was a gullible berk and thought that all bushcrafters had to have an axe of some kind. Utter waste of money.


P.S. I should say that I find the word 'sheeple' intensely annoying. It is condescending and arrogant. Although I realise the OP was using it light-heartedly and not in that superior and supercilious manner that many conspiracy theorist like to do. Just saying.

[Whistle]

I'm pleased to say that I've not bought too much unneccesary kit.
When I buy something new that's because I see it as an upgrade, so I will generally get rid of the old thing rather than just horde items.
That said, I do have more than one stove, and I do have more than one pot/pan combination. But those different items all have a use for different needs and circumstances and all get used.

But I have made a couple of duff buys and I don't know why I bought them (beyond being a bit of bushcraft uniform).

First is a laplander saw. I'm being a tad unfair on this one. I also have an Opinel saw and that's the one I use the most. The Opinel is smaller and lighter and perfect for cutting the size of sticks I need to go into my Nimblewill stove. So, for me, the laplander is...well, not useless...but still never gets used. For my needs, the Opinel saw is perfect and is the one that gets used.

Secondly, is a hatchet. Again, for my needs and what I do, I never use it. It sits in the shed. I bought it solely because I was a gullible berk and thought that all bushcrafters had to have an axe of some kind. Utter waste of money.





Agree with all that H ...

I also have different pot / pan combos but they do all get used for different occasions .

I have made lots of wood gas burning stoves and bought the saw and hatchet to fuel them ...

However ... most of the places I go ... Bird / Nature reserves , National Parks , cliff top paths ,

beaches ... Either do not approve of naked flames / fires etc

or there simply isn't any suitable fuel lying around !!!

So I prefer to use quiet , smokeless (no smell of burning) , stealthy alcohol burning stoves

so the folding saw and axe have never been used ...

except last winter when a large tree branch fell into our garden ...

Was pleased how well they worked ... the saw now lives in the car boot "winter box" ...

Cheers Whistle

[Dreward]

Well, that's Two useless items I've bought for my kit list that I won't be carrying for my first bush meet ! At least, the backpack will be a lighter load.

[FishyFolk]

Well, that's Two useless items I've bought for my kit list that I won't be carrying for my first bush meet ! At least, the backpack will be a lighter load.

Ehem...Murphys law of Bushcraft says that if you leave any item at home that you would have normally carried, those are excactly the pieces of kit you will need on that trip. :-)

[Dreward]

Bushcraft in Norway perhaps....this is Britain with a totally different lay-of-the-land and set of Rules....First rule of note :- You need permission of the land owner.

[atoz]

It is a disease, lol, of our modern culture. Our ancestors only had what they could us. A lot of the look a shiny is our justification to convince ourselves and other that what we just bought isn't as useless as it really is.
Cheers

[Silkhi]

I bought a Biolite stove when they were released maybe two years ago; still very shiny and only tested only once before going back in it's box. My excuse is - it's worth having in a SHTF kind of way and I will get round to using it one day! Have to say I was impressed with it when I tried it - I don't want to knock it at all - but most of my trips are short but sweet. It's too bulky and heavy to carry compared to other wood stoves and USB devices are a luxury I can well do without.

It would charge my daft rechargeable high power massively expensive LED Lenser torch - but that should maybe be on my list too! Nah it's great for when I take my niece's pug Bertie for a walk it lights up and terrifies all the teenagers smoking weed in the local park - great fun (for me at least)!

I also have a collection of foam sleeping mats I never use including one super thick and comfy one which also happens to be bigger than my pack!

[OakAshandThorn]

Gosh, I completely missed this thread...:ashamed:
Soooooo, what am I guilty of?

Early last year (or was it the year before?...) I purchased not one but TWO wool blankets. The first was a relatively inexpensive 80% wool blend which I used a few times. Why did I buy it? I fell into the "traditional" trap but decided not to spend a fortune on a Pendleton, and I thought I made a wise decision (HA! :p). Besides, everyone knows that wool blankets are better than sleeping bags and more "multi-purpose", right?...:rolleye:
Well, would you believe it, I fell into that darned trap again because I was informed that I didn't get a REAL wool blanket, you know, a Pendleton (for well over $100), a Hudson Bay (again, over $100), or the so-called budget-friendly Italian officer wool blankets. I was also informed that my sleeping bag would surely burst into flames and smoulder into ash instantaneously if I dared sleep near a fire, and that 100% wool was WARMER than synthetic insulators.

Feeling rather put down, I decided to try my luck and purchase an Italian officer wool blanket for $60. I spent one night in it with my Thermarest and froze my bum during the night when it got down to 40 F/ 4.5 C. Oh, but I was supposed to have a big long fire beside me to keep me warm! Tell me, why on Earth or under it would I have to go through the effort of building a blasted long fire and feeding it through the night, waking up every few hours to tend it, for a stealth camp??? Why would I do that anyway when I don't need that confounded bothersome fire to tend all night when I can sleep in a sleeping bag???!!!!

It was then that I resolved to not waste my time or any more money with the "traditional" hype, and that if I was to experiment in the future, I would do so on MY own terms, treading carefully so that I would not be tread on. To that end, I swapped the Italian blanket in a trade...the other one is currently sitting in a dusty closet, demoted to fire blanket status, and hopefully I'll never need to use it.

[beermaker]

four small game snares that I bought at the Great Yorkshire Show two years ago!

Too many pots and pans, it really is quite ridiculous!

I always carry two millbank bags as well, not sure why as I only use one, but there's always two!

[admo919]

I Dread to think about how much 'Stuff' i have, i fill a shed 6 feet by 8 feet virtually full, and my bergen is 120l including the pouch's..... where to begin!

i keep saying i will have a sale and give away extravaganza..... how many times???? i must sound like an old scratched record ;-)

[TinkyPete]

I have had a lot of kit that has gone through my hands over the years. I have used some during my military career and other bits for just ofr my bushcraft and camping trips.

Some I have kept and still sit in a stockpile which I am slowly getting down through and other bits I have been luckly enough to pass on through various meets so others could try it out.

Overall I am still out of pocket but my testing over the years has given me some good bits of kit and other bit I have been able to warn friends about to stay well clear of.

Yes I have too much kit overall as well, and that can definately been seen as I have half a dozen different types of kit for differnt times and situations. That does not even include my military set ups and my main bergen and webbing which has to be packed at all times good to go.

Of the cheap disposable kit it has either been used up or gone into the bin.

I do out all my kit have my favourite bits which tend to get used more than others but I like to test all my kit out and every knife, lighting method and cook pot has been used.

I use modern, taditional, ancient and everything in between to make me happy when it comes to kit, but at the end of the day i like to learn and practice skills some kit just makes it easier than others.

[ian c]

As I have mentioned on another post I have a garage full of kit and I know I cannot use it all at the same time, but everything has been used some more than others, I also have a Bergan packed but no webbing as don't need it anymore, I have to much kit to list and wont get rid of it as have collected it over the years and some of it reminds me of when an where it was used, anyway I do lend it.

[Tigger004]

As I have mentioned on another post I have a garage full of kit and I know I cannot use it all at the same time, but everything has been used some more than others, I also have a Bergan packed but no webbing as don't need it anymore, I have to much kit to list and wont get rid of it as have collected it over the years and some of it reminds me of when an where it was used, anyway I do lend it.

Nice ethos Ian, I just like to tinker but have my favourite stuff and too much of it :ashamed:

[ingesson]

A mora and some whisky... That's all you need.