Natural Bushcraft - The True Spirit of Bushcraft

This is a list of the items of bushcraft kit that I packed on a 2-3 day outing during Winter and sleeping in Woodland. This list was made in January 2011, so may not be the same kit that I carry currently as what I kit I use and carry does change and develop. Check back for future kit lists.

Scroll down below the list to see images & further descriptions on the items of kit. In no particular order...

Tatonka Tarp 3 x 3 meter Polycotton

A great quality tarp, ample tensioning points, nice size; I find anything large becomes cumbersome and awkward to pitch in tight woods. The Polycotton material of this Tarp helps to reduce damage from the occasional spark/ember flying off the campfire. This trusty item has served me well for quite a few years and gave me faith in the Tatonka brand name.

DD Travel Hammock 2010

One of my favourite hammocks and a very comfortable way the camp. Great for Summer & Winter as it gets you away from that damp woodland floor. If your new to hammocking, don't forget just because your off the floor now it doesn't mean you can forget about insulation! You still need to insulate your back from cold air or a passing breeze, so you can use roll-mats, thermarests or underblankets. This particular model of hammock has a separate handy compartment underneath for your roll-mat etc to go into.

I use my Snugpak Cacoon which provides me an insulative layer (much like an underblanket).

Mora Carving Knife

A smaller carving knife is great to have about camp, it enables you to make useful things like spoons, forks, cups, the list is only limited by your imagination I suppose!

I've spent countless hours with this knife whittling beside the campfire

Cutlery

I've got a lightweight titanium cutlery in a sheath, you don't need a titanium set, any will do, you could even make your own utensils using the carving knife above.

Ear Plugs

Weigh next to nothing and essential for me when sleeping outdoors as I sleep so lightly I get woken by any noise, kept up by wind, owls etc.

If I'm caught without ear-plugs I will use tissue.

Pine Tar Soap

Love the stuff, smells great, natural stuff and good for the skin.

I don't take a whole large block, because I use the soap at home I wait until the bars get small then save them, at this point I cut them in two and put them into little plastic money-bags. This leaves me with a lightweight solution that will probably do me for 5-10 trips.

Headtorch - Petzl Tikka XP

A headtorch I can highly recommend. Headtorches are more convenient than a handheld torch, the light is always where your eyes are looking, your hands are free to work around the camp.

This one has good for battery life, it takes 3 AAA batteries, it has a light defusing lens on the front which you simply slide a lens back or forth to switch between a spotlight or to defuse the light to cover an area. It has 3 different levels of brightness and then a Max button that you can temporarily hold down if you want some extra brightness. There is also a flashing mode.

Firesteel

I now choose to carry a smaller lightweight firesteel, the orange one in the photo above.

I prefer these smaller firesteels, I have a few of them and because they are a lot smaller & lighter you don't notice them, so they are convenient to attach to keyrings, bags, brew-kits etc. So there's always one where I need one.

Why bother carrying the weight of a large firesteel that might light 8,000 - 12,000 fires for you if you can carry a smaller/lighter version that will probably still light 100-200 fires for you.

Meths Stove (Tatonka Stainless Steel Alcohol Burner)

I actually own a variety of meths stoves, from ones I've made myself out of old pop-cans, "The White Box Stove" and others. Each have their merits, some are lighter, smaller or burn for longer.

I recently got this Tatonka stove upon many recommendations, it doesn't burn as intensely as the white box stove or a pop-can stove but it does burn for a very long time! I filled this one up and it burned for 1hr 17mins+ This or one of my other meths-stoves will often come out with me as a backup fuel source really (incase I haven't got access to wood).

Folding Saw (Bahco Laplander 396)

This folding saw is ideal for quickly harvesting hazel or even processing larger fire-wood. A lot of people have a tendency to go with the axe first but often the job can be done more efficiently with a saw.

Methylated Spirit aka Meths (Small 60ml Bottle)

I like recycling and finding other uses for things, so often I will carry meths in these small bottles that previously had 'RedBull Shots' in. They are 60ml I believe. An ideal size to carry in conjunction with something like a 'white box stove' or pop-can stove or the Tatonka burner shown above, this bottle will do a few brews.

Honey Stove (2009 version)

This a lightweight multi-fuel stove that comes apart to pack down completely flat!

I primarily use this as a wood burning stove, but you could use it in conjunction with hexamine blocks, meth-stoves etc. If you would like to know what I think about this stove then please watch the review I made about it here.

Water Bottle

Depending on where I am going and what I am doing I will typically carry 500ml - 1litre of water with me.

You don't have to use a water bottle like the one above, I quite often recycle small plastic bottles as well, like coke/lucasade bottles are surprisingly durable and I often use them to carry milk or water.

Billycan

A billycan or some pot to cook in is a pretty essential item of kit. I used to use a set of 3 aliminium billycans quite often but now I've moved more to stainless steel Zebra Billycans, the one in the picture above is a 10cm Zebra Billycan, quite small but does me for a lot of things.

They come in all sizes and are a good build-quality.

Grill

A dear friend of mine (Martin) bought me this wonderful grill for Christmas, it has legs that fold out and is ideal for cooking over the open fire or some stoves.

Before I had this fold out grill I used to use other grills or would often buy cooling-racks to use as grills.

Image by http://www.backpackinglight.co.uk/

Brew Kit

You can see my brew kit in the upper right of this picture. My Kuksa, spoon, tea-bags & sugar fit into a leather pouch. My wife bought me this beautiful Kuksa one Christmas, here's a better photo of it:

Photo Camera

The Canon EOS 450D SLR is the camera that I take most of my photos with.

I love capturing memories from camping trips, it's wonderful capturing the flora and fauna at different times of the year. I am slowing improving my photography skils, only been using an SLR for a few years.

Video Camera

The JVC Everio GZ-MG275EK is the video camera that I take with me on most trips and often end up producing NaturalBushcraft videos with.

Fallkniven F1 Knife

A tried & tested knife. Sturdy & well built it has a full face convex grind and performs exceptionally.

Having said that, you don't need an expensive knife, even though I own a F1 sometimes I will still go out camping with a Mora or other knives. Frosts Mora produce superb Bushcraft knives at a very affordable price and I would highly recommend them.

Cotton Balls (Petroleum covered in RedBull shot bottle)

A tiny, lightweight container that holds around 10 petroleum covered cotton-balls, superb tinder for the firesteel you could start 20 or more fires with this.

Clothes

Obviously this will vary on you and the environment you will be in. At some point I may come back to here and update this with advice on clothing.

Food

Again this will be custom to you, your environment, the duration you'll be away for.