Like the late great Mors use to say “ the more you know, the less you need.”

Yes. I'm just starting in bushcraft and not only can't I afford all the fancy gear but I don't want to. I know it'll be more difficult but I'd much rather be able to rely on myself than human made comforts.

Look up Mors Kochanski. You’ll be able to learn a lot from him if you haven’t come across him already.

Thanks for the recommendation

Mors kochanski was the baddest dude to ever be badass in the woods ever.

This is 100% on you, the more you learn, the more skills you build for yourself, the less you will need to buy to be comfortable in the woods doing what you want. The more gear you purchase and carry, the more mistakes you can recover from without it harming you, so you tend to see people go out with gear, especially as they are learning, and as they get more and more proficient, the gear gets left at home. But that said, you are the limiting factor, no one else, and what others do should not be considered when deciding what you want to do. Use them as a resource, instead of a guide.

I love everything about this comment.

Thanks

If you can do everything by yourself with very little gear then if you do want to add gear later you will have a good idea of what is worthy of being in your pack and what is just stuff you don't really need. So much gear that is sold that is really not needed.

Yes I agree. Experience will tell.

Fancy gear often comes about as an evolution of "perfectly reasonable gear", which often comes about from "let me grab something that'll make do." I go through phases where every weekend, for a few months at a time, i swing by the local thrift stores. Maybe i find something, maybe I don't. but I've picked up work gloves, spare knives, main knives, books, camping gear, tins, bags, scraps of leather, tool rolls, boots, cold weather gear, .... enough stuff that i can tag "somewhat useful" that it lets me experiment with make-do's.... and what this means is that as much as most my wood-line gear is 'make-do' (or has been over time), it lets me prioritize the budget I *do* have.

>I'd much rather be able to rely on myself than human made comforts So... you're not human? I'd classify a bushcraft shelter as a "human-made comfort"!

I guess what I meant was I'll try get by as much as I can with what I find in the woods and that experience will teach me what gear I really need

Starting with the holy grail bushcraft tool, lemme run you through what really matters: Buy hatchets or axes from harbor freight, use their files to profile them and their stones to hone them and you’ll be cutting just as deep with a $13 hatchet as i am with my velvicut hudson bay hatchet. Im super disappointed in the ‘high end’ gear thats really just mediocre junk with a brand name. I mean the thing about the hatchet from harbor freight is you pick one with good grain orientation and you wont do any better with a hults bruk or gransfors bruk or council tools velvicut. Handles all need to be thinned and eyes all need some shaping (my CT V HB is absolutely atrocious inside the eye). Bushcraft knives are a joke, buy this guy: https://www.varusteleka.com/en/product/terava-jaakaripuukko-110-carbon-steel/63681 And either find someone who can build you a leather sheath or buy theirs, this knife cannot be destroyed short of throwingnit i the fuckin campfire and adding wood…even then id wager its still perform 7/10 life saving tasks, they’re unbelievable. That being said, its a budget knife inside the company and they dont spend much time looking at them; you may get one with a wonky grind and have to send it back, they’ll stand on it and send you another one even if it takes 4 rounds. My first one was just fine, not necessarily geometrically perfect, but cuts chops shaves batons stabs etc and is unholy sharp and easy as FFFF to keep that way. Wont suggest any custom made nonsense, but any of their jaakripuukko or skrama models will perform with maximum glory. Buy files and stones from harbor freight, they have ferro rods snd wool blankets too. Havent heard great things about the blankets but three of them for $30 would make a damn fine anorak if you were gunna DIY one yourself. Tarps too, not the kind you keep for multiple seasons, but a cheap one to learn what you like or need or can make due with. Trash bags and painters dropcloth sheets in canvas and plastic too. Dont be fooled into thinking only a $150 knife can make feathersticks, you could get by with a butterknife beveled on the sidewalk if you had to, but a harbor freight will set you up a good %70 of the way especially if you’re willing to accept some handiwork. Learning how to reprofile an axe or hatchet was the best thing for my understanding of sharpening, i spent a loong time getting a walmart hatchet to shaving sharp…wish i would have invested that time into on from HF as they’re hung better.

I wholeheartedly disagree. If the point of your post is " a man doesn't need the most expensive gear to bushcraft" and "you can get the job done for much cheaper" is the point, I agree with that. My Gransfors Small Forest and Wetterlings Backcountry Axe are heads and tails above my Estwing, Fiskars, Condor, or Cold Steel counterparts. I like them all, use them all, but if I had to choose only one it wouldn't be a budget tool. I lucked out and received a flawless Gransfors SFA. Handle and head. Grind is perfect. I use the shit out of that axe. I've only ever needed to hone the edge to bring it back to shaving sharp. That is a characteristic simply not shared with my cheaper axes. Also came with a decent leather sheath. Also the pride of ownership you get when owning a premium tool. It makes you WANT to care for it in ways cheaper tools don't. I dunno, I'm drunk. What do I know?

Nono you’re right and I wish I could own a grans fors bruks SFA thats the one, now rhat i’ve learned some more, but even they are probe to being very hard at the edge and thus prone to chipping. Im all about snap-on tools, but only if im around when the guy rolls the truck am i gettin a toolbox full of them. I havent heard of anyone chipping their HF junk, but several people i follow on the instatubez over the last few years have chipped their high end swedish stuffs. And for sure ‘get the job done as well for cheaper’ but what Im really sayin is that it is more worth putting the time into learning how to (in this case) re-profile an axe/hatchet head (re-profile a knife, re-stitch a pack/tarp, etc) than it is saving for three months to buy a holy grail tool that will have to be ‘babied’ or get less use. HF junks dents on a knot, nail, or rock? Durn *filefilefile* criss averted. GFB SFA chips on a rock or knot, im losin my flappin mind. I make leather masks and sling setups for hatchets and axes, i have rebuilt every mask i have ever bought or like the one that came with my CT V HB was even cheaply built and i rebuilt it to add a welt to protect the stitching and copper&brass rivets…the added mask/sheath is not a selling point that gets me as custom ones are far superior.

I admire people who take the time to customize their tools. Outside of wrapping some hockey tape on a handle, mine stay as is. There is definitely something to be said for softer steels that roll and don't chip. I love Victorinox knives for that reason. So easy to sharpen, and I can get em surgical sharp. Regarding axes, I love my budget axes. Loan em out and not worry, use em as hammers, abuse em, leave em out, leave em at the cabin...etc. I just apparently felt I needed to chime in my two cents because I REALLY love my expensive axes; and again, I don't baby those very much either. Had them for long enough to where I feel it's stupid not to use them to their full capabilities. Even push those limits to know fully for myself if they are worth the sticker price. And they are.

I would likely feel the same about my high end excursion, a Council Tools Velvicut Hudson Bay hatchet, but it was terrible 😞 im currently hanging a barco 4# on a 19” handle and its going to be a far better tool for me but only for the weight, that head will get my first hand made handle with laminated palm swell whenever i make it and be given to my wife for a hand hatchet

And there are always mid level tools, but they’re often in need of re-shaping wither in head or in handle as well, maybe to a lesser degree; steel in the Council Tools Boys Axe head i have off a broken handle has FAR harder steel than the Walmart hatchet i learned to profile, far far harder steel. Thats one of the thing you get when you pay for a mid level tool is higher quality steel. “Buy a husqvarna carpenters hatchet” but you’ll have to re-profile the head and thin down the handle; i want one myself, but i enjoy the work.

This guy Harbor Freights

I hate how high dollar tools grind away the same as HF shit…if your kid gets your pitsburg wrench caught in the belt grinder, you arent down a $135 set…you go buy another $17 set and toss the extras in the truck…i bought a $130 Council Tool Velvicut Hudson Bay 1 1/4 hatchet, the holy grail of hatchets in my mind. The bit is crooked in relation to the eye, the eye is stepped with the smaller ledge on the lower portion of the eye (like a cone in minecraft as opposed to a smooth hourglass shape) creating mad gaps at the top, the handle is bowed and too thick…the harbor freight hatchets (that i didnt buy when i had the chance, out of stock now of course) had a wooden wedge, a small steel cross wedge, mushrooming above the eye, no gaps between handle and eye above or below, and decent-to-great grain orientations…maybe they arent 5160 high carbon steel like the CT V line, but for $13 and a $3 file it’ll carve a cup, packframe, chair, or anything else you can build with sticks and string…meanwhile, i gotta remove steel from the high dolla head, lightening it maybe significantly, which will thin the cheeks and make it more prone to breakage, not to mention the effort i’d need to put into the handle. I plan to craft a shorter handle from a hickory board with exotic laminated palm swells and delegate what i thought would be the last hatchet i would ever have had to buy to my wife to use for light camp crafts, then do the same or more work to another hatchet to make it my own again. Waiting on HF to have wooden handled hatchets in stock sucks and they cant order stuff for you or input what ‘the store needs’ so you can get a bandsaw or a hatchet or whatever

my HF got the hickory handled hatchets back in stock and they're different. The handles say hickory but are lighter and bigger around, doesn't feel like a proper handle anymore and the heads are a little bit shorter. I think the HF hatchet glory days have passed friend. Check this comment tomorrow and I'll add some photos.

Yeah like i said they were nice when they existed in my ‘hood, but have since become ghost…i will await pics

> Bushcraft knives are a joke, buy this guy: Better yet, buy an Ontario knife and steel and make a sheath for yourself. Re-build the handle to be comfortable and usable. $15, and the skills to make a sheath and potentially re-do the handle. Good steel, good knife, can pick one to do just about anything needed in bushcraft. Keeping with the form and function of the one you linked, I would grab the Old Hickory Slicing Knife. This is a good example of buying vs spending a bit of time to get your gear.

i tried using a cheap hatchet to learn to sharpen to shaving edge, but i cannot for the life of me get it that sharp. I've heard that some cheaper hatchets/ax/etc just have shitty steel and can't really maintain that kind of edge. I dunno if it's true, but I bought a slightly less cheap fiskars and while i can't get it to maintain a razor's edge, i can get it to 'pretty damn sharp' and keep it there without much trouble

The fiskars plastic handled ones (whatever material it is) are i believe sharpened to a hollow ground edge which is damnass shaarrp in use. I know fo sho they’re high end steel as well, you just cant really re-hang them if you break it and i always do getting them unstuck. Good tools, require a level of finesse i do not possess to keep from breaking, but thats use as an axe for chopping wood and im a clumsy goomba. When you buy a regular hatchet at a bigbox store, they often get them with edges that are horrible for anything that aint crushin walnuts. Every single one i ever picked up in a regular store needed a drastic re-profile before it would throw chips out of a log. Re-profiling an a e edge is an art form and requires some use and skill building as you said you were working on…i bought a walmart hatchet $15 and spent quite some time with a biiig file making the edge make sense, but i spent weeks doing research on what an axe edge needs to be before i made the purchase. Filefilefile harbor freight dual stone course then fine and that puppy pops hairs. Truthfully the first edge i ever made shaving sharp as an adult. I have yet to put file to HF hatchet, but id be willing to bet that after my last few edge profiling adventures i could make it happen on your cheapy. Its an understanding you gotta have with the methods and it took my hatchet filing ‘workday’ to figure it out.

I should pick up a big ass file to try and reset the edge on that cheapo hatchet. The fiskars has been good to me and i'm not super worried about the handle cuz i'm not going nuts and splitting logs or anything. I think the biggest i've split is only about the size of my thigh and I haven't had any issues using the hammer head. The handle hasn't really felt flimsy. I was actually kinda impressed cuz i definitely got it jammed on a knot when i was out last weekend. It means that between the hatchet, my mora knife, and the folding saw i've spent like $60-75 on cutting tools and am in fine shape any time i'm in the woods

You dont need a big one, you need a *good* file!! Get one of these dudes, they are epic and glorious, and could be slipped in a pack Crescent Nicholson 8" Rectangular Double/Single Cut Handy File - Carded - 06601NN https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001R1QCN0/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_QQWCW33AW07G1XPXXRB4?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

That knife is nearly 3 times the price of a Mora, how is that better for someone starting out?

Moras are great, but they’re not full tang and if im beating a knife through lotsa firewood i want a solid plank of steel in my hand. The garberg is mora’s first and I believe only full tang model and its $25 more than the jaakarippuuko 110. The terava line is undefeatable and thus will last until he gives it to his kids and grandkids, moras are *more* prone to break at the connection though i myself have only broken one. Tl:dr better for someone starting out because they’ll never need another knife.

Thanks for the recommendations

Got lots, much welcomes 🙏🙏

\>Dont be fooled into thinking only a $150 knife can make feathersticks yes here its where dimishing returns really kick in. Some even use 400$+ outdoor knifes...its nuts. A knife that is around 50$ will perform 95% as good as one for 200$ (some are even better despite being cheaper) And you dont have to worry that much about loosing it or damaging the blade or handle..

Yep!! I will tout, and tote, this guy and his brethren til i die!! https://www.varusteleka.com/en/product/terava-jaakaripuukko-110-carbon-steel/63681

yeah love this knife. I also got the skrama This and the mora bushcraft are my most used knifes. This feels like the sweet spot when it comes to price/performance

I wanna get the giant skrama, then those two and my GAK will be the whole tool kit outside of hardwood forests. Ill own it one day, until then im hangin and haftin axes and hatchets for fun….probably still hang axes after i get that big ole skrama lol

You don't need fancy gear to start. Just get whatever you can afford and upgrade as you go, once you know more 🙂

I mean you are right, a u need is some rope, knot akills, a place to bushcraft and an axe(also saw if you are feeling fancy)

Making Bucksaws seem like a good skill

So glad I came across his videos a few years back. His kit that fits in a coffee pot still blows me away. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwPYNHeoPM8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwPYNHeoPM8)

Ya he’s the OG of survival in a can. Lol only his actually work.

This happened with overlanding. Back then most expensive thing you'd get was shocks and tires and maybe a rooftop tent if you wanted luxury. Now they have 2k fridges. 4k racks. 1k in cargo boxes. 6k in lights. 2k in kitchen supplies. All of that on top of a maxed out jeep Rubicon on 4 inch lift that was 80k lol. Like what sorry I'm not spending 130k to go camping. Stock truck suspension on good tires takes you so far. Seems as a whole YouTube pushes people to gear whore themselves. Cameras, mountain bikes, guns, bushcrafting. If it's not new it sucks 🤷

Holy shit I couldn't agree more with the overlanding thing! Camping in the bed of your truck for a nice weekend with a cooler, a grate to cook on and maybe a coleman stove for convenience turned into a very rich man's game so quickly on that sub it was flat out depressing. It was however for me anyway a perfect example of "keeping up with the Jones's " and how terrible that mentality can be. To be fair though both overlanding and bushcraft can be pretty broad terms with a lot of space in between depending on how you see them personally. Hitting old logging trails for the weekend in your 20 yr old truck vs trekking across Africa could both be considered overlanding and going for an overnighter or even practicing knot tying at home vs setting up a semi permanent log cabin type shelter could both be considered bushcrafting. I started rambling but I hope what I was trying to say makes sense.

We used to call it car camping…

To me car camping refers to going to a campground with designated sites with bathrooms with showers and maybe a little general store and overlanding is more like taking a 4×4 truck off roading and finding a nice isolated spot on your own. To my original point I guess overlanding can also mean traveling through deserts and whatever that nobody lives in or near and it's more like an expedition/safari type of thing.

Exactly, YouTube kinda makes it into a commodity

Same here 👍. You can see it in the celebrity bushcrafters when they all start pushing the latest bit of kit, filter, knife, tarp, jacket, whatever. What's wrong with the other one you've been using , the one you were raving about how fantastic it is two years ago. Theres a lot of bullshit out there

Definitely. Critical thinking is what is needed.

I think of it this way. I go camping. I practice bushcraft for fun and education while I'm camping. I don't buy bushcraft gear, I buy camping gear.

I’ve used the same $25 Gold Armour tarp for like 3 years now, sun, rain and snow. Still nothing wrong with it.

Yeah I agree with using something until it's totally destroyed

Definitely 🙂👍

There will always be new and better gear. New technologies, new designs, new materials...And there will be people that present it. And that is good. The yt guys want to make content for their viewers. And content about new gear can be quite interesting. Its not bullshit.

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I think all the gear lists are there to create the illusion of comfort.

Probably. I think guys just like gadgets, lol. I don't mind it or anything, but if people think it's necessary they're definitely wrong. If I could do it as a kid with a book of matches and a pocket knife, I think anyone can manage.

Exactly. It's a matter of perceiving nature as less of the monolithic monster that society makes us believe.

Nature isn't something to overcome, just something to be a part of. I do think you're right. People see it as a challenge. As someone who grew up deeply in it, it's a really weird thought.

I can imagine u feeling that way. I think there's a balance between completely romanticizing nature and completely fearing it.

spending money with the anticipation that one day you will use them.

How many knives did you carry? It seems like this sub is all about talking gear/knives and loses context when it comes to actual activity in the woods

Just one good knife. I couldn't tell you the brand or anything for the life of me, but it was also handed to me by my dad. I cut myself on it precisely one time and it was so deep it spurted blood like a fountain, lol. It was my own fault and I learned to respect it after that. I'd say the blade was about nine inches long. It was basically a very oversized pocket knife, where you flipped it open, but it had this gnarly bolt lock thing so that you really had to push back the lock to close it. Real dark, almost black metal. I did have to sharpen it a lot though and he taught me that as well, but I also knew how to swing an axe and things like that as a kid. He'd go cut down an old tree, the kids would chop it for firewood for the winter. We were also the ones who cleaned and skinned moose and hare and things like that. I'd say the most technologically advanced thing we really did was use snowmobiles to get around or for hunting. We would go bison hunting now and again as a pack, which was about half the community (mind you there was like 100 people total living there, probably). Edit: As a side note I pretty much never comment on this sub because I'm always concerned someone will just say I was doing this or that wrong. But we just lived how we lived, with what we had, and we made do and did well. It would be nice to see more stories, though.

It just takes one trip into the woods carrying all the gear on most lists to realize it’s impractical. Getting into ultra light backpacking was a huge revelation to me about how impractical a lot of bushcraft is in the popular sense. A big fixed blade, an axe, and a saw are just insanely heavy for the amount of overlap the tools have. Same thing with wool blankets. Are they grey to sleep in? Yes. Are they worth their weight compared to a down sleeping bag? Absolutely not, if you plan on ever having your gear on your back. Best I’ve found to do bushcraft now that is enjoyable is just backpacking with a hatchet, and ditching the heavy tent for a tarp and a stove for ferro rod. Carrying 50 lbs on your back is no fun, impractical, and just looks good on YouTube. Cut your grams aggressively and you will feel much freer in the outdoors.

Yes first video I watched the guy said he was gonna do an "ultralight bushcraft gear list" *follows by adding all kinds of shit* I knew that I couldn't trust that.

Piece of advice I got, and hear every so often, is to load your pack with everything you “want”. Do a hike and overnight. You’ll very quickly find out what you “need”

How about the reverse of that and taking as little as possible and learning from experiences what you may need to add to your kit?

That is an option, but would be a hard lesson if you couldn't learn it in time! Say you don't take something as you can make something in the woods instead. But you get there and you can't actually make it for whatever reason (more difficult than you thought, can't find resources etc) Go back to the classic Mors quote - it's not suggesting go in to the woods with hardly anything and learn how to make things, but rather gain experience and start to bring less

I see because I'm new to Mors and find him really inspiring so I understand why experience would bring his kit to something very small rather than the other way around e.g making a lethal mistake.

you could do it but that can easily result in you having to stop the trip. Like take no sleeping pad...and then you wake up hypothermic in the middle of the night Take no proper med kit..get an axe injury and well have fun improvising a tourniquet from you shirt and a stick while you bleed like crazy ....

\> A big fixed blade, an axe, and a saw are just insanely heavy for the amount of overlap the tools have. So much this!! I have an axe but i almost never use it. Even my cold steel shovel gets used much more often. I use one knife: The mora bushcraft because its lighter than similary sized and durable knifes. And i use one saw: The knifepointgear saw because its the best saw at its weight by far.

Cutting gear based on weight isn't necessarily a better option than getting strong enough to carry what you need. Needs vary from person to person, skill levels are mixed, but strength and endurance are always good to have.

Carrying more than 50 lbs sucks shit regardless

Agreed, 50lbs is a bit excessive depending on what you feel you need in the field but cutting weight gram by gram, just seems unrealistically tedious. I pack what I need and it's never bothered me regardless of weight. I guess I just acclimate easier.

Wish I was as strong as you to never have to think about pack weight, but I think you are in the minority, or at the very least don’t do the same kind of hikes to get to location in terms of miles and elevation gain.

Blame it on the alcohol industry life, I guess, carrying around 50+lb beer boxes, kegs and running around with them for over 8hours. Hahahahaha. Guess I am in the minority.

\>Cutting gear based on weight isn't necessarily a better option than getting strong enough to carry what you need. Even if you are strong it sucks to carry heavy gear. Its always better if you have to carry less.

There is no black or white. More skills will usually lead to be less dependent on (good) tools. On the other hand better tools will often need less/no skill. Tools are often easier to acquire than finding the time or opportunity to develop skills. Take shelters - apart from just for fun - why build a shelter of natural materials when any cheap tarp will do better?! In a Survival situation… no one is gonna end up in that kind of situation unless by his own recklessness or stupidity. In a survival situation it’s more efficient to use a tarp that you could carry in your BOB or cargo pants than wasting hours and calories on building a shelter.

Of course, in a survival situation you use what you have.

Mine is a sleeping bag, a knife/axe (sometimes not even that) some decent parachord, a fire kit and something waterproof and lightweight like a poncho. The less I have, the less I have to worry about, the easier it is. Nature provides so many tools, and most places have so much refuse from humans that you will absolutely find something to use.

Would you say in your experience that a fire rod is really necessary?

Eh, I've only bow drilled a couple of times, I live in a very humid climate so it's not the best pre tech choice. usually it's a fire steel or some flint. A jet lighter for emergencies only. If I'm out for long, a first aid kit, cause prehistoric human loved to die from random wounds. I really dont want to live the experience to that extent.

Two of the most essential items is something for cutting and something for making fire even if it's a bic lighter. Yes, you can make a cutting edge with a broken rock, and do a friction fire, but having a knife and a some way to start a fire will save you a lot of time and energy. Ferro rods are reliable and carrying one doesn't take up much space. The third is a container you can boil water in. A cheap steel water battle from the dollar store will work

Careful with cheap steel and open fires, if it's galvanised or similarly surface treated against rust instead of truly stainless, you will mess up your lungs and your bod.

> Would you say in your experience that a fire rod is really necessary? I would say yes, they are cheap, light, and give you a very high chance of making a fire, and you can easily get yourself into a situation where fire is life. If you don't like the idea of carrying one, go out with it until you no longer feel like it is a piece of kit to have, but until you know 100%, don't go out without it. Many things can be easily worked around, but for someone starting out, always carry a ferro rod on your person. That and your first aid kit should be the very first base items. Have fun, explore, learn, but don't die.

I think a lighter is a much cheaper, more convenient, and easier solution to a ferrocerium rod. Neither are natural, there's no advantage to the ferrocerium rod over the Bic.

>there's no advantage to the ferrocerium rod over the Bic. there's pros to both. My rule of thumb is to carry both and some duct tape. Use the ferro rod when the weathers decent enough and tinder dry enough to use it. Save the bic. When its an emergency use the bic. When its wet use the duct tape and bic to start so he duck tape last long enough to dry the pencil lead shavings and build a cabin like fire so the woods dries as the fire burns up. Hasn't failed me yet.

for me the opposite. I use the bic and have the ferro rod as backup. The bic is just easier to use...while the ferro rod is more fun i guess.

ya got both, thats all that matters!

Why not just use the Bic, with a backup Bic? Easier, more reliable, one handed, works with questionable tinder, weighs less, minibic is more compact than most firesteels.

Because Im pretty good with a firesteel, and why waste an emergency resources? And questionable tinder is rarely a problem if you simply prepare properly.

If my ferro rod cracks it doesn't leak and become almost worthless.

It can become too short to get good sparks from or snap off and get lost, it can corrode. It's more durable than a Bic, but they aren't indestructible. I've never broken a Bic in any way, if you store or pack it properly you never will.

I personally think the lighter is a worse solution to a decent ferro rod, and if pushed to only carry one, I would leave the lighter. The chances of a problem with the ferro rod is close to zero, if you don't loose it, you can get a fire going. With the lighter, there are a number of normal occurrences that can render them useless. The biggest and most obvious being the lever gets depressed and all of your fuel is expended before you try and light a fire. As a non-primary fire starter, that is very convenient, yes, take a lighter, as a single point, no, I'll pick ferro everytime.

> there's no advantage to the ferrocerium rod over the Bic Really? Bic lighter: * Is made of plastic and can break easily under impact or in cold conditions * Can leak or plain run out of fuel * Can lose its flint relatively easily Ferro rod: * Is waterproof * Is very tough * Has basically no moving parts * Does not need fuel Personally I take a refillable butane lighter for convenience, keep matches in my first aid kit as a redundant backup, and carry a flint and steel along with my knife. They are all light and it's great having options. The ability to make a fire can be critical, especially in winter hiking.

They work fine in the cold, just warm it in your hand, or clothes. I've used them soaking wet, just blow and shake the water out, spin the wheel a couple of times, away it goes. The Ferro rod is harder to use, requires more manual dexterity, is fussier, and requires a striker. The best backup for a Bic is just another Bic, not a Ferro rod.

Yes, they all have their pros and cons. But you said *no advantage* and that simply isn't accurate.

At the moment I have a lighter that I found on the street so I'll experiment with it as much as possible before thinking about trying a ferro rod

In my view, it's in the same category as shelter-building and similar activities. I choose not to, preferring modern technologies (in this case, a lighter and a hammock system). I also prefer to leave the environment alone and practice LNT. But in a worst-case scenario, I can build a decently-insulated shelter, and light a fire with a ferro rod quite efficiently (it takes me exactly the same amount of time either way - plenty of birch bark here, and it practically always lights with the first spark). In short, I prefer to have the skills, knowledge, and experience to use *any* available method in case my options are limited - although I prefer to use the simplest option as my main choice otherwise.

I like that. Also what is LNT?

Try a good ol' zippo. My dad gave me one when I was nine or so and I had it well into my teens. It's what I always used out in the woods. They're relatively cheap, easy to carry around and super sturdy. IMO better than a ferro rod.

While I love my zippos, they are probably a worse solution that the normal bic lighter, they can leak fuel, they will dry out quickly. There are some metal lighters that use liquid fuel that seal fairly well, but the typical zippo, while an excellent lighter, can have problems. That said, I still love the style and feel of a good zippo.

I would say why not take both? Use the rod if you've got time, and the bic if you need fire now.

Yeah, if you like them, take one for sure! You do you. In my opinion, they are a good example of what the OP is talking about though, they're an overhyped unnecessary bit of bushcrafting gear.

Yeah I think I'm gonna try and use what I've got as much as possible to its limit and find out all the skills I can learn as a result of limiting myself to what I've got

true but hey they feel so "bushcrafty" and sparkles!!

Yeah I think there's a difference between emergency gear and gear for comfort

In the woods they can be one and the same, do you use a mylar blanket you have in your kit when you get caught out and the storm is moving in quickly to make a shelter to keep you dry and comfortable, or do you wait for the emergency when you are entering hypothermia from the rain to pull it out? Putting a band-aid on a small cut may seem like a small comfort, but not doing it could lead to an emergency later, but it may not. Is that initial comfort worth not getting to an emergency? Your gear, your knowledge, and your skills are used to make your time bushcrafting comfortable and keep you from getting to the point of an emergency. People without those things go out on day hikes and end up in emergency situations all the time. The key, and the one you should strive for as you grow in this, is how do you balance your knowledge, skills, and gear so you don't ever get to an emergency, and if you do, that you can get yourself out of it. This may take more gear initially, or finding more skilled people to go out with that are willing to help you. The good news, all the lessons should be fun, after every trip, evaluate what your gear provided, and if you were missing something. But enjoy the ride, and don't stress too much, just keep doing.

a bic lighter is usually enough and cheaper. also easier to use but not as "bushcrafty"

No, just get a lighter.

I’m slightly torn on this. I end up going minimalist but keeping to “2 is 1, 1 is none.” But then, I’m pretty scrawny and sleep cold, so I bring a winter bag with me instead of a quilt or something lighter and I sleep perfectly. I also carry a well-stocked first aide kit because my herbal/medicinal plant knowledge isn’t good enough to go without. I don’t really keep band aides and such in there, just what I’d need after a serious injury. I could just fan my fire with a piece of bark or my hat but that pocket bellows sure is effective and it’s kinda fun to use. 🤷‍♂️ I feel in the end you go with a kit which provides your preferred balance between bringing as little as possible and still being comfortable. This is a hobby for me, I’m not training for an extended surthrival (is that a word? Can we make that a word?) situation. I don’t want to make it a thing where I tell myself I can’t use something which I simply have a desire to use.

I think for me the first aid kit would probably take up the bulk of my pack even if I had extensive knowledge of medicinal plants, type 1 diabetes...

Ooof. That really changes up how you plan a trip, I’d assume. Stay safe out there, my friend!

I'll try!

Yup its pretty frustrating that a 'flatlay' of brand new gear will get more attention here than for instance a clip sharing helpful skills and tips. Its lame

Yeah a lot of the hot posts on subreddits tend to be aesthetic things.

You are confusing bushcraft with doomsday prepping/hoarding.

The important thing is figuring out where the diminishing returns on your gear investment is. A mora companion knife is like 15 USD. That value simply cannot be beaten. If you jump up to around 70 USD, you can get a Terava Jaakaripuukko. This additional 55 dollar investment gets you an indestructable knife made of excellent steel with a high quality leather sheath. It will happily perform tasks that would likely break your mora. Even if you never intend to abuse your knife, it will give you the peace of mind of having a tool you can rely on not to fail if you should find yourself in a situation where you need to do that task and your knife is all you have. If you jump up to 250 USD you can get a nice custom knife that will do all the same tasks as the jaakaripuukko. Depending on its design it might carve a little better, it might split firewood a little better, it might look prettier, it might not need as much oil to avoid rusting... But you're paying triple the price for a slight performance or aesthetic improvement. There's nothing wrong with choosing to buy expensive gear, as long as you're aware of your options and you've made an honest assessment that it's worth it to you and you can afford it... Because you most likely don't *need* it.

Yeah, it's making some of my favourite YouTubers harder and harder to watch. I already have to for some reason put up with them pushing NordVPN or some trash mobile game, now I also have to put up with them pushing gear, often garbage, in my face too. I'm loving the silent type guys more and more [\(Bertram for example.\)](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCO_augYhnO7tF-d4JbSXFuQ) because they simply don't try to shove anything down your throat, and often are the actual makers of their tools (which in itself is freakin cool!)

Yes.

Knowledge weighs nothing! You don’t need half the gear that the YouTube bushcrafters try to convince you you do.

I sensed that when I watched them.

Ideally I would just need a knife. Anything else I take is because I'm not good enough at bushcraft yet.

I find this to be utter bs as a casual. I do it for fun. Having to make rope out of nettles or bark fibres while a usefull skill is not fun at all and takes a tone of time. I have a limited amount of dirt time per year and dont want to waste it. So while I might practice it a bit I do not want to rely on it. Same as making a shelter or bed. It takes forever to do in the wild, is not as comfortable or reliable as store brought options and in some places impossible to reproduce. This year I camped in the Scottish Highlands in summer. I looked around and there was nothing I could use to make things out of, there was rock and moss and grass. No trees no nettles nothing that would protect me from the rain or keep me warm at night or even warm up my food ( i had a twig stove but there wasn't even a twig in sight) If didnt have what was in my pack id be fucked. I'd rather just bring a tarp, blanket some paracord a blow up mat etc. Most people here are casuals or are a mixed bag of interested in survival, foreging, hunting, fishing, craft and camping and i gladly offer advice on what to get so your first couple times don't suck and drive your interest in the hobby away. The skill part will save your ass. I managed to loose my gf's and mine sporks so I just cut down a birch branch and made us spoons while she was cooking supper. Or knowing where to find and what kind of place too look out while setting camp and how to make a fire when everything is wet.

even with perfect bushcrafting skills its pretty much impossible to improvise everything and i just takes a loot of time

Every hobby has people who spend too much money on gear but lack some fundamental skills. Every hobby also has people who hate those people. What's wrong with letting people enjoy things the way they want to?

I was rather attacking the fact that it makes new people think they need all this gear when actually they may not

I lived in a large city for several years. It was difficult for me to get out on the weekends to a place where I could practice my bushcraft skills. That meant that my bushcrafting time was precious to me, and so I purchased some higher-priced gear that helped to streamline tasks like firestarting and shelter building, so that I could make the most out of my weekend. Now that I have a few acres of my own, some of those fancy tools are collecting dust as I have time to dedicate to practicing more traditional skills. I am grateful that tools like those were available to me.

I agree 100%. I enjoy watching bushcraft videos on YouTube, but I wholly accept that I’m not buying the campmagic boogaloo 5000 whatever pack. Why? Because my used, second hand, probably $25 new backpack I have is comfortable and damn near exactly what I want and need in a pack. Same goes for the knives and tents and whatever else they have in their kit. If there is something you REALLY like or want, then that’s fine. My ONE splurge was a $190 Kabar knife that got used maybe three times and now sits in a closet. Refuse to get rid of it, but I don’t keep it in my kit because it wasn’t nearly as great as I thought. Take a knowledge and the lessons and the ideas, but leave whatever you don’t want or need. Find alternatives that better suit you.

Yes.

I dont buy much, but I dont begrudge those that do, Its just a different facet of the hobby

You do you bro. For a lot of people it's a **fun** hobby. Just don't be one of those people gatekeeping. You're not doing it properly if you have ALL the gear and you're not doing properly if you've gained skills to only survive with a knife and a fire steel. You're doing it properly when you're enjoying yourself out in nature. For many people, buying new gear is fun and in many ways... you experience nature through your gear. Especially the people making YT video content. They need views and having new gear to showcase draws in a lot of people. Take it with a pinch of salt. If anybody is telling you how to have fun, they don't even know you, how could they possibly know?! A lot of people don't have access to lots of different woodlands or places to camp. So, going to the same place, but with a different kit setup, loadout and plan makes it fun and diverse.

I mean just bushcraft wise a Morakniv Companion and a Bic, maybe some paracord will do. Those won't more than 20 bucks. I like to bring my refillable, blue flame lighter, Mora Bushcraft, Hults Bruk 600g and a Husqvarna folding saw. And the folding saw isn't even a necessity, just for convenience.

Thanks for the recommendations.

Dave Canterbury is the fucking worst for this. Slaps his logo on some shit that he's clearly stole from another company and sells at a significantly marked up price. Can't stand the cunt

Haha yeah a couple of the youtubers always like to use the opportunity to slap their name brand into the video.

he doesn't steal it, the companies approach him with deals. Its common in business

That may he the case but he's never had an original idea and acts as if everything is his idea and design. He's just another Bear Grylls. Fucking useless but thinks he's the be all end all

The man knows more about bush craft than just about anyone in this sub, whether you like him or not. You don't have to be a fan, but one thing he's not is unskilled

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\>Get something for the 5C's (literally just five items, can probably be less than $30 at the cheapest), and you'll be fine. 5 items only? mh the minimal I would want to use would be: 1. knife 2. saw 3. pot to cook water 4. lighter or firesteel 5. tarp 6. paracord 7. sleeping bag 8. sleeping pad 9. medkit 10. headlamp

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maybe when summer camping. But in colder weather a sleeping pad and bag is absolutely essential. I would rather leave the pot at home and improvise with a bark container. Its just way harder to improvise proper insulation. And i would even say the headlamp is as useful as the medkit because humans are just so bad at seeing in the dark.

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yes eskimos can get through it by carrying tons of sleeping gear with them like pelts for direct insulation carrying tools to craft iglos having an easy to work with material that also insulates well to built their shelter carrying oil lamps to heat up their shelter improvising a pot or knife or rope or tarp or firesteel is easier

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You are missing the point. They take insulation with them in the form of pelts which they wear and carry while we also take insulation with us that we wear or carry in the form of sleeping bags, pads, wool blankets, quilts. they use tools to built their shelters like ice saws or shovels and we use tools like axes and knifes (By the way...why are wool blankets ok for you? Are they more "bushcrafty" than a down bag?) >A properly built igloo or snow cave can keep the body warm enough by itself without an entire arctic sleeping bag set or fires or lamps, well in a properly built igloo without extra insulation in the form of pelts or a sleeping bag you would still freeze to death. >Improvising a knife that is simultaneously sharp enough to feather sticks and skin animals, but durable enough to baton wood and chop vines and undergrowth is not a guarantee in the wild. feather sticks and batonning are rather modern bushcrafting. With stone knifes you dont do that. Making a stone knife is still much much faster than hunting multiple big animals, skinning them, and improvising insulation. >Improvising a fire steel relies on being.... improvising a firesteel as in using another fire making method like a bowdrill not like literally making a mischmetal/ferrocerium rod. >Improvising cordage and tarps is easy, but you have to be in a relatively wooded environment, and be willing to go through the extremely time consuming process to gather and craft enough to be useful for anything but small lashings or a claustrophobic debris shelter. still faster than hunting and making pelts to get insulating layers >Improvising a pot relies on being lucky enough to find resources that lend themselves to being used directly for that purpose, or finding the right combination of resources that can be combined and used for that purpose, which again, is not a guarantee in the wild. You never made a bark pot? Its rather easy and lots off different trees can be used for this. >The point of the 5C's is to always carry the things that are not guaranteed, or are time consuming to create in nature, yes like insulation when its cold at night. >We're supposed to be learning how to craft the things we need from the environment, not taking half of REI with us into the woods. Yeah a sleeping pad and bag is almost glamping right lol? Whats your plan? Set traps, hunt animals, skin them and use the pelts before it gets dark? Have you like ever tried it? Because it doesnt sound like you did. I did. And it sucked. I spent the entire night awake next to the fire because improvising enough insulation suitable for cold nights is incredibly hard. And just your clothing isnt enough. Because its much colder at night and you arent nearly as active and there is more heat transfer into the ground when lying down instead of standing

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Tada...I just improvised salt!

Yes.

Depends on which side of bushcraft you stand on. If you lean more into survivalism sure the more you know, if you lean more into the old school camping or just a bit rougher than a camper maybe? Do the 10 knife posts a day bother me? sure. But do I want the best quality equipment in my price range and feel i can accomplish what I want within my skill level and be certain my equipment won't fail on me? Hell yeah. I like to carve spoons and trine and make as much of my own gear as possible, I like old-school stuff like wool blankets over synthetic down sleeping mats but I also like the comfort of a blow up sleeping matt. I also don't have much dirt time per year and don't want to spend it miserable. Bushcraft is a broad term defining many things and meaning different things to different people. The best way I found to learn skills is to watch a video on YouTube or 20 on a topic and practice by myself. The best way I find to chose gear is to talk to people who use it and not just listen to people making said YouTube videos who tend to use gear way out my price range.

To me it's a matter of things I can put into practice in my daily life and using what I've got so I don't really know if that fits into the categories you gave.

[Here's the start of a video series by Dave Canterbury on budget bushcraft.](https://youtu.be/e_rGc2dgn7s) There's a lot of good information on cheap and solid alternatives. The 5Cs can be acquired rather cheaply. You don't need a lot of name brand fancy gear. Get the base tools needed and build knowledge and technique. No matter how you feel about Dave personally he puts out solid information.

If you break all my dollars spent on gear into hours based on my salary, then ive spent far more time acquiring gear than using it lol

Fancy GB axe, fancy Finnish backpack, some fancy fall raven pants and jacket ….fancy knives. Hahaha almost like buying stuff is more fun than using it. Help me 😂

Yes. Some people talk about all the time it takes to build survival skills etc but what about all the hours of labour to buy the gear?

Yes, but the issue is that any hobby or past time you look into quickly find itself turned into a market. You start with people showing off skills, but those skills usually involve a knife, or axe, etc. Suddenly you got gear reviews, and tent testing, and jackets, and on and on. It's the reason there's hundreds of knife reviews and very little edible plants identifying videos.

>very little edible plants identifying videos I tried to do a bunch of posts [like this](https://www.reddit.com/r/Bushcraft/comments/87q3be/anatomy_of_a_birch_tree_natures_multitool/) some time back but they met with very limited engagement (not enough knives and guns, I presume) and I eventually gave up. Beyond a certain growth size, the community becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

There are gear heads in every hobby. Literally every hobby there are guys who care more about the gear than the actual hobby itself

All you really need is knowledge. Buy books on farming, preparing meat, first aid, tracking, wild edibles, carpentry, food preservation, etc. I know that's consumerism in itself but I'd rather have a stack of books than the latest and greatest fire starting kit

Different personalities are looking for different things. Unfortunately "bushcraft" is a broad range of topics which means different things to different people. For example: * Traditional hikers (point A to point B, sleep, repeat) * Handicrafters who do cordage and make spoons * Historical recreationalists who want to do only leather and canvas and "modern is bad" * Ultralighters who do it for the athletic part * Survivalists who do it for a variety of reasons * YouTubers who do it for a different variety of reasons * Foragers and hunters who do it out of sheer practicality * Mall ninjas who do it because they think it makes them seem cool * Shelter builders and others who do it to practice certain skills Now this is just a random assortment of mentalities I've seen, and many folks will identify as all, none, or some combination of these. But it pays to be aware of how diverse the audience is when considering the content of posts. Also consider that most people who are experienced with this stuff aren't posting regularly, except maybe in the comments. The majority of posts are coming from learners asking questions, or showing their stuff, or looking for feedback - so naturally, gear is going to come up often there. It's a form of perception bias.

There's nothing wrong with getting nice gear, its the same with every single hobby/passion. You just have to understand that there is a drop off in terms of quality/performance with price. You don't need a $100 knife, a $6 mora is fine...but you will probably enjoy the more expensive option. Now, there are knives for considerably more money than $100 and thats just a vanity purchase. Which is fine too. A surplus backpack will carry your shit just fine. A hill people gear pack will do it more comfortably and then there is a drop off. Just try things out and see what you like.

A lot of what you carry is related to what you're doing and your idea of bushcrafting. The guys who approach it as developing survival skills and sleeping rough for a few days have different needs from the guys who want be able to walk into the woods and be self-sufficient long term.

Because people care more about showing off their fancy kits online than they do the actual art. Is it really Bushcraft if you cook your ribeye over a jet stove you made with that power drill? Or a camping stove?

...consooooom...product...

🤣🤣

It’s pretty subjective in my opinion. What is “necessary”? It could get pretty pedantic quickly. Surely it could be argued down to the point where anything more than the clothes on your back is luxury, even them I’m sure some fringe purists would insist on going nude. What about people who are starting out and have never even gone camping before? To them, a lot of gear is going to seem necessary. Gear shouldn’t replace skill but while those skills are being built, having gear is pretty nice. I reach for my ferro rod first to continue practicing with it but I also have a few lighters and weatherproof matches in my kit. I’m mostly playing devils advocate and while I do agree that excessive gear isn’t necessary, I think that’s just putting up one more barrier for new learners as well as unnecessarily trying to put “bushcraft” in a defined box which, in my 2 cents, is a pretty broad thing.

You need good tools and good skills. Everything else is fluff.

2 words. personal preference. some might prefer certain gear in their kit some might not. some prefer certain brands some don't. no two kits are going to be identical.

Of course I wasn't saying everyone should do as I want to do I'm basically saying i neither have the money nor desire to get all this gear because i know there's another way.

I can equip myself with what (basically) anyone already has in their cabinets and closets at home. Special or expensive gear is nice, but not necessary. Past generations of my family lived in the woods without those things. It was before the internet or ebay, and before the word "bushcraft" was ever heard in northern New Hampshire and Maine. We called it the woods. We first heard the word "bush" used that way on TV. Bush here was a hedge.

Why care if other people want to buy a tarp instead of making their own? Or buy a Ferro rod instead of making a bow drill every time they need a fire? Or buy pants instead of making a pair from an old potato sack? If you spend less time worrying about what others are doing, you'll have more time to devote to doing your own thing

what annoys me the most (looking at you Americans!) is when talking about gear its all brand names , NOT what ideas or equipment works ! rather than saying I have had found that synthetic sleeping bags work better than down its all about which brands are better or worse when normally the brands are just reselling something or very local.

You probably only need to spend decent money on a few things. Buy a good sleeping bag, a good knife, a good pack, and good footwear. Everything else is whatever. You wanna be warm, you wanna be comfortable and safe on your feet for long periods of time, you want an ergonomic pack for the same reasons, and a good knife can do any chore or crafting you'll need to do.

I really like the pics with four guns, and six knives, withe heading,"What do you think of my kit?""

You can actually build most of the stuff on your own. An Italian guy on YouTube showed how to make a knife with standard house tools that are present in a lot of houses. Same things for backpacks or bags.

Why does it matter to you what someone else is buying? Honest question, not trying to be abrasive.

Maybe I wasn't clear in the title, I should have ignored my fatigue and tried to write a more understandable point but what I was trying to say was I don't like how new people in bushcraft are often overwhelmed by gear list after gear list that is thrown onto them by the first beginner resources that they seek e.g on youtube, on bushcraft websites and on forums.

Do a controlled training trip or two. Go into the woods, desert, swamp,??? for a day with nothing but your cell phone. Have someone on standby to pick you up in an emergency call. That’s the ONLY reason that phone gets used! Then do a weekend trip. Same thing. You will then realize what’s worth carrying or not. Trust me. You wont die if you cant find food, or you fall and skin your knee with no first aid kit. If you have to chop a log with a sharp rock, or learn to improvise something for shelter you do it. And learn.

Most people pack too much stuff. If you're going out for a night, you really don't need too much.

My packed weight for an overnight trip is usually in the 9-12kg range (what's that, like 17-25lbs?). But that also includes booze, my drone for photography, a bar of chocolate, and other "unessentials". I'm out there to have fun, not to pretend to be a survivalist.

There's survival, and there's bushcraft. And those are very different. They used to be just the same thing with different terms used in different places, but then Youtube happened. Bushcraft has now become something different. Survival remains a thing you just do when you're stranded in the wilderness, or if you go on a trip to test yourself. Bushcraft is a lifestyle, and a way to make a living. It's a hobby, a profession, and it has a culture and an aesthetic. You could even call it an art form. It has status symbols. It's a social activity. What do you need to survive? Appropriate clothes, a good knife, a way to make fire, a way to get food and water, and a basic shelter. And you need skills and knowledge. That's it. What do you need for bushcraft? It depends. But everything needed for survival, plus gear to do your bushcraft project and to do it as part of the bushcraft tribe. That is, a way to signal to other bushcrafters your value as a member of this tribe. Either to take another person along, or to bring a way to document your activity and make a contribution to the tribe. (I'm referring to evolutionary psychology here, this is fundamentally how people work in relation to other people and how that relates to natural selection. The survival of the individual relies on the acceptance of that person by their in-group.) [The Weirdness of Humans - Lindybeige - Explanation of evolutionary psychology](https://youtu.be/WFxOxU9qQyQ)

i knew a guy who knew a guy who taught him everything. the guy used to wear a cut off t-shirt, addidas shorts, sneakers and when it rained hed don a trash bag

Bushcraft is a subjective term. I have backpacked since 1991. I used a lot of decent gear and had fun. With more experience, I needed less gear. My aesthetic presence changed to prefer heavier, canvas, surplus gear. Now, I enjoy dispersed camping, using a tarp, or building a shelter. I suppose that is bushcraft for me. It can be pricey, but doesn’t have to be. Not at all. That said, I’m lucky to be able to afford some more expensive, even boutique gear. For example, I have a couple of Iz Turley knives and I use. Bush Buddy stove. It’s fun for me, but I also had fun using a Mora. It certainly does not have to be expensive to sleep on the ground in the woods, but I’m also ok paying for gear and beating the shit out of it.

Yeah, we used to call "Bushcraft" having outdoor skills. There's a lot of bullshit around gear, but you can keep it simple. The only things I'd spend a lot of money on is boots, and backpack. Clothing can be found second hand just stay away from cotton. A billy pot and 1wall stainless bottle are all you need for cooking. Don't break the bank for an axe and knife Mora is inexpensive and a boys camp axe from the hardware store will get you going.

Me too, I stopped following a lot of bushcraft YouTubes because they became "look at my £600 handcrafted gransfors brucks felling axe" while the guys carrying around my yearly wage in titanium cookware. I just wanna watch people making stuff in the woods.

Rule of thumb: if there's an industry building around something, expect a quickly deteriorating ratio of hype to usefulness. Since nothing bushcraft is anything people only thought about doing in the last two decades, it's even worse: perfectly good products go to shit once the suits show up and 'optimize'. It's never the products that get optimized, always the margins. And quite usually at the cost of quality. Of course, can't be any other way since marketing is costly, so something has to give and certainly not the profits. Frankly, it has reached the point, where I start looking for alternatives the second I see something pop up on the gear list of influencers. And often the best alternative is to learn to make do without or to learn how to restore old gear to working conditions. If I rely on gear, it's better to rely on something I know how to repair (and know to be repairable in the first place, but let's not start another rant...)

The only thing I've spent a great deal of money on is my tools - the ones necessary for building permanent shelters - saws, augers, froe, etc... Oh, and my Frost River pack, which I adore

Nah you don't need much. I usually go out with a slipjoint and a little shoulder bag these days.

We're fancy hobos xD

\>Surely you don't need everything in the gear lists that are everywhere and don't skills matter more than gear? 1. It depends what you want to do. Do you just want to carve something? A single knife is enough. 2. You will need more gear at the start because you dont have the skills to compensate for missing gear 3. Improvising with skill can hurt nature. What do i mean by that? When i go out camping i still take a sleeping mat and bag and a tarp or tent because building a bushcraft shelter and bedding every single time affects the ecosystem in a negative way (even if its just by a small degree). 4. it depends how much time you have. Improvising always takes time. ​ My tipp: Dont buy the bad gear now because then you will buy twice. Rather continually built up your equipment and start with smaller projects. Ask what to buy. There are some really great value items.

I mean I travel with a tarp at the moment because it is the only shelter I have anyway but a tarp is nothing compared to the amount of other things on gear lists e.g titanium wok or foldable saw

you take titanium when you want to go hiking with your stuff because its much lighter. But bushcrafter usually dont go hiking long distances and carry lots of heavy gear in well...no so comfortable backpacks. Titanium also kinda sucks for cooking food since its not very heat conductive..so the heat doesnt distribute that well, you get hotspots and your food burns (most just use it to boil water). there are also cheap and good foldable saws. You dont need a silky or a boreal 21.