The 'Replace Gear with Knowledge' Paradigm.
The subject of 'Kit', 'Equipment' or 'Gear' seems to be by far the most popular amongst outdoorsy people. Meet anyone on the trail, at a gathering, or through pretty much any of the social media channels, and invariably people end up talking about what each other wears, carry's or use's on their adventures, or what works best for them at any given point in time. There is nothing wrong with that, and I myself love shiny new things.
But, sooner or later you will come across a few different variations on a theme...that of '...replacing kit with knowledge'...or you may hear, '...the more you know the less you carry'. This is where I tend to cringe a little at the very 'binary' nature of that way of thinking. There are far too many variables influencing all of our individual reasons for enjoying outdoors pursuits to, in my humble opinion, think that way. Personally, I like to spend my time outdoors, looking, learning, observing, studying, absorbing and immersing myself in all things to do with the natural world around us. I don't want to spend hours gathering materials for my lean-to shelter, or searching for dry wood to carve a bow drill set to make my fire. Equally I am not stuck in the way of thinking that a wool blanket and an oil cloth tarp are the way to go all seasons regarding shelter. At the same time I am not taking knowledge lightly either. I just like to put this concept into context and not take it so literally.
I recall an interesting analogy made by Paul Kirtley, either in a talk, or in a video, I don't remember exactly where, but anyway, he asked the question...when is friction fire, say by bow-drill, a Survival skill? when is it a Bushcraft skill? and when is it a Party Trick?...the answer was its all three at different times. When you are miles from civilization on a canoe expedition in the Swedish wilderness, your canoe has rolled and all your gear is wet with the real possibility of hypothermia setting in, its a Survival Skill. When you are out on a camping trip in the woods and you decide to use natural resources instead of those you have on your person such as matches or a lighter, its then a Bushcraft skill. When you are out in your back garden having a BBQ with your mates and you decide to rock up and light the BBQ with your bow-drill set, well then its a Party Trick. The skill is still fundamentally the same. The resources available at the time may be different and its relevance to your wellbeing may be greater or lesser depending on your circumstances, but it doesn't make it any less impressive a skill to have held in your knowledge and accessible to you.
I do believe that the kit you carry should compliment your reasons for being out there, the conditions and environment that you find yourself in, your needs and your budget, the availability of natural resources and the impact you wish to leave on your environment (or should I say lack of impact!). And your kit, again in my humble opinion, should ideally work together to improve the 'value of the whole' rather than being a 'sum of parts'. You may also regularly hear people talking about items of kit having more than one use to be effective. While I agree that is a useful concept, and one we should look to satisfy as often as we can, again I think this is banded about far too frequently and taken far too literally. Realistically a tent, a down sleeping bag and a blow up airbed are only any good for doing what they are designed to do, using them in any kind of different capacity can seriously compromise their intended use, and the fundamental purpose of the item in question. As stand alone bits of kit, and also combined together as a system working together, they are a pretty darn effective set of items to use. Now I know there will always be someone that will argue with that, and that's fine, I like a wool blanket and an oil cloth tarp too, neither of which will get ruined by a stray spark from an open fire!...but pound for pound in terms of weight, bulk and the insulative/protective properties of each set of items...well, I will leave you to decide for yourself what is the most appropriate system for your environment, and which system fits with your objectives for being out there the most.
Another term I hear banded about a lot is that of 'traditional kit'...what exactly makes something a traditional kit?...and a traditional kit item for whom and when exactly. Look up the Oxford English Dictionary definition of 'tradition' and it says "Existing in or as part of a tradition; long established"...and also "Habitually done, used or found" I wont plagiarize the whole Wikipedia entry on the history of matches for fire lighting here, but they have been used in various forms for Thousands of years, but no-one ever considers them a Traditional kit item these days! When people talk about traditional kit, I think sometimes they mean kit that is made out of natural resources for example, or is sustainable, or kit that looks and feels like it has a soul to it, feels like it should have some kind of sentimentality to it, or has some kind of romance attached to it from stories of yesteryear. I have a traditional kit item, and I love it to pieces...my Hudson Bay Tin was gifted to me by a friend not long ago, and as a kit item I will cherish it for as long as I am alive. Is it the most appropriate bit of kit for doing what its supposed to do in lighting a fire? no, matches or a lighter are far more sensible options. Does it give me am immense amount of pleasure to use the component parts to light a fire?...HELL YEAH! I love it! All i'm saying is don't let anyone tell you whats the most appropriate bit of kit, or the best bit of kit based on what they say is traditional, decide for yourself what works and what doesn't.
On a final note, I think an appropriate place to leave this introduction to the kit section is around testing and kit being fit for purpose. The outdoors industry is ludicrously lucrative. There are many companies out there making stuff that will never have been tested, designed by people that have never set foot outdoors further than their local park for a walk at lunchtime, and there are people out there that are paid to convince you that unless you have something....YOU'RE GOING TO DIE!!!. Don't believe it. Watch YouTube, read reviews, ask for peoples opinions on stuff and form your own opinions based on your research. But when you do take the plunge and spend your heard earned cash, buy the best you can afford at the time, that is appropriate for what you want to use it for, test it in a controlled environment first (...there is still no getting away from the fact that Mother Nature will not always provide you with the fairest of conditions when you need to rely on a piece of kit with your life) and if something fails on you, or doesn't work as it should, or is not fit for purpose, make sure you have found a reputable source for your kit in the first place, and take it back for a swap or refund. Its a minefield out there. People say that if you buy cheap you buy twice, and while that is a useful saying to keep in mind, low cost doesn't always mean low value. Think of a Mora knife or a Swiss Army Knife, both widely considered very effective tools indeed, but both available for between £10 and £20. Just as good, as useful and as fit for purpose as a £300 custom knife?...again, you decide what works for you!
Ok, so in this section, under the different pages I have listed the kit items that I am using right now, what you see here one month may not be here next month, my kit is fluid, it changes over time, so come back and have a look again in time.
But, sooner or later you will come across a few different variations on a theme...that of '...replacing kit with knowledge'...or you may hear, '...the more you know the less you carry'. This is where I tend to cringe a little at the very 'binary' nature of that way of thinking. There are far too many variables influencing all of our individual reasons for enjoying outdoors pursuits to, in my humble opinion, think that way. Personally, I like to spend my time outdoors, looking, learning, observing, studying, absorbing and immersing myself in all things to do with the natural world around us. I don't want to spend hours gathering materials for my lean-to shelter, or searching for dry wood to carve a bow drill set to make my fire. Equally I am not stuck in the way of thinking that a wool blanket and an oil cloth tarp are the way to go all seasons regarding shelter. At the same time I am not taking knowledge lightly either. I just like to put this concept into context and not take it so literally.
I recall an interesting analogy made by Paul Kirtley, either in a talk, or in a video, I don't remember exactly where, but anyway, he asked the question...when is friction fire, say by bow-drill, a Survival skill? when is it a Bushcraft skill? and when is it a Party Trick?...the answer was its all three at different times. When you are miles from civilization on a canoe expedition in the Swedish wilderness, your canoe has rolled and all your gear is wet with the real possibility of hypothermia setting in, its a Survival Skill. When you are out on a camping trip in the woods and you decide to use natural resources instead of those you have on your person such as matches or a lighter, its then a Bushcraft skill. When you are out in your back garden having a BBQ with your mates and you decide to rock up and light the BBQ with your bow-drill set, well then its a Party Trick. The skill is still fundamentally the same. The resources available at the time may be different and its relevance to your wellbeing may be greater or lesser depending on your circumstances, but it doesn't make it any less impressive a skill to have held in your knowledge and accessible to you.
I do believe that the kit you carry should compliment your reasons for being out there, the conditions and environment that you find yourself in, your needs and your budget, the availability of natural resources and the impact you wish to leave on your environment (or should I say lack of impact!). And your kit, again in my humble opinion, should ideally work together to improve the 'value of the whole' rather than being a 'sum of parts'. You may also regularly hear people talking about items of kit having more than one use to be effective. While I agree that is a useful concept, and one we should look to satisfy as often as we can, again I think this is banded about far too frequently and taken far too literally. Realistically a tent, a down sleeping bag and a blow up airbed are only any good for doing what they are designed to do, using them in any kind of different capacity can seriously compromise their intended use, and the fundamental purpose of the item in question. As stand alone bits of kit, and also combined together as a system working together, they are a pretty darn effective set of items to use. Now I know there will always be someone that will argue with that, and that's fine, I like a wool blanket and an oil cloth tarp too, neither of which will get ruined by a stray spark from an open fire!...but pound for pound in terms of weight, bulk and the insulative/protective properties of each set of items...well, I will leave you to decide for yourself what is the most appropriate system for your environment, and which system fits with your objectives for being out there the most.
Another term I hear banded about a lot is that of 'traditional kit'...what exactly makes something a traditional kit?...and a traditional kit item for whom and when exactly. Look up the Oxford English Dictionary definition of 'tradition' and it says "Existing in or as part of a tradition; long established"...and also "Habitually done, used or found" I wont plagiarize the whole Wikipedia entry on the history of matches for fire lighting here, but they have been used in various forms for Thousands of years, but no-one ever considers them a Traditional kit item these days! When people talk about traditional kit, I think sometimes they mean kit that is made out of natural resources for example, or is sustainable, or kit that looks and feels like it has a soul to it, feels like it should have some kind of sentimentality to it, or has some kind of romance attached to it from stories of yesteryear. I have a traditional kit item, and I love it to pieces...my Hudson Bay Tin was gifted to me by a friend not long ago, and as a kit item I will cherish it for as long as I am alive. Is it the most appropriate bit of kit for doing what its supposed to do in lighting a fire? no, matches or a lighter are far more sensible options. Does it give me am immense amount of pleasure to use the component parts to light a fire?...HELL YEAH! I love it! All i'm saying is don't let anyone tell you whats the most appropriate bit of kit, or the best bit of kit based on what they say is traditional, decide for yourself what works and what doesn't.
On a final note, I think an appropriate place to leave this introduction to the kit section is around testing and kit being fit for purpose. The outdoors industry is ludicrously lucrative. There are many companies out there making stuff that will never have been tested, designed by people that have never set foot outdoors further than their local park for a walk at lunchtime, and there are people out there that are paid to convince you that unless you have something....YOU'RE GOING TO DIE!!!. Don't believe it. Watch YouTube, read reviews, ask for peoples opinions on stuff and form your own opinions based on your research. But when you do take the plunge and spend your heard earned cash, buy the best you can afford at the time, that is appropriate for what you want to use it for, test it in a controlled environment first (...there is still no getting away from the fact that Mother Nature will not always provide you with the fairest of conditions when you need to rely on a piece of kit with your life) and if something fails on you, or doesn't work as it should, or is not fit for purpose, make sure you have found a reputable source for your kit in the first place, and take it back for a swap or refund. Its a minefield out there. People say that if you buy cheap you buy twice, and while that is a useful saying to keep in mind, low cost doesn't always mean low value. Think of a Mora knife or a Swiss Army Knife, both widely considered very effective tools indeed, but both available for between £10 and £20. Just as good, as useful and as fit for purpose as a £300 custom knife?...again, you decide what works for you!
Ok, so in this section, under the different pages I have listed the kit items that I am using right now, what you see here one month may not be here next month, my kit is fluid, it changes over time, so come back and have a look again in time.