I’ve ordered some more kit! I’m becoming a bit of a kit freak considering I promised myself that I was not going to make Bushcraft an expensive pastime. I’ve tried to utilise the kit I previously used 15 years ago. I’ve also tried to stay with the minimalist Bushcraft ethos, but at the moment I figured out that it’s easier to start with the kit, and then shave down what I don’t use. Also as my skills improve I should be able to shed some kit.

These skills will hopefully be greatly enhanced after I attend the Bushmoot in August. More about that later.

One thing I was missing and needed was a mosquito net. We don’t get great problems with mossies in the east, but they can make life miserable for any camper let alone a wild-camper. I bought the net from Nomad Travel store and this weekend tried various ways to rig it to the tarp and hammock. I wanted to keep the tent-like shape of the netting in case I wanted to sleep on the ground, so I was adverse to cutting the net in any way. I ended up using two small karabiners at each end attached to a small piece of thin paracord by a slippery knot (see…I’m beginning to re-learn knots too!). The Karabiners were then simply clipped to the end hoops of the tarp. Quick and easy. To stop the net slipping down the slope of the hammock, I’ve used two pegs to connect the end of the net to the hammock. With this method I can roll up the net when not in use or even take it off with no effort. It even looks OK. The whole thing now takes about 8 minutes to set up. It’s not a competition, but I feel I can do a little better with more practice.

The second purchase was a Crusader cup and cooker. I’ve previously used a NATO plastic mug (a left over from my army days). Off course this is a waste of time (and space) when you are using an open fire or Trangia. Once I received the mug, I was anxious to see whether the cooker worked with the first choice of fuel, greenheat gel fuel.

I emptied a sachet in the holder and waited…and waited…and…well, you know the rest. It warmed the water enough for coffee, but couldn’t boil it. I was quite disappointed, but realised that it a couple of sachets might be enough to warm through some pre-made soup in an emergency. It’s quite an expensive fuel though and I don’t think I’ll be bothering too much with this. I was interested to see whether it fitted in the Swedish Army Trangia set up. At the moment, this is my preferred cookset despite the extra weight over the civilian Trangia. It fitted perfectly, so now I’m able to use this as an extra cooking vessel on a Trangia as well the Trangia billy and saucepan.

My third purchase was the an Opinel No 8. My only folder so far is a Swiss Army knife, but this isn’t too sharp. I wanted a good dependable sharp folder to keep on my belt with my leather possible’s pouch. Not only will it be for general use, but also to help me out on carving projects which I’m getting quite fond of doing. I don’t think the Opinel needs any introduction, so I won’t bother on this occasion.

I was only out for a couple of hours this weekend. I want to go shopping tomorrow(yes…shopping…me!). More kit? You’ve got it. I need a decent first aid kit and a general snoop about for any accessories that might come in handy for the 5 days away at the Bushmoot.) Did I tell you Mors Kochanski was going?

The next post will be my thoughts on the preparations for the moot. I’ll certainly do this in the next couple of days, so tune in then.

By the way, the flower spotted in bloom this week is common centaury.