The images speak for themselves. The reindeer skin I ordered from Stuart at BCUK has arrived. It’s a reasonable size and not a bad colour. The best thing was the price at only £35 (I’ve seen them as much as £85). It’s excellent for laying on the ground, but putting it in the hammock takes a little more skill. I can lay on it and only the bottom of my legs stick out. It will be excellent insulation in the colder months and should replace my foam mat.

The only trouble is, how do I carry it? It doesn’t exactly fold up small, and it looks like I will have to strap on top of my rucksack, which is something I don’t like doing as it will snag on branches and the like. I’ll have to experiment with that one.

Not exactly the best time to try it out either, as temperatures have soared to 25 degrees C here in England. Apparently, reindeer hair is hollow which adds to the insulating properties. The fur is so soft and the actual skin is amazingly thick. This will definitely be an asset to wild camping. I can see the skin inserted into the bivvi bag with the sleeping bag on top for the best use. In the meantime… it’s in the hammock!

I was reflecting on the bushmoot and going through the pictures again when I realised just how many people brought along tents. I had success with hammock and tarp and in fact it proved more effective than some of the tents at the bushmoot.

But now that the autumn and winter is just around the corner, I thought it would be prudent to look for a proper ten to give me a fully sheltered (and hopefully waterproof) option. I was also concerned that not every location I could visit would have trees close enough to rig a hammock and where bivving would be unsuitable.

After dragging out the kids dome tent (they’ve both left home and there’s a distinctly musty smell filling the garden), I decided that it wouldn’t stand up to a quick shower let alone a weekend wildlife watching or bushcrafting in the UK. I browsed the Internet looking for suitable tents. The criteria were under £150, light enough to carry a short distance, enough room for me and kit, 3-4 season, green and suitable for bushcraft and wildlife watching and a reliable make.

To cut a long story short, I found the ideal tent for my purposes: the Vaude Ferret 1. It cost £90 (including delivery). Naturally, I haven’t field tested it yet, but I did sleep out in the pouring rain on a few occasions. Not a sign of a leak. So far here are my thoughts:

Great idea of side opening entrance as well as front porch entrance.
Great field of view (even sitting) from side opening
Side opening flap can be used for canopy with addition of two sticks or ali poles
Stacks of room
Pitching and striking very quick (two hoops and 4 anchor points initially)
Simple webbing strap system for tension (very good)
Decent sized porch (although not huge – enough to cook or leave out boots etc)
Outer can be pitched with inner (Good for quick bad weather pitching)
Inner tent pale yellow colour (avoids gloom)
All entrances have good mossie net options
Outer tent green
Option to remove inner (to make outer into tarp)
Loads of ventilation options for inside (including porch)
Pockets galor inside (all around inner tent)
Well made and thought out – German make (Vaude – Mountain Eqpt makers)
Max weight 3.1kg (Just manageable for backpacking)

As you can tell, I’m like a kid with a new toy. I’ve never actually owned a tent even as a kid – and my tenting experiences have only ever been with the military. I think I now have every shelter option available.

I’m conscious that I might be drifting away from my original ethos of using minimal equipment for bushcraft. (I think I’ve said this before) but…hey I might be looking at a mid life crisis here (or second childhood).

Until next time…

I’ve been waiting for a while but at last it’s here! Probably the first major upgrade to my kit that I’ve made. I’ve been keeping my eyes out for a new rucksack to replace my cheapy Eurohike 55 litre. I found that during the bushmoot in August, I had a bit of a struggle getting all my kit in. Now that winter is just around the corner, I could envisage that I would need even more room, so I’ve been keeping an eye out for another bag.

I nearly went for one of the Highlander sacks. They are pretty cheap but there’s only a 66 or 88 litre. I’ve always wanted a Karrimor either a 75 or 60-100 but the prices have been prohibitive (£130-£150 for a Sabre 75). Keeping an eye out on ebay, I saw my chance for a Karrimor Sabre 75. This one also had the 2 x 15 litre side pouches thrown in as well. These retail at about £36 on their own. I put my bids in in the vain hope that I might win. Imagine my surprise when I did win it and at only £89!

It was going to come from France, and again I was a bit dubious, but the lady selling it kept up great communication and emailed me when it was on the way. When it arrived, I was astonished that it had obviously rarely been used and even smelt new!

So here it is. I decided to put on the side pouches immediately and will probably leave them in. This potentially puts the capacity to over 100 litres if needed. The side compression straps keep the pouches in check and if they’re not being used, you can compress the bag to a very narrow size, in fact narrower than the Eurohike.

Opening up the side pouches and loosening the compression straps makes main area of the sack like a cavern! The carrying straps and hip belt are all padded as you would expect, and there’s a nice lumber pad. There’s no back length adjuster, but by playing with the various tension straps, you can get the bag to sit very comfortably on hips and shoulders. The lid has a large capacity as well and Karrimor obviously know that users would want to access this quickly. There’s ample room for first aid kit, waterproofs, fleece hat, face towel and a few emergency provisions.

The whole thing is very robust and should last a good while. It looks good with a double ‘chain’ running down the front of the sack and a few extra hanging loops. And…what’s this? A hidden zip pocket running all the way down the front of the rucksack. What will go in there? It’s very narrow…aha! The Granfors SFA fits in there a treat. This bag is just made for bushcraft and as you can probably tell, I’m extremely happy so far.

The test is in the loading and first of all, I checked whether the Vaude Ferret tent fitted in the main compartment. No problem there. Next I did a full load out for a week to ten day trip. There was still room for some more kit; however, I did sling the sleeping bag on the lower hanging straps. The bag was, of course, pretty heavy but it felt comfortable and well balanced.

Off to the woods then even though it looked like a downpour was imminent. On the way I came across a couple of Lapwings making use of the puddles on the ground. I set up the tarp and hammock and only just had time to play with another new toy (more about that later) before the heavens opened. Nothing to do now other than sit the rain out and have some soup. Unfortunately, the rain didn’t stop and didn’t look like it was going to, so I packed up and headed home. , I noticed as when I was at the bushmoot that the bottom of the hammock was wet. I traced this down to the hammock lines. I have heard that this happens in torrential rain and must think of a couple of ways to keep the hammock dry. Metal drip rings spring to mind. I will have to look at this at a later date.

The main purpose of the excursion was to test out the rucksack. So far a resounding success. Would I have paid out the full price for one? Having tried one out, I think I would have. What I didn’t realise was that far from being a major expedition rucksack, it compresses down small enough to be used as a weekend rucksack.

I’ll post again in a couple of days time. More kit?! You bet! Thanks for reading.

After a couple of days feeling sorry for myself with a heavy cold, I decided to get out from under the bedcovers and head for the woods. With a certain amount of coughing and spluttering, I climbed into the van and made it to Broaks Wood. I took the minimal amount of kit, just a sit mat, water, and sandwiches. The weather was still an incredibly mild 17 degrees C and the sun was shining like a spring day. Just what the doctor ordered for lifting the spirits and sweating out a cold.

An ulterior motive for going out today was to test out my new pre-mac pocket water purifier. I had often thought about water purification and how I was going to address it. Being one of the key survival items, I’m surprised at myself for leaving it so long before I did.

Where I live in East Anglia UK, there is very little flowing water. We have very few flowing rivers and streams quickly dry out especially in summer. We have the lowest rainfall in the UK, so if you don’t take water with you on an excursion, it will be hard to come by. But what if you do run out? On hiking or camping trips in other parts of the country with access to running rivers, you could probably get away with collecting water a merely boiling it.

In this part of the country, it’s another matter. Looking through the web forums, I decided to buy a Premac water filter. There are several types of pre-mac, the pocket being the smallest and cheapest, but it is a throwaway version lasting about 60 litres. I have heard that if you look after them and use a secondary filter (like a pair of tights or stockings) they can last longer. Mrs Pablo might get a shock when she finds the toes of her tights cut out. Wasn’t me. The quality of the water source is obviously another factor which will increase filter longevity.

The pre-mac couldn’t be easier to use. Put the filter in the water source, and after priming, pump away until the water comes out of the outlet. I was quite surprised how quickly you could pump a litre of water. I used a baco foil tin to collect the water and you could easily use a second tin to collect the water from the source to make things easier. On the instruction label it said that the water should be left standing for 2 minutes to allow the chemicals to work. After that, you’re all set. It’s recommended that the water source is flowing and preferably over a gravel bed which really goes without saying.

I was a little dubious about drinking the water straight, and decided that in an emergency situation it could be done although boiling first would be preferable. I was a little more assured as I read on the pre-mac label that the unit had been tested and approved by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical medicine. That’s good enough for me. This little bit of kit will certainly be a permanent feature in my small utility bag.

Well, that was all I could manage this weekend. A couple of short outings but I certainly feel a lot better. The picture was taken with my phone, hence the lower quality image.

I’ve been practicing with the bow nearly all weekend. Oh…you’re back then! You didn’t need to spend so long there! Unlike the game, this is getting quite an expensive past-time as I’ve lost 2 arrows and broken 2 others. At this rate I won’t have any arrows left for the field shoot next weekend. I’ve decided that I’ll buy an arrow jig and have a go at making them myself. I’ll probably do this after Christmas. At least I’m hitting the target most of the time and the grouping is getting a bit better. No more practice now until the big day next Sunday.

With a cloudless sky but a fresh cold wind which made me put on my fleece gloves, I ventured into the woods this morning. I travelled light with just a flask of tea, folding sit mat, the usual tool bag and the NRA survival kit. I wanted to have a general look at all the contents in the field but not put them under any great test…yet.

I wanted to have a good look at Blastmatch first of all. My first thoughts were, “Wow, this is big.” It’s nearly 4 inches long and a little heavy. I weighed this up with the fact that it is a survival tool and not really a bushcraft tool. Even though I had read the instructions, I scratched my head for a while before I actually managed to get it to work. And when I did…I was literally blinded by the number and strength of the sparks. This thing is awesome! I just had to get some tinder (without using the wet-fire tinder in the NRA kit) and try starting a fire. I needn’t have bothered with the tinder as even damp, unprepared wood just about caught with the extreme heat of the produced sparks. I actually wondered if there was any magnesium in the striker.

This bit of kit is a survival ‘ace’. The design allows the unit to be used one-handed which is a great advantage. This is because the thumb pushes against the catch which contains the striker. By pushing against this, and pushing the tip of the rod against a hard surface the rod is pushed down the spring-loaded tube. Looking closely, I realised that this very system might have one disadvantage. The part where you press your thumb to cause the necessary friction against the rod was also the tube catch which keeps the top closed. This part of the unit had already part-melted with the intense heat thus, because the top is closed under the pressure of the spring, it now occasionally springs open.

A point to note. Don’t push the flint rod too far down when striking. I wondered if this was a design fault. All it needed was a stopper to stop the rod going too far down the tube. It’s also advantageous to have something solid to rest the tip of the rod against as you push down. It doesn’t take a great deal of pressure to create the spark, but you couldn’t create a spark by pushing the rod into soft ground.

I can’t fault this unit except to say that it is a bit bulky and heavy. It’s just slightly too big to go in my possible’s pouch (without taking something else out) but I would have no hesitation in packing it in my expedition survival kit. Will any of the other items in the NRA kit join it? We’ll have to wait and see.

Even though I was getting warm working with the Blastmatch, my feet were getting cold with inactivity and I decided to walk around the wood. I noticed that the leaves were at last turning, but some were stubbornly hanging on to the trees. The bright light shining through them made a wonderful autumnal spectacle.

I ventured into town to get some last minute shopping for Christmas. I hate shopping but something caught my eye on one of the market stores. It was a fishing tackle stall and to one side there was a fishing umbrella which had been set up. I had one of these many years ago when I was into fishing. I’ve often thought of adapting fishing gear for bushcraft purposes, especially a fishing umbrella. What could be easier? A touch of rain and up she goes. Instant shelter! What really caught my eye was the zip-on tarp skirting surrounding 3/4s of the umbrella. Feeling particularly guilty (well I didn’t because I’d bought my wife a nice new watch) I parted with £20 and whisked it home.

Yesterday I tried it out in the wood. The first thing I noticed was how long it was (about 4′ 5″ long). Now how can you put that in a rucksack? Doh!! Never mind. None to light either. Feeling as though this might have been my first complete waste of money for a bushcraft item, I persisted in dragging it into the woods. Up it went. No problem there. The adjustable spiked end stood nicely in the ground and I played about with the tilt (tilts to 45 degrees). This is getting a bit more promising.

I struggled with the skirting zip. None too robust, but once it went on it was fine. The anchor points were well made. They were reinforced and it even came with some cordage and tent pegs. Now that the whole thing was together, I was quite impressed. I fixed some cordage to the top. It wasn’t too windy, but if the wind does get up, it’s bye bye brolly.

I couldn’t help a smile. A PIDUS. Pablo’s Instantly Deployable Umbrella Shelter. I’ve no idea in what circumstances I’d use this over and above a tarp or tent. It’s too big to carry about as a matter of course but I suppose it might be handy to keep in the van.

All that remains for me to do now is wish everyone a Merry Christmas, especially to all the repeat visitors. I will certainly be in the woods this Christmas to walk off the excesses of the season and find a bit of solace from the madness. So, if you get bored with the atrocious television this year, log on and join me for a festive Woodlife. I wonder if Santa actually wears OG.

Best wishes, Pablo.

At last my new tarp has arrived. I decided a few months ago that the 2.50m x 1.50m Katmandu tarp might not be big enough for excursions over a few days. I was in a bit of a dilemma whether to get another one. I finally succumbed and ordered a Tatonka 2 tarp.

Coming in at 3m x 3m this tarp is really the business. This poly version only weighs 93 grams although the poly cotton version is a bit heavier. The tarp is well made as you would expect from a reputable company with reinforced loops on all corners as well as eyelets. There are also loops in the middle and in the centre of the ridge line. They’ve even put a small Velcro loop in the centre underneath the tarp so that you can run a utility line under the tarp. The advantage over the smaller tarp is that apart from more room to stash kit, cook under and cover the hammock or other sleep system, the 3m sides can be pulled almost to the ground in bad weather, and there will still be enough head room to move about comfortably. The smaller tarp certainly won’t be made redundant. I like this tarp because it is small and will be still be used for shorter excursions, use in closed woodland and for daily use.

I use the 10 meters of 7mm paracord for the ridge line and 5meters of 3mm cord for the guy lines. The length of the ridge line allows for a utility line to be rigged underneath the tarp. This is handy for hanging stuff on (like stuff sacks, torch, glasses etc). I took the opportunity of filming setting up and packing away the tarp. There’s definitely a knack to this and I think it’s good to keep practicing. There’s nothing worse than fiddling about when it’s pouring with rain. In inclement weather, the tarp should be first up. I’ve also demonstrated the knots I use. If these aren’t very clear, let me know.

The Evenk and slippery knots work quite well for me, being quite simple and more importantly, quick to set up and easy to release. The slippery knot helps keep the ridge line nice and taut. Since I made the film, I decided not to wrap the ridge line around the folded up tarp, but to fold it separately after the tarp has been put into the stuff sack. This way, when unpacking, time is saved unrolling the line from the tarp and there’s less chance of the line getting tangled.

All in all I’m very pleased with the tarp. I’m now going to experiment with different configurations but I’ll mainly use the ‘open front’ configuration (photo) unless it’s really bad weather when, of course, the whole thing will be closed down.

I must apologise for not posting the promised mid-week post as I had Internet connection problems. I’ll try and post mid week if all goes well.

Thanks for the visit.

Courtesy of the American Bushman, at the end of last year I received a NRA survival kit and Bark River PSK sample. Over these few months I’ve been looking closely at the contents and have already done a review of the BlastMatch. I will do a more detailed review of the PSK later, but now is the time to look at the kit all together.

First of all, I consider survival kits as an absolute necessity if you spend anytime in the outdoors. A survival kit must at the very least contain something to make a fire, start a shelter and attract attention. Any subsequent content will then depend on the area and conditions e.g. in dry areas or conditions you would need to gather water. After this, I believe it’s all a matter of personal choice. Do you take twine or a basic first aid kit. Do you make room for fish hooks, or wire for a snare? How big should the kit be? Rucksack size? Pocket size? Vehicle size? Perhaps now you can understand how difficult this can be.

So let’s have a look at the NRA kit starting at the container. This is what’s described as an OtterBox which is quite expensive in itself. The box is 6in x 3.5 in. and I would describe this as rucksack size, being slightly too large for regularly carrying in a pocket. This is probably the first minus point for me. I would prefer a basic survival container to be pocket size to fit in a belt pouch or jacket pocket. No chance of it being unavailable in an emergency situation. ‘Otter’ equals ‘water animal’ equals ‘waterproof’. Time for some extreme testing.

I left the container and contents buried in a muddy pond last week and extracted it today. I also buried my bare hands in the same pond for a painful 5 minutes to simulate a possible survival scenario of a dunking whilst crossing a river. I was pleased to notice that the box floated which would be a distinct advantage if faced with the afore mentioned scenario. The two front opening clasps were easy to open even with numb hands. The contents were 100% dry. What a great start. Would it stand up to a bit of rough handling though? A tentative kick around produced no adverse effect. I lobbed the whole thing at a tree, not with a huge amount of force it has to be said and…ooops! The whole container burst open and spread the contents around the muddy ground. On inspection I immediately found the problem. The hinge protrudes at the rear obviously to ensure a waterproof seal around the box and being made of plastic it’s particularly vulnerable (pic). The lob might have been the equivalent to dropping the container about 10-15 feet on to a hard surface. It was probably unlucky to have landed directly on the hinge, but nevertheless, not too impressive if the survival kit container can’t survive.

Still with numb fingers, I tried out the WetFire tinder and what looked like a mini hexamine block. I soaked the WetFire tinder and applied the BlastMatch spark after preparing a minimum amount of kindling with the PSK. One push down on the BlastMatch and..bingo! The tinder caught first time. I fed the Hexamine on to it followed by the kindling. Objective achieved.

I was certainly impressed with the WetFire, no doubt about that. There was only one downfall though. If you don’t get it right first time, there’s not much of a second chance. The WetFire and Hexamine doesn’t last that long. On a whim I lit a sachet of Greenheat fuel gel and it lasted almost 4 times as long, which was enough to get the dampest of kindling going. As with the WetFire, the Green heat also ignites easily with a firesteel. The Greenheat also has the benefit of being not so bulky. The conclusion I drew here was, yes, the WetFire was effective, but there might be easier and more efficient alternatives.

I’ve already looked at the BlastMatch, but I should reiterate that this is an excellent piece of kit. The main advantage is that it can be used one handed (great if you have a hand or arm injury). It does have a design fault but the main draw back is it’s size. To be incuded in a pocket/rucksack sized survival kit is, to say the least, a bit of an overkill. This thing is heavy, and takes up a third of the Otterbox (RIP). I would prefer to replace it with the Scout sized firesteel that American Bushman also kindly supplied.

The other contents of the kit are a JetSream whistle and a signalling mirror. The JetScream is brilliant. Extremely loud and and high pitched enough to be heard over a howling wind. I must say that I haven’t tried it’s range, therefore I cannot give a particularly informed opinion. I can say that it certainly works when it’s muddy and wet (doesn’t taste so good though!) Again, the signaling mirror hasn’t been tested at all. The principle of a sighting hole is sound, but the proof will be in how long it lasts. I’ve had a BCB mirror hanging outside of my house for 15 years, and it’s only just getting tarnished. I would like to see something else on the NRA supplied mirror. The BCB mirror has a thermometer and a chart of wind-chill factors included.

In conclusion then: the fire making equipment is excellent if not a bit of an overkill and there might be more space saving and efficient alternatives. The container, although completely waterproof, turned out not robust enough to do the job. The whole thing for me just wasn’t portable or small enough. I must say though, if I had been carrying the kit in an emergency situation, barring all but the most extreme conditions, the kit, despite the comments above, would have saved my life. I’ll try to post a review of the PSK very soon.

I’d like to thank American Bushman for including me on this project. Bri, please send me the bill for the OtterBox. I mean it!

Thanks for the visit.

Pablo

Hot on the heels of the NRA survival kit review (last post) is a review of Bark River’s Personal Survival Knife (PSK). Apparently the challenge was to make a kni

Hot on the heels of the NRA survival kit review (last post) is a review of Bark River’s Personal Survival Knife (PSK). Apparently the challenge was to make a knife of appropriate size to place into the NRA Kit. Well, this knife succeeded in that and would definitely fit nicely in most survival kits with an overall length of 5.25 Inches. A few more technical details follows – Blade Length: 2.25; Blade Thickness: .093 Inch (2.36 mm); Blade Steel: 12C27. The handle is a blaze orange G10 with an orange kydex sheath although American Bushman reports that Bark River will now be doing a variety of handles. Prices range from $85 – $134.

Thanks to American Bushman, I received a first production run of the PSK at the end of last year and I’ve been trying it out in a number of circumstances. Now please bear with me because I’m not a knife expert but I do expect a knife to do certain jobs for me. Of course this is a survival kit knife therefore one should level the expectations accordingly. First thing to say is that I like the knife. It’s aesthetically pleasing despite the first eeughhh!! effect of the colour. You soon realise that it is a Personal Survival Knife and, as I found out when the NRA OtterBox exploded on forced impact with a tree and the contents spread over the wood, the PSK stood out in the mud like a beacon while I had trouble looking for the other items. This might be something to bear in mind if you are going to purchase this knife as intended – as a survival tool.

The G10 scales are not as slippery as I thought when wet and muddy and even with cold and numb fingers I was able to grip the knife enough to do some work. I’m not sure how it would suit someone with larger paws. I always found myself gripping the knife with three fingers with the thumb on top, which has advantages for accuracy i.e. carving, but not particularly for strength. For shaving wood, I was barely able to get enough power behind the knife because of the lack of handle length. I was still surprised that I did manage this at all which is a credit to the knife design.

The knife feels nice and solid despite its size and the ‘drop belly’ shape seems to be ideal for it’s size. The 2.36 mm blade thickness is also just right. To me it feels weighty and again despite its size it fills you full of confidence if that’s the right way to put it. I have a little complaint about where the edge meets the choil (pointed out in the pic below). This seems to be excessively sharp and not finished off properly. This causes discomfort on the lead index finger. To be fair, if you compare my photo with what looks like another production run, it appears they’ve smoothed this out, which would definitely be an improvement.

Obviously you can’t do a great deal of heavy work although I had a good try at batonning. The PSK stood up to everything I threw at it. The flat grind of the blade was ‘hair-popping’ sharp and I’ve managed to keep it that way over the months with a minimum of effort.

I wasn’t too sure about the kydex sheath. As you can see by the photo, the seam has come away and if I shake the sheath while the knife is housed upside down (as would probably be worn) the PSK falls out easily. I understand that kydex can be sealed easily with a hot hair dryer.

(Big pause here) … nope… can’t remember any power points in my woods. I do like the kydex sheath design though. You can clearly see that it’s designed to wrap line around it. Nice touch. Bear in mind that the PSK and sheath is designed to go in a survival kit, the minor flaw in the sheath could be acceptable. Far better for wearing as a neck knife is to house the PSK in the excellent leather sheath, but this could cost you extra. I’ve seen a number of people wear this little knife around the neck as an EDC. At the last BCUK meeting a seasoned Bushcrafter and knife connoisseur described the PSK as his “knife of the moment”. I’m now also in a dilemma. This knife is too good to be squirreled away in a survival kit but that’s where it should really go.

In conclusion I would say thumbs up for this knife both as a little EDC (I would look at different scales though) and a basic small survival kit knife. It won’t fell a tree or replace your larger knife but it would get you out of a sticky situation by prepping a bit of kindling, skinning something and making a bit of cordage. Back to that dilemma. Can I have another one please?

Pablo

fe of appropriate size to place into the NRA Kit. Well, this knife succeeded in that and would definitely fit nicely in most survival kits with an overall length of 5.25 Inches. A few more technical details follows – Blade Length: 2.25; Blade Thickness: .093 Inch (2.36 mm); Blade Steel: 12C27. The handle is a blaze orange G10 with an orange kydex sheath although American Bushman reports that Bark River will now be doing a variety of handles. Prices range from $85 – $134.

Thanks to American Bushman, I received a first production run of the PSK at the end of last year and I’ve been trying it out in a number of circumstances. Now please bear with me because I’m not a knife expert but I do expect a knife to do certain jobs for me. Of course this is a survival kit knife therefore one should level the expectations accordingly. First thing to say is that I like the knife. It’s aesthtically pleasing despite the first eeughhh!! effect of the colour. You soon realise that it is a Personal Survival Knife and, as I found out when the NRA OtterBox exploded on forced impact with a tree and the contents spread over the wood, the PSK stood out in the mud like a beacon while I had trouble looking for the other items. This might be something to bear in mind if you are going to purchase this knife as intended – as a survival tool.

The G10 scales are not as slippery as I thought when wet and muddy and even with cold and numb fingers I was able to grip the knife enough to do some work. I’m not sure how it would suit someone with larger paws. I always found myself gripping the knife with three fingers with the thumb on top, which has advantages for accuracy i.e. carving, but not particularly for strength. For shaving wood, I was barely able to get enough power behind the knife because of the lack of handle length. I was still surprised that I did manage this at all which is a credit to the knife design.

The knife feels nice and solid despite its size and the ‘drop belly’ shape seemes to be ideal for it’s size. The 2.36 mm blade thickness is also just right. To me it feels weighty and again despite its size it fills you full of confidence if that’s the right way to put it. I have a little complaint about where the edge meets the choil (pointed out in the pic below). This seems to be excessively sharp and not finished off properly. This causes discomfort on the lead index finger. To be fair, if you compare my photo with what looks like another production run, it appears they’ve smoothed this out, which would definately be an improvement.

Obviously you can’t do a great deal of heavy work although I had a good try at batonning. The PSK stood up to everything I threw at it. The flat grind of the blade was ‘hair-popping’ sharp and I’ve managed to keep it that way over the months with a minimum of effort.

I wasn’t too sure about the kydex sheath. As you can see by the photo, the seam has come away and if I shake the sheath while the knife is housed upside down (as would probably be worn) the PSK falls out easily. I understand that kydex can be sealed easily with a hot hair dryer. (Big pause here) … nope… can’t remember any power points in my woods. I do like the kydex sheath design though. You can clearly see that it’s designed to wrap line around it. Nice touch. Bear in mind that the PSK and sheath is designed to go in a survival kit, the minor flaw in the sheath could be acceptable. Far better for wearing as a neck knife is to house the PSK in the excellent leather sheath, but this could cost you extra. I’ve seen a number of people wear this little knife around the neck as an EDC. At the last BCUK meeting a seasoned Bushcrafter and knife connoisseur described the PSK as his “knife of the moment”. I’m now also in a dilemma. This knife is too good to be squirreled away in a survival kit but that’s where it should really go.

In conclusion I would say thumbs up for this knife both as a little EDC (I would look at different scales though) and a basic small survival kit knife. It won’t fell a tree or replace your larger knife but it would get you out of a sticky situation by prepping a bit of kindling, skinning something and making a bit of cordage. Back to that dilemna. Can I have another one please?

Pablo

Joy of Joys! A surplus and camping shop has opened up in my local town. At the moment it’s more surplus than camping, but nevertheless, guesses who was standing at the door as soon as it opened?

A veritable treasure trove of surplus military stuff; clothes, webbing, folding shovels, mess tins, jackets (mostly of the DPM camo style), camp beds, sleeping bags and all manner of wondrous things. Being pretty restrained (well, I thought so) I only spent £38 and I’ve promised not to return for a month. A box of US MRE (I thought I’d try one), a throw-over camo net (for wildlife watching), a folding shovel and an All Arms bergen went into the shopping basket.

I’ll chat about this last item, as my first impressions are that not only was this a bargain at £10 (although it’s pretty well used) but it seems ideal for Bushcraft use. It’s voluminous to say the least (some web research put it at 60 litres but I’m sure it can take more than that) and it has a few features that seem quite unique.

As you can see, the bag is sort of front/top loading like an urban rucksack. The double zip opens the bag from the top down (both left and right sides) to half of the height of the bag. This enables you to get to your kit more efficiently almost like a suit carrier. This is great because it lets you see almost down to the bottom of the bag instead of fumbling around in the dark from the top as with top loading bags. I suppose if you put small items at the top of the bag, there would be a danger of them falling out when you unzip the bag, but of course, you don’t have to unzip it completely and you perhaps wouldn’t have the bag tilted forward when you do this.

The straps and zips are robust and well sewn and there’s the normal padded hip and shoulder straps. An interesting addition is a flap (seen rolled up at the top) which unrolls and covers the straps. The flap is fastened at the sides and the bottom of the bag by Velcro. This and the inclusion of two top carrying handles converts the Bergen into a sort of holdall, and (according to some web military sources and somewhat amusingly) gives it the ‘Combat hand-bag’ name. I really can’t see any benefits to this and can only conclude that this feature was specifically designed in consideration of aircraft or vehicle loading to stop the straps snagging when baggage handling. Another name I’ve come across is the ‘Turtle pack’. I can see why this might be as well because when you put the pack on, the shape looks like a shell instead of the normal “tube” of a standard rucksack.

The material looks pretty tough, although I’m not sure exactly what it is – with a waterproof rubberised backing. There is a slot at the rear of the sack for a small aluminium frame, keeping the back rigid. There are pressure pads covering the lumber region, but these aren’t obtrusive like the lumber pads of the Sabre sacks. The empty sack including the frame weighs less than the Sabre 75.

There are no additional pouches or compartments except one other long and thin internal pocket to the rear of the sack (handily you can fit a SFA in there) but there are zips and fasteners on either side of the bag to attach PLCE pouches. This is also handy as my Sabre side pouches fit. I can see a problem though as the side pouches cover the length of the zips. A long bit of paracord fitted to the zips might be the solution. Two further straps are supplied at the bottom of the sack for hanging off a bed-roll or sleeping bag and there are a couple of compression straps at both sides and at the top to pull the whole thing together.

The whole thing appears robust enough (certainly for my use at any rate) but I wonder at prolonged and rough use. It appears that army personnel couldn’t get all their kit in, and there were reports that it wasn’t very good for long distance ‘tabbing’. It may be a culture issue as well. “All arm’s” generally refers to troops not generally in front-line roles and nobody wants to be seen with non-Gucci kit (well, no-one did in our day). The infantry version looking more like a standard rucksack is now issued to all Army personnel.

The proof is in the wearing and of course the personal opinion of the wearer. As soon as I put the bag on my shoulders both unloaded and loaded, I felt that this was probably the most comfortable bag I’ve worn. It might be to do with the broad back or just the Turtle pack shape, but this bag is comfy. I’ve obviously got to try it out on a walk and I would also have to watch how it was loaded (there would be a tendency to put a lot of weight in the bottom) but for now, it’s absolutely fine.

This might not replace the Sabre 75 as an expedition bag, but I can certainly see this bag used on a regular basis despite its oversize odd shape purely for ease of accessing the kit inside (let’s just chuck in a few random items quickly and head for the woods type of thing). I don’t even mind the DPM camo as it’s quite faded and not too obtrusive. For a tenner, I’m not complaining. Let’s see what it’s like long-term.

You can also get them here for £15-00.

Pablo.