Kit for a weekend bushcraft trip


Last weekend we ran our Wayfarer’s Weekend course, and instead of being based at our normal camp we based ourselves at a different woodland location on each night and carried all of our kit with us.  And so whilst I’ve long held off doing a ‘here’s my kit’ post, mostly because there’re so many out there already, I’m doing one now as some of the students have asked me to!  So here goes.

Bag

I use a Karrimor Jag S75; I bought it in 1986 when I was in the army and it’s been all over the world with me.  I’ve made a few repairs but it’s proven to be very robust over the years.  I prefer it over the Sabre as it’s longer and narrower and is a better fit for my body shape.

weekend bushcraft trip | Kent | south east | London

Shelter & sleeping

For this trip I took:

  • 2.8m Katmandu tarp
  • Vango sleeping bag
  • Thermarest inflatable mat
  • Mosquito net

weekend bushcraft trip | Kent | south east | London

This is how I had them set up.

weekend bushcraft trip | Kent | south east | London

Tools

I had my usual tools with me, a Mora knife, Gransors Bruks Small Hunters axe and my Bahco Laplander.

weekend bushcraft trip | Kent | south east | London

Fire

I took my usual fire lighting kit, consisting of:

  • Lighter
  • Fresnell lens
  • Fire steel
  • Cotton wool & vaseline
  • Wax covered cotton wool pad
  • Bio-ethanol block

Plus a lighter in my trousers pocket.

weekend bushcraft trip | Kent | south east | London

Water

It was exceptionally hot at the weekend and so staying hydrated was high priority.  I took a Water2Go water bottle with filter, a secondary water bottle and a Millbank bag.

I filtered with the Millbank bag and then poured that filtered water into the Water2Go, maybe overkill but it makes life easier for the Water2Go filter.

I also put the filtered water into my secondary water bottle but didn’t drink from it as it wasn’t purified; instead I poured it into the Water2Go and I also used water from the secondary bottle for boiling to make tea.

weekend bushcraft trip | Kent | south east | London

Cooking

Whilst we did most of our cooking over fires, I took my Robens wood gas stove so I could make a quick cuppa.

weekend bushcraft trip | Kent | south east | London

On top of that I took a small pot with lid/cup and a frying pan.

weekend bushcraft trip | Kent | south east | London

Personal admin

I like to maintain personal hygiene when I’m in the field and took a toothbrush, toothpaste and wet wipes. I  also took loo roll and hand sanitiser.  And of course my personal first aid kit.

weekend bushcraft trip | Kent | south east | London

Repair kit

  • Sewing kit
  • Gaffer tape
  • Tenacious tape
  • Super glue
  • Puncture repair kit
  • Tie wraps

bushcraft repair kit | Kent | south east | London

Sundry items

  • Bandana
  • Hand torch
  • Head torch
  • Spare batteries
  • Insect repellant
  • Note book and pencil
  • Leatherman
  • Extra fine wet and dry
  • Paracord

weekend bushcraft trip | Kent | south east | London

And at the top of my bag was my Rohan 3/4 length water proof coat, it folds up small and is a great piece of kit.

You can see plenty of photos from this course and all of our other courses on our Facebook page.


About Gary

Lead Instructor at Jack Raven Bushcraft, teaching bushcraft, wilderness and survival skills to groups and individuals.

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