Bushcraft kit - why so much?

[ubermeister]

At which point does having an interest in bushcraft turn you into a complete kit junkie, or do we secretly only get into it for the kit?
I've just cleared out the car of my bushcraft kit, and it took my five trips. Whatever happened to know more, carry less?
I want to pare my kit down and take it in a different, less ex-military, direction. I want it to be more natural and simple, and I want to make/adapt a lot more of it myself. Wooden plate, bowl and spoon, and a hobo stove, that sort of thing. That just feels more, well, right. And if it doesn't all fit in the old leather and canvas Swedish army rucksack Diamond Dave gave me recently, then I'm carrying too much kit.
What says you lot, how much kit do you carry?

Ant

[Edd-UK]

Im a kit junkie by nature anyway

So to make sure i dont carry to much when out and about i limit my pack size, no bigger than 35L generally 25L

[narsil]

I think that a good test for bushcraft kit is - could you make it yourself given enough time.....

[Noddy]

know more, carry less ... but make sure you have a lot to choose from

[fluffy]

I think that a good test for bushcraft kit is - could you make it yourself given enough time.....

I'm sufficiently ham handed that all I'd be excused carrying would be a mess.

Can you do what you want and might need with the kit you carry?
Then you don't need more
Then again for kit fetishists you get to take more as a comforter.
You do the trip for the sake of the kit and not the other way round.

[Bikething]

why so much?

why not?

[narsil]

I'm sufficiently ham handed that all I'd be excused carrying would be a mess.

Can you do what you want and might need with the kit you carry?
Then you don't need more
Then again for kit fetishists you get to take more as a comforter.
You do the trip for the sake of the kit and not the other way round.

To be fair thats probably a slightly purist view. Perhaps a better way to put it would be to say 'could it survive, say, a six month trip in the wilderness with only what repairs and maintenance you could administer ?'

For me the true spirit of bushcraft is sustainability. Obviously there are sensible limits, It would be stupid to insist that you smelt the steel for your knife yourself, but a knife is a lifetime investment so it seems reasonable that you buy it from a craftsman.

But I would say that using things like titanium and gore-tex which have been through however many industrial processes and can't be made any other way needs careful consideration.

[GILL]

my trips are totally and uterlly confusing now seriously !. my shed , a large walk in cupboard, and most of my fitted bedroom wardrobes, car etc ,etc.is full of kit ! i have been saying for ages i am going to go through it and sell of most of the gear i,m not using/needing,but it never happens.i think i have definately got an O C D .i have crossed an uncomfortable stage from talking ,looking, buying kit that i do this WAY more than the purpose i bought it for .THIS HAS GOT TO CHANGE SOON.

[robbi]

Gill, at least you understand your problem, now you only require theiropy, so............give it all to me !!

[narsil]

Then there's the 'Lord of the Rings' Test. Try to insert you item of kit into any Tolkien book, under any honest description...if it doesn;t fit it's not 'bushcraft'

[GILL]

what is it then ? its all meant to fit in a bergan , hardly fits my extended hoose ! somehings no richt

[mojofilter]

my trips are totally and uterlly confusing now seriously !. my shed , a large walk in cupboard, and most of my fitted bedroom wardrobes, car etc ,etc.is full of kit ! i have been saying for ages i am going to go through it and sell of most of the gear i,m not using/needing,but it never happens.i think i have definately got an O C D .i have crossed an uncomfortable stage from talking ,looking, buying kit that i do this WAY more than the purpose i bought it for .THIS HAS GOT TO CHANGE SOON.

Snap!

The simple answer is....

Get a bigger boat!

[ubermeister]

Update:
I've just re-packed my weekend bushcraft kit into the Sweedish army bag, and it's all gone in no problem. I just weighed it too, and it weighs 16lbs. It has tarp, hammock, sleeping bag, hobo stove, '58 pattern bottle (full) with a crusader cooker, knife and a pocket survival kit. To say I'm pleased is an understatement.
I reckon with that kit, and my knowledge, I could wander off into the woods for a couple of weeks without too much dis-comfort. If needs be, I could dump quite a bit of kit out of it too and still survive.

Ant

[Shocks]

That sounds great but I like kit. I cant help myself. The true benefit to a purist is the lack of expense. I get so little time in the woods its quality time for me, I may not have others skills but I will compensate with kit...

[Chris the Cat]

My overnight kit bag is smaller than my weekend kit bag which is smaller than my experdition kit bag!

Works for me,but it would appear that i am bit of a kit head!
Mind you,it keeps me off the streets and there are worse hobbies!

All the best.
C da C.