Bushcraft and Camping Gear and Tools

As promised, I finally got around to doing a post on the gear list for the trip I did between 2/18/12 and 2/20/12. Remember that this is just my gear list, and will not be right for everyone, nor will it be right for all weather conditions. You can see the post about the trip here.

Let’s start out with the big three.

Number one in the above picture is my backpack. It is a CFP 90 knockoff that I bought many years ago. It is durable, but heavy and not all that comfortable. I have been waiting to replace it until I have finalized all of my gear, but ten years later, I am still waiting, so I’m not sure when that will happen. I have cut off the side pockets, as the volume was just to high.

Number two in the picture is my shelter, the Go Lite Shangri-La 5 flysheet. It is one of the best purchases I have made in a long time. It provides good protection, but the open floor allows similar versatility to a tarp. I can get in with my shoes on, don’t have to worry about condensation as it does not pool at the bottom of the shelter, and I can cook inside on rainy days. It has performed well for me in all sorts of conditions. You can see it in the snow here.

The third item is my sleeping bag. It is the cold weather bag from an Army surplus MSS. It is a synthetic bag and is rated to –10F, although I have been cold in it in +10F.

Item Number	Item Description	Weight
1	CFP 90 Replica Backpack	5 lb 2.6 oz
2	Go Lite Shangri-La Tent	2 lb 15.2 oz
3-A	MSS Black Sleeping Bag	4 lb 6.2 oz
3-B	Seat to Summit Stuff Sack for Bag	4.7 oz

The next items are all components of the sleeping system.

The fourth item is the Thermarest NeoAir All Season sleeping pad. For a long time I stuck to closed cell foam pads because of their durability, but this pad is well worth the extra care. The All Season version provides a R value of 4.9, which is sufficient insulation for most winter camping without the need for additional pads. It also doesn’t use any insulation other than air, which prevents loss of insulation due to moisture.

Item number five is a Kooka Bay Kookalight pillow. I know a lot of people use their clothing for pillows, but I prefer this one. It is very light weight and packs up small. 

The sixth item is just a large trash bag that I have opened up. It’s there not to protect the pad, but rather to make sure the sleeping bag does not touch the ground. The pad is fairly narrow, so the bag can end up hanging over. The trash bag is large enough to prevent that.

Item Number	Item Description	Weight
4-A	Thermarest NeoAir Four Season Pad	1 lb 5.6 oz
4-B	NeoAir Repair Kit	0.5 oz
5	Kooka Bay Kookalight Pillow	1.2 oz
6	Plastic Bag	1.8 oz

Here you can see the packed up Shangri-La 5, the sleeping bag in the stuff sack and the packed up NeoAir with the Kookalight pillow and trash packed up inside the stuff sack. The above weight of the NeoAir pad includes the weight of the stuff sack.

This pretty much covers my larger items. All my other gear is shown in the picture below.

Number seven is a stuff sack that contain my extra clothing. Inside I have an extra pair of socks, my hat, scarf and gloves.

Number eight is my rain jacket. I am wearing all of my other clothing at the time of the picture. I will discuss the weight of the clothing in a separate article.

Number nine is two Nalgene bottles with neoprene insulative sleeves. I switched to the Nalgene bottles because the wide mouth is better at preventing total freezing during winter.

Number ten is a three liter Platypus bladder. I use it when I need extra water around camp or if I will be going through an area where I know water will be limited.

Item Number	Item Description	Weight
9-A	Nalgene Bottle x 2	6.2 oz x 2
9-B	Neoprene Sleeve	2.0 oz x 2
10	Platypus Bladder (3L)	1.7 oz

Number eleven is the MSR Miniworks EX water filter. It is in an insulative cover to keep it from freezing after use. I also have a repair kit in the cover. This is one of the heavier items of my kit, and for years I have been looking for a lighter method that would still provide the same protection and filtering ability. I think I have found something that I will look into shortly.

Item number	Item Description	Weight
11-A	MSR Miniworks EX	1 lb 0.1 oz
11-B	Repair Kit	0.7 oz
11-C	Insulative Cover	3.5 oz
	Regular Cover (not used)	0.8 oz

Number twelve is a Kershaw folding saw.

Number thirteen is a older model Husqvarna hatchet. I find that unless I specifically plan on doing any serious woodwork, these two items are sufficient for the wood gathering and processing I tend to do, considering the rest of my gear.

Item Number	Item Description	Weight
12	Kershaw Folding Saw	6.2 oz
13	Husqvarna Hatchet	1 lb 11.6 oz

Number fourteen is the MSR Whisperlite International and the 22 oz fuel bottle. I have had this stove for many years and I love it. It is fairly heavy, but I have not found a lighter and better stove that will work during four season conditions. I brought more fuel than I needed because I like to have it in case of emergencies.

Item Number	Item Description	Weight
14-A	MSR Whisperlite International	9.7 oz
14-B	Stove Pump	2.3 oz
14-C	Fuel Bottle 22 oz	7.1 oz
14-D	Stuff Sack	0.8 oz
14-E	Windscreen	1.4 oz
14-F	Repair Kit	1.7 oz
14-G	Alcohol Bottle for Priming (full)	2.3 oz

Number fifteen is my first aid kit. The kit contains one Quik Cloth sponge, which is used when there is very serious bleeding. There is a surgical dressing, also for serious bleeding, although not as severe as that for which the Quik Cloth would be used. The middle bag contains a small tin full of pills, a small bottle of Neosporin, several gauze packages, band aids which already contain antibiotic ointment, and some Molefoam. 

Item Number	Item Description	Weight
15	First Aid Kit	6.0 oz

Number sixteen is my miscellaneous items bag.

Item Number	Item Description	Weight
16-A	Plastic Bag Containing: Toothbrush Bottle of Liquid Soap Toilet Paper	0.4 oz 1.2 oz 0.4 oz
16-B	Compass	0.9 oz
16-C	Mirror	0.6 oz
16-D	Ferro Rod	0.9 oz
16-E	Leatherman Juice	5.3 oz
16-F	Gauge	1.3 oz
16-G	Auger	0.7 oz
16-H	Head Band for Flashlight	0.9 oz
16-I	Extra Battery	0.4 oz
16-J	Fenix LD10 Flashlight	2.2 oz
16-K	DEET	0.8 oz
16-L	Rope	5.0 oz
16-M	Whistle	0.2 oz

Number seventeen is my Open Country 2qt aluminum pot. It has come to be one of my favorite items. Inside I keep a bandana and a small lighter.

Number eighteen is my plastic cup. It is a Trangia army issue cup. I have started using it instead of my metal cup because it is easier to handle in the cold. It holds about a cup and a half of liquid.

Number nineteen is my food bag. I have discussed it’s contents earlier. The only item worth mentioning is a long handle aluminum Sea to Summit spoon that I keep in there.

Item Number	Item Description	Weight
17-A	Open Country 2 Qt Pot	7.7 oz
17-B	BIC Lighter	0.4 oz
17-C	Bandana	1.0 oz
18	Trangia Plastic Cup	2.4 oz
19-A	Sea to Summit Spoon	0.4 oz

The only other gear I have with me is my pocket kit and my knife.

The pocket kit contains three Altoids Smalls tins. In one of them I have my repair items such as needles, string and duct tape. In the second tin I have some tinder (waxed jute) and waterproof matches, and in the third tin I have some water purification tablets (Chlorine Dioxide) and an assortment of pills. In the kit I also have a DC4 sharpening stone and a mini BIC lighter. The tins add a fair amount of weight, but they keep things well organized.

The knife is a Mora #2 in a leather sheath. I use the leather sheath not because I love leather, but because the regular plastic one simply would not keep the knife in place. 

Item	Weight
Pocket Kit	6.7 oz
Knife with Sheath	4.1 oz

The last thing to consider is the consumable items. They are comprised of food, water, and fuel. The food I have discussed in detail earlier. You can see the post here. For water, I am using two quarts, representing two full Nalgene bottles. The fuel is the amount carried in the 22 oz fuel bottle.

Item	Weight
Food for Three Days	3 lb 12 oz
Water (2 Qt)	4 lb
Fuel (White Gas)	12.6 oz

Taking all of the above into account, the base weight of my pack was 22 lb 14.4 oz. If I include the weight of my pocket kit and knife, the total weight would be 23 lb 9.2 oz. Together with the food, water and fuel, the total weight of my gear, not counting any clothing was 32 lb 1.8 oz.

There are a few obvious places where weight can be cut.

Shelter-I could certainly cut weight by using a tarp or a bivi instead of the Go Lite Shangri-La 5. However I’ve spent enough winter days and night in the woods to know that I greatly prefer the Shangri-La. The issue is not the nights. Once you are in the sleeping bag, a bivi or tarp does just fine. The problem is the time spent sitting in camp in the evenings. Being exposed to the wind during winter is not any fun. I find that this shelter provides good compromise between an enclosed space and the open feel of a tarp because of the open floor. I can do just about anything I can do under a tarp, but have the added wind protection. I find the extra weight worth it.

Backpack-This is an area where I could certainly cut weight. This is a pack I bought many years ago because it was cheap. Since then I have been waiting to finalize most of my gear (in particular the sleeping bag) before getting a new, lighter pack. Looks like I will have to wait a few more years.

Sleeping Bag-Just like with the backpack, I bought it because it was cheap. There are much lighter weight options available these day, but right now I don’t have the money for one. Other than the backpack, this is the last large item left to be replaced.

Stove-The MSR Whisperlite International is a fairly heavy stove. I have been looking for a lighter weight alternative, but have not been able to find anything significantly better. The problem is that I need a stove that can function down to about 0F. Canister mounted stoves, the ones that provide the most weight savings unfortunately don’t work well under about 20F. I can get a MSR Pocket Rocket that weighs 3 oz, but I don’t want to have to do any tricks to get it to work on a winter morning. Remote canister stoves will work down to about 0F, but the weight saving are not that great. For example, the MSR Windpro is a canister version of the white gas MSR Simmerlite. I could save a few ounces (mostly the weight of the bottle pump), but I don’t think it’s worth an extra $100 and the time to learn a new set up. After all, I’ve had this one for many years.

Filter-Pump operated water filters are heavy. There is no way around it. I have though about switching to chemical treatments, but they just take too long to work, especially during winter. I also still need a way to filter sediment from the water. Recently I found something which might be a lighter weight alternative. I will review it after a few field tests.

There are certainly other places where I could cut off a few ounces, but I think these are the big ones. Anyway, this is what I had with me on the trip.

No More Man vs. Wild

It appears that the Discovery Channel has terminated its contract with Bear Grylls, the star of Man vs. Wild.

According to the network, “Due to a continuing contractual dispute with Bear Grylls, Discovery has terminated all current productions with him."

Rumors are that Discovery wanted Bear to participate in several projects, but he refused. I am not sure what those projects were. It would be interesting to find out, considering that so far he has been okay with eating spiders and drinking his own urine on the show.

I can’t say I will lose too much sleep over this new development. The show was a fun bit of entertainment, but seriously lacked in educational value.

Old Hickory Paring Knife Review

The Old Hickory Paring Knife is another one of those knives that made the transition from the kitchen or butcher’s shop to the hands of the woodsmen. Here I want to take a closer look and see what it has to offer.

Specifications:
Knife Length: 7 5/8 inches (195 mm)
Blade Length: 4 1/8 inches (105 mm)
Blade Thickness: 1/32 inches (1 mm)
Blade Width: 3/4 inches (19 mm)
Blade Material: 1095 carbon steel
Blade Hardness: Unknown
Type of Tang: Partial
Blade Grind: Flat grind with a secondary bevel
Handle Material: Wood
Sheath Material: No sheath
Cost: $5.00

This is a very low cost knife. It comes in at half the cost of a basic Mora. It is currently produced by Ontario Knife Co. For that type of money it would be a bargain if it offered any kind of decent performance.

When compared to a Mora #1, the blades look very similar in size. In terms of width, they are about the same, and the Old hickory is just slightly longer. In terms of thickness however, the Old Hickory is thinner than the Mora, giving the blade a lot more flex. Of course the grinds are very different, the Mora having a scandinavian grind while the Old Hickory a flat grind with a secondary bevel. The handle of the Old Hickory is significantly smaller than that of the Mora, both in terms of length as well as thickness. The knife came dull, and had to be sharpened before testing.

Batoning the knife was interesting. It is a very thin blade, and it cut into the wood easily. However, because it was so thin, it didn’t separate the fibers much, so it had to be driven almost all the way through the wood.

The thin blade also showed a lot of flex when batoning. This is clearly not an activity at which the knife excels, even though no damage was caused to the blade.

Truncating with the knife was fine. The thin blade penetrated easily, and since it was across the grain, there was no warping or twisting of the blade.

The knife cuts well once sharpened, and can easily make feather sticks. The biggest problem is that it is hard to get good control of the blade because of the small handle.

The knife does not come with a sheath.

Overall, I was not particularly happy with the knife. I certainly like the price, but this knife is certainly much better in the kitchen than in the woods. I find the blade to be a little too flexible, although that is not too much of an issue if you just use the knife for slicing. The biggest problem for me is the handle. To begin with, it is very small. It is hard to get any grip on the knife, and it would certainly be uncomfortable to use for extended periods of time. Additionally, I am not sure how long the connection between the blade and handle will last. The tang goes in about half way into the handle. This usually wouldn’t be a problem, but since the handle is so thin, I don’t know how well it will handle the pressure. I didn’t have any issues with that during testing. I guess for $5 it is hard to complain, but I would certainly spend the extra $5 and get a Mora #1 or #2. 

Axe Head Patterns From the Past

There is no question that the available axe pattern choices these days are a shadow of what was available during the mid twentieth century.

Recently I was lucky enough to get my hands on an old American Axe & Tool Company catalog. I decided to go through the axe patterns listed in the catalog and put them here for you guys.

As you know, the American Axe & Tool Company was a collaboration of a number of axe manufacturers, who had hoped to reduce costs by combining resources. The axes reflected are a collection of the designs offered by the different manufacturers. They do not reflect all existing axe types at the time, as there were still independent manufacturers who had their own variations. This should however be a good overview of the available options.

These are the full size poll axes listed in the above catalog. I’ve placed them in alphabetical order.

Baltimore Jersey Pattern

 

Baltimore Kentucky Pattern

Boat Pattern

Booming Pattern

Boxing Turpentine Pattern

Connecticut Pattern

Dayton Pattern

Dayton Beveled Pattern

Delaware Pattern

Dock Pattern

Georgia Pattern

Hagan Jersey Pattern

Hoosier Pattern

Kentucky Pattern

Long Island Pattern

Maine Pattern

Michigan Pattern

New England Pattern

North Carolina Pattern

Ohio Heavy Poll Pattern

Ohio Pattern

Philadelphia Jersey Pattern

Rafting Pattern

Rockaway Pattern

Scoring Pattern

Southern Kentucky Beveled Pattern

Southern Kentucky Pattern

Turpentine Pattern

Virginia Pattern

Wedge Pattern

West Virginia Pattern

Western Crown Pattern

Wisconsin Pattern

Yankee Pattern

As I said before, there are bound to be other patterns and variations. As you can see, many of them are just minor variations of the same design.