I’ve been watching Dave Canterbury’s Pathfinder YouTube videos for a while. He covers a wide range of topics that I share an interest in, such as weaving and bodging, as well as the expected bushcraft and survival.
Based on his generous information, I have started to rationalise my kit bags. There are numerous bags about the place that hold bits of essential kit: the old green rucksack holds a lightweight camping kit; my blue shoulder bag has some road warrior stuff; the dairy shelf has clothing for use about the fields; and there’s a blue rucksack containing some forestry maintenance tools.
I haven’t ever been able to properly define the purpose of each of these bags, hence the kit leaks between them and I’m never quite prepared for anything. Here are my latest thoughts, based on Dave Canterbury’s ideas.
1) Forester’s kit
This bag contains what I need to carry while maintaining the plantations plus bodger’s tools and a bit of camping stuff in case I pause for an hour or overnight.
2) Lightweight camping kit
Containing everything needed to spend a few nights without facilities including emergency survival items.
3) Road warrior kit
Whatever I’d like to have when couch surfing or staying in conventional accommodation with electricity, shelter, water, Internet and other luxuries
I suppose stuff will still leak between these bags. For example, when I go to lead the Sustrans ride, next month, I’ll have a bed some places and camp in others plus I’ll need a comprehensive cycle toolkit and a minimal survival kit. Perhaps the answer is to modularise each kit into sub-kits and either duplicate these or allow them to move to where they’re needed (and track them carefully). The camping kit, in particular, needs to morph to suit cycling, walking or driving.
For the first of these, which I’ll probably use most, I have obtained some nice old canvas bags: a Telemark rucsac, a haversack and a foraging bag. Unfortunately, the Telemark doesn’t have the axe pockets as advertised so I need to create those before I can put it into use. The haversack is designed to hold essential kit to hand so that the big bag can stay on my back; this can go into immediate use, paired with my existing forester’s kit in the blue rucksack.