Basha's

[Emdiesse]

I am probably going to go and buy a basha tommorow and I was just wondering what things I should look for to make sure its suitable.

Waterproof obviously is one thing, what are the others?
What price should you pay for a surplus basha?
How big should it be, packed and unpacked?

Thanks

[Topcat02]

Depends what you want, it can be as simple as a tarp with brass eyelets through to a fancy Aus tarp, and beyond.

As long as it is long enough to cover you, reasonably light, and has strong attachment points you should be good to go.

ex mil spec is fine, just check for rips, and wear and tear.

[Emdiesse]

OK. I am starting to build up a kit so I can go bushcrafting for the first time :D

[Topcat02]

Bushcrafting for the first time.

Don't go too far on your first venture, back gardens are fine, (perferably your own!) and you havent got far to go back if you forget something. Also great for practising setting up and dismantling your equipment.

[Emdiesse]

OK. Can I just ask, probably been asked loads of times, however. What do I need? What is a good begginers kit?

Been looking at this, but its aimed at budget rather than beginners, but budget still is a biiig factor for me :D

If I get something for each of these catagories should I be ok?
Rucksack - Size?
Knife
Axe
Food
Shelter - what types best for beggining?
Sleeping Equipment
Fire
Cooking
Water!
Food
Utensils
Medical
Light

Anything else?

Thanks

[hobbitboy]

Don't go too far on your first venture, back gardens are fine, (perferably your own!)
Waking up outside even if its in your town house garden feels so much better than inside!

Rucksack - Size? Depends on how logn you'll go away for how much you need to carry. With "budget" gear it tends to be bulkier than hi-spec stuff. This is especially true of sleeping bags. Personally I'm a fan of karrimor rucksacks, but everyone will have a preference. Try them on in the shop and get one that fits properly.
Knife - Frosts Clipper or Swedish Utility Knife
Axe - Do you need one??
Food - Well....each to their own, but hot beverage is essential (coffee in my case)
Shelter - Basha's/Hootchies are great and theres nothing like waking up with a breeze over your face :D . I use an Aussie army hootchie and cant fault it. Theres a million and one threads on hootchie setup. So just do a search
Sleeping Equipment - Extremely seasonal, but i'd recommend a thermarest inflatable matress or learn how to make a nice comfy bed out of tree boughs. Oooh, or make a hammock, mine only cost bout £9 in material.
Fire - Fire steel, cheap lighters for when it goes horribly wrong
Cooking - Swedish Trangia :)
Light - Head torch! Petzl Tikka+ are awesome but not cheap.

Check out bearclawbushcraft.com Lots of the stuff is on that site i thinks!

[Emdiesse]

Thanks for the list. I already have some stuff.

I already have an 80 litre karrimor rucksack i got from sports world because they were selling them cheap. Big enough for a trip of how long?#

Thanks

[Goose]

OK. Can I just ask, probably been asked loads of times, however. What do I need? What is a good begginers kit?

Been looking at this, but its aimed at budget rather than beginners, but budget still is a biiig factor for me :D

If I get something for each of these catagories should I be ok?
Rucksack - Size?
Knife
Axe
Food
Shelter - what types best for beggining?
Sleeping Equipment
Fire
Cooking
Water!
Food
Utensils
Medical
Light

Anything else?

Thanks
A good starting point is to see what you already have, and use that as a starting point, and it depends if you are car camping or carrying the kit for miles!
All the above catagories will be an argument/thread all by themselves :rolleyes:
Some of them are easy(in my opinion)
Knife, Mora
Axe, depends on budget, people do use cheap B&Q types,without a problem
Shelter and sleeping equipment, Basha, hammock and brit army sleeping bag seem good and fairly cheap
Fire, lighter, matches use what you find best to light a fire with, take a bowdrill or flint and steel to play with but don't rely on it!
Cooking, depends on budget and personal preference, swedish trangia is good allrounder
Water, pop bottles work!
Food, depends what you like to eat, chips are a problem,rice and pasta are easy
Utensils, spoons cope with most things, stainless steel balti dishes are cheap in asda and pack well
Medical, do a first aid course, all the gear and no idea is not good when it comes to first aid!
Light, decent head torch, personal preference is the zipka.
Rucksac, depends on what you already have knocking around and size is big enough to fit it all in!

I know everyone will have their own idea about all the subjects, but try it out on a day out before you go to far, even if it is stopping and cooking lunch and making a brew while walking the dog, you find out what works best for you.

[JimH]

Not loads to add in most categories, but:

A cheap folding pruning saw is about a fiver from B&Q... Being honest, I find this, with a knife and baton mean an axe is mostly dead-weight on a lot of trips, especially day trips (so why do I have 3? :lmao: )

Shelterwise, I don't think anyone has suggested a bivi-bag yet. I've only just got into the hammock thing, and it's great, but a goretex BB is totally proof against even horizontal weather. I carry one routinely on day trips in winter in the Peak District in any case - you never know...

HTH,

Jim.

[Emdiesse]

A good starting point is to see what you already have, and use that as a starting point, and it depends if you are car camping or carrying the kit for miles!


Well I have thought about it and used some replys and other threads to see this as potentia kit

Rucksack - I have loadsa rucksacks lying aroung from 20 litres to 80
Knife - Frost Mora (Heard good things)
Axe - Homebase ones should be ok for beginning
Shelter - Basha
Sleeping Equipment - Hammock, Good sleeping bag, fleece material for extra warmth on underside of hammock.
Fire - Lighter/Matches as last resort, practice bow drills, etc first :)
Cooking - Old pots and pans, etc. sure I can find loads of them
Water! - Bottles from drinks, plenty around!
Food- don't need to worry about now, base around where I am going, etc
Utensils - Steal Borrow some from fast food places
Medical - Done a first aid course before, got a med kit at home
Light - Got maglite, but headlight better

OK theres a list of possible things

As for a general guidline on rucksacks what size for what length trip?
20 minus -
30 -
40 -
50 -
60 -
80 -
100 -


I was thinking of bivvy bags, but I don't understand how they work? I have seen two different types that claim to be bivvy bags
One like a small 1 man tent
One like a cover for a sleeping bag

What one is a real bivvy bag?

[nooky]

the standard bivvy bag is like a waterproof cover for your sleeping bag, the one man tent one could be a hooped bivvy which is basically a bivvy bag which has hoops in it to keep it up off your body and is used on the ground ie would be difficult to use in a hammock. :)
Andrew.

[Goose]

The right size rucsac is the one that fits your kit in!
Going out for a night you still need a sleeping bag and shelter, these are what take the most space. Trial and error is the best, the ones with the smallest rucsac arent necessarily the warmest! I have a small 2 season bag that stays in my rucsac,ok for emergencies, and a huge thing that fills my boot, but that is the one I need in winter!

Hammock, Good sleeping bag, fleece material for extra warmth on underside of hammock
I would go for a self inflating mat(thermarest type)or a standard karrimat depending on budget, really makes a difference.

[Graham_S]

the size of rucksack you need is for various trips really depends on the season. in winter you have bulkier kit than in summer.
that said in the warmer months i can get away with a lowe alpine 50l pack for trips of up to a week (as long as i can re-supply with food).
if i'm going away for longer i use a 70l swedish army surplus pack.
the amount of gear i take does not really change. i carry roughly the same amount of kit for a 4 day long weekend as i do for a fortnight i just need more food/water/stove fuel
i carried all my kit for the bushmoot at merthyr mawr in a 50l pack. including food etc.
and while a maglite id good, a head torch is invaluable for rooting around in your pack at night.
i also take a length of nylon tape and a few cheap karabiners. i use these to suspend my pack off the ground (i have a thick bin liner with a hole for the tape inthe bottom so it covers the pack.) i loop the tape around one of the trees i'm hanging my hammock from and use the karabiners to suspend things like water bladders, food bags, i also clip my boots to the end of my hammock, it keeps the local fauna from setting up home.

[Ahjno]

Emdiesse,

I personally haven't got anything to add - some good advice above. I digged this one up for you: it's a kitlist of some members, so you have an idea / guidance what most of us take.
Note this is not a "must have" or "ultimate list" ;)

http://www.bushcraftuk.com/community/showthread.php?t=734&highlight=kitlist

[jay120970]

if its only summer your going you will need only the bare bacics

45 ltr sac sleeping bag foam mat water bottle knife folding saw billy can and hootch first aid kit small

hope this helps

[monkey_pork]

Oops, spanner in the works time ...

I tend to use my beloved billhook more than my axe - so that might be an option.
Other than the fact that it'll be fairly blunt when you get it, a reasonible bill' will be less than £15.00 from your local feeds and seeds place.

As JimH said up the page a bit - a folding saw is a definate addition to the list.

[Topcat02]

Library/bookshop,

Try and read up on various bushcrafting topics, here is a great resource, but you will probably not have access to a pc/laptop in the woods. Mors Kochanski - Bushcraft is a great book, and mine is falling to bits.

Read, practise, read practise, but most of all get out and enjoy it.

.... Although having said that I'll be spending this weekend in a hammock, not quite sure how much enjoyment that will bring!

[Adi]

First time bushcrafting.

I would say you don't need to much, to begin with it is important to have a comfortable warm nights sleep so good sleeping bag, a kip mat and a tarp for shelter. You don't need bivi bags nor hammocks, learn the basics to begin with, a tarp is a great bit of kit that can be used many ways and is real fun way to discover wild camping. And, you learn how to set up in a way that you stay dry even in the worst weather.

Rucksack, well you have an 80l one so you have plenty of room for anything from 1 night to months away living out of it.

Knife, you might find you can get by on a pen knife but a frost clipper is a great bit of kit and cheap.

Axe, get a folding saw you don't need an axe, it lighter, easier to use, safer, takes little practice to use correctly and leaves less damage.

Waterbottle, a 2 litre pop bottle will do but you cant go wrong with the issue 2 pint battles.

Fire, if you have permission to have a fire have one and use a old pan from home, if you cant have a fire hexi cooker or cheap gas cooker will do.

Light, any small torch will do, there is little need for a torch if you have a good camp routine.

Medical, FFD, plasters, medicine, absorbent pads to add pressure to cuts and soak up blood.

Start with cheap kit, make lots of mistakes, learn by them whilst enjoying yourself and you will soon realise you do not need all the best kit and you gain experience that will carry you through when others are struggling.

Most important is get out there and do it as much as you can.

[Emdiesse]

I keep hearing about hootchies. What are these?
How do they differ to bashas?

Thanks for the replies :D

[copper_head]

Heh yeah, A basha is a british army term for a hootchie or tarp, there essentially the same thing. Web-Tex do a good one for about £30. Used one on monday night to wild camp on the North york moors, dont forget your para cord tho!

[Emdiesse]

Heh yeah, A basha is a british army term for a hootchie or tarp, there essentially the same thing. Web-Tex do a good one for about £30. Used one on monday night to wild camp on the North york moors, dont forget your para cord tho!

Yeah I would have bought some of that anyway just because it seems kinda handy. What length do you need roughly?

[copper_head]

Well most paracord comes in 15m lenghts, that should be enough for any set up you fancy although utility rope is good for the ridge line as it will last longer for multiple camps. Rather than spending £30 on a basha tho, a good quality poncho will do the same job but costs less and you can wear it...

[Emdiesse]

Well most paracord comes in 15m lenghts, that should be enough for any set up you fancy although utility rope is good for the ridge line as it will last longer for multiple camps. Rather than spending £30 on a basha tho, a good quality poncho will do the same job but costs less and you can wear it...

OK. I guess you have to cut the rope up though? Then melt the ends to stop them fraying?

[Goose]

Works better if you melt through the rope, a hot blunt (butter) knife so it melts rather than cuts keeps it from fraying best.

[Emdiesse]

Sounds good.

I have another question. I have been looking at hammocks on websites but they are all net ones. I would like to find a material one (IE: polyester, ripstop nylon, etc) I am looking to spend max £30 if possible (hammock only).

Where can I find one?

[copper_head]

Yeah, although i think its probably easier to cut the rope/cord and then melt the ends with a lighter or matches etc. Saves carrying cutlery knives or getting melted plastic on your 'good' knife.

[Goose]

Sounds good.

I have another question. I have been looking at hammocks on websites but they are all net ones. I would like to find a material one (IE: polyester, ripstop nylon, etc) I am looking to spend max £30 if possible (hammock only).

Where can I find one?
DD hammocks have been rccomended in the past if you have a trawl through some posts the link is there, they sell on ebay but give a discount to BCUK members or there is always Magikellys group buys!

[copper_head]

Dont know if you will get a decent hammock of the sort your looking for at that price. Ive used a lightweight 'pocket' hammock for my bergen before now although never too sleep in. You could get a canvas one for that money but the weight would comprimise its usefullness i think. When i did my woodlore course the instructors used hammock/basha sleeping systems but i imagine they were the very expensive hennesy style ones... check out www.army.co.uk. Personally I think a goretex bivvy and sleeping mat beats hammocks hands down.

[Spikey DaPikey]

DD hammocks have been rccomended in the past if you have a trawl through some posts the link is there, they sell on ebay but give a discount to BCUK members or there is always Magikellys group buys!

DD hammock on ebay HERE (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NEW-DD-CAMPING-HAMMOCK-Survival-Bushcraft-Army_W0QQitemZ8769348254QQcate goryZ19296QQssPageNameZWDVWQQr dZ1QQcmdZViewItem)

£24.99 buy it now and £3.90 P&P

Also see his other auctions

(dont know the seller, im just an ebay junkie!) :o

[Emdiesse]

Been looking at the DD hammocks and they seem ace.

Also as for a basha I have found these on
surplus and adventure: http://www.surplusandadventure.com/mod_perl/search/shop-search.cgi?shop_id=800&start=0&search_string=basha&SUBMIT.x=0&SUBMIT.y=0&SUBMIT=SUBMIT
BASHA-DPM - 34.95
BASHA-DPM1 - 34.95
BASHA-DPMa - 24.95 - Guessing this on is just camo style?
Surplus and outdoors: http://www.surplusandoutdoors.com/includes/shopsearch.php?shop_id=877&start=0&search_string=basha&SUBMIT.x=0&SUBMIT.y=0&SUBMIT=SUBMIT
(http://www.surplusandoutdoors.com/includes/shopsearch.php?shop_id=877&start=0&search_string=basha&SUBMIT.x=0&SUBMIT.y=0&SUBMIT=SUBMIT)BASHA-DPM-HOOTCH - 34.95
BASHA-DPM - 21.99
BASHA-REINFORCED-DPM - 34.99
BASHA-CAMO - 21.99 - Guessing this on is just camo style?
As you can see, there are several products. Which one is the one that I should get?

Also, I have seen a basha in a local shop for 29.99, what should I look out for to make sure it is good quality (The shopkeeper has already said they are fully waterproof :D)?