Bushcraft vs. gear

[fort fireman]

This is just kind of a curiosity thing. I know this site is a gear intensive site and I like gear a lot. My question is how many of you practice bushcraft skills to compliment your gear. As an example about 90 % of my fires I start with a flint and steel with char cloth or tinder fungus. I figure if I can consistently make a fire with that if an emergency ever arises a ferro rod or lighter will be easy in a pinch. Or i always am gathering tinder to start fires to save my petroleum jelly cotton balls or fire tabs .
I guess what I am getting at is gear can and will fail. What do you guys do to give yourself options when it does crap out on you?

 

[1hoda]

I have a deal with my wife- I do my best not to wind up in the news because I wasn't prepared or did something stupid that put me at risk.

My Dad always pointed out places to shelter, now I fnd myself making mental notes on those type places as I walk past. I point them out to my kids too- I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

I carry 3 methods of starting a fire. My Vaseline cotton balls are a few years old because, like you, I gather tinder for each fire.

Im sure there ar a few other things I can't even think of now because they are so ingrained they are second nature.

When I was a Boy Scout I spent 20 miles and 2 nights alone with only a pound of ground beef in some aluminum foil. No matches, compass, ,map, sleeping bag, tent, nothing. That was a great way to learn but people would lose their minds over that now.

I'll try to think of some other things.

 

[CrzyTrekker]

Everyone in the woods should know bushcraft, primarily for backup purposes and occasionally for fun, but modern lightweight gear is the bomb.

 

[Darren Best]

Your clothing and shelter systems should be your primary means of staying/getting warm and dry. Put together properly you should be able to crawl into your sleeping bag soaking wet, hypothermic and be dry and warm in a few hours.

That being said, practicing and knowing how to get a fire going under any conditions can be a life saver if for some reason you don't have, lost or ruined your clothing system or sleeping bag.

I saw first hand the stark contrast of using the two different methods of warming a person back up and putting their puffy gear on and rolling them up into a sleeping bag is much more efficient and a sure thing. Where as a fire can be a iffy thing and the whole time you are trying to get it hot enough to warm someone back up, they are steadily getting colder.

Another thing to consider is the possibility you may not be able to get a fire going for a variety of reasons.

Case in point.

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2016/feb/27/surviving-a-bad-break/

 

[JDeanP]

Also, skill doesn't weigh much. Carry as much in as you can

 

[bogeyboy555]

Technology is a good thing. Your backup plan shouldn't be trying to recreate that Dual Survival show.... my back up plan, a second lighter. Hunting is hard enough as it is, use every piece of modern technology to make it easier on yourself.

 

[Bonedalien]

Also, skill doesn't weigh much. Carry as much in as you can

well said, what an excellent point!

 

[Bubblehide]

Also, skill doesn't weigh much. Carry as much in as you can

I prefer that to be accompanied by knowledge and ability.

 

[Bonedalien]

not sure how much skill you can have without knowledge and ability,so I think that was implied.

 

[SHTF]

Everyone in the woods should know bushcraft, primarily for backup purposes and occasionally for fun, but modern lightweight gear is the bomb.

This...

 

[Beendare]

I tend to spend my time "hunting" when on hunts constantly working on those skills. The "bushcraft" stuff..... I think of as firestarting, building shelters, eating off the land- that type of thing which I love but it is very time consuming. I do it but on backpacking trips where I don't spend so much time devoted to hunting.

Rolling in to camp a couple hrs after dark the last thing I want to do is rub a couple sticks together- pardon the pun....but I want to eat quickly and hit the hay so I can be up and out long before daylight the next day.

 

[Where's Bruce?]

I am working on development of these skills. I have all the high end UL gear but Murphy's Law can kick in at any time and if a bear ran off with my pack, destroyed it or someone stole it while I was on a stalk, those skills would quickly become the difference between life and death. People will letcha down. Think about how much money is in your pack during a multiday trek...it adds up to 1000s of dollars quickly. Now imagine you return to your spike camp or dropped pack and it's gone. Now what? People find themselves getting into places they cannot get out of all the time. What if your pack is at the top in a place you cannot climb out of? I read a story about a guy who climbed down into a beautiful waterfall and discovered the body of a guy who had a full pack of quality gear. It was a trap with no way out. The guy quickly realized that if a guy who was prepared for days in the backcountry could die here, what chance did he have? He set the woods on fire. It burned for a little while and went out. Spotters miles away reported it and the guy was rescued but he could easily have been victim #2. Anything can happen. How many of us would fare okay without our gear? That's woodsmanship. I know I have a very long way to go. I watch naked and afraid and think, Nuh uh.

 

[Felix40]

I always carry a few lighters. That way I have a backup plan and always one on my person. I have yet to run into a situation where I thought "Man I wish I had a flint and steel". As a couple others mentioned, I don't have time or energy to waste during my hunts. Most places I hunt it rains at least once a day and finding dry tinder to get a fire going with a flint and steel would be a constant struggle.