What is the least you have purposely went out in the woods with for more than one day? What is your bear minimum of gear? I have always lived by the motto that the more you know the less you have to carry. For me it has been just a folding knife and a firesteel which was for experimental survival purposes, putting myself to the test for a few days, building shelter, finding food etc. On a typical day hike or hunt, just a fixed blade, folder, fire steel, duct tapeand rope to drag the deer. I can usually find some kind of edible plant in the area. Let nature provide.
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The Bare Minimun
- Thread starter TheGent
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Sleeping bag and pad, bag of rice, cooking pot, water bottle, tooth brush, knife and matches. I've made do with much less, but it wasn't planned. If I'm planning on spending the night I also plan on sleeping. Can't see a whole lot of sense in going with less, but whatever winds your watch.
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Gent,
Growing up in England in the 60s
Scouts then ROTC took care of being outside with minimal gear
A blanket and cape/groundsheet, mess tins and hexamine stoves
Later hiking in the Eastern Seaboard in the Appalachians was also a poncho and blanket, with those same mess tins and a gasoline stove
Growing up in England in the 60s
Scouts then ROTC took care of being outside with minimal gear
A blanket and cape/groundsheet, mess tins and hexamine stoves
Later hiking in the Eastern Seaboard in the Appalachians was also a poncho and blanket, with those same mess tins and a gasoline stove
I started backpacking over 30 years ago, in the era of modern backpacking equipment. My first trip was a 5 day trip in the Grand Canyon. We carried external frame packs, sleeping bags and pads, backpacking stoves, a couple of water bottles and iodine tablets, and minimal extra clothes. We wore t-shirts and hiking shorts and probably carried one extra of each. We carried dehydrated food for dinners, oatmeal and swiss miss for breakfast, and small canned meats such as smoked oysters for lunch. We carried small plastic 2AA flashlights and I carried a small folding knife, probably a Gerber LST. I also carried my Nikon FE slr camera and a few extra rolls of film. (You don't build fires or build your own shelter in national parks.) Down in the Grand Canyon it is fairly warm so we didn't need shelter, just lay out your pad and sleeping bag. I did a similar trip in southeastern Utah around 10 years later and packed similarly. All of my other backpacking trips I have carried a backpacking tent, and when anyplace other than the desert we carried cold weather clothing.
On that first trip I went with my brother in law and his friend. After graduating from high school they took a 6 week backpacking trip in Colorado. They mailed boxes of backpacking food to various small towns on their route and when they got near they would go into the town, get their box of supplies, pig out on pizza or burgers, sleep in a motel, and the next day head back to the trail and continue. As I recall they started at Wolf Creek Pass, followed the Continental Divide trail, and ended near I-70.
I remember reading probably in Fletcher's book about people that tried backpacking prior to invention of backpacking-related gear. In one particular story the people did some asking around about packs and so forth. The "pack boards" as they called them were crude and heavy, and they didn't want to carry a lot of cooking gear. In those days the people weren't as accustomed to eating 3 meals a day as we are so these people said "what the heck" and went for a few day without elaborate food and cooking apparatus.
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I've done the whole knife/canteen/iodine/matches thing in forgiving weather many years ago, but when you are building shelter, gathering materials, making and maintaining fire...those things are not "minimal" in terms of time. You're not traveling as far or doing as much.
Making and breaking camp in a few minutes, and carrying as little weight as possible is my idea of minimizing the things you have to do, and maximizing time for what you WANT to do. Give me my gear every time. I've got a full-time job, a house and yard to keep up, responsibilities to family and church, and people I help out. When I'm outdoors, I want to hike over mountains, see waterfalls and wildlife, climb rocks and rappel cliffs, paddle a creek or river; I want to play and have fun, not work!
Making and breaking camp in a few minutes, and carrying as little weight as possible is my idea of minimizing the things you have to do, and maximizing time for what you WANT to do. Give me my gear every time. I've got a full-time job, a house and yard to keep up, responsibilities to family and church, and people I help out. When I'm outdoors, I want to hike over mountains, see waterfalls and wildlife, climb rocks and rappel cliffs, paddle a creek or river; I want to play and have fun, not work!
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Owen brings up some very valid points. It really depends on what you plan on doing. A decent shelter, water filter and even a compact stove can save you a lot of time. I don’t mine going minimalist or primitive for working on skills, but if I’m out to hike a trail for distance or get to a remote mountain stream or lake, time is essential and the longer I can hike the further I can go. With a simple hammock or tarp-shelter and stove, I can set up camp and have a meal ready in less than 15-20 minutes…there’s no way going primitive-minimalist is going to beat that. There are different requirements for different activities. I do agree having some minimal essentials is always prudent regardless of a day hike or scouting around an area where you already set up a base-camp.
For me, the most time-efficient items for minimalist carry and use include a Sil-nylon tarp, para-cord/suspension-guy lines, water container-preferably metal for boiling in a fire; of course a solid knife, firesteel and even a Bic. With appropriate clothing I may not be comfortable, but I could survive most situations in good condition and if I spend enough time, I can make a much more comfortable situation. I have also been packing the Sawyer Squeeze water filter; this is a great addition to a compact kit and really allows you to filter water on the go.
Not necessarily an essential, but I always include a good LED flashlight or headlamp. Most can serve as a signaling device as well.
I do like the saying, “the more you know, the less you carry”; however, it also means you’ll be going a lot slower and not as far. Whereas the same skill-set with well-planned, quality kit, the further and faster you’ll go and more the comfortable you’ll probably be.
ROCK6
For me, the most time-efficient items for minimalist carry and use include a Sil-nylon tarp, para-cord/suspension-guy lines, water container-preferably metal for boiling in a fire; of course a solid knife, firesteel and even a Bic. With appropriate clothing I may not be comfortable, but I could survive most situations in good condition and if I spend enough time, I can make a much more comfortable situation. I have also been packing the Sawyer Squeeze water filter; this is a great addition to a compact kit and really allows you to filter water on the go.
Not necessarily an essential, but I always include a good LED flashlight or headlamp. Most can serve as a signaling device as well.
I do like the saying, “the more you know, the less you carry”; however, it also means you’ll be going a lot slower and not as far. Whereas the same skill-set with well-planned, quality kit, the further and faster you’ll go and more the comfortable you’ll probably be.
ROCK6