Category: Awareness, Information and News

UK Bushcraft & Wild Camping Blog / Vlog 2020 UPDATE!

~ Bushman All-OutDoors ~ 2 Comments

Hi all, This is just a very quick update on what’s been going on and also time for me to throw down my excuses as to why the online presense has been low …

uco bushcraft wild camping candle and hultafors axe
Great Bushcraft Candle Lantern with Hultafors Bruks Trekker Axe (Bushcraft Day Camp, Breakfast and Spoon Carving) Circa October 2018

So, Despite the Covid … thing, we have been super busy at work despite uncertainty in my line of work, but the Main factor for being away on youtube is a huge operating error with the ”good computer” this is the one I use for video editing and video / image storing etc. at the moment it is just inoperable so until it’s sorted there will probably be no videos online or if any, they will be short.

The 4×4 … As you know (if following the channel and previous posts on the blog) I am busy modifying a Suzuki Grand Vitara 4WD as an Overlanding 4×4 – this is taking up some of my time too mainly due to researching etc.
The Car hasn’t been on any trips yet other than the few days after purchase but I will most definitely be sure to video the first off roading or family trip for uploading and sharing with you all!

The Youtube Channel … Things took off very nicely maybe about a month or so after initiating the 250 subscriber give away (at time of writing, I am at 1,200+ Subcribers) – although the views and subscribers didn’t come around from the give away but mainly because of this one very lucky video upload (I took my Canvas French Army 2 man tent out for a first try during the week, for some reason it became very popular and at the time of writing it is somewhere above the 130,000 view mark).
As for the give away, only one winner actually followed the channel and claimed their prize ( Druthian Outdoors ) who was the first place winner and shall be recieving his package shortly.
I will try make the effort to contact the other two winners, but this is testament to the fact that subscriber pushes (the give away ones) only gain you one time subscribers and not actual followers who are interested in your content!

Morakniv Mora Heavy Duty Companion MG
My Original Bushcraft Knife – the Mora ”clipper” Heavy Duty Companion MG – Still taken out on some trips to this day

Losing Followers … Sadly the channel lost a hand full of subscribers, these would have been the ”bell notification” types – so real followers, this was in reponse to uploading a short video of myself doing an Engine Guard Installation on my 4×4.
I am truly sad to see these people go, even though I never knew them … but still, the main issue is that they either didn’t understand the purpose of my channel – or perhaps they are people who walk / hike or journey by other means through the countryside on Green Lanes and just don’t like the 4×4 / 4WD culture, for whatever reason.
My channel is ”Bushman AOD” the AOD stands for ”All-Out-Doors” so in essence, anything to do with the outdoors, not only Bushcraft and Wild Camping but also Hiking, Kayaking, Overseas Trips and yes, 4×4 Overlanding too as this will inevitably take me further into the countryside to discover new places!

Wild Camping with other Friends / Youtube Buddies … This is something I have been trying to organise for more than a year now! Long story short, I will be meeting up at some point with a YT friend but want to keep this quiet before we both upload the video/s – it all depends now on their own belief about this Covid thing and whether or not they are cool to camp with others, I do know the person in question will most likely be very busy once they are back at work!

Gear … I have attained quite a lot of new gear over the last year or so and most have been seen on some videos however some of it hasn’t really been featured or spoken about in any detail – I might make the effort to post about them here and briefly explain all of it. Things include Shelters, Rucksacks, Sleeping Gear and Clothing.

lixada wild camping bushcraft bush box stick stove
Lixada Stick / Twig Stove – great Wild Camping companion! Folding on hinges, weighs a fraction of the weight of the famous BushBox range and 4 times less cost!

Oversea Trips … I went to the Philippines in 2019, I did spend time in the mountains of Cebu and did some hiking / wild swimming, I even almost ran into a Rebel Group called the NPA (New Peoples Army) – don’t worry, we got out safe!
So loads of good footage of our travels is upcoming and perhaps also some photos and blog posts here too (once the computer is back online).

Interesting Upcoming Content ? … YES indeed! but when time allows, I have great plans mainly in the ”bushcraft” part of things with little and bigger projects planned, but things are quite hectic at the moment so .. literally only when time allows.
– One Very interesting event happened in the Philippines, I discovered a very unknown Fire Tinder and managed to create fire with it, whilst I am not claiming to be the only person in human history to have done so, I do think this is something very unknown and definitely not seen on any social media especially Youtube .. I will edit the video and upload once the time is right.

Wild Camping when everyone else wasn’t … did I camp in my garden? Did I ”wild camp” on a balcony? HELL NO! 😉

4×4 Again … As a reminder, the car will make me mobile, I can now reach places accross the UK and even farther, once the Bothies reopen (Hiking stop-over cottages in the UK), I will be travelling around and vising quite a few per year which will inevitably take me into Scotland – I got interested in Bothy culture through Funsized Earthling on youtube who spent a very interesting night in Cadderlie Bothy in Scotland near Glencoe.

I think that’s it, thanks for surviving this far, I do hope you take a look at the Youtube channel as I have spent many many hours editing videos for online viewing – it’s all free, if you don’t want to follow I am always grateful even just to see you in the comments just to say hi or even to give critical feedback!

Cheers
Bushman-AOD

WildCamp Session Fire Nostalgia (Session #5: Polish Lavvu 5th Wild Camp) & Stick Stove Fuel Experiment

~ Bushman All-OutDoors ~ Leave a comment

Here is the Fifth installment of my #WildCampFireNostalgia moments / memories! But this is a special edition, in that I experimented with a new fueling concept that I thought of in the hopes of making the #Lixada Stick Stove more efficient in burn time …

So I got bored with spending so much time fueling the stick stoves I own, I was thinking of the #SwedishFireLog or #SwedishLogTorch method and wanted to bring the same / similar concept to the stick stove.

Below: The fire from the evening and cooking my dinner (I forgot what else there was but meat was Polish Sausages).

polish sausages polish army palatka tent wild camping
Polish Sausages over the Lixada folding stick stove

The next day I got the cut branches together and went ahead with the experiment:

Above: Packing the stove with thick cut branches and ensuring there is a center cavity to drop your lit tinder in to ignite the main fuel

Fire Starting – lixada stick stove
Fuel taking – lixada bushcraft stove

Above: (Left): Center taken and spreading over the rest of the fuel in the Lixads Bushcraft stick stove then (Right) much of the fuel is ignited and efficiently burning.

Conclusion: Longer fuel processing time but this is mitigated by relaxing and just concentrating on cooking your food, boiling your hot drink water etc and overall enjoying the fire more … so this is the better option when time or resources allow!

Cheers, Bushman

The World Of Off-Road 4WD’ing – A New Venture

~ Bushman All-OutDoors ~ Leave a comment

I think I was around 15 or 16 in the late ’90s when for some reason I got the bug and wanted the family to get a 4×4, kit it out with family camping gear and other necessities and go on regular trips duing the holidays or weekends.
Having grown up in Southern Africa, 4×4’s are a common sight even on city roads, I think it was a marketing exhibition one day in the atrium of a large shopping mall where various 4×4 manufacturers were exhibiting their cars, where I got the bug.

Nevertheless, more than 10 years later after moving overseas, my first car was a 4×4, or so I thought … The Honda CRV is technically four wheel drive but the process is all automatic, you cannot select 4WD as the computer senses the loss of tracTion in the wheels before it then engages 4WD. So, not what I really had in mind but that’s a story that ended years ago.

I got the bug again recently, we were driving behind an ’18 perhaps ’19 Suzuki Jimney and my wife thought it looked nice (although her perspective is more on looks and perhaps some slight 4WD capability, driving over camping feilds etc. but not for full 4WD with all the gear and jazz).

Suzuki Grand Vitara Rugged 4×4 Off Roader 4WD with Modifications, Lift, Off Road Tyres etc
Suzuki Grand Vitara – 3 Door $x4

Above, we both have slightly different ideas on what we want …

Long story short, I made the effort online in Classified sections, marketplaces such as Auto Trader and am now a proud owner of a Stock Suzuki Grand Vitara 4×4!

Stock meaning, factory specifications with regular tyres which don’t perform as well off the road as one would like, low suspension etc.
So we can all look forward to some future Off Roading Adventures and Green Laning trips across the UK in the coming months and years as well as updates on the various modifications I will undertake to make the car more capable.

suzuki grand vitara 1999 - 04
Stock Suzuki Grand Vitara 2.0 Petrol

Oh, for the Greta Thunbergs out there, I bought a lower emission Petrol version and not Diesel … so take that!

With this car which is not a commuter, myself and family after being car-less for more than a decade will be able to go out and explore the wilderness, go on camping trips and spend our time in nature away from Wifi and ”devices”, hopefully this will give my kids a better life growing up and make them appreciate the natural world more.

Keep an eye out!

Cheers, Bushman

 

 

Off Grid Festival 2019 – Devon

~ Bushman All-OutDoors ~ Leave a comment

I attended this festival in 2018, it is an extremely fun, family-freindly event, great for kids and mainly getting away from the city / towns to re-set your body clock! There are so many free workshops, kids events and entertainment that once you have bought your ticket is it purely up to you to spend money at the market and on food if you need to …

We had a great time and I highly recommend this event, it is relatively new and speaking with some of the volunteers last year, they usually don’t make enough money on ticket sales to cover the land rental, but, because it is a positive change movement they are keeping on with it until it can be self supportive … Hats off!

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The new location (from 2018) has STUNNING views of Appledore / Instow and the estuary with the sand dunes and beaces – the event is in Tapeley park, Instow Devon.

Another World Is Possible …

Site: https://offgrid-festival.co.uk/

Tickets: https://offgrid-festival.co.uk/buy-tickets/

Kids Adventure Show Challenge – Help Needed!

~ Bushman All-OutDoors ~ Leave a comment

I recently nominated the father and son team from The Axel Show on youtube to join in the ” Show Us Your Steak ” challenge which is to help raise awareness for Mens Mental Health. For this challenge, Patrick and Axel have to go outside whether it be in their back garden or in a forrest / woodland or park somewhere and cook up some steak (meat or veggie) and have a small discussion about Mens Mental Health – make a video of it and post it online, then nominate their own nominees …

Patrick and Axel from the axel show
Patrick (L) and Axel (R) from The Axel Show on Youtube

Where I need help is to put pressure on Patrick to accept the challenge, I do not run other social media such as Instagram and Facebook and so, I am only able to inform them via youtube comments about the challenge … YET, Recently youtbe has started closing comment sections on channels / videos featuring children, I have managed to post one comment on their latest channel ”The Adventurers” which they seem to have seen, we just need you to comment, thumbs up and show your support for them to accept. If you cannot find my comment on their channel, please just tell them you support them in accepting the Show Us Your Steak challenge for Mens Mental Health.

The main reason why is because I know Patrick would have some very good things to add as well as a great message regarding this awareness campaign.

I would be most grateful for you to help out in this regard, the guy is extremely busy managing so many channels, he just needs some extra reminders 🙂

If you are unaware of this challenge, below is my video on it – you can find quite a few (possibly more than 100) on yotube already.
Many Thanks!

Spring Wild Food Foraging. It’s EARLY This Year!

~ Bushman All-OutDoors ~ Leave a comment

Hi everyone, I hope you all are having a great weekend so far! This is a quick post just as a reminder for anyone interested in Wild Food Foraging, that due to the mild winter we have had, Spring edibles are popping out a little bit earlier than usual!

I managed to harvest ‘Auricularia auricula judae’ Fungus (Jews Ear / Wood Ear) all the way through February! Nettles up until December and already we have Hawthorn ‘Crataegus monogyna’ leaves shooting from bud and in some cases are already able to be harvested!

Hawthorn leaves are known as ”Tree Salad” and are not the only ones considered as such …

As an avid outdoorsman, I spend most of my free time outdoors so if you havent seen it yet, Head Out with your dump pouches because there is food available Now!

Below you can find a few pic’s on leaf identification, Hawthorn leaves remind me of Gooseberry leaves when they are young and still forming from bud.

As always, remember that if you cannot positively identify it, then Dont Try It!

young hawthorn leaves fresh from bud
Young Fresh Edible Hawthorn Leaves
Hawthorn Leaves edible
The Edible Leaves of the Hawthorn Tree

#ShowUsYourSteak Challenge – Outdoors / Bushcraft Mens Mental Health

~ Bushman All-OutDoors ~ Leave a comment

Hi all of you lovely people! I finally uploaded the second Show Us Your Steak challenge video just on Friday. Here is the video below, I have nominated Patrick from ”the Axel Show” channel on youtube, Patrick is Axel’s dad and I know that he will add a very good message to the online community regarding the Mens Mental Health Awareness Campaign.

The originator of the challenge is Haze Outdoors and here is the original video of his.

Here is my first Show Us Your Steak Video, I made a second one because none of my tags (I tagged three people) have accepted the challenge yet and that was over three months ago!

I’m hoping that tagging Patrick and Axel will also help bring the awareness into other areas of Youtube and social media because ”The Axel Show” channel is all about a father and son enjoying playing together and especially in the wilderness / outdoors. this may help being it out of the bushcraft / wild camping box and into more areas.

If you have a youtube channel or other social media, please head over to The Axel Show and let them know that you wish for them to accept the challenge, you can also head over to thumbs up my comment where I am informing them about the nomination, please comment there as well!

Thanks a lot! I am knackered and need to hit the sack, it’s 1am and I have promised my boy an early morning adventure plus I might wildcamp tomorrow night ….

PS: My comments section is open! you don’t need a wordpress account to chat with us here, please comment! 🙂

Regards
BushmanAOD

 

 

Beware Fake Titanium Camp Cooking Products!

~ Bushman All-OutDoors ~ Leave a comment

This is just a quick one to give everybody a heads-up about fake products targeting the Camping / Bushcraft market …

I noticed how there are about 3 different companies online in marketplaces such as ebay selling titanium cups, spoons and sporks as well as cooking pots / billy cans, at a very low price. The first advert that caught my eye was a three piece Tomshoo Branded bundle that was a 700+ ml cooking pot, a 420ml drinking cup and a folding spork – this was going for £23!
Luckily for me, all of these were sold out when I had the extra money to buy some more gear, so I opted for the Tomshoo 420 ml cup (as I was getting tired of lugging around a normal coffe type mug) and to save money, I found the Lixada 750ml Cook Pot / Billy can (which as side-folding handles to use like a mug and also a hanging handle for over fire cooking – and a lid).

Long story short, I put some water in the 420ml to boil for my coffee, minutes later there was a horrible chemical smell and I saw the bottom surface of the cup looked like something was melting off of it. Titanium is actually quite expensive to produce and so, £12 for a seemingly well crafted camping cup is very little and I don’t believe you could actually make any margin on that …. They spray painted the cup to the same colour as titanium!!

Tomshoo Fake Titanium Camping Cookware
Fake Titanium – Spray Painted To Look Real (Tomshoo Brand)

I happen to own a very expensive titanium cooking set which took me three years to pay off via installment, the cost of one pot alone is quite staggering and I have also been educated on the uses and advantages of titanium products over iron, stainless, non-stick and aluminium.

Titanium happens to be the only metal allowed inside the body due to non-contamination – it is used in bone repair (screws), implants (dentistry) and even pacemakers. It is the only metal that we can cook on that will not give off heavy metal contamination – purchasing my cookware was purely a health-conscious decision.

 

Bottom View – Tomshoo Fake Titanium Camp Cookware
See the Melted Blob of Pain on my Pathfinder Can Stove / Stand

I own two products from Tomshoo and two products from Lixada (both Chinese brands online targeting the outdoors / camping arena). So far I am happy with the Lixada products and consider them actually very suitable and high quality for the price that I paid. In regards to Tomshoo, the 420ml mug was a big dissapointment and the Wind breaker is quite flimsy, but seems to be doing the job so far. Lixada seems to have a titanium range that looks very similar to the Tomshoo, they are similarily priced and I have a feeling that it may be the same result as the Tomshoo so ….

It you don’t have the budget yet for Titanium Camping gear then just buy the Stainless Steel Lixada equipment and maybe a Zebra Billy can until you can fork out the higher amounts for the Titanium stuff!

I bought the 10cm wide, 750ml capacity Lixada Stainless Billy can / pot as my main drinking mug and I deliberately went for the 12cm Zebra Billy can so that my Lixada can fit into it when packing away as my Lixada folds down to 11cm wide due to the hanging handle. Both together with delivery costs came to around £25+-.