AllOutDoors includes Bushcraft and Wild Camping with some hiking, tree climbing, exploring, kayaking, green woodworking etc etc .. mainly getting away from a misguided society
YES! Today I walked into my living room to find the Radzikone.pl delivery arrived from Poland (And much quicker than expected!).
I ordered three items for the GV with the main purchase being the Under Engine Armour ”Bash Plate” or ”Sump Guard” as it can be known (Radzikone refer to it as Engine and Trnasfer case guard) – these items are highly recommended when modding a 4×4 for more serious Off Roading.
Radzikone.pl Suzuki Grand Vitara 4×4 Parts Unboxing
The other two items were: Rear Towing / Recovery Hitches or ”Towing Eyes” as labelled and a Spare Wheel Spacer – I upgraded my tires from the stock 235/60/r16 to 205/80/r16 which is a much taller tire – the standard Suzuki spare wheeel mount is quite tight so I decided to get the spacer.
The towing hithces are for extra strength towing or recovery points as the GV comes with very basic standard road capable towing hitches which aren’t designed to be used out on the tracks.
Full Unboxing – Radzikone Engine / Transfer Box Bash Plate / Guard, Rear Towing / Recovery Hitches (to help recover Landrovers!) and a Spare Wheel Spacer with some freebies
Overall my order with them went very smooth, delivery was a good few days faster than expected, items were packaged VERY Well! and the nice little key ring / tag with quality Radzikone sticker was a very nice touch.
The products themselves are made from high quality materials, laser cut very well and the design is good – I can definitely see myself using them for as many future modifications or spare parts replacement as I will need – especially due to them being a Suzuki Specialist.
Radzikone Rear recovery tow hitch long towing eye suzuki grand vitara
Radzikone Spare Wheel Spacer Suzuki Grand Vitara modification
Above L to R: (L):Rear Towing Hitch / Recovery Points – these will be installed between where the towbar is attached to the chassis and the chassis itself (R): SpareWheel Spacer – attaches to current spare wheel mount
Why not stay up to date and get connected! This 4WD upgrade will constantly be documented via video and image and posted here as well as youtube. Comments are open to guests as well so please let me know your thoughts!
Eyup! Here is the full installment of my Peak District (United Kingdom) wild camp session I had a few days before the UK Corona lockdown was announced – what a beautiful place! If I had the time I would have definitely stayed another night at least and, if I am somehow able to convince my wife, I would seriously want to go on a week long trip there and camp everynight at a new location!
In this video I set up the French Army surplus F1 Canvas 2man tent, as the rain was quite persistant I decided to whack on the British Army BASHA shelter as a rain fly – we had driving winds all night, quite moist and reasonably cold (although this was very mild for the midlands area at that time of year …
Wind, Rain, Views of Howden Resevoir, Mountain Rescue Chopper almost buzzed me, some rivers etc etc…. Good food, good drink.
Here’s a Quick Overview of my newly delivered Insa Turbo Ranger A/T (All Terrain) Off Roading Tyres for the 4×4.
I found that online when searching and attempting to decide on a particular brand or tread pattern for tyres, there were no real detailed images of the tread in order to attempt to gauge the depth and decide for yourself – so here I have added the best detailed pictures I have been able to take up close for those who may be considering these tyres made by the Spanish Re-tread company Insa Turbo.
NOTE: All Images Can Be Clicked For The Expanded View
Insa Turbo Ranger All Terrain – Max Tread Depth is 16mm / 05⁄8in
TREAD DEPTH ANALYSIS:
Depth At Edge / Curve of Tyre:16 mm – 0.5/8 in
Depth Between Center and Edge / Curve:14/15mm – 0.37/64 in
Depth in Centre of Tyre:13mm – 0.33/64 in
OTHER DETAILS / FEATURES:
Marking on Side Wall: Text (M+S) indicated in a mountain-top looking symbol which has a frost / snow flake possibly representing; Mountain (Off Roading) & Snow?
Tubeless Tyres
Insa Turbo Ranger All Terrain 4×4 Off Road Full Tyre 205/80/16 – 29”
Click on Image’s above for detailed / Zoom view !
Insa Turbo Ranger A/T Tread Detail View / Zoom
Insa Turbo are a Spanish Re-tread company and online I have found plenty of comments where long-term users are sharing testimonies that their tyres have not had a change for 100,000 Km’s! Their products are marketed as Green / Eco Friendly Tyres. Note: I am not affiliated with the brand, this post is merely to give other 4×4 enthusiats a better in depth look at the tread pattern and shape etc.
Side Wall Tread Depth Detail at Curve / Edge INSA TURBO RANGER A/T – Some Decent Chunks!Side Detail INSA TURBO RANGER A/T Side Wall and Tread Chunks
Here’s the flick of my second ever #Wildcamp session’s camp fire,not long after the first one (perhaps 2-3 weeks later – late 2018)? …
Again I camped in the Polish Lavvu or Palatka (A Cold war era, Polish military canvas tipi tent – made in the late 1970’s and bought from Army Surplus stock!)
As this was at the time my only shelter system available for wild camping.
In this Video, I give an update of all of my wildcamping session history from day one up until early December 2019, including new information about new gear and shelters bought and used since …
Cheers!
Bushcraft Fuscilli Soup Dinner in the Pathfinder Canteen on the Lixada Folding stick stove
I had this relatively enjoyable mid-week wild camping session near the end of summer (2019), the location is inside a Wetland / Marshland right next to an arterial highway leading into / out of London United Kingdom.
My shelter of choice was my newly purchased Ex French Army, F1 Cotton canvas 2 man tent, the sleep system was the British Army Arctic sleeping bag, together with the Highlander Base-S self inflating mattress and my usual cheap-o 5mm reflective lined roll mat.
Video of the whole camp session:
Food was some home-made Mushroom soup (if memory serves correct, it was made from Shiitake, Button and Oyster mushrooms) together with a chunk of buttered Tiger Bread (it’s a British thing, and quite nice!) – washed down with my light coffe concoction.
Entertainment was a newly purchased ”Outdoor Survival” book by Ray Mears (I do recommend this if you are interested in Bushcraft or Survival.)
I woke up to a completely clear sky and got some good shots of the sky above with the twinkling stars too ….Stars above my Marshland Wild Camp sessionWild Camping Session inside a UK Wetland / Marsh – French Army Tent
I’ve been pondering alternative ways to setup my Military Surplus Polish Army ”Palatka” Poncho Tent for many months now spanning almost a year.
A couple weeks back I had an idea whilst about to fall asleep during a hammock camp session where I used on poncho as a tarp cover over my hammock.
This makes a great Low-Profile Stealth setup for anyone interested in Urban or Semi-Urban wild camping!
polish army surplus poncho lavvu shelter single stealth setup
Viewed from around 5-6 meters away (Above)
polish army surplus poncho lavvu shelter side view
I attached the shelter to the Ridgeline (the rope tied from both trees for the upper structure strength) using Prusik knots made with paracord (seen in Below photo)
Side profile is very stealthy of Polish Army Surplus poncho stealth shelter
For the Walk-Around of the whole setup and inside views, please refer to the below video:
Thanks for viewing, please feel free to share so as long as credit is given to this blog for my efforts.
Hi everyone, I had probably my 2nd best Wild Camp session to date, a week or so ago, this time I used my Camping Hammock and pitched my 4.5 meter x 3 meter DD Tarp for top cover (shelter).
The weather report said to expect a low of 1 Degree Celcius and a ”feels like” temperature of -2 Degrees Celcius, but I woke to frost all around including under my Tarp so it went Sub Zero … never the less, it was a wondeful night in a new location which you will see more of in upcoming wild camp and daycamp trips.
I also experiment with a home made / make shift underquilt idea I came up with when looking at prices for new products online – to be blunt, I don’t have the money to buy an Underquilt for my Hammock at this point – the underquilt worked well together with a hot water bottle but if you have a better sleeping bag than mine (3 or more season) then you will probably have better results following thr same method …
In this post I am only sharing the video, but I will endure to write another post in the coming days / weeks with photo’s from the event too and a little bit of story from what went on there.
After obtaining my new Hammock, I was obviously desperate to get out as soon as possible, I love Wild Camping and Hammocking as another option should be on the cards at some point.
Hammock Cold Weather Wild Camp Setup with Tarp Shelter
I went out the following weekend to practice setting up, get an idea of quality / strength and have a swing too. After that I was so desperate to have an overnighter that I took a gamble and went out on a weeknight with the intention of just setting my alarm/s very early so as to be able to pack up, head home and catch a brew before work.
The evening prep started out badly, I had previously bought a large 10m long ridgeline rope from DD Tarps together with my 4.5 x 3m DD (which is not the one used in this trip), I intedned on using this ridgeline rope for this nights setup but just couldn’t find it anywhere, so I had to improvise with bungee cords and all the loose ends of paracord which I had as spare for guy lines. Searhing around for all this took a good 30 minutes out of my daylight hours and I ended up on site quite late…
My First ”Bushcraft” Rucksack – Dutch / British Army style DPM
I brought along 3 craft beers for this short trip, Pistonhead Amber Lager (Brutal Brewing – Sweden), Brooklyn Lager (Brooklyn Brewery – USA) and Northern Star Mocha Porter (Northern Monk – UK) – all were good, I love Porters now so the Mocha Porter did stand out because of that, otherwise the Piston Head is always a winner for me Especially their ”Flat Tyre” Lager, < get this if you can! The Brooklyn Lager was surprisingly smooth and enjoyable too.
We had clear skies all night besides some cloud so I did manage to keep an eye on the stars, I had some sky view when I propped up one side of the Cheap-o tarp – I wish I could tell you what was for dinner, it escapes me for some reason (This happened a few weeks back and I have had a few other trips / excursions since).
Anyway, short story long … being my first attempted hammock camp and not owning an Underquilt / Underblanket, I knew I needed to protect my back so I stuffed in a 5mm thick roll mat, my Highlander Base-S self inflating mattress & my Military Style Wool Blanket. These made up my back protection / warmer .. unfortunately it made the hammock stiff and uncomfortable and made me feel that I could fall out of the hammock.
Northern Monk Mocha Porter, Pistonhead Full Amber Lager, Brooklyn Lager
Whilst just about to catch the last light and film the setup of the tarp and hammock, a group of young guys listening to loud hip hop were encraoching quite close to my area (they just had loud music it turns out, but at the time it seemed like they were really coming into the bush!) And so I kept quiet and unfortunately lost the good light whilst waiting … This brought dinner / fire lighting quite late and so I went to sleep quite late too (Went to bed just around 00:50, and I had to wake up after 4am!)
Lixada Folder Stick Stove lights up the Hammock and Tarp Camp Site
I do enjoy the wildcamp trips during the week, unfortunately there is one issue, if a small thing like being a little too cold, or consciously going to sleep too late, you can end up having a bad sleep or no sleep at all and you still have work the next day! Never the less, I learned some important things such as the roll mat / blankets issue and took this new information over to the next Real Wildcamp session (Which I will post the full video of this Thursday 25th).
Conclusion: I didn’t sleep well, I had to have quite a strong coffee at home and felt drained at work the whole day.
Thanks for joining me on this little trip, do you like Wild Camping / Hammock Camping? Then stay tuned as I have an alternative idea for Underquilts / Underblankets for cold climates which I used successfully a week ago, I will post videos on this and an actual post with photo’s. Underquilts can be quite expensive and many people like me will be low budget after buying tents, hammocks, tarps and other essential gear …
Hi folks! I’ve been looking at something to replace my casual backpacks and my main rucksack for day trips for a while now, one of my smaller casual packs has broken zips now (due to all the things I stuff inside for day trips) and the other is just a little too luminous to be taking out into woods … then theres the Rucky, just a little too big for day trips and being Army DPM Camo, is just a little too much for me especially since I am still in an urban environment …
So I bought the Berghaus Centaurio 45ltr, my required specifications were;
1: Non Camo & also No bright colours,
2: Expandable (in that you can add on side pouches of your choice to increase holding capacity).
New Bushcraft Rucksack / Backpack – Berghaus Centaurio45
This rucksack / daysack is a 45 Liter capacity bag, and has the option to add on two large side PLCE pockets which should increase it to a minimum of 65 Liters – thereby giving it the second purpose of becoming large enough to be used as a wildcamp / extended trip rucksack.
I’ve used it on two outings so far and can say that it is performing well however, I will prefer to give a better review of it’s quality further down the line after more use.
What I like is that the side pocket areas have both zipped edges (I suppose this is for when you buy the actual Berghaus PLCE side pockets) as well as clip straps so that you could basically use any PLCE pockets of your choice with slight or no modifications!
More to come in the future, why not follow the blog or Youtube channel to keep abreast of all future uploads and posts …
I have been toying around with these cooking pots, stick stoves and drinking mugs for quite some time and now finally, I have what I seem to have been aiming for!
I have finally crammed one 10cm Drinking mug / cooking pot, 1x Pocket Folding Stick Stove and 11 other items into a 12cm Zebra Billy Can / Cooking Pot, although the possibilities are endless, I have basically created a full out cooking gear bundle which fits into one container so thereby saving quite a lot of space in your hiking / camping backpack / rucksack! If done cleverly, you would even be able to squeeze in some food stuff for at least one meal!
Despite The Clouds, I Had An Awesome Morning Sunrise
For a Video of the loadout of the cooking pot set, click HERE.
Space Saving On Steroids – Ultimate Camping Cookset Combo
I had a nice little outing, I brought along a couple IPA beers to try out, One is from Hatherwood Brewing Company in the UK who seems to have the contract to supply a craft beer range to the Lidl chain of stores. The other is a collaboration between Tiny Rebel and Flavourly … aptly named ”Blue Monday” as it was a monday morning!
SONY DSC
SONY DSC
SONY DSC
I dont have any photos in a step-by-step mode showing the loadout, but all of the items are included in the above image/s for your reference.
Product wise, the Main large cook pot is the Zebra 12cm Billy, the Drinking mug is the Lixada 10cm Cup / Pot, the Stove is the Lixada Mini Pocket Folder, the knife is my Opinel #9 for food prep, one lighter as backup, one folding Spork (no name brand) bought on ebay for £3! and the other items were pre-mixed hot chocolate, coffe drink, bannock bread mix for one big serving, some kitchen tissue, spices and oil!
Thanks for visiting!
By the way, comments are open! … dont be shy 🙂
Regards
BushmanAOD
Bushman AllOutDoors 