Avoid These Common Bushcraft Mistakes
Everyone makes mistakes, and starting out on your bushcraft journey, it’s important to remember that. Even when you’re on your 100th outing, you’ll still have slip-ups, and that’s part of learning and practicing your skills. It’s a great time to get out for some skills practice. It’s always good to review common mistakes, so we wanted to take a few minutes to review common bushcraft mistakes so that we can all up our game for when it really matters.
Bringing too much stuff
We can all fall victim to the gear trap, and there’s nothing wrong with exploring options until you build a kit that works for you. However, when you’re heading out, try to find the sweet spot between prepared and overburden. Bringing too much stuff can lead to being overwhelmed both physically and mentally. Yeah, you have to carry all of the stuff, but you also have to keep it organized and deal with the frustration of finding what you need when you need it. Instead of piling gear on top of gear, bring out one piece of kit for every major gear category, and then a backup. That way, you can focus on practicing your skills and adapting your techniques, rather than throwing gear at every roadblock you run into.
Practicing new skills when it really counts
At its core, bushcraft is all about knowledge and expanding your skillset, and when you’re short on time and/or trips, you might be tempted to practice brand new skills while you’re out. However, it’s always best to get familiar with your gear so that a failure or mistake won’t ruin the day. A fiddly water filter is best discovered at home, not when you really need it. The same goes for firestarters, cook kits, and more. It might seem overly simple, but it’s better to find out it’s a terrible ferro rod, or that your new skillets need to be thoroughly seasoned, when it won’t ruin the outing.
READ MORE: Top 10 Winter Camping Tips
Underestimating the environment
In the excitement of prepping for an outting it’s easy to miss the big picture, and oftentimes that includes what you should be preparing for. Even with a roaring fire and a good tarp, cold and rainy conditions can catch you off guard. You should always have emergency gear with you in case you are unable to get out of the weather. This could include extra layers, a space blanket or emergency bivy, or other gear that should be dictated by your area. Also, don’t forget to leave a plan of where you’re going and when you’ll be back with someone you can trust. Hopefully it’s never needed, but it’s better to have and not need than the opposite.
Mind your gear
Go bags, bug out gear, or just the “kit,” no matter what you call it, you have to check your gear before you’re out the door. Knives corrode, lighters leak, candles melt... You get the picture. Before heading out, it’s best to perform gear checks and necessary maintenance on your gear. Boots and other leather goods need conditioning, high carbon needs rust preventative, sleeping bags and other down-filled equipment must be stored properly, and you should always dry your gear out post-trip. This will keep your outtings frustration free, and proper care and preventative maintenance will keep your gear in service for years.
Leave it better than you found it
Last, but certainly not least, is preserving the great outdoors we’re exploring while leaving it better than we found it. That means we not only return our camp or outing area to its natural state, but also pack out any trash left by others if we encounter it.
These may all seem like simple factors, but keeping these points in mind will help you have smoother outings without avoidable frustrations. As always, happy bushcrafting and best of luck as you expand your skillset and capability.