Bushcraft on a Budget

As with all hobbies, buying the highest levels of bushcraft gear will cost you thousands, and it isn’t rare for people to pay a couple of hundred for nothing more than a knife. When getting into any activity it’s important not to dive in too deep right away or you might waste a load of money on things you’ll never use. Whether you’re just starting on your bushcraft learning journey or just don’t want to spend a huge amount of money when you don’t need to, then the following tips should help you bushcraft on a budget.

Don’t go for branded items

When choosing something like a knife for example, there are brands out there that will add on an extra 50% of the sale price just because of who made it. The top brands often do produce the highest quality things, but they are unnecessary when starting out, and a tool a fraction of the price will work just as well.

Shop in the right places

There are some very cheap pieces of equipment all over the internet, but nothing beats the range and prices that you can find at army surplus stores. These can sometimes be hard to find or you may have to travel a little bit, but they normally include a huge range of gear from boots to bags, and they also give the advantage of being able to actually hold and try out the item before buying, something that online shopping can’t compete with.

Bushcraft forums and communities

Bushcraft is one of those hobbies where people start small but quickly upgrade their gear the more they get into it. All of that old gear is still fit for purpose and the owners often try to sell it online on the various bushcraft community sites. As for where to check it would be best to google things at the time you need something, as the ads for the best gear don’t seem to stay up for long.

Start with a tent, a really cheap tent

Unless you are planning to set up on the top of a mountain or in the Arctic somewhere then a cheap tent will serve you just as well as an expensive one, in the short term at least. There are plenty of tents online that range from £20 to £30 and are the kind of thing that you’d use for staying on a nice campsite, but are more than capable of surviving plenty of nights in the woods.

Another good option for a cheap bushcraft shelter is paracord and pieces of tarp, or one that’s already shaped into the classic triangle tent. Tarp is very cheap and covers a large area for its price and how small it packs down, but you will have to do something about the corners and where it connects together, but then again that’s part of the fun of camping in the woods.

Buy a Swiss Army knife or a multi-tool

Not only is it useful to have all the tools you might need in one place, but you’ll get a large range of useful things for only a fraction of the price compared to buying them all separately. There are certain tools out there like the survival shovel for example, that include all the main bushcraft tools that you’ll need, such as an axe, knife, saw, and digging tool, but you have to be really careful of these. Survival shovels are good for a weekend or two away somewhere, but won’t last for very long due to how weak they can be. I always caution people to be careful when buying bushcraft equipment they aren’t familiar with and to stop buying useless survival tools, because a bad tool is not just a waste of money but can ruin an entire trip.

Find a Bushcraft Buddy

If you don’t know people in real life who are interested in doing some bushcraft, then check out the various bushcraft forums around and look for people who are also looking for a bushcraft buddy. This is something you can do anytime, even if you don’t intend to go on a trip for a while as it’s always good to meet people and get to know them a little online first. Having someone to share trips with will also mean you can share gear and will probably learn something along the way.

Start with the free activities

When people think about bushcraft they normally picture a tent in the forest or mountains surrounded by pots hanging over campfires. This is one of the nicest ways to spend an evening, but it doesn’t have to be the first thing you aim for when getting into bushcraft. Foraging is free and doesn’t require anything that you won’t already have at home, and there are plenty of free resources out there that help you recognize types of wild foods on your next hike through the woods.