It’s often said that you can’t learn bushcraft skills overnight, that there is always more to learn, that many skills take years of practice to even approach mastery. So, how does the average person with a job and a combination of any or all of kids, mortgage, family commitments, weekly shopping, gardening, DIY, and who doesn’t live outdoors, make significant progress with these skills? Read more >>
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This episode of #AskPaulKirtley was recorded in front of a live audience at the 2017 Bushcraft Show in Derbyshire, U.K. There was a wide range of questions from the audience, none of which were known to me before the session. It was fun to do and we got through a lot in the hour we had together… Read more >>
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In this episode, I answer questions about changing boots on canoe trips, sharpening a knife with a secondary bevel, tidying up after harvesting dead, standing wood, knots for attaching guylines to tarps, billy can choices and handle clips, sickness and diarrhoea on a wilderness journey… Read more >>
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In this episode of #AskPaulKirtley I answer more of your questions, this time tackling using a tarp with a canoe, earning from bushcraft content, sleeping bag liners and avoiding sweat, dealing with frowns, strides for walking, vegetarianism and veganism within bushcraft…. Read more >>
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In this episode of #AskPaulKirtley, I answer questions about long winter evenings in camp, fire safety, when is safe to leave a fire, throwing coals into streams, billy cans vs other stainless pots, poisonous lookalikes to dandelions… Read more >>
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In this episode of #AskPaulKirtley I answer questions about my preferred water filters, comms on solo canoe trips, how to make yourself useful on a trip when everyone else is more experienced, is hydrophobic down worth the premium and pignut recipes… Read more >>
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Even as an outsider, as a non-Canadian, this film resonates with me, as a canoeist, as someone who loves wild places and as someone who loves other people who love wild places. Narrator James Raffan’s opening statement is bold, broad and inclusive. It sets the tone for the film ahead, highlighting five stories of people, their relationship with paddling, with the land that gave birth to the canoe and with the country made possible by the canoe, these portraits made all the more vibrant by Goh Iromoto’s lush cinematography… Read more >>
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I answer questions about how to get into bushcraft instructing, what causes foam in streams, recommendations for winter wild edibles, uses of willow, braces or suspenders, tool sharpening at home and on the trail, and zipped bivvy bag use in the open… Read more >>
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Summer or winter, being able to split small diameter wood is a useful axe skill in a fixed camp or on the trail. Split wood has many uses. From dry kindling and feathersticks to improvised grills, small-diameter rounds of dead, dry wood split down into smaller sizes are an important resource for fire lighting and fire management in particular. In this article I cover a safe, reliable and adaptable technique for year-round use… Read more >>
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n this episode of #AskPaulKirtley I answer questions on outfitting canoes, tooth problems on trips, finding wildlife while out wandering, saponins, chickweed and birch, blowing tinder bundles into flame (optimal positioning), keeping gear dry on hikes, bushcraft course advice, changing your ways and learning new things in bushcraft… Read more >>
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