Skip to content
Paul Kirtley
  • Home
  • About
  • My Book
  • Free Tips & Advice
  • Podcast
  • #AskPaulKirtley
  • Resources
  • Courses
  • Search Icon

Paul Kirtley

Wilderness Bushcraft. Survival Skills. Outdoor Life.

Paul Kirtley answering bushcraft and survival questions in episode 21 of Ask Paul Kirtley
#AskPaulKirtley Episode 21: Ventile Smocks (again), Knife Skills For Bushcraft, Canoe Camping, Stoves, Bow Drill Success & Drinking Urine

#AskPaulKirtley Episode 21: Ventile Smocks (again), Knife Skills For Bushcraft, Canoe Camping, Stoves, Bow Drill Success & Drinking Urine

Paul Kirtley Comments 13 comments

In this episode of #AskPaulKirtley I answer questions about how to get started with canoe camping, water bladders and water bottles, my long term, go-to stove when not using a fire, firesteel and knife combos, how to increase your bow-drill success rate, identifying animal hairs, knife skills to practise at home, my pants, socks and boots, where to go to wild camp and to practise bushcraft skills, and whether or not you should be drinking your own urine.

I also revisit Ventile smocks to correct a mistake as well as announce a special live edition of #AskPaulKirtley, which will be recorded at Easter.

Watch #AskPaulKirtley

Click on the four arrows bottom right for full screen view. This video is available in full HD. Click on “HD” to choose the quality level you want to stream.

#AskPaulKirtley videos are also available to view on my YouTube channel.

Listen To #AskPaulKirtley

Use the following controls to listen to the audio podcast right here or download the .mp3 to your device…

Links For This Episode of #AskPaulKirtley

Ventile
Snugpak
Hilltrek
Snowsled
Buffalo Systems
Bushcraft Essentails 2-Day Bushcraft Course with Paul Kirtley
MSR Whisperlite
MSR XGK
Optimus Crux
How To Get Really Big Sparks With A Swedish Firesteel
Bow Drill: The Keys To Success
Bushcraft Knife Safety: Get The Fundamentals Right
Bushcraft Knife Safety For Children
Paul “Spoons” Nicholls on Instagram
Surviving Bushcraft: The Other Perspective…
Carving A Set Of Utensils For A Frost River Utensil Roll
How To Find A Place To Practise Bushcraft Skills In The UK

The Stoves I Mentioned (I Use All Of These)

  

How To Watch #AskPaulKirtley On Other Platforms

The videos will be uploaded to my YouTube channel and embedded in the Facebook Page associated with this blog as well as embedded here on my blog.

How To Listen To #AskPaulKirtley On Other Platforms

Podcast RSS Feed: You can subscribe via the #AskPaulKirtley Podcast RSS Feed

iTunes: You can subscribe to #AskPaulKirtley via iTunes

Soundcloud: Follow me on here on Soundcloud

What Is #AskPaulKirtley?

#AskPaulKirtley is my Q&A video and podcast series that aims to answer your questions about bushcraft, survival skills and outdoor life.

The idea here is partly to take the strain off my email inbox and get answers out to people in a more timely fashion.

Rather than send an answer to just that one person, I’d like others to benefit from the answers too. So, just in the same way I’d previously write an email answer, here I’m going to speak the answer (which is much quicker than me typing out an answer, so I’ll get more questions answered as well as benefiting more people).

Click here to find out the different ways you can ask me a question.

Leave A Comment…

Leave me a comment below. Let me know what you think of this episode. I read every one.

But remember if you want to ask a question for a future episode, don’t do this in the comments below, do it in one of the ways explained HERE.

Related Material On Paul Kirtley’s Blog:

White Water Safety & Rescue Training Provides Useful Survival Skills

Bow Drill: The Keys To Success

Carving A Set Of Utensils For A Frost River Utensil Roll

 


#AskPaulKirtley
beech, Bergans, fagus, Fjallraven, Gore-Tex, Hilltrek, Norrona, salix, Snugpak, Ventile, willow

Post navigation

PREVIOUS
Hooks, Handles And Hangers: Using Nature’s Shapes
NEXT
#AskPaulKirtley Episode 22: Winter Tinder Bundles, GPS, Australian Plant Uses, Organising Wilderness Trips, Advice To Group Leaders, Cooking Over Pine & Spruce

13 thoughts on “#AskPaulKirtley Episode 21: Ventile Smocks (again), Knife Skills For Bushcraft, Canoe Camping, Stoves, Bow Drill Success & Drinking Urine”

  1. Steve says:
    at 09:32

    If your looking for a decent smock these are currently available on amazon.
    http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00BW5P5HK?
    These are very well made replicas of Belgian military field smock, loads of mobility and very robust. They aren’t water proof but you can treat with Nikwax .
    Dont buy them all as I am planning on getting another one.

    Reply
    1. Paul Kirtley says:
      at 13:11

      Thanks for the heads up Steve.

      Cheers,

      Paul

      Reply
  2. Mike says:
    at 09:48

    Yes please on the question of more info on stoves etc.

    My aim is to be doing one or two week treks in Scotland and I’m doing courses with you etc to get the knowledge and skills for that.

    Cheers

    Mike

    Reply
    1. Paul Kirtley says:
      at 13:11

      Hi Mike,

      Thanks for the feedback. Noted!

      Cheers,

      Paul

      Reply
  3. Gordon says:
    at 15:45

    Hi, i thought this might interest some people.
    http://www.endicotts.co.uk/content/swedish-gen-1-snow-smock-dyed-olive-green
    Its the same smock that you modified for yourself but in a more practical colour for bush crafting. I bought one that i then changed the draw cord in the hood to 5mm shock cord and toggles as i felt this kept the hood in a better shape. It is away to my seamstress now and having all the buttons changed to buffalo horn ones as i, like you did, hated the nasty little metal type ones that it comes with.

    Cheers,

    Gordon

    Reply
    1. Gordon says:
      at 18:07

      Woops! RE my previous posting, it was Barry Smith that i had read about modding his Swedish Smock (although Paul maybe has as well for all i know!) so sorry for the confusion!

      Best wishes all,

      Gordon.

      Reply
      1. Paul Kirtley says:
        at 00:37

        No worries Gordon. Barry did a lovely job on his smock. I have another custom smock which serves me well in the boreal.

        Warm regards,

        Paul

        Reply
  4. Andrew Rush says:
    at 21:04

    Hi Paul, another brilliant podcast,
    RE. Urine.
    I thought your urine was all the liquid products your body had already decided were no good for it, what is the point in putting it back in?

    Reply
  5. Dave. says:
    at 18:29

    Episode 21. Paul sits on log, prepares to do Superman impression.
    [You cant fly mate without a cape mate, you know that right?]

    Reply
    1. Dave says:
      at 22:04

      :0) It does really look like that though doesnt it? LOL. Best Regards, Dave.

      Reply
    2. Paul Kirtley says:
      at 12:39

      Maybe I’ll get a green cape then… 🙂

      Reply
  6. Darren Hale says:
    at 11:36

    I disagree with you about you having to do more to get things out there, a 2 minute search of your page will reveal plenty of answers for 90% of the repeat questions , people just need to take the time to look themselves rather than bombard yourself with questions they couldnt be arsed to look up. Clothing /Boots / rucksucks are things you have to TRY ON and make sure they fit because what works for you might not work for me, get to a store and try it on, try 3 on spend an hour in the shop before taking it home, if you get it home wear it in the house for 3 hours if no good take it back and try again, !! pet hate rant over. Great show Paul.

    Reply
    1. Paul Kirtley says:
      at 12:16

      Hi Darren,

      Great comments regarding trying on boots, clothing, rucksacks, etc., where fit is important. We are all different shapes and sizes.

      I appreciate the rant. Thanks 🙂

      Cheers,

      Paul

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Search Paul Kirtley’s Website….

Connect With Paul On These Platforms:

Subscribe to The Paul Kirtley Podcast

Apple PodcastsAndroidby EmailRSS
© 2025   Copyright Paul Kirtley. All Rights Reserved.