Reflections on the Nordic Way – My GBS 2025 Keynote Presentation
The organisers of the 2025 Global Bushcraft Symposium in Sweden invited me to deliver a keynote presentation.
The GBS has become an important gathering for those passionate about bushcraft, survival skills, and traditional ways of living closer to nature.
Whether you’re a seasoned instructor or an enthusiastic learner, the Global Bushcraft Symposium is a place where everyone is welcome to exchange ideas, techniques, and philosophies from around the world.
The theme of the symposium was The Nordic Way.
My talk examined how Nordic influences have shaped my bushcraft journey and impacted the broader international bushcraft community.
In this post, I share the full recording of that presentation along with some context for those who couldn’t attend in person.
From tools and clothing to skiing, survival shelters, hut culture, and the legacy of mentors such as Lars Fält and Juha Rankinen, as well as authors like Helge Ingstad and Erik Musterhjelm, my presentation wove together personal anecdotes, historical threads, and practical observations.
The talk explored themes of learning from others, contextual skill development, cross-pollination between cultures, and the value of repeated and varied practice-especially in demanding northern environments where there is little tolerance for mistakes.
For posterity and for those who couldn’t attend in person, I’m pleased to share a complete recording of the presentation below:
This video is also available here on my YouTube channel.
Books Mentioned
Garrett and Alexandra Conover – Snow Walker’s Companion
Knut Haukelid – Skis Against the Atom
Helge Ingstad – The Land of Feast and Famine
Paul Kirtley – Wilderness Axe Skills and Campcraft
Ray Mears – The Outdoor Survival Handbook
Erik Munsterhjelm – The Wind and the Caribou
Yngve Ryd – Eld: flammor och glöd – samisk eldkonst
Wille Sundqvist – Swedish Carving Techniques
Learn More
If you liked the presentation and want to learn more about the themes we covered — like winter skills, traditional fire-making, gear use, and bushcraft in boreal areas — check out the linked articles and videos below.
And if you’re not already on my email list, consider subscribing to receive regular updates and reflections from the world of bushcraft, nature-based skills, and wilderness travel.
Paul Kirtley Podcast 22: Conversations From Bushcraftfestivalen
Paul Kirtley Podcast 32: Lars Fält, Julia Kalthoff, Juha Rankinen and Jonas Als
Lessons From Applying The North American Winter Camping Style In The Scandinavian Boreal Forest
Winter Magic: Return to the Northern Forest
Way Out North: A Boreal Forest Foray
As Thick as a Capercaillie: How to Build a Long Log Fire
10 thoughts on “Reflections on the Nordic Way – My GBS 2025 Keynote Presentation”
Thanks so much for sharing this Paul
My pleasure Andy.
Awesome, thankyou Paul
You are very welcome Scott.
Thank you very much for sharing Pau. As someone who couldn’t make it t oGBS2025, it would be good/have been good as at GBS2o22 there was/is a video archive of presentations one can get access to. it is such a great resource from 2022.
Hi David,
I’m glad you liked my presentation. As for the other presentations, unlike the 2022 GBS, there was no coordinated effort to record the presentations at the 2025 GBS. This being said, there were not many presentations this time around – only 7 in total.
Maybe you will be able to make it to the event in 2028?
Warm regards,
Paul
As I wasn’t able to make GBS 2025, I’ve been looking forward to watching a recording of your presentation. Thanks Paul, for an inspirational and thought-provoking talk. Look forward to attending GBS 2028.
Hi Simon, thanks for your comments. I’m glad you were able to watch the recording of my presentation, and you found it inspirational and thought-provoking – I appreciate your feedback. I’m glad you are planning to attend in person again in 2028.
Warm regards,
Paul
Thank you for making this available Paul. I thought it a really thoughtful and well put together piece of work. I particularly liked the historical contexts and the summary at the end. It’s easy to become overwhelmed with a lot of different techniques thrown together from somewhere, but this shows you where and why. Enjoyed it a lot.
Hi Mark,
Thanks for your feedback on this. I’m glad you appreciated it as a piece of work. I’m glad you particularly enjoyed the historical pieces as well as the summary at the end. Moreover, it’s good to know the presentation helped provide some background context for the many techniques, methodologies and approaches.
Warm regards,
Paul