I did have a look through the catalogue but couldn’t see anything so made a new topic.
The name of the game is 3 items you can’t live without in the field. (Ranges, Fieldcraft, Adventure Training etc etc!)
1 Practical item you can’t be without
1 Gucci item that has it’s uses and you think is the bees knees.
1 Underestimated item you think noone would think of.
I can’t live without my JackFlask. The small thermos flask for keeping my tea or other liquid nice and hot!
My contractors cap offers good protection and I like to think looks damn good.
Vaseline with Aloe Vera. Don’t care how big of tough you think you are, there’s few things worse than when your lips are chapped and hanging out.
Practical - Ortlieb dry bags. Few things worse than wet sleeping kit
Gucci - Zippo
Underestimated - Sand bag. So many uses, but primarily used by me as a mat to stand on when putting my boots on and as a scourer to get cam cream off of the palms of my hands after I’ve been applying it.
As MattB says, sandbags have a thousand and one practical uses.
When we were tactical (before anyone starts, I know cadets aren’t), we had to sleep with boots on and despite every effort, you often couldn’t get all the mud and schiesse off them before getting into your sleeping bag. Pop one sandbag over each boot, and eh voila! they keep the inside of your sleeping bag (relatively) clean.
We also used to use them for PW handling but as we’re the ACO, I won’t go there…
Ally is a 20 year old Rab kinder down smock in black, with little purple bits around the zip.
Now we’re all in MTP, nothing that’s MTP or multi-cam can, by definition, be ally. ally is a civvy woolly hat, ally is yeti gaiters, ally is a green PLCE Bergen, ally is now an old style DPM windproof smock - ally saves lives.
My Jetboil, great as already mentioned for getting water boiling quickly, I actually think they are more use in the field using rat packs than as an out and out cooker on expedition.
RAB Emergency Shelter, people take them on Exped but don’t think of them for Fieldcraft. Great bit of kit for when it all hits the fan, can shelter 8-10 people in the big ones and I don’t enter an outdoor environment without one even if it’s just my little 2-3 man one.
I am not going to lie. That post, wow. It aroused me.
And Yeti Gaitors are literally the best thing on the planet.
I do like my Green Posum Fur and Merino wool, woolly hat.
And those old style smocks. Oh my. I still have mine ready to go. Pair of green socks sewn into the sleeves for cuffs.
Took that naff green strong out though and replaced it with that small black bungee for a good blousing. None of this RAF nonsense, wearing it like a dress.
I have an ancient Berghaus centurion in olive green, with the ski holders at the bottom behind the side pockets. That things a beast, I think it might have been my dads too. So it’s taken a beating and still craves more!
I have a Berghaus cyclops in OG which I got (very second hand) on joining cadets at my local surplus store for £25. Unfortunately it eventually broke (on the 'Fan, for extra allyness points) when the frame actually broke in two. Still use it for storing stuff in though.
Dixie’s corner near Sennybridge, and I assume jay jays in Brecon might be able to help you with a frame. Even Berghaus, though they might try and convince you to buy a new one…
I still use my Roc, its still my go-to sack… obviously I got it pimped, new elastic on the lid, mesh pocket on the side, wider straps and new QR clips, but the fabric of the thing is still in superb condition, and it’s a remarkable thing for carrying weight for days on end.
I see there’s a few on fleabay for 50 sheets or so…
Ally almost fails to describe wearing a Bergen thats older than my OC…
Don’t forget the pizza delivery service if too busy to visit the pub