The OS Outdoor show aftermath

Don't get me wrong, it was a great three days but I am glad it is now over! It was quite tiring standing up all day, under artificial light, getting slowly dehydrated by the heating system. Well worth it though!

I must say a big thank you to the guys on the Bushcraft and Survival Skills magazine stand for their hospitality and friendliness. They are a good bunch of people. You really should go and buy their magazine, you know.

I have no idea how many people came to the show this year but we were all very busy on the Saturday and Sunday. Friday was a lot quieter but we still had a good number of folk come and listen to the talks and demos.

As for kit....what can I say? There was loads of great gear around and I surpised myself by not buying much at all. Well sort of not buying...! I did buy a headtorch which I will review in a later post. I tried to buy a jacket but they didn't have my size so I will have to order that in the next couple of days (at show price I hasten to add) and I tried to buy a water purification system but that is on back order now.

I must tell you about the Lifesaver Bottle. We had the inventor of this system on the stand for the three days, Michael Pritchard. I will admit that I was initially very skeptical about the product but the more I spoke to him (well, interogated him more like) about it, the more I liked it. The product does exactly what it says on the tin. It is the only filtration system that does not require pre- or post- processes on the water, it also does not use any chemicals within it. A fantastic bit of kit!

The upshot is that I am willing to spend the money on it as I believe it will be worth every penny. Once I get my hot little hands on it I shall do a more comprehensive review of it.

Well I'm off to do some more work - no rest for the wicked, eh! Look out for my next reviews and if you got to the show, I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.

The Ordnance Survey Outdoor Show

Due to circumstances beyond my control (only kidding), I am going to be attending the The Outdoor Show this week.

Myself and a couple of other guys are going to be covering the Shadowhawk part of the show because Max is off filming again. We are going to be attached to the Bushcraft and Survival Magazine stand.

I'm going to be there for the duration and will be giving a couple of short talks on each day. The rest of the time will be spent, either at the stand, or having a little wander around the show looking for goodies to buy!

Drop by and say hi if you are passing. Hope to see you there!

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Frog Spawn

A couple of weeks ago I was taking a walk in one of my local woodlands. Strolling along one of the tracks, I came across this in one of the puddles:


frog spawn!

I was a little surprised to see so much of it, in so many puddles! I thought it was very early for such behaviour but clearly not for my local frogs. I shall be visiting the woods again soon to see how they are fairing. There might be lots of amphibian tracks to see soon!

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Search and Rescue

On Saturday I had the great pleasure in helping Max (Shadowhawk) teach two very short man tracking 'masterclasses' to Search and Rescue personnel over at Pinkery Field Centre.

We had some guys and girls from the local Exmoor SAR as well as from Devon and Cornwall and elsewhere. We had absolutely splendid weather and the tracking was very good; helped by the low winter sun. As is often the case with these things I played the 'missing person' which can be fun. This time round it was lovely because I tucked myself behind a wall, in the sun, admiring the view. Bliss.

Before I got tracked down by the team I got caught up in another excercise with the SAR dogs! Their training ex involved another 'missing person' who had coincidentally camped out on the other side of the wall to where I was. This meant that my peacefully reverie was shattered by an inquisitive SAR dog bounding in my general direction until it had worked out that I was not the smelly person he was after. Still it was great to see them in action.

Anyway, everyone seemed very pleased with the tracking taster and enjoyed themselves. As we said to them, tracking will never replace their search skills but it can give them an extra tool to use, as and when they need it.

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Oystercatcher tracks?

I was down on a fairly remote beach the other day, not far from Lynton, and came across these tracks. They are very faint but I think that they belong to an Oystercatcher. Granted I'm not 100% sure but pretty confident.


One reason why I'm confident that it is Oystercatcher is from the bill probings along side the tracks as well as the overall size and shape of the tracks themselves. It is of course possible that it is another probing wader such as Redshank but my gut is saying Oystercatcher at the moment.

Even a simple walk on the beach can turn up really interesting challenges!

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Sparrowhawk kill site

In a previous post I talked about a fox kill (Fox and chicken just don't go) and how the ends of feathers were chewed.



Well a few weeks ago I came across a Sparrowhawk kill. A totally different affair to dear old foxy!

For starters, Sparrowhawks tend to pluck and eat the breast, sometimes decapitating the prey as well (see above). The plucking is such that the feathers are pulled out in their entirety and do not have that chewed effect. Unfortuneatley, I only had my phone camera with me and I couldn't get a good enough picture of the feather base. It is also common to find fine score marks on the feather shaft where the Sparrowhawk has grabbed the feather and pulled it out. Great stuff!

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Layering Clothing for Comfort and Survival Part Four

In this, the last installment on layering your clothing, I briefly look at the outer layer and those for the heads, fingers and toes!

The outer layer is the barrier to wind, rain and snow. The basic waterproof achieves its waterproofness through lamination, with greater repellency being achieved by heavier lamination. This hampers the fabric’s ability to breath. Greater breathability generally means less waterproof. Modern laminates provide an excellent compromise between breathability and repellency. Any waterproof should have sealed seams. This reduces leakage at the seams through the needle holes where the thread passes through.

Extremities

As your core body temperature begins to drop, the body naturally starts to shunt more blood to the vital organs, resulting in constriction of the blood vessels in the extremities ie hands and feet first, then arms and legs. So no matter how good your layering system is, you still need good hat, gloves and boots. Both gloves and boots are available with multiple layers of insulation, windproof and waterproof fabrics.

In an ideal world your hat should be insulated, windproof and waterproof. Approximately 30% of your body heat is lost through your head. So it is an incredibly important part of your layering system.

Using an effective layering system tailored to your own comfort needs and body type, will allow you to experience the great outdoors in comfort no matter what the weather throws at you. It also means you are stacking the odds in your favour when it comes to your own survival.

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