My kit as of now

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Shadrack
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My kit as of now

Post by Shadrack »

*This is more of a general kit post rather than being solely on the topic of soft kit so if it needs to be moved, have at it!

I thought I'd post some pictures of my kit as it stands to get some feedback on the direction it's heading in. Something along the lines of Glaenry's recent kit critique thread. The kit is by no means finished but I thought I'd stick it up regardless in the hopes that I can get some ideas on where to head from here.
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The cloak I'm using at the moment is the same blanket I use in my bed roll, folded and pinned at the shoulder with a simple cloak pin. I quite like the 'northern' look of the style as well as it's versatility coupled with the way it can be flipped up rather dramatically to reveal the sword.
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Without the cloak:
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Alright, so here's where progress needs to be made. On my to-do list is a tunic, more appropriate trousers, and eventually some boots (i.e. pretty much everything a soft kit needs). For this shoot I just grabbed some of my more 'rangery' clothes in the hopes that I'd be able to convey the general feeling of what I was going for.
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The bedroll is a blatant rip-off of Elleth's setup, however it works really well and I can't see it changing too much. However I do need to replace the burden strap and bedroll ties at some point as the leather I used to make them was rather thin and dry and has started to crack. At the moment, the roll itself is just made up of my blanket and an oilcloth I recently made. The bag just contains a copper pot I cobbled together out of various items from the local recycling center and stuffing. (Hard kit is also in the beginning stages)
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Above the swordbelt is a secondary 'utility belt' of sorts with a camp knife and a need wallet attached. The need wallet is as of now very much empty (beginning stages) but I plan to fill it with some trail snacks and a fire kit in the future.

That's basically it so far, feedback, thoughts, critiques all welcome,
Thanks guys
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Iodo
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Re: My kit as of now

Post by Iodo »

That's a nice kit setup so far, the way you've pinned the cloak and the bed roll are really cool :P

For tunic and trousers, if you wan't cheep temporary solution that more looks the part, I would recommend looking out in thrift stores for a plain linen shirt and pants, linen is easy to dye so there's no need to worry about them being in the more common lighter colors, one of my linen shirt/tunics is shown in the last photo on the first page of this thread:

https://www.ranger.budgetauthenticity.o ... =25&t=3859

I'm guilty of never having replaced this (I now have a few more) but I did make a wool over tunic to wear with it in the winter

The only other thing I can think to say is that you might benefit from some kind of sword suspension that can go on the same belt as your knife/need wallet, so you don't have to wear two belts, but that said, two belts does look awesome so if it doesn't bother you, carry on :mrgreen:
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Elleth
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Re: My kit as of now

Post by Elleth »

Awesome!!

How is that bedroll setup working for you? I've been tinkering with minor changes to mine to fix some bugaboos, but don't have firm conclusions yet.

It looks like yours just goes over the head?
That's how mine works - with only a little weight it's not bad, but once the pack is full and extra woolens are added to the bedroll, threading oneself and a full quiver through the opening is rather a pain in the butt. I've not yet broken down and gotten out the scissors to add a buckle... but I think that time's not far off.

I also like how minimalist your bottom belt is.

Very cool! :)
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Shadrack
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Re: My kit as of now

Post by Shadrack »

Iodo wrote:For tunic and trousers, if you wan't cheep temporary solution that more looks the part, I would recommend looking out in thrift stores for a plain linen shirt and pants, linen is easy to dye so there's no need to worry about them being in the more common lighter colors, one of my linen shirt/tunics is shown in the last photo on the first page of this thread:

https://www.ranger.budgetauthenticity.o ... =25&t=3859

I'm guilty of never having replaced this (I now have a few more) but I did make a wool over tunic to wear with it in the winter
Thanks for the advice! I'll keep an eye out though I do have a light woolen tunic on the way at some point. Could be a good option for pants though
Elleth wrote:Awesome!!

How is that bedroll setup working for you? I've been tinkering with minor changes to mine to fix some bugaboos, but don't have firm conclusions yet.

It looks like yours just goes over the head?
That's how mine works - with only a little weight it's not bad, but once the pack is full and extra woolens are added to the bedroll, threading oneself and a full quiver through the opening is rather a pain in the butt. I've not yet broken down and gotten out the scissors to add a buckle... but I think that time's not far off.

I also like how minimalist your bottom belt is.

Very cool! :)
The bedroll does indeed just go over my head and I'm a pretty big fan so far though I've yet to test it out in the field. The only issue besides the deteriorating strap that I can see being a problem is that it hugs very tight to the body. As far as I'm concerned at the moment this is a good thing as it doesn't notably throw off my center of gravity or bounce around at all. However if I ever did get an archery setup together I can't imagine how I'd get it over a quiver. But as I'm a poor broke student with no hope of affording a good bow anytime soon this isn't exactly a super pressing issue for me! I am curious though how you ended up attaching your snapsack to the bedroll or vice a versa.
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Iodo
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Re: My kit as of now

Post by Iodo »

Shadrack wrote: Thanks for the advice! I'll keep an eye out though I do have a light woolen tunic on the way at some point. Could be a good option for pants though
NP :P I have a light woolen tunic to wear over the top of the linen base layer, I think the only time I'm ever in kit in warm/dry enough weather to only wear a linen tunic is when I go to ren faires in mid summer
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Greg
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Re: My kit as of now

Post by Greg »

Everything looks purposeful and intentional so far...I like it! I see major progress comparedto the usual starting-out kit, which is usually a mishmash of purchased belt pouches. You've clearly invested thought, and it's going to pay off!

I'm curious what all you're stowing in your snapsack at the moment...unless I missed that somehow!

Good call on the separate belt for the sword! Nothing's more of a pain around the cook fire than having one of those banging into everything.

Looking forward to where this goes!
Now the sword shall come from under the cloak.
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Iodo
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Re: My kit as of now

Post by Iodo »

Greg wrote: Good call on the separate belt for the sword! Nothing's more of a pain around the cook fire than having one of those banging into everything.
That's a very good point that I hadn't thought of :P
Gimli: It's true you don't see many Dwarf-women. And in fact, they are so alike in voice and appearance, that they are often mistaken for Dwarf-men.
Aragorn: It's the beards.
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Shadrack
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Re: My kit as of now

Post by Shadrack »

Greg wrote:Everything looks purposeful and intentional so far...I like it! I see major progress comparedto the usual starting-out kit, which is usually a mishmash of purchased belt pouches. You've clearly invested thought, and it's going to pay off!

I'm curious what all you're stowing in your snapsack at the moment...unless I missed that somehow!

Good call on the separate belt for the sword! Nothing's more of a pain around the cook fire than having one of those banging into everything.

Looking forward to where this goes!
Thanks! The pack is basically just filled with spare shirts as stuffing for these pics.
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Greg
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Re: My kit as of now

Post by Greg »

Iodo wrote:
Greg wrote: Good call on the separate belt for the sword! Nothing's more of a pain around the cook fire than having one of those banging into everything.
That's a very good point that I hadn't thought of :P
In a trekking context, you've GOT to make it removable or separate. It'll drive you crazy otherwize, and possibly get damaged.
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Elleth
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Re: My kit as of now

Post by Elleth »

The only issue besides the deteriorating strap that I can see being a problem is that it hugs very tight to the body. As far as I'm concerned at the moment this is a good thing as it doesn't notably throw off my center of gravity or bounce around at all. However if I ever did get an archery setup together I can't imagine how I'd get it over a quiver. But as I'm a poor broke student with no hope of affording a good bow anytime soon this isn't exactly a super pressing issue for me! I am curious though how you ended up attaching your snapsack to the bedroll or vice a versa.
Hugging (fairly) tightly to the body is exactly what you want with that setup I think - for exactly the reasons you notice. I think it's a setup that only really comes into its own when used in combination with a quiver: a plain old shallow knapsack is both easier on the body and easier to work with - but is no end of trouble trying to get to work with a back quiver. Hence this solution as an attempt to get both needs met at the same time.

Regarding attachments - that's exactly the part I've been tinkering with. What I HAVE been doing is run the strap through the middle of the bedroll, and tie the bag on somehow - lashing or buckling it to the bedroll to keep everything snug together. The key part there is the "running the strap through the middle" part - this compresses half the mass of the blanket against your back, brings the center of gravity in tighter, and generally makes everything flop around less than just lashing the blanket to the the outside of the strap.

That said, I've been looking at fastening the pack more permanently to the strap for more stability and less disassembly/reassembly chores when breaking down and packing up. That works fairly well I think with Greg's original "Brisk Morning Outing" setup, but much less so with this. At least, that's what I've discovered so far - I'm still messing around as I've time. Hopefully I'll have a chance in the near future for pictures to show what I mean.



edit - one more thing.
Everyone else already might know this, but I didn't, and it was a bit of a revelation to me when it was explained:
the reason you want everything fairly snug and not floppy is because when you're standing, walking, moving - your body is constantly firing countless little muscle contractions to adjust your balance and to stay upright. When you have a load hanging from you and flopping around, all those contractions need to happen more often and with greater strength - so you're making your body work a lot harder just to stay standing, much less move that extra weight over hill and dale.

Hence you fatigue a lot faster.
I'd sort of intuited that I was tired-er with floppy baggage, but until the why was explained to me I didn't really perceive exactly how much difference it makes.
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Peter Remling
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Re: My kit as of now

Post by Peter Remling »

Shadrack wrote:
The bedroll does indeed just go over my head and I'm a pretty big fan so far though I've yet to test it out in the field. The only issue besides the deteriorating strap that I can see being a problem is that it hugs very tight to the body. As far as I'm concerned at the moment this is a good thing as it doesn't notably throw off my center of gravity or bounce around at all. However if I ever did get an archery setup together I can't imagine how I'd get it over a quiver. But as I'm a poor broke student with no hope of affording a good bow anytime soon this isn't exactly a super pressing issue for me! I am curious though how you ended up attaching your snapsack to the bedroll or vice a versa.
When you get to the stage where you make/buy a quiver, instead of putting the quiver on and then the pack/roll, add attachment straps to your quiver. Then move your pack to the right side of you roll and attach the quiver to the left side. Once you put in on (over your right shoulder) not the left as you are wearing it in you pic, your arrows will be over your right shoulder for drawing. After you make camp you simply remove the quiver from your pack and you can put it on normally to hunt/practice.
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Elleth
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Re: My kit as of now

Post by Elleth »

I'm afraid I have to quibble a bit with that Peter, at least for some personas/contexts.


First - I've found on longer jaunts a single strap of *anything* can get painful as it digs a pressure hot-spot onto a single shoulder. (This is basically why the double-strap knapsack took over in the real world). Anyhow, with a separate bedroll you can loosen the strap, rejigger things while on the walk, and tighten them back down - sometimes left shoulder, sometimes right shoulder, sometimes across the chest: it's not as comfy as a modern frame backpack with hip belt, but it helps a lot. Meanwhile the separate quiver - which basically weighs nothing provided you don't strap anything to it - stays mostly in position and doesn't spill arrows.

(Greg and Ursus might well be right that a separate blanket horseshoe with a light sack for other necessaries is the best way to go - I just haven't managed to pull it off yet. Maybe it's a body shape thing, maybe I just stink at tying horseshoes. :mrgreen: ).


The second reason isn't something we in the real world have to deal with, but Rangers would - and that's the ability to quickly shed the extra weight of the bedroll while keeping one's weapons easy to hand.


All that said - a River man stopping at a shore fishcamp or a Breelands forager hiking the Chetwood that expects neither to go far or meet up with trouble unawares would probably do just fine with either arrangement.
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Re: My kit as of now

Post by Taurinor »

Wow, that looks great, especially for a first pass!
Shadrack wrote:At the moment, the roll itself is just made up of my blanket and an oilcloth I recently made. The bag just contains a copper pot I cobbled together out of various items from the local recycling center and stuffing.
I'd love to hear more about your oilcloth (size, material, treatment method) and pot, especially since they are homemade! Might be more of a "Hard Kit" type thread, though.
Shadrack wrote:Above the swordbelt is a secondary 'utility belt' of sorts with a camp knife and a need wallet attached. The need wallet is as of now very much empty (beginning stages) but I plan to fill it with some trail snacks and a fire kit in the future.
I always recommend a fire kit as an early piece of kit (I put it before weapons in my personal ranking, but I also REALLY like firemaking) - it's appropriate for about any persona, it's relatively inexpensive to pick up a basic flint and steel kit, and I think it's a very fun and satisfying skill to work on!

My only suggestion about what you have at the moment is that you may want to eventually replace the sheath for your camp knife - the "western holster" style suspension and the sort of russet color stands out against the rest of your gear (to my eye, at least). That's certainly not anything that you would need to rush to change, though!

Have you gotten around to considering the rabbit hole that is canteens yet?
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Shadrack
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Re: My kit as of now

Post by Shadrack »

Taurinor wrote:Wow, that looks great, especially for a first pass!
Shadrack wrote:At the moment, the roll itself is just made up of my blanket and an oilcloth I recently made. The bag just contains a copper pot I cobbled together out of various items from the local recycling center and stuffing.
I'd love to hear more about your oilcloth (size, material, treatment method) and pot, especially since they are homemade! Might be more of a "Hard Kit" type thread, though.
Thanks!
The oilcloth is treated with a 50:50 mixture of linseed oil and white spirits, I haven't measured it but at a guess I'd say it's around 2x1.5 meters which isn't really ideal as it's not wide enough to fold under myself as a shelter/groundcloth combo so as of now, it's one or the other. I also still need to attach loops and cords so I can tie it up to trees and such because at the moment it's literally just a big, plain rectangle of fabric.
The pot is pretty ugly. I haven't taken a picture of it but it's made from a copper 'cookie jar' that I found at the local recycling center. I made a lid by attaching a wooden knob to a similarly sized steel plate that fits roughly on top, and I made a handle by bending a piece of brass wire and attaching it to the pot.
Taurinor wrote: I always recommend a fire kit as an early piece of kit (I put it before weapons in my personal ranking, but I also REALLY like firemaking) - it's appropriate for about any persona, it's relatively inexpensive to pick up a basic flint and steel kit, and I think it's a very fun and satisfying skill to work on!
Yeah I want to get onto this, the problem is that I haven't been able to find a source of flint in New Zealand. I'll probably have to import it from elsewhere but the shipping costs are pretty bad so it's just a matter of waiting until my wallet can take the blow!
Taurinor wrote: Have you gotten around to considering the rabbit hole that is canteens yet?
One step ahead of you. Check the hard kit thread!
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Taurinor
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Re: My kit as of now

Post by Taurinor »

Shadrack wrote:The oilcloth is treated with a 50:50 mixture of linseed oil and white spirits, I haven't measured it but at a guess I'd say it's around 2x1.5 meters which isn't really ideal as it's not wide enough to fold under myself as a shelter/groundcloth combo so as of now, it's one or the other. I also still need to attach loops and cords so I can tie it up to trees and such because at the moment it's literally just a big, plain rectangle of fabric.
Ah, I use one that's about a similar size, and I carry a much smaller, separate piece of oilcloth as a groundcloth (it was actually my test piece). If you don't want to add permanent tie-out points, you can use a pebble and some cordage to make temporary ones. That's what I'm doing at the moment - the narrative in my head is that what is now Ned's tarp was originally meant for wrapping up goods in a wagon or the like.
Shadrack wrote:The pot is pretty ugly. I haven't taken a picture of it but it's made from a copper 'cookie jar' that I found at the local recycling center. I made a lid by attaching a wooden knob to a similarly sized steel plate that fits roughly on top, and I made a handle by bending a piece of brass wire and attaching it to the pot.
That sounds very creative to me!
Shadrack wrote:Yeah I want to get onto this, the problem is that I haven't been able to find a source of flint in New Zealand. I'll probably have to import it from elsewhere but the shipping costs are pretty bad so it's just a matter of waiting until my wallet can take the blow!
Flint was typically used in Europe, historically speaking, but it doesn't have to be flint. Quartz also works, and other hard stones are worth trying. You just need something harder than the steel that will drive a spark off. I'll just pick up rocks that look like they have really sharp edges when I'm out walking and try them out. If they work, I put them in my pocket, and if they don't, I toss them.
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