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My Lightweight Hiking & Scout Haversack Kit for Bushcraft | Hidden Woodsmen Review
Feb 3, 2024
My lightweight summer hiking and scouting kit for day trips. Perfect for bushcraft type adventures.
Hidden Woodsmen French Trade Satchel:
https://bit.ly/446HU3Y
Nutrient Survival (Use TPW15 for 15% off your first order):
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0:00
In today's video, we're gonna be taking a look at a lightweight scout kit that I put together using a Hidden Woodsman Haversack
0:06
Stick around, it's gonna be a great video. Over the years, I've done lots of videos on many, many different haversacks and haversack
0:35
kits that I put together. And if you're new to bushcraft and getting outdoors and camping and
0:43
bushcrafting and that kind of stuff, the haversack can be a very handy item to have in your arsenal
0:50
of gear. Haversacks became very popular during the time of the mountain man, the long hunter
0:59
Back in those days, you know, those guys would be striking out into uncharted wilderness. They'd
1:05
be setting up a base camp and they'd be hunting and trapping from their camp all day long. So
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they tended to carry some type of possibles kit with them and usually it was a haversack type of
1:20
kit. Something that would hold a little bit of food, extra ammunition and cleaning supplies for
1:27
their flintlocks, patch knife, just various sundry items that would help them get by when
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they're out in the woods for a whole day away from camp because they weren't lugging in big
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backpacks. All that big heavy equipment was back at their base camp. So, fast forward today, you know
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as a bushcrafter, camper, I really like the same concept. When I go camping, I set up my base camp
1:56
with my buddies. That's where we're going to be cooking our food. We have our tents or our hammocks
2:01
and then during the day, we're striking out to different day hikes, exploring the area. And a
2:07
haversack kit, when properly equipped, has enough stuff in it that's going to get you by for the day
2:14
make you feel comfortable and secure and just have the things that you need. So, this is a new
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design that Hidden Woodsman has started carrying on his website. Well, I should say it's an old
2:28
design that he's brought back and that he's updated. This is what he calls the French Trade
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Haversack, based on that shape and style of the French Trade Haversacks. Back in the day
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Malcolm used to carry a French Trade bag. Back when he first got started, that was one of
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his first haversacks. And then that went away. His bigger haversack became more popular and really
2:56
has become his flagship. And I've done videos on that particular haversack many times. Fantastic bag
3:04
But what I like about this particular style is that it is long and short and wide at the bottom
3:15
And as you can tell, when you load it up, it stands up. It does not fall over. It does not
3:20
flop around. So, that makes it really easy to get in here and get your gear out. So
3:27
just on the outside of the pack, of course, we've got a patch panel for Velcro patches. This is made
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of woodland Cordura material. I think this is the 1000D Cordura. And then Malcolm lines a lot of
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his products in bright orange or bright yellow Cordura material as well. So, that gives it some
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contrast. It makes it easier to find your contents on the inside of the bag, but also gives the bag
3:59
some durability and some rigidity. The bag itself is pretty simple. There's really not many pockets
4:08
on the outside. There is one feature that I absolutely love and that is the hatchet
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pocket right here. So, this allows you to slip a hatchet all the way through
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or tomahawk or whatever and carry that as you're headed out to the woods. So
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that's just a great option. Shoulder pad that is removable. And then on this particular model
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he has gone with a thinner one-inch material for the strap. And then the bottom of the pack
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very simple. And then it all closes up with a quality Fastex style buckle
4:52
So, the first pocket is a large slip pocket on the front. And then the only other pocket in this
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whole bag is there's a large zip pocket in the back. Perfect. Not overly done, not overly organized
5:06
Allows me to organize the bag the way I want to. Just makes a lot of sense not having all the
5:11
extra pockets and velcro and molly panels and all that stuff. I don't need all that. I really want
5:17
this to be a simple lightweight kit that I can take along with my larger backpack when I'm out
5:25
on a two to three day trip. So, the first thing I'm going to do is I'm going to pull out
5:32
this Hidden Woodsman signal panel. You've probably seen this a lot on my videos. It has definitely
5:38
been a go-to piece of gear for me. All it is is a piece of heavy-duty Cordura nylon that's been
5:45
sewn into a panel. The primary idea of it is to use it as a signal panel. But I really use it more
5:55
for putting stuff on the ground and using it as a prep area when I'm doing stuff. As you can see
6:03
I've already, I've burned a hole in mine. I've had this so many years. There's another hole right
6:06
there. But it's, it really is just a great piece of gear for me because it keeps my stuff off of
6:14
the muddy wet ground and I can lay things out. So, front pocket, I've got a stove and we're
6:23
going to be looking at that today. I've got my notebook and wrist compass, some pens
6:33
and of course this is my right in the rain notebook. So, I got my navigation kit right here
6:39
I've got a bandana and then a solo survival blanket, just in case kind of item. In the main
6:49
compartment I keep a pouch with fire making stuff and I'll go through that here in a little bit
6:57
I have a nice lightweight saw. This is the Opinel. Great little saw, doesn't weigh a lot, doesn't take up a lot of room, but it's perfect for a
7:05
haversack kit. Of course, first aid items, treat myself or anybody in my group. It's just got a
7:14
variety of bandages, band-aids, tape, gauze, gauze pads, hunk of 550 cord, just in case, never know
7:27
when you're gonna need that. And then my canteen kit. This is from Keith. It is the exact same
7:39
canteen as the heavy cover. I believe heavy cover is made by Keith, but this is Keith's
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private brand. Same thing, but there's the cup, titanium cup, pretty well used
7:51
but a nice lightweight option for carrying water. I like titanium quite a bit and I like that
7:56
canteen. And then in the back pocket I have some coffee and some snacks. I have my nutrient
8:10
survival hearty lasagna food package. I've got some wipes, lid to my canteen cup, and then my
8:25
sport. So that's it. Not a lot of stuff in here, but I don't need a ton of stuff. And then when I
8:32
put that together with the knife that I'm carrying on my belt, which is my SE4HM, I have all the gear
8:47
I need to spend the day out in the woods and feel like at least I have enough stuff to keep me
8:54
hydrated, keep me fed, keep me safe in case I do have to spend the night. There are a few items
9:01
that are going to help me do that. So part of my kit is I always want to be able to have some kind of stove with my canteen cup
9:30
I typically take an Espit stove. Espit stoves are fantastic because they are so
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lightweight, small, easy to operate, work in a variety of conditions. But today I wanted to try
9:44
something different just because I love experimenting with new pieces of gear. And I found
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I found this very cool stove on Temu, I think that's how you pronounce it, Temu, T-E-M-U
9:59
It's that, you know, super cheap Chinese website app that has just tons of stuff that they ship to
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you quickly and inexpensively. It's like the Chinese Amazon. And I got the stove off of Temu
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for like, I think it was like $12 at the most. I don't know, crazy price. But I thought, oh, this
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is cool. I really like the design of this. I thought it was kind of neat. And I want to try it out
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So I thought I would give it a shot. Of course, with these things are kind of like jigsaw puzzles
10:37
right? You gotta figure out how to put them together, which I don't always like. And it's
10:44
just a little heavy for a scout kit. Probably want to go with something a little bit lighter
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So I'm already having difficulty with this thing. I'm failing miserably. So you got to get the parts all in the right order
11:06
Okay, there we go. And then we put the other bracket on
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There it is. Sticks and get this thing filled up and get started. And let's have some hearty lasagna
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from Nutrient Survival today in the new stove and see how that goes
11:34
So I got a bunch of sticks. There's a lot of deadfall back here in these woods. So I'm just gonna break this stuff up. I didn't even have
11:44
to break out my saw to gather any of this. Some of you are probably cringing at the amount of
11:50
poison ivy that's probably you see around me. That's in all over this area. For whatever reason
11:58
I've never been affected by poison ivy in any kind of way. I usually can walk through it
12:04
get it on my skin. Sometimes I'll get a minor like rash, very minor, but I've never gotten anything
12:11
bad like some people do. So I just try to stay out of it for direct skin contact
12:19
But put the stove right there
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So fill up the big stuff on the bottom. And start putting the little twigs on top
12:58
So this is my fire kit pouch. Pretty simple. For twig stoves, just any kind of fire starting cube
13:07
that you get at a big box store works really well. So we have a couple of those
13:14
And in this kit, of course, a Bic lighter, fire bellows, ferro rod, and then my flint and steel kit with some jute. And that's it. So
13:31
not a lot of stuff in this kit. Don't need much. Flint and steel is more of kind of a fun thing to
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do. So what I do is make a little divot in here. And you can light these fire cubes right on the
13:52
package, which is nice. Lift some of this up, get it down there
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So today we're going to try the Nutrient Survival hearty lasagna. I just did a video
14:41
on making a homemade MRE. I actually use some of these nutrient meals in my homemade MRE
14:49
This is hearty lasagna. And you can get these at Walmart right now. I found these on Walmart at
14:53
the display section in the camping and outdoor section on a end cap. They're like five something
15:02
a piece, but they're nice because they're not overly huge. They're like, it's 2.36 ounces
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40 essential nutrients. Just add water. Soy free. No artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives
15:18
Pasta with robust fusilli pasta with a robust blend of spices, tomatoes, rich mozzarella
15:25
and Parmesan cheese. I will say for a stove design, it's pretty nice because it's very stable
15:31
you know, because it's long and wide and low. So you don't have that tower effect that you have
15:38
with a lot of other stoves where they can get kind of tippy. This is has a nice wide base to it. So
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it's very stable. Really great for the canteen cup with the long handles and stuff on it. Just
15:49
it seems to be balancing pretty well. So it's been sitting for about five minutes and it's thickening up quite a bit. There it is
17:00
This will be really good with some summer sausage. So the question is, how do you clean
17:08
a dirty canteen cup or pot when you're out hiking around? So there's a few things you can do. Probably the easiest method for me
17:21
is I'm going to add some water to this, stoke up my fire, heat up the water
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until it's boiling, and then rinse it out that way
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So all right, I'm going to get out of here. Thanks for watching the channel. Thanks for watching
17:55
the video. If you like this content, please consider subscribing. Leave a comment on what
18:01
you have in your Haversack kit and consider sharing this with with friends and stuff
18:08
Also check out the affiliate links down below. There'll be a link to the Hidden Woodsman
18:12
Haversack. Also there is a link to the Amazon store and preparedwanderer.com which has articles
18:21
photos, videos, all kinds of stuff on there. And then the Facebook group, 8.5 thousand members
18:29
currently growing all the time. Lots of extra content on there from myself and other folks as
18:34
well. Great place to share information. So thanks so much for watching. We'll see you next time on
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the Prepared Wanderer. Get out there and enjoy your summer
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