Beckerhead Camping and Woodcraft Reviews....

My bad, I just reread what you had posted. I was on the phone with my son, and trying to read while listening, and posting when I should have waited.

I’m actually glad to elaborate more. I am surpsied I found a video depicting something similar.

If you ever need to sneak around give it a try.
 
LEM boulder boots aren't a bad transition step from "regular" shoes/boots to moccasins -- they have a minimal drop and fairly thin EVA sole so you get good ground feel but still have a little cushion.
once you're used to those, take out the insoles.
after you get used to walking around in those all day, you're ready for moccasins.
the EVA material (what Crocs are made of) is also stupid slick when wet, just like rawhide.
 
Great thread.

Im a little late but when reading the comments about the moccasins I thought I’d throw this in this mix. Myself and many buddies use “Tabis” to hunt and fish. They are basically like reinforced socks with flat bottoms.

Very good grip on wet rocks, and also silent when hunting.

99ACE365-0248-49E1-A349-6C87D9B203CC.jpeg
 
Great thread.

Im a little late but when reading the comments about the moccasins I thought I’d throw this in this mix. Myself and many buddies use “Tabis” to hunt and fish. They are basically like reinforced socks with flat bottoms.

Very good grip on wet rocks, and also silent when hunting.

View attachment 1018296
I have a pair of those somewhere.
 
I have the Book of Camping and Woodcraft on my iPhone’s Kindle app. It’s incredibly informative and still very much relevant in modern times. Mr. Kephart shares tactics with the reader that I personally would never even think of. The book is very cerebral and speaks volumes towards being prepared and respecting the natural world. I look at it often.

There’s one aspect of the book that I would criticize; an unfortunate remnant of antiquated thought. I recall seeing the use of the bigoted word “darky” more than once. Yes, the book is a historical timepiece. No, reading that word wasn’t cool with me.
 
Molokai, those look like dive booties we wear under fins. I had a pair with a padded sole to protect against sharp coral, rocks, etc., except for the split between the toe. I could not stand to wear that kind, even "shower shoes" or flip-flops bother me.
LwXIqMA.jpg
 
Molokai, those look like dive booties we wear under fins. I had a pair with a padded sole to protect against sharp coral, rocks, etc., except for the split between the toe. I could not stand to wear that kind, even "shower shoes" or flip-flops bother me.
LwXIqMA.jpg

Yeah, some open back dive fins fit while wearing these. I can understand these not being for everyone, but they sure work good for me!
 
dres, there's a digital download library on a certain trademarked outdoor forum.

i can't imagine it's still under copyright...

but it's going to be better than the Kindle edition - Ethan says it's bad. avoid.
 
one of the terms to look for for shoes is "zero drop" - the stuff that a lot of weight lifters like (heel grounded, solid but even then, many go barefoot or wear skins"

an example would be "Merrell Men's Bare Access 4 Trail Running Shoe"

i love these things. they've saved my feet and allowed healing from years of neglect by wearing shitty shoes.

shoes are one of the most important things you can own, unless you are blessed with great feet.

everything follows from your grounded stance, to your knees, hips, back.

posture!

back hurts you when you stand a long time?

examine your shoes.

if your insoles are worn? it's time to toss them and get new insoles, or even the shoes... bin them for "mud shoes"

your body is worth it!
 
Bikeerector makes some good points.... When the woods are wet moccasins suck..... A lot of the old cowboys carried a pair of Mocs for wear around camp and for sneaking about... They were not full timers but great Accessories.. e
Teepee creeping
 
i can't imagine it's still under copyright...

but it's going to be better than the Kindle edition - Ethan says it's bad. avoid.
can confirm - the Kindle edition sucks. What I chose to read for now. It's just an auto generated file from the .PDF and there's tons of mistakes. Not in copyright anymore, hence why there's so many bad versions. My husband and I actually took a different book that was out of copyright and redid it properly once. Lots and lots of work involved, but it's nice to know people can get a good copy of it. Would love to do that again with any old literary outdoorsy book that doesn't have a proper version yet.
 
Interesting side step from the Camping and Woodcraft book to minimalist shoes. As a track and field coach for 25 years, I've seen my fair share of footwear trends come and go. The two rules I've learned to follow are...
(1) Wear the correct shoe for the given activity. There is no such thing as "one size fits all" or "one type fits all". On days we'd train lightly, our athletes would wear minimalist shoes or go barefoot. For hard runs, the shoes with more protection came out. The same can be said for "woods athletes". Train in a safe familiar environment with minimalist shoes or bare feet, but be smart enough to bring out the heavy duty shoes when the environment requires such.
(2) Look down for the diagnosis. Unfortunately, track and field is rough on people and injuries happen. I learned long ago to look down for the diagnosis. If knees hurt, the source of the problem is probably below the knee. If the back hurts, it may be a hip, knee, foot, or overall leg problem. The idea helps narrow down possibilities. As pointed out earlier, good shoes - or should I say the RIGHT SHOES - make all the difference.
 
Read Chapter 5 this morning, Utensils and Food, but don't really have anything to add from it.
 
Decided to read Chapter 6, Checklist, which will be a great reference, and chapter 7, The Camp. Lots of good information about what to look for when selecting a good site, how to prepare it, etc. It occurred to me while reading it, of the dedication that went into writing this book. It's one thing to have a love for the outdoors, and enjoy it, but to make all those observations, jot down notes, etc, must have been a huge undertaking.
 
Just finished Chapter 1 and I'm loving it! I find a lot of what he's saying kind of humorous - like he's a little hipstery and it's great. He's like - we're chilling in the woods but not like those fancy people who buy fancy things and stuff, but we're not gonna suffer TOO much, I bring my porcelain tea cup after all! :p

Here's something that I really think rings true for all of us into the bushcrafty ways - "All thoroughbred campers do this [sort out and fuss over their gear] as regularly as birds come back in spring, and their kind have been doing it since the world began. It is good for us. If some misguided genius should invent a camping equipment that nobody could find fault with, half our pleasure in life would be swept away."
THANK YOU Kephart for validating my obsession with organizing my outdoor gear. Seriously thinking about putting this on the wall by my knife collection haha!!

This would be such a rad book to all read before a gathering and then have a book club type discussion about.
 
Just finished Chapter 1 and I'm loving it! I find a lot of what he's saying kind of humorous - like he's a little hipstery and it's great. He's like - we're chilling in the woods but not like those fancy people who buy fancy things and stuff, but we're not gonna suffer TOO much, I bring my porcelain tea cup after all! :p

Here's something that I really think rings true for all of us into the bushcrafty ways - "All thoroughbred campers do this [sort out and fuss over their gear] as regularly as birds come back in spring, and their kind have been doing it since the world began. It is good for us. If some misguided genius should invent a camping equipment that nobody could find fault with, half our pleasure in life would be swept away."
THANK YOU Kephart for validating my obsession with organizing my outdoor gear. Seriously thinking about putting this on the wall by my knife collection haha!!

This would be such a rad book to all read before a gathering and then have a book club type discussion about.

it's good reading to the children(s) too
 
....Apparently when trying to move silently some natives had a certain special footstep. When stepping forward one slowly puts their forward foot down landing on the outside of the heel. All weight is kept on the back foot at this point. Then you slowly distribute the weight by rolling it slowly forward around the outside of your forward foot.

Sure enough it works even if it makes one walk slowly. With practice one can walk across even dry fallen leaves hardly making a noise.
Yep. When I was a teen and squirrel hunting a neighbor commented that he saw me moving through the woods (unbeknownst to me at the time) that I sounded like a freight train. My brother told me and I made a point of learning to walk very silently in the woods if I want to.

I really don't want to do the moccasin thing. There just isn't enough support. I protect these getting older bones and muscles these days. Not a kid any more and I pay attention.

Warrior: Surprised you are wading through the pdf version of the book. I just found it a real pain in the butt to read and the pictures help a lot in getting a feel for the way things were in the 1900 Southern Appalachians. One needs to remember that Kephart was a writer, a yankee so to speak and certainly a foreigner to the mountain folks. He highlights things in my opinion to sell books back in the day. But Camping & Woodcraft is a great book full of tidbits.
 
...There’s one aspect of the book that I would criticize; an unfortunate remnant of antiquated thought. I recall seeing the use of the bigoted word “darky” more than once. Yes, the book is a historical timepiece. No, reading that word wasn’t cool with me.
He didn't care much for Indians either or at least the ones around Cherokee NC. This was not that long after the last Indian battle. Look at old Life magazines published during WWII and "Japs" are mentioned a lot as well. It is an interesting time piece and one that I enjoy for what it is.
 
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