The first item on the list which I see a lot come April due to all the rain, are those nasty disposable ponchos. Please, please, please do not buy disposable ponchos. I myself have a reusable poncho, however, I do keep disposable ponchos in my pack in case of an absolute emergency, such as myself or someone I may be hiking with does not have one. Yankee from Yankee's Outdoor Adventure will tell you the same thing. I urge you not to use these in case it is an emergency. My poncho is reusable, has draw strings so I can adjust the hood so it fits over my head (and my hat) and actually protects me more in an emergency situation.
The next item on the list is something that campers all tend to use. Not just us bushcrafters, but everyone who enjoys going outdoors from time to time with their families. And I'm not against that at all, I support everyone who wants to go outside, I just want you to do it the right way. I know when we go camping we think "disposable" because we think it's easy to clean up. When you bring plastic cups and, it's not as bad, but paper towels, you're not as likely to clean it up. I've known so many people, and even I myself have done this, taken a pop bottle into the woods and set it down thinking "Oh, I'll pick that up when I leave." Here's the thing, if it's not important to you, you're not as likely to remember it. Then someone else will end up cleaning up after you. I have made my own reusable paper towels by taking a flour sack towel (I know I'm forever talking about these things, but they're awesome) and cut it into 8 pieces. You can use it as a napkin, wash it, and reuse it. No trash. As far as cups you can take a Coleman plastic mug, or if you're completely against plastic, you can take the Coleman enameled metal cup. Fantastic choices, either one.
The next item is the hard pill for everyone to swallow. Plastic water bottles that everyone takes with them for hiking and camping. The one in the picture to the right is not the exact same thing, but you can pretend it's whatever crap you use: get rid of it. Those things will cause you more harm than good. I take a metal, single-wall, stainless steel water bottle. I have a black coating on it so it doesn't reflect and it's easier to clean the soot off of when I boil in it. You can fill it up with water or pop, heck this could be your replacement pop bottle. If you're in the woods and you finish your pop, or your plastic water bottle breaks, it's now garbage. And if it's garbage it's no longer important to you and you're likely to forget about it. It's going to take a lot for this metal water bottle to be damaged to the point that it can't hold water. This may cost you a little bit more money, but considering all of the plastic water bottles you are going to go through in the long run, you can save up and buy you a new one.If you guys have a better reusable item than what I've suggest or if you have an item that I've missed, leave a comment and let me know some of your ideas. Next week we will be talking about different ways to recycle items and you know you don't want to miss it. As always feel free to comment by clicking the comment link at the end of the blog, hit the follow button in the top right corner, share this blog, and check back next week for a new one on Sunday 10pm (est). If you want to keep up with me and what I’m doing, Follow me on Facebook: @BPackBushcraft and on Twitter @BPackBushCraft. Lastly if video is more your style check out my YouTube Channel backpack bushcraft where there is a video version of this with the same title. Until next time, keep those fires burning and put another log on for me.
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