Bushcraft Finland winter meeting 2012

Last weekend we had our BCFIN forum´s very first winter meeting and there was 7 of us all together. This will be yearly tradition and hope to see new faces every time!
Full report will follow on couple of days so stay tuned!

Improvised Skipole

I tried to improvise skiing pole to aid showshoeing in uneven terrain. I made it using just wood, some iron wire and my knife. First I got straight stick of dead birch wood and cut it to right length from wider end. Next step was to make sompa where I used fresh willow as it is for round and other one split half for binding. I tied round with iron wire (later noticed that iron wire was not even necessary but left it to keep construction bit stronger. Sapling are easiest to split just by making start with knife and continue with bare hands and dry to keep split as middle as possible, go slow. Before binding I made sapling fibers stronger by twisting them strongly an even crushing a bit with the back of my knife.

Later when I tried that stick it´s working nicely in deep snow.

That´s good little practise of your DIY-skills. Try to make your own and post me some feedback on comments section! :)

GoExpo 2012 exhibition

GoExpo is collection 9 exhibitions in Helsinki exhibition center every year. For my interest there are: hiking, fishing, hunting exhibitions and offcourse military surplus stores like Varusteleka always have some good exhibition discounts.
So I left there on sunny sunday morning with my 4 years old son, cause I knew that there will be a lot to see for him also and it´s always better than being home.

First stop was SJML (Suomen jousimetsästäjäin liitto / Finnish bowhunters union) to talk with couple of friends there. There you can get good amount of information about bow hunting in Finland and try longbow shooting yourself.

Fjällräven stand had some of their new products and a lot of information about their great cotton based tightly woven G1000 fabric and how to make it water / dirtproof with their Greenland Wax. When Gore-Tex is everywhere they still trust strongly their G1000 which is sturdier and breaths much better than any Goretex material. They told that they are going to offer waxing services in some selected outoor shops gor G1000 products.

I got hunk of Greenland Wax from them to try it out, so report will follow, thanks Fjällräven.
Here´s video how to wax your Fjällräven garment (or other similar type of material)

Fjällräven just launched couple of G1000 rucksacks like this Rucksack no.21 with traditional style. Looks very robust and well made.

German manufacturer Edelrid had good collection of cooking technology

I especially liked these aluminum Bento 70 / 270 containers with very tight rubber lid which keeps moisture in (or out). Smaller one could be really good for carrying butter in hikes.

In "tent village" there was good collection of different tents from reputable manufacturers like Halti, Vaude, Hilleberg and Fjällräven. Aleksi wanted to try them all :)

I´m looking for compact snow shovel so these french brand Arva got my attention especially that yellow model Telesnow Pro, which was sturdy but takes small space because of it´s telescopic handle.

Varusteleka sold army surplus stuff with some nice discounts and looked like had a lot of customers..

French snowshoemaker TSL offers now gaiters to use with their snowshoes in different colour like this snow camo.

In fishing section there was showpool for kayak shows like eskimo-turns here. Aleksi like to watch these a lot.

In Kuusamo Oy:s stand these patented Finngrip Easy ski bindings for forest skis got my interest. I have heard them but never seen or tried before. Simple and rugged construction where you can fit about any shoe with these.

Kuusamo also had Goexpo special from  their traditional Räsänen spoon lure with GoExpo text and new 3 attracting colours. Räsänen is probably my most favorite spoon lure for fishing pikes.
First Räsänen was made from copper coffee pan. That´s how it all started.

Kuusamo-lures are still made in Finland where many manufacturers have moved their factories to Asia.

There was also a lot of Canoe and Kayak sales. I´m interested of getting one someday so I found a few choices where Upper Canada canoe from Welhonpesä could be optimal for me and family use:

Kivikangas Oy offers wide range of fishing equipment like nets katiskas etc. but also High quality nearly hand made Ahti-puukkos that are built in Kauhava, Southern Ostrobotnia by veteran knifemaker Reino Kamppila. They carry name Ahti. Ahti puukko´s have very well shaped and fits hand like a glove. Handles are oiled curly birch which offers very good grip in any situation. Blades are from Lauri´s blade factory and carbon steel (0,8% carbon and some added vanadium). Blades are full length tangs with the end of the tang visible at the pommel end of the handle. They are definitely good users and offers great value for money. My favorite was model "Vaara". Production is limited, but overal quality is very satisfactory.
Order yours from Kivikangas website before Reino is too old to make those anymore (for US customers Ragweed Forge offer them).

From up to down: Tikka, Vaara, Leuku18

Bush´n Blade Knife giveaway

My friend OzMe have interesting campaing going on where you can win top prizes!
Be sure act fast and subscribe: Bush´n Blade 100 sub give-away

Ending day: 
2012, March 3rd midnight Finnish time.


Good luck !

Finnish leuku-review

Good friend of mine Perkunas have made great review of finnish handmade working leuku´s. Be sure to check it out here: Perkunas leuku review

Teaser picture from Perkunas´s leuku review.