October 21st, 2012 UPDATE
Dear readers,
Well, it was a wild and crazy summer. Wildfires everywhere, evacuation standbys, both of our blogging laptops dying, you name it. I'm happy to report that life is becoming sane once again. I'm working hard to catch up after all of the down time we've had, and look forward to posting lots of fresh (and hopefully) interesting material for you. I would like to thank those of you who've stuck around through the "Wild Summer of 2012!"
I'd also like to take this opportunity to clarify some things about our site. We've received comments and private emails asking why we don't have more articles about "Bow Drills" and such. The answer is that there are a million bushcraft blogs with these types of postings.
We try to be different, and as you'll see by the material posted in the coming months, we try to find subject matter that hasn't been covered before or has had very little coverage. Plus, many times we like to show a different angle on the subjects we cover.
We haven't been posting a lot of wilderness survival and bushcrafting material only because of our committment to completing our "Made in the USA" gear project, which consists of over 50 different product reviews. It is something I believe very deeply in, and I'm proud to note that our "Made in the USA Gear" tab is now the second most popular tab on the site.
Rocky Mountain Bushcraft is also one of the only sites that posts a wide range of outdoor consumer gear and axe reviews from a bushcrafter's perspective. Yes, there are some excellent blogs out there that post bushcraft-oriented gear and axe reviews, some of which I read and enjoy very much. But I believe that our site has the largest, and growing, array of indepth reviews from this perspective.
One of the positive outcomes of our review efforts is that large outdoor companies like Danner, Outdoor Research, Leatherman, Gerber Gear and Therm-A-Rest are starting to take note of bushcrafters as a burgeoning consumer force. Many of these companies have shared our reviews on their websites and social media, a first for anything with "bushcraft" in the title. If you click on the links in those companies' names, it leads to reviews they've shared on their social media/websites if you're curious and want to check them out. I'm very proud of this accomplishment, and I hope it leads to more products that specifically cater to the bushcraft community.
Even though our "Made in the USA" project has taken a large bite out of the time we've had to post bushcraft-related material, we've still spent lots of time in the field, experimenting and taking photos for unique, upcoming wilderness articles. We hope you'll continue to visit the site, and look forward to sharing our adventures with you.
Sincerely,
Jason/Leah
Rocky Mountain Bushcraft
REVIEW AND ARTICLES- October 21st, 2012 UPDATE
Next reviews- Gregory Denali 105 Expedition Backpack, Wetterlings Forester's Fine Axe, Hultafors Classic Line axes and Felling axes, Casio Protek 2500T Titanium Altimeter Watch, Barco-Kelly Axes review and field tests, Ontario Blackbird SK-5 Survival Knife Field Review, Kodiak Canvas Tent, Open Country Cookware, etc.
SPECIAL- A visit to Kelty Backpacks' Boulder Colorado Headquarters to get fitted with a new multi-day pack (will have lots of photos!)
Next Articles- "Made in the USA! Outdoor/Bushcraft Gear" (yes, it's still coming, sorry for the delay!), "An Introduction to Mother Nature's Magical Fire Tinder" and many more.
Upcoming Articles
How to split large logs with just a hatchet and self-made wooden wedges
How to make a Swedish Fire Torch (for cooking and heat)
"Made in the USA" Wilderness Gear Article
Carbon vs Stainless Mora Knives
Wilderness First Aid Tips (many more!)
North American Fatwood Varieties
Ultra-Lite Bushcrafting
Rocky Mountain Tree Identification
Wilderness Survival Tips
How to Sharpen an Axe
Axe Use and Safety (more to come!)
Edged Tool Reviews
Leatherman Squirt PS4
Helko of Germany Outdoor/Camp Hatchet Field Review
Fiskars X5 Mini-Hatchet
Ontario RD Hawk Quick Review
Victorinox SwissTool Spirit X
Mora Bushcraft Survival Knife
Coghlan's Regular and Mini-Sierra Saws
Gerber EZ Out Folding Knife
Mora "Beaver Cut" Survival Kit
Mora Bushcraft Survival Knife
Coghlan's Regular and Mini-Sierra Saws
Gerber EZ Out Folding Knife
Mora "Beaver Cut" Survival Kit
Made in the USA Wilderness Gear
Too many to list!
Other Outdoor Gear
Kelty Red Cloud 5600 Backpack
SOL Escape Bivvy
Outdoor Research Furio Gore-Tex Shell Jacket
Outdoor Research Stormcell Waterproof Gore-Tex Gloves
Marmot Eos 1p Ultra-lite backpacking Tent
Hennessy Expedition A-sym Backpacking Hammock
Vasque Taku GTX Ultra-lite hiking/backpacking boots
Cabela's Goretex Clothing
Vasque Taku GTX Ultra-lite hiking/backpacking boots
Cabela's Goretex Clothing
Rocky Mountain Bushcraft has just passed 29,000 page views in just 5 months, so thank you all for continuing to visit our site!
Also, PLEASE MAKE SURE to "Follow by Email" at the top right of the page, join us on Twitter, or sign up as Google follower if you haven't already done so (thanks!). Our Facebook page has had some issues but should be working soon.
We also love to hear comments-- please show us your love if you like what you read!
Cheers,
Jason, Dave and Leah
(head explodes) thats a lot of stuff.the weather must be getting nice out there.def will be looking forward to a couple of those.thanks guys.
ReplyDeleteLol, you go that right. Luckily, most of these will be spaced out between now and summer, but it should make a busy blog nonetheless! Thanks for commenting.
DeleteCheers,
J
Excellent content coming up. Looking forward to the ultralight bushcrafting article.
ReplyDeleteThanks Cattledog.
DeleteCheers, J
Love the in depth gear reviews. My husband and I are wanna be adventurists (3 kids under 5 make it a little prohibitive) but we do love camping! I was wondering what happened to the mora knife giveaway and review post? It was actually through that link that I discovered your blog (my husband is a knife aficionado) , but I can't seem to that post anymore.
ReplyDeleteHi Camelfam,
DeleteThanks for the comment. You were one of the 5 consolation prize winners and we sent you an email twice but never heard back. Please get back with us so we can send it out and we really appreciate your feedback on our reviews.
- Jason
I am looking forward to your reviews, I really dig your blog. The made is the USA piece is great. You help expose slot of people to products they may have never known existed.
ReplyDeleteThanks Chuck, it's certainly a labor of love for us since we believe in buying USA whenever possible.
DeleteYour reviews are top notch and present the gear in an honest fashion and you "show" us, not just tell us. I really appreciate them and find it interesting even if it's not something I'm in the market for. All blogs offer something a little different. That's what makes reading a lot of them fun. If there were all the same it would get pretty old.
ReplyDeleteOutdoor, that's one of the nicest comments I've heard on here, thank you- it means a lot.
ReplyDeleteCheers, Jason
Hey guys, since I live here in Colorado Springs, I feel inspired to get out into the "wild" every time I read a review. Even better, I'm using some of the gear you've reviewed. Can't wait for the ultra light backpacking article.
ReplyDeleteHey Ruby,
ReplyDeleteGreetings to a fellow Colorado bushcrafter. The "Springs" is a cool place and there's great bushcrafting down that way too!
Glad you enjoy the reviews (we enjoy sharing them!), so thanks for coming to the site and sharing your experiences!
Cheers,
RMB Crew