Savotta backpacks - anyone got one?

[JoviAl]

Hi all,
I’m doing a bushcraft course next summer with Ray Mears and have decided to treat myself to a new backpack for the occasion (7 days living in the woods) as my current options are all geared towards either rock climbing (Osprey, TNF, BD, etc) or motorbiking (Kriega). I’m really torn between three Savotta bags and they all have an excellent reputation but I can’t find any locally to handle so I’ll be buying blind. Does anyone have any experience with the Kahakka 25, Jääkäri M or Kantamus 40? My gut is saying Kahakka 25 as the built in bellows side pockets and 1000 denier cordura would be both super handy and super durable for day to day bushcraft stuff.

I should note - this will be just used as a day bag with my knives, tools, fire kit and first aid kit plus waterproof clothes, a bit of food and water. I’ll be using a ~100 litre dry bag expedition pack for all of my bivy and living gear that will stay wherever I camp.

Any suggestions or pitfalls to any of the above bags beyond the obvious (a bit heavy, a bit sweaty, not so comfy if overloaded)?

[Naperville]

Ought to be exciting to meet and spend time with Ray Mears. I'd love to take a few bushcraft and survival courses. Reputable sources of course. I've looked at the the Boulder Outdoor Survival School. Maybe some day.

I have no experience with any of your gear.

[JoviAl]

Ought to be exciting to meet and spend time with Ray Mears. I'd love to take a few bushcraft and survival courses. Reputable sources of course. I've looked at the the Boulder Outdoor Survival School. Maybe some day.

I have no experience with any of your gear.

Yeah, he’s one of the big driving forces behind my passion for working in the outdoors and anthropology. As a youth I watched all of his TV series on bushcraft and foraging, so it’s a bit like meeting a childhood hero.

That B.O.S.S. looks really interesting. It’s a shame the USA is so far from Singapore and flights are so prohibitively expensive (then again flying to the UK isn’t cheap at ~14 hours each way), as you guys have some of the most beautiful landscapes going to do these courses in. I’d love to head back over some time and do some long distance backpacking (and visit the Spyderco HQ).

[Naperville]

Ought to be exciting to meet and spend time with Ray Mears. I'd love to take a few bushcraft and survival courses. Reputable sources of course. I've looked at the the Boulder Outdoor Survival School. Maybe some day.

I have no experience with any of your gear.

Yeah, he’s one of the big driving forces behind my passion for working in the outdoors and anthropology. As a youth I watched all of his TV series on bushcraft and foraging, so it’s a bit like meeting a childhood hero.

That B.O.S.S. looks really interesting. It’s a shame the USA is so far from Singapore and flights are so prohibitively expensive (then again flying to the UK isn’t cheap at ~14 hours each way), as you guys have some of the most beautiful landscapes going to do these courses in. I’d love to head back over some time and do some long distance backpacking (and visit the Spyderco HQ).

It has been a long time since I looked at the bushcraft / survival / EMT(emergency medical training) schools. There is a wide range of schools teaching many different things but you have to go to a respectable and safe school. I was interested in remote or wilderness medical and survival, knowing how to survive for a month in the wilderness with little to nothing. Think "getting lost" and basic survivalist.

NOLS is another one and they have courses all over the globe.
https://www.nols.edu/
https://www.nols.edu/wilderness-medicine/courses/

I have to go through my notes and bookmarks and see what I can find. I found this in my notes, not sure where it comes from:

Mears, NOLS, Boulder Outdoor Survival School

Survival is inherently dangerous and everyone I know in the survival community is WFA or WFR.
https://www.thewildguide.com/articles/b ... -two-z8az4

Survival schools might not certify you in "general survival" but you can indeed get certified for both safety and first aid.

Injury and Illness are among the top threats in Wilderness Survival. And First Aid is something you can actually be "certified" in, with international recognition. There are many options available for Remote and Wilderness First Aid and First Responder Certifications. Classes range from 20 to 80 hours. These courses are hands on, in the outdoors. Life saving and invaluable experience that you can't learn from books or video.

[JoviAl]

Ought to be exciting to meet and spend time with Ray Mears. I'd love to take a few bushcraft and survival courses. Reputable sources of course. I've looked at the the Boulder Outdoor Survival School. Maybe some day.

I have no experience with any of your gear.

Yeah, he’s one of the big driving forces behind my passion for working in the outdoors and anthropology. As a youth I watched all of his TV series on bushcraft and foraging, so it’s a bit like meeting a childhood hero.

That B.O.S.S. looks really interesting. It’s a shame the USA is so far from Singapore and flights are so prohibitively expensive (then again flying to the UK isn’t cheap at ~14 hours each way), as you guys have some of the most beautiful landscapes going to do these courses in. I’d love to head back over some time and do some long distance backpacking (and visit the Spyderco HQ).

It has been a long time since I looked at the bushcraft / survival / EMT(emergency medical training) schools. There is a wide range of schools teaching many different things but you have to go to a respectable and safe school. I was interested in remote or wilderness medical and survival, knowing how to survive for a month in the wilderness with little to nothing. Think "getting lost" and basic survivalist.

NOLS is another one and they have courses all over the globe.
https://www.nols.edu/
https://www.nols.edu/wilderness-medicine/courses/

I have to go through my notes and bookmarks and see what I can find. I found this in my notes, not sure where it comes from:

Mears, NOLS, Boulder Outdoor Survival School

Survival is inherently dangerous and everyone I know in the survival community is WFA or WFR.
https://www.thewildguide.com/articles/b ... -two-z8az4

Survival schools might not certify you in "general survival" but you can indeed get certified for both safety and first aid.

Injury and Illness are among the top threats in Wilderness Survival. And First Aid is something you can actually be "certified" in, with international recognition. There are many options available for Remote and Wilderness First Aid and First Responder Certifications. Classes range from 20 to 80 hours. These courses are hands on, in the outdoors. Life saving and invaluable experience that you can't learn from books or video.

Morning buddy

I’m familiar with wilderness first aid (we do overlapping components on the Advanced First Aid and Advanced Paediatric First Aid courses we have to maintain certification in for work, along with the Commercial Chainsaw certs I maintain) but I’ve not yet had a chance to do either of the others as a course. I’d love to do a survival course just for the fun of it (it’s pretty easy to survive in the jungles of SE Asia as there’s abundant food, water and medicinal plants. Then again there’s also Dengue, Malaria, Zika and countless other tiny murderous things that want to do us harm, so it’s not all roses), especially in a beautiful location like Colorado, NY state or Western Canada. I would imagine you’re spoiled for choice for courses in the USA, especially since the preparedness movement really kicked off.

[Naperville]

Ought to be exciting to meet and spend time with Ray Mears. I'd love to take a few bushcraft and survival courses. Reputable sources of course. I've looked at the the Boulder Outdoor Survival School. Maybe some day.

I have no experience with any of your gear.

Yeah, he’s one of the big driving forces behind my passion for working in the outdoors and anthropology. As a youth I watched all of his TV series on bushcraft and foraging, so it’s a bit like meeting a childhood hero.

That B.O.S.S. looks really interesting. It’s a shame the USA is so far from Singapore and flights are so prohibitively expensive (then again flying to the UK isn’t cheap at ~14 hours each way), as you guys have some of the most beautiful landscapes going to do these courses in. I’d love to head back over some time and do some long distance backpacking (and visit the Spyderco HQ).

It has been a long time since I looked at the bushcraft / survival / EMT(emergency medical training) schools. There is a wide range of schools teaching many different things but you have to go to a respectable and safe school. I was interested in remote or wilderness medical and survival, knowing how to survive for a month in the wilderness with little to nothing. Think "getting lost" and basic survivalist.

NOLS is another one and they have courses all over the globe.
https://www.nols.edu/
https://www.nols.edu/wilderness-medicine/courses/

I have to go through my notes and bookmarks and see what I can find. I found this in my notes, not sure where it comes from:

Mears, NOLS, Boulder Outdoor Survival School

Survival is inherently dangerous and everyone I know in the survival community is WFA or WFR.
https://www.thewildguide.com/articles/b ... -two-z8az4

Survival schools might not certify you in "general survival" but you can indeed get certified for both safety and first aid.

Injury and Illness are among the top threats in Wilderness Survival. And First Aid is something you can actually be "certified" in, with international recognition. There are many options available for Remote and Wilderness First Aid and First Responder Certifications. Classes range from 20 to 80 hours. These courses are hands on, in the outdoors. Life saving and invaluable experience that you can't learn from books or video.

Morning buddy

I’m familiar with wilderness first aid (we do overlapping components on the Advanced First Aid and Advanced Paediatric First Aid courses we have to maintain certification in for work, along with the Commercial Chainsaw certs I maintain) but I’ve not yet had a chance to do either of the others as a course. I’d love to do a survival course just for the fun of it (it’s pretty easy to survive in the jungles of SE Asia as there’s abundant food, water and medicinal plants. Then again there’s also Dengue, Malaria, Zika and countless other tiny murderous things that want to do is harm, so it’s not all roses), especially in a beautiful location like Colorado, NY state or Western Canada. I would imagine you’re spoiled for choice for courses in the USA, especially since the preparedness movement really kicked off.

Who knows what the future holds, maybe I'll finally tackle one of the survival or wilderness medical courses.

Right now I am selling a home. After that I'll relocate to study Filipino Martial Arts full-time. We are speaking of private lessons directly from masters and grand masters for a few years. I have a few places in mind but have not yet decided 100% yet. It is going to be fun fun fun.... I'll let everyone know what I decide to study in James Y's martial arts thread when the time comes.

LET'S SELL THE HOME SOON PLEASE!

[JoviAl]

Yeah, he’s one of the big driving forces behind my passion for working in the outdoors and anthropology. As a youth I watched all of his TV series on bushcraft and foraging, so it’s a bit like meeting a childhood hero.

That B.O.S.S. looks really interesting. It’s a shame the USA is so far from Singapore and flights are so prohibitively expensive (then again flying to the UK isn’t cheap at ~14 hours each way), as you guys have some of the most beautiful landscapes going to do these courses in. I’d love to head back over some time and do some long distance backpacking (and visit the Spyderco HQ).

It has been a long time since I looked at the bushcraft / survival / EMT(emergency medical training) schools. There is a wide range of schools teaching many different things but you have to go to a respectable and safe school. I was interested in remote or wilderness medical and survival, knowing how to survive for a month in the wilderness with little to nothing. Think "getting lost" and basic survivalist.

NOLS is another one and they have courses all over the globe.
https://www.nols.edu/
https://www.nols.edu/wilderness-medicine/courses/

I have to go through my notes and bookmarks and see what I can find. I found this in my notes, not sure where it comes from:

Mears, NOLS, Boulder Outdoor Survival School

Survival is inherently dangerous and everyone I know in the survival community is WFA or WFR.
https://www.thewildguide.com/articles/b ... -two-z8az4

Survival schools might not certify you in "general survival" but you can indeed get certified for both safety and first aid.

Injury and Illness are among the top threats in Wilderness Survival. And First Aid is something you can actually be "certified" in, with international recognition. There are many options available for Remote and Wilderness First Aid and First Responder Certifications. Classes range from 20 to 80 hours. These courses are hands on, in the outdoors. Life saving and invaluable experience that you can't learn from books or video.

Morning buddy

I’m familiar with wilderness first aid (we do overlapping components on the Advanced First Aid and Advanced Paediatric First Aid courses we have to maintain certification in for work, along with the Commercial Chainsaw certs I maintain) but I’ve not yet had a chance to do either of the others as a course. I’d love to do a survival course just for the fun of it (it’s pretty easy to survive in the jungles of SE Asia as there’s abundant food, water and medicinal plants. Then again there’s also Dengue, Malaria, Zika and countless other tiny murderous things that want to do is harm, so it’s not all roses), especially in a beautiful location like Colorado, NY state or Western Canada. I would imagine you’re spoiled for choice for courses in the USA, especially since the preparedness movement really kicked off.

Who knows what the future holds, maybe I'll finally tackle one of the survival or wilderness medical courses.

Right now I am selling a home. After that I'll relocate to study Filipino Martial Arts full-time. We are speaking of private lessons directly from masters and grand masters for a few years. I have a few places in mind but have not yet decided 100% yet. It is going to be fun fun fun.... I'll let everyone know what I decide to study in James Y's martial arts thread when the time comes.

LET'S SELL THE HOME SOON PLEASE!

If you happen to find yourself in SE Asia at any point let me know and I’ll buy you a beverage Learning from highly skilled practitioners is always a great experience - literally benefitting from decades of their iterations.

[Naperville]

It has been a long time since I looked at the bushcraft / survival / EMT(emergency medical training) schools. There is a wide range of schools teaching many different things but you have to go to a respectable and safe school. I was interested in remote or wilderness medical and survival, knowing how to survive for a month in the wilderness with little to nothing. Think "getting lost" and basic survivalist.

NOLS is another one and they have courses all over the globe.
https://www.nols.edu/
https://www.nols.edu/wilderness-medicine/courses/

I have to go through my notes and bookmarks and see what I can find. I found this in my notes, not sure where it comes from:

Mears, NOLS, Boulder Outdoor Survival School

Survival is inherently dangerous and everyone I know in the survival community is WFA or WFR.
https://www.thewildguide.com/articles/b ... -two-z8az4

Survival schools might not certify you in "general survival" but you can indeed get certified for both safety and first aid.

Injury and Illness are among the top threats in Wilderness Survival. And First Aid is something you can actually be "certified" in, with international recognition. There are many options available for Remote and Wilderness First Aid and First Responder Certifications. Classes range from 20 to 80 hours. These courses are hands on, in the outdoors. Life saving and invaluable experience that you can't learn from books or video.

Morning buddy

I’m familiar with wilderness first aid (we do overlapping components on the Advanced First Aid and Advanced Paediatric First Aid courses we have to maintain certification in for work, along with the Commercial Chainsaw certs I maintain) but I’ve not yet had a chance to do either of the others as a course. I’d love to do a survival course just for the fun of it (it’s pretty easy to survive in the jungles of SE Asia as there’s abundant food, water and medicinal plants. Then again there’s also Dengue, Malaria, Zika and countless other tiny murderous things that want to do is harm, so it’s not all roses), especially in a beautiful location like Colorado, NY state or Western Canada. I would imagine you’re spoiled for choice for courses in the USA, especially since the preparedness movement really kicked off.

Who knows what the future holds, maybe I'll finally tackle one of the survival or wilderness medical courses.

Right now I am selling a home. After that I'll relocate to study Filipino Martial Arts full-time. We are speaking of private lessons directly from masters and grand masters for a few years. I have a few places in mind but have not yet decided 100% yet. It is going to be fun fun fun.... I'll let everyone know what I decide to study in James Y's martial arts thread when the time comes.

LET'S SELL THE HOME SOON PLEASE!

If you happen to find yourself in SE Asia at any point let me know and I’ll buy you a beverage Learning from highly skilled practitioners is always a great experience - literally benefitting from decades of their iterations.

It's a deal!