Truthfully, not even sure where I belong in all this.
I prefer wilderness survival, but I do like to make my own gear, so maybe Bushcrafting is the field I fall into, or maybe not.
Either way, to me, wilderness survival, bushcrafting is the form of ultimate freedom. Making your own gear, knowing how to live anywhere with minimal gear is the truest form of freedom to me.
With that said, I have to shake my head at some bloggers and youtubers when they talk about their gear they have. They show their gear and its nice, well made etc. Then I look up their gear and my jaw drops. For instance, one talked about their boots. Really nice looking, very well made. When I looked up the boots, the price tag and it was well over $300. Granted, if you can afford it, get it. But I started this adventure as a pauper. I had to watch what I spent and save up if I really needed or wanted something. My first boots were the Walmart survivor boots, less than $50. With that said though, I do have a pair of high end boots that are valued over $300, but I got them off of ebay cheap due to the fact I have small feet. ;) I paid $40 anad recently sent them off to be resoled for $87, so the total value of the boot is $127, still cheaper than the high ends, even though my boots are high end.
This goes the same with knives. Yes, I have a couple expensive knives, but I scrimp and saved or traded to get them. But one of the best knives I have is also one of the cheapest. The Mora knife. Those are true work horses and I know wilderness survival teachers and bushcrafters who had a mora and used it for nearly twenty years.
That's what I do. Bushcrafting to me isn't buying the most expensive gear, but to make do with what you have and able to get.
