Wear a leather belt everyday, when hunting, I have my knife on a belt, also the inside of my hunting belt has a smurf poo on it in case I need to strop my knife, never felt like Rambo .
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Wear a leather belt everyday, when hunting, I have my knife on a belt, also the inside of my hunting belt has a smurf poo on it in case I need to strop my knife, never felt like Rambo .
I always have two knifes as well, main knife in pack and a mercator as spare always in my emergency pouch also in pack. Plb also in emergency pouch in pack but seriously thinking I need to relocate that to on me somehow.
Wearing a belt would drive me nuts.
I’m using a twinneedle Hunter’s belt with a twinneedle lfp pack which is very small and low profile but has a lot of expansion in the back panel. I have a fixed knife on the belt but might put that in the bag and go to a folder on the belt.
I'm just trying out 2 rear army utility pouches and PLB on a belt together with bino case with kill-kit (including knife) and range finder in. That gives me a lot of space for stuff including FAK, water, snacks, meat bag/sheet and with rubber shock cord on top i can easily chuck on a extra waterproof etc. I'm used to wearing webbing so those utility pouches are comfortable enough for me as they sit high on the hips and their weight is taken by the small of the back. This will also allow me to rotate them to the front and wear AARN front pack style whilst having on my main pack(with their weight distributed to the main pack hip belt).
I was wearing 4 utility pouches but the weight of those without a hardness was a bit heavy. People who want a vest might want to consider the stock standard army style vest like this one https://www.trademe.co.nz/sports/hun...e7230b2710691c. Wore one for years and was comfy and roomy...
Hunting the weekend before Xmas I bloody left my knife at home, needless to say I spooked a hind walking in, first animal seen in the Kaimais for me and shes still there as a result of not double checking the gear (Realising no knife, I left my gun strapped to my pack instead of hunting my way in)
I usually will wear a belt and day pack if on day missions, but carry it in my pack when walking in easily accessible on top of my stuff.
2 knives on my belt, plastic bag with my lunch in it tucked down the front of me and I"m off for the day pig hunting. Similar when deer hunting as I usually only go for a few hour"s
I used to keep knives on my belt, after losing a couple in scrub I now keep them in the top pocket of my pack or in a bumbag if thats what I'm using.
Same with PLB, I understand the reasoning behind having a PLB on you instead of in your pack but I've never found a practical/comfortable way of carrying it while wearing a pack.
I'm a bumbag guy also for day hunts. Multiday it is clipped onto a pack, so if I'm based from one spot I can leave the big pack in camp. Has knife on the bumbag strap and a spare folder inside. Carries as much as most smaller packs do. Great for carry outs and thick country. I've never lost a fixed blade on the belt ever but that comes down to a proper fitting sheath that holds the knife. That said shit happens and a small back up folder can be a life saver.
I've been thinking about this thread and why I wear stuff on my belt, and why some don't or never had.
I wonder if its sort of a reflection of the growing divide between town and country - a cultural thing.
I spent 25 years farming and shepherding and a knife and note book pouch was always on my belt. Both as a shepherd and as a farm owner. A sort of badge of honour as well as being totally practical. We even wore them in the pub. -
Then when I went meat hunting it was the same except it was a knife and ammo pouch. It didn't matter what background we came from - it was what we did - cullers were the same. A shared rural/land culture and because we didn't use any day packs or if we did it was a sugar back it was best to have our stuff easily accessible on our belt.
So even today (in my 70th year) I feel naked with out something on my belt when I go hunting. Inspite of spending the last 30 years as a professional in a city. For me, its embedded culture,
Nowadays though I expect that many hunters get kitted out by shiny arsed shop attendants or mates who have no rural connection. Their connection is with the internet and advertising and no rural connection at all. That's their embedded culture.
Its sort of like me feeling naked without my knife and my grandkids feeling naked without their iPad.
So having all of your shit in a modern day pack is probably quite sensible, and having it all dragging your pants down is probably a bit silly. But I prefer the latter because its embedded into my personal culture.
I have a knife on the belt. Carry it on the left side so it doesnt knock against the rifle stock. I dont carry a PLB on my belt of course because I'm not a fucking japanese schoolgirl.
I know what Tahr is saying, when I was a kid having a sheath knife on the belt meant you were a hunter.
LOL thats exactly what I was doing when I was a kid. And throwing them at water rats, tying them on the end of sticks etc. Inheriting sheath knives from my grandfather and my father was entry level into bushstuff and hunting.Quote:
Originally Posted by berg243
I was out with some hunters a while back and was amazed to find they didnt know how to make a spear for getting eels. I said what the fuck were you doing when you were a kid.
I wear a tacticool combat vest as my day pack. I may look like a dork, but the thing is super functional. It has a pocket on the back for my water bladder, big pockets for food and clothing, a nice flat accessible one for my map, and small ones for my folding knife and PLB. Best of all, I'm unlikely to take it off and go for a wander by accident.
I just wish it was designed with tall people in mind. Done up properly its more of a combat sports bra...
https://www.armyandoutdoors.co.nz/co...nt=36533030094
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Tried this idea and got sick of not being able to squeeze through gaps between trees and under bush lawyer where I thought I should fit!Quote:
Originally Posted by Solo
@Tahr you're absolutly correct from my thinking. I grew up on the farm, knife was the tool of many uses. I too feel naked without my "kit" around the waist.
I posted this thread to get an idea of how our hunting culture differs from hunter to hunter and how our age & experience reflects on our beliefs.
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That's what my other knife is for [emoji14]Quote:
Originally Posted by 223nut
https://www.top-gear.co.nz/ic/829982...097KMIGS.1.JPG
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I've always had a knife, on the belt, and a small NZFS canvas pouch, with a few bits and pieces,. ( first aid, small twin blade Swiss army knife, loose ammo, rope/twine, couple hooks, candle, rubber bike tube and matches/lighter) gets added, when hunting further than an hour or two from road end, I like a small day pack, in more open country, but the snag on everything in thick scrub.
A buck knife on my bum pack with other bits and sack pikau with extra gear, food, plb and I`m off.
Attachment 81740
Hmmm this thread has got me digging out a belt just for knife plb and a small pouch to make a bit more room in my day bag
Classic. Presumably you swaggered into the Pongoroa boozer with your Green River on your hip and told the barman to stack up the beers as blood dripped off your swanny.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tahr
Read Lew Sutherlands book about the Xmas end of season sessions at the local pub.Unintentionally that happened to my first walk thru the Ruahines ending up at the Mangaweka pub. The cullers were there. We had black woollen vest, undies, bullers. We put our packs with our rifles in the corner of the pub. Borrowed money off the barman till we got picked upon and repaid our bill. The cullers had their knife belts on not as show but pure working gear.We hitched from Mokai station. Yes carrying rifles and smelling like the proverbial. Dave Ratcliffe has a classic comment in his book about this issue. Old enough to own a rifle but not legal for drinking.
I've always gone with a knife belt with a couple of pouches on it for FAK, spare ammo and other odds and ends. Growing up in the country and wearing a knife on your belt were just facts of life. I hear people complain they lost a knife wearing it on their belt, I lost one once too so I learned to buy sheaths with a flap and a tight fit. I never evn thought about putting my knife in a pack. The only time I do is when I'm wearing my big pack walking in.
One thing that hasn't been bought up is body shape . . . I can still climb hills OK but for some reason my bloody belts (on both pants and knife) don't stay up anymore. (and before anyone gets smart . . . I was 75 Kgs right thorough my 20's and am still only 79 kgs at 56).
So after 45 years or so of a knifebelt I've started carrying everything in a day pack lately - bloody hips!
Got one of these of by bro in law when he retired from British Army, Osprey Load Carrying Vest, more pouches than I need, but detachable.
Holds PLB, knife, binos, internal 9mm mag pouches which each hold two .303 stripper clips. Still looking for a use for the 40mm grenade pouches seen on the shoulders in this image.
Absorbs recoil kick too, could literally shoot all day long with no shoulder probs.
And won't come off in a fall.
Attachment 82658
Pig hunting-on the hip.
Deer hunting-in the day pack.
Always carry two. One on the belt and have always had one in the day pack. Normally something like a sword pheasant or a gerber in the day pack.Forgot my main knife once, only discovered it when i got to my hunting block. Lucky always had a spare in the pack, was the sword pheasant and just happened to shoot a massive 9 pointer stag that day. Wasnt easy, but managed to still bone out the stag and all was well
What a great thread.
I started off in my teens and early twenties carrying a classic Green River on my belt, because "that's what hunters do"! After that for a while I put everything in a back pack, but following an event that involving a wounded fallow doe, I now always want my knife close and in hand a quick as possible.
These days I carry a Svord Farmer knife (although looking to change that) on a belt along with a couple of pouches for other handy stuff like a compass, some para-cord, spare rounds and emergency kit. Lunch, pillow cases, spare knife (a folder of some sort), beanie etc go into a pikau.
I like the comments about having a sheath knife as a kid. I got mine as soon as my family move to the farm when I was 8 years old, and yes, trees, eels, possums and dog tucker sheep were all dealt with by that thing, in fact I still own it (its really a piece of shit but I can't part with it). I loved pocket knives as a kid too, and still do. In fact a wee spyderco is in my pocket right now :)
