Travel as a REAL Fantasy Adventurer | What would it be like?
Вставка
- Опубліковано 11 чер 2024
- Overland Travel as a Fantasy Adventurer is much harder than it might seem. What would adventuring really be like while travelling? Who would survive?
Tolkien was right, adventures are "nasty, disturbing, uncomfortable things that make you late for dinner". Would an adventurer with below average strength or constitution even survive the journey?
Help Support me on Patreon!
/ livinganachronism
00:00-1:05 Intro and Premise
1:05-4:26 Traveling and Packing
4:26-5:36 Making Camp
5:36-8:18 Torches and Lanterns
8:18-10:46 Sleeping
10:46-14:13 Combat & Weapons
14:13-14:49 Inns and Taverns
14:49-15:48 Famous Adventures
15:58-16:09 It's Cold!
-----
-"Voice of an angel", "Vetur frosti", "Greenlands", "Mjonir", "Heartbeat", "Wildlands", "Wonderland", "The Cold Battle", "Prepare for War", "Until the End", "Tavern Loop One", "Nowhere Land" by Alexander Nakarada | www.serpentsoundstudios.com
Music promoted by www.free-stock-music.com
Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
creativecommons.org/licenses/... - Розваги
"Tolkien was right." That statement applies to so many things.
So true
Winter is not a good time for adventuring. The cold means you need extra food, extra clothes and extra blankets just to stay warm. As others said pack animals and half tents can help. However animals means extra weight to provide food and resources for the animals. Inns may provide food, warmth and a place to sleep but require money. Medieval and most fantasy realms require coins which, depending on inflation, can add a considerable amount of weight. Most movies, books and games fail to realize the logistics involved in adventuring.
Very true. I'll be able to use this experience as an actor if I am every in a movie or show that has this environment, but I don't think an adventurer in his right mind would choose to do this. It is very harsh. Keeping your body warm expends an immense amount of energy, which is probably why I was so tired at the end.
@@LivingAnachronism definitely
@@LivingAnachronism I honestly like winter camping but I am one of those people who just puts off heat like a furnace, as a Cub Scout and Boy Scout I always kept the tent warmer just by putting off body heat. I still produce heat like that so I don’t get as cold as my friends I survive in cold like most do in the spring an summer thriving. But I’m a rare breed living in New England.
I think LOTR has the best example of fantasy camp/travel in any film or TV,
@@neoaliphant The part where hobbits were dying of cold was very realistic.
The more I watch, the more I want to start a channel. Here are some things I've learned being a weirdo in the woods at 52°N. A pelt keeps your torso off the ground, your pack keeps your legs up. Wear a shift, woolen hose, wool stockings, and sleeping booties of wool. Ideally, you'd have winter boots that fit over your foot insulation, but if you only have the one pair (as was common because they're heckling expensive) switch your stockings at every stop and hang the sweatiest pair on your belt. Don't stick em on your pack, because if they fall off you don't notice. Trust me. When the sweaty socks freeze, smack things with them and that knocks out the moisture. Only let your boots hang out by the fire if they are on your feet so they keep fitting. At camp, wrap yourself in your wool cloak and tuck in to your provisions. Melt ice for water, not snow. Always pee before sleep (it keeps you warmer). Snuggle what you can whether it be pets or humans. The person who carries the waxed canvas and poles is cooler than the person who carries the pelt and pot.
I carried everything, so I guess it averaged out to me just being an average guy ;) great advice my friend, thank you! I'll test just the pelt and my pack at my feet closer to home in a more controlled environment. This time round I had a modern camp pad too just for safety.
I think it would be awesome if you started a channel. I would definitely subscribe. "Where there is no counsel, the people fall; But in the multitude of counselors there is safety."
Another option I’ve heard is that trappers and long hunters during the 18th century would carry multiple pairs of moccasins, and if the ones they were wearing got wet, they would simply put on a fresh pair, and dry their wet ones over the camp fire
I feel the same! I have toyed so long with the idea of making videos about my blacksmiths shop and steampunk projects! If only I had time...
@@lordneador3724 it seems so fun to share hobbies with others. I'm getting old though
I would look at the America/Canadian mountain men for a similar concept to the ranger/adventurer. Having hunting implements that double as weapons is probably more practical than using tools as weapons and the importance of pack animals becomes obvious fairly quickly.
I think there is a huge connection between fantasy rangers and the hunters/trappers and longhunters of North America in the 18th century. We are of the same mind it seems!
@@christopherjackson3455 Yep! I pull a lot from the 18th century, Rogers Rangers are a great example. I look at the longhunters as well, since they operated very similarly to (fantasy) rangers, more so than yeomen or hunters from the actually medieval period, imo
Myself and some of the other Rangers with MERF (Middle Earth Ranger Forum) often look to American Colonial Longhunters and Medieval Foresters. The former has more to do with actual trekking, and you can take some notes from Robert Rogers. I often think Master Tolkien used inspiration from the Longhunters. Just a suggestion. :)
I think the same!
As someone who is working on a story that has a few traveling characters, all of this is highly relevant and interesting to me.
I'm very glad
As someone who is travelled, this is true
As someone who is all of these ( _writing and travelled_ ) but not in yet in a fantasy sense travelled.
This is relevant to me.
Natural pelts are far better at keeping you warm than any synthetic materials. LOTR is the ideal reference to look at. 👌 The ending is well appreciated, as on most videos the person don't show how cold they actually are. 😊
Filming on a set for these conditions has it's own challenges. I believe in LOTR often times they were in a very hot studio setting, so it had the opposite effect! But going on winter trips like this (while probably not what and adventurer would choose to do) will help improve my performance as an actor if I am ever in a scenario like this. I hope.
@@LivingAnachronismI've seen the making of LOTR and a lot of it was in studios, they did fly to a mountain (Caradhras), it's been years since I watched the making so not 100% certain. On the book they had Gandalf's magic to burn fire wood and some Elvish liquor that Master Elrond gave Gandalf, when they were up Mount Caradhras.
Some synthetic materials*
I'm all for pelts in general but we've gone a long way in designing these, especially if you were to compare it pound for pound. A single bear pelt is so heavy you can put on so many layers of fleece you will die from overheating and it doesn't really cover you well, nor does it provide multiple air pockets which is how cloth insulation works.
@@Sk0lzky I believe reindeer hide with the fur on is the best clothing insulation known and the only thing that keeps people living in Siberia able to survive working outside in the winter. I remember reading somewhere that some synthetic fibers were attempting to copy the structure of the reindeer hair.
@@coop5329 That's because each reindeer hair is a hollow air pocket, which makes them uniquely warm as insulation. Unfortunately it also allows reindeer pelts to hold radioactivity better than other pelts (like bear) so you can tell whether a reindeer hide was taken before or after Chernobyl (try it with a radiation meter) because the wave of contamination hit Scandinavia as well as the Soviet Union.
People often forget, that adventures would be ~95% travel, and ~5% actuall "adventure".
Also, a big part of travel and adventurers, that gets overlooked : beasts of burden. Packmules, packgoats as example of the grounded ones or, if you go nuts in your worldbuilding, just give them giant , smart-ish packrats. Ostrich-built magpies, that would pick shines by themselves. Feeding those is a quiestion of itself, but can be resolved with a bit of a tought.
Thank you for the video. I'd love to see your review of the Witchers, as traveling adventurers.
Ostritch built magpies to pick shinies... Chocobos!
@@asahearts1 Chocobos are more of a riding beast, and it'll be a bit troubling to feed them. Meanwhile magpies... Just toss them a goblin that tried to shank you last night and they are fed and happy.
Very true! Beasts of burden will probably continue to be overlooked in my case, until I actually have one I can showcase ;) that won't be for a while, probably.
Feeding pack animals is less of a problem if they are native to the environment in which you are traveling. Camels, donkeys, llamas, goats, horses, etc. have better survival skills for their environments than humans do. Historically, there were ancient peoples that adventured across forbidding landscapes in small groups with small herds of semi-domesticated animals. Also, when the pack animals' load of supplies has been drained, you can butcher the animal for more supplies: food, hide, grease, bone, etc.
Also, most just hunkered down during winter or times of inclement weather.
Beasts of burden definitely. Notice that Samwise got himself a pack pony as soon as possible and then was really sad as soon as they hit terrain Bill couldn't traverse. Also Geralt and Roach. There have been many Roaches over the years, but Geralt, experienced traveller and adventurer. Immediately replaces his horse when he loses one. If the way to be travelled happens to have any kind of established roads, then wagons and sleds can also be used to increase what a beast of burden can be done. IRL, all animals suited to being beasts of purden are herbivores. So as long as they are in their native habitat, they can just eat what's around with minor supplements of animal feed such as grains.
Camping in winter is absolutely brutal (with only mediaeval gear), one of reasons why wars usually stoped for winter.
About shoes and winter camping you should put them inside sleeping bag.
That is an absolutely horrible idea, you will get your bag wet, a wet bag will give you frostbite.
Not to mention drying a bag in the dead of winter is not an easy or quick task.
@@Ragatokk it always worked on me.
@@panzerhamster5814 Yeah when you went to camp for one or maybe two nights...
@@Ragatokk I only go camping with tents when family comes with me. Otherwise i use a tarp. With my sleeping bag you CAN dry wet but not compleatly moist clothing/ shoes. My sleeping bag is a winter sleeping bag (defence 4). When you do have a sleeping bag ment for those temperatures or maby even below you should be able to dry you'r clothing. Roll your shoes into you'r outer winter jacked layer. Into the one that is waterproof.
Your lantern looks like it could accept a candle pretty easily. May not heat like the lantern was supposed to, but long burn candles will allow you to have wind-protected light without the spilled or frozen fuel concerns.
I'm actually pretty blessed in the "winter adventuring" context. First, i'm a very tall and broad person. There's a reason Polar Bears are huge, and it's because the larger an organism is, the more heat it generates. Though my family on my father's side seems to have a mutation that makes us produce more heat than average for our size, let alone for the average person.
Yay, Polish genes, but that does also bring up the matter of Barbarians.
The stereotypical Barbarian is a tall, broad-shouldered Gaston type. They produce more heat than your average hobbit, just by merit of their existence. And when they start burning energy they just get warmer.
I am european so I´ll use the metric system: I walked in 2017 from my hometown to Santiago de compostela in spain, 3200km roughly. My bagpack had 9 kilos without food and drinking. I didn´t need to train to be able to walk a hole day with it. I needed to train to walk every day with it. In the first 40 days I made 5 restdays where I didn´t walked with my bagpack and roughly about a kilometer if so much.
When I reached france it was a restday for me to walk just under 20 km.
I am pretty sure that I would be capeable to fight with my bagpack on.
I was sleeping most nights in a warm place just once I tried to sleep outside. I started my journey in March but winter cought me several times in the alps. I didn´t have the right equipment just did have some multipurpose items with me. These did the job well.
I find it pretty unrealistic to start an adventure during winter. There are reasons for the romans starting their military campaigns in the end of march. Or in medieval times winter was most of the time a season to stay at home, hardly any military conficts were worn out in winter. So if an adventure is started in winter it has to be urgent...
If tools break it is very likely to come through a town that has either a shop to replace it or someone able to repair it.
"I didn't need to train to walk a whole day in it, I needed to train to walk EVERY day in it" Great quote! True, starting an adventure in winter doesn't make any sense. So not all of my complaints about the cold would necessarily apply to all adventures.
How many days did this expedition take, just so I can estimate the pace you were keeping.
@@ClokworkGremlin 125 days, 25 km per day on average, rest days included. The longest distance for one day was about 43km.
Even with modern gear a 72 hour kit can easily weight 60+ lbs. Any medieval "backpacking" would only get you a few days travel at best. Pack animals and cleared paths/rudimentary roads have always been essential for any extended travel as you simply cannot carry the bare essentials for more than a few days. The one weapon that everyone should be carrying should be a spear. Spears were always the primary weapons of most old battlefields, and they could double as a walking stick. A spear would also be the best choice if you were ambushed or encountered a melee as it would allow you to keep the enemy at a distance while your group responded to the threat. A spear would also be useful defense against any wild animals that might threaten your party or your pack animals. I enjoy the videos and you have a nice channel concept. Keep up the good work.
The spear is an interesting concept for me. I think it depends greatly on what you were likely to encounter and what your fighting style is. More on this in a later video. In a low fantasy or fully realistic medieval setting, I think travelling with a spear is a good idea, though more conspicuous than a sword. Thank you for your support!
In combination, a shield would be necessary against an archer. Knocking away an arrow with a sword is possible as in LOTR but I would not stake my life on it one miss and you're toast. The most important aspect of this topic would be daily training with you're choice of weapon against any possible weapon you might encounter.
All interesting points Kramer. There is a definite difference between walking with your team or walking alone. If you want to see adventuring in the context I would suggest those who mapped North America. There are numerous sources about what they carried and how they carried it. For something specific I would point you to another UA-cam Sepp from Waldhanwerk. He show are great breakdown of his packframe and how he uses it. I would also suggest Tom from Fadabidosi. He does a great breakdown on the staff, walking stick, balance aid, shelter pole etc. I think an adventurer should always walk with a staff.
Nate
Fandabidozi is great, love his stuff, I'll check out the other channel. The haversack I have in this video is an 18th century design, in fact. I think there is very strong argument to be made that 18th century equipment, especially from groups like the longhunters, has a place in fantasy worlds/reenactment. I agree with you in full.
Just combine 5 people's funds and buy a mule. Also, civil war tents are pretty much like some of the ones you showed. Each soldier would carry 1 tent half. The tent was optimized for 2 people, but 3 could fit in it ok and it would work better with the 3rd half placed creatively plus the extra body heat.
Yep! I was thinking during the revolution, many soldier shared tents as well. Even in the modern military this 2 half system was used
exactly, people never buy pack animals in rpgs for some reason
@@denisj.3208 I remember when I was playing a very long time ago, we did use pack animals, but it was because we were going places to find things and then we needed something to carry that thing (typically coins) out. In addition you also need to hire someone to watch those pack animals while you explore some underground place (never to be seen again, and he gets to keep the pack animals). It's also worth noticing that most adventuring parties had a fighter who would probably had been an Olympic weightlifter in the real world.
In Rpgs there are reasons people don't buy pack animals . The biggest one is the animal not surviving. If you are going into a dungeon the animal may not fit so it may have to be left outside where it is easy prey for other animals or monsters, even just passers by. If you take the beast with you inside, assuming it can fit, it may not be able to go everywhere you can and it may be a target during a combat.
@@shinjofox My donkey in the original Dungeon Siege computer game saved the party more than once. He was a serious ass kicker by mid game.
Historic tidbit: Spanish missions were established up the California coast 1 day's travel apart. Persons connected to the mission system could then travel the length of the chain and always have an established place for a meal and bed each night.
On a similar historical note, the earliest Humans expanding through and out of Africa did so basically 1 days journey at a time. Often the children or grandchildren would move the hunting and foraging grounds so they overlapped with their parents grounds, but also extended outwards from them. This was practical as you knew where the vitals were from growing up, you knew what was safe from the general area, and then you could exploit a new section of land while still relying on part of the old, without overtaxing the old with too many people (Generally in groups of 50-100 or so). In Human terms, it would be rare to leave "Sight" of civilization for truly unknown lands (and why the Polynesians were a WILD people)
Later, during the "cowboy" era, there was a related concept born in part from the old mission system called "working a grub line". There were ranches or other similar operations that knew who else along common routes between big cities or other common destinations were willing to hire people on for a day or two at a time. These outfits were commonly spaced about a day's travel apart, so a broke wanderer could work a day or two, then travel to the next point along the route a day away, and repeat the process.
I just want to comment to say that this video is (I think) your best so far in terms of delivering on the idea of this channel. This is exactly the kind of content I hoped you would make when I subscribed, along with the medieval camping videos.
Also as others have said, I think that winter would likely be a bad time for adventuring. Witchers return to kaer morhen for the winter, and I think other adventurers would generally do something similar. The weight of gear necessary just isn't worth it unless you have pack animals or something similar.
Depending on the culture and how long/hard winter freezes are. In Medieval Scandinavia, winter was a time for overland travel because what was normally swampy lands covered in small rivers and creeks suddenly turned into sheets of ice and snow that can be quickly and easily traversed with skates and skis. Very ice-road truckers if you will.
Thanks B P. This is the content you should expect, it's what I enjoy producing the most. Tutorials and crafts aren't intended to be my main focus, thank you for your support! I hope I can continue to deliver!
For sleeping and keeping warm at night I've found that the best way is to build a baker tent esk shelter with a tarp (back and walls on the ground) with a lean-to fire build about 2 ft in front. The lean-to acts as a reflecting wall for the heat to reflect it into the shelter and warms it quite well. Having 2 people in the shelter also helps tremendously
On the subject of lighting camp.
My best friend, girlfriend and my self all when on a fall camp trip. It was about 20f
I brought with me a hurricane lamp and a lot of candles.
Long story short the hurricane lamp leaked complete out by the end of the trip.
We mostly used the candles a few burned all night and we used them to outline the camp and our main fire was the center.
Candles have now become part of my kit.
On a personal note I feel if you used a hammock you would do better.
I have camped alot with my hammock in alot of spots and its much easier to carry than the amount of hides you would need to stay warm.
Years ago, I was playing a low-fantasy campaign in GURPS; it's a system which allows you to be fairly realistic with a lot of elements like travel, food, etc. should you want that. The party's first hurdle was leaving the starting town and crossing the desert to the nearest big city. It took us literal hours to plan out our kit, calculate how much water we'd need, how much food to bring, and how to fit it all into our budget. And then we actually had to travel. It was a major challenge ... before we were surprised by bandits, and then had to do battle against reanimated skeletons.
I learned a couple of things. First, it takes a lot of money to gear up for travel from scratch. Our party consisted of one warrior in heavy armour, one noblewoman and her charger, one man-at-arms with a spear, and a hedgemage with limited healing spells. None of us had the kit to go such a long distance, and we needed a horse (which we did have) pulling a travois to carry the water we would need for the journey. That also meant we needed water and feed for the horse... It was complicated, cost a ton of money, and we all nearly died anyway.
Second, spears are incredible. The man-at-arms dropped five skeletons in a row without letting them get near us at all. He was also able to use it as a walking stick and a probe for poking things best kept away from the human hand. Even if the spear broke, he could probably still use it for those other purposes, so it was a very effective multitool.
While this was a total fantasy game, it stuck close enough to realism that we actually had to do the planning to see it through. And let me tell you, it was a lot of planning.
Edit: spelling mistake
Something like the valaška (Shepard’s axe) would be something to look at, as it’s a walking stick as well as a light axe. Removing the camp axe from your belt and taking that weight off your person. (Ounces equal pounds. Pounds equal pain) plus with all of that weight not having some form of walking aid would be rough on the knees once you start getting into hills and mountains.
my saxon axe was a bit like that, long handle short head, not so good choked up but good long swing
Aye, at least one hiking stick/staff/hiking axe would be a necessity. I used to think hiking poles were silly wastes of money for preppies. But once I started using them, I felt naked without them on trail. This relieves your upper body of some weight, but mostly it allows you to relax some of the muscles that you keep clenched for long periods on the move. And relaxing clenched muscles facilitates blood flow, staving off cramps, blood bruises, deep soreness, etc.
@@texasbeast239 That's interesting. Do you think you'd need two walking sticks like common nowadays, or one stick like we see in LotR?
Dual welding walking axes also sounds kind of badass.
@@larpwright i use one modern pole, single tarp pole often enough and single pole fine for balance going down slope or extra purchase going up. 2 poles bit more of a luxury. but helps if long distance alpine walking as Texas said
We all had to fashion walking sticks from branches on the hike back. We were going up hill. Don't think I would have made it without one!
Honestly, it was pretty hilarious to hear about your misfortunes. It would probably be a much easier trip if you were in a more warm climate. This is super interesting stuff.
Glad I could share my troubles in an entertaining way!
My two favorite parts of this video (not to reduce how incredibly informative it is) were definitely:
- That's the end because I'm getting cold
and
- ... an owl!
We live such comfortable lives in this age and era that we fantasies about adventures but I don't think we realize how dangerous and uncomfortable a real adventure would be and that a lack of goal wouldn't make it that exciting. I enjoy your channel btw
Good stuff, man! I think there's definitely something to be said for party optimization as well as gear optimization. Sure, you maybe can't choose your friends, but in an adventuring scenario, where the adventure is kinda literally your job, optimizing who you do your job with (i.e.: having at least one particularly strong person, one strategist, one healer, etc.) would probably be a viable thing to do.
But again, the more likely real-life scenario is less likely to be "we have optimized our group perfectly for this journey" and more along the lines of "me and the boys at 3AM looking for b e a n s"
Brother Bingus, this was definitely a case of me an the boys looking for beans. Though we probably would fit in traditional adventuring roles with a stronger lad, a lad with amazing directional and survival skills, and also me, who was just there haha
@@LivingAnachronism To add to the traditional adventuring party motif, this is part of the reason you could expect anyone who could be considered a master of their trade to have an apprentice/hireling. They get the shit jobs of carrying the heavy stuff and a lot of the mundane camp chores.
Been enjoying your videos, squire. I’ve done a lot of backpacking in my life and basically just done without a light source once it’s got dark. Obviously, a camp fire is a light source but I’m thinking candles and or lanterns. I’ve just accepted that it’s dark and I need to stop. I imagine a medieval traveller would have been even more used to just stopping doing stuff that needed light once the dune was down? Not a criticism, just my experience. Keep creating great content.
I agree. I have almost zero footage of my night time experiences because even with a fire, it's too dark to do anything, let alone film. I often times hope my body will reset while I am camping so I start going to bed earlier, but it never lasts for long. I am destined to be a night owl, it seems.
Additonally, in the dark, with time, you start to be able to do more tasks. Your eyes lack information as it gets dark, but with practice you can learn more from the information they get, as well as rely on other senses. The night outdoors is rarely truly dark.
I used to play Skyrim with a mod named "Frostfall". It essentially introduced survival mechanics to the game. You could die of exposure, hunger or thirst. You had to use cloaks and bags and bedrolls when travelling. You could also let your horse carry things for you. It made the experience much more immersive. Travelling became more fun and i found myself using fast travel less. Those were the days...
I have to agree that a billhook would be a handy tool and walking stick, it could even be decked out like the battle ready ones. Fairly cheap and easy to blacksmith compared to most polearms.
As for food, you don't technically need carbs, there's only essential amino acids and omega 3 fatty acids, but something like oats or barley last well, can be eaten cold and dry, or could be made into a porridge or journey cake. Fats have slightly over 2x more calories per gram than carbs or protien though, so fatty things like nuts or rendered animal fat would be best for packing calories compactly for long journeys. Perhaps you could make pemmican.
Bills come in one hand sized as well as polearm sized. The one hand type was more common, it was a standard farmer's tool and you can still buy forged ones today, but like any really useful tool they got used to death while the polearms ended up being stored in places like churches & manor halls where they survived until someone decided to sell them for scrap iron in the 20th Century (really, and yes they did).
If you wanted the single /weapon tool. I would go with a Kukri. And only as a back up weapon. They were and are used as both and a built to take a beating. They can chop down small trees or fire wood but still be used in combat.
I might add a few details. 1: Caves. In the past 100 to 150 years in real life most caves the world over have been filled in to prevent children form getting lost in them. An actual medieval adventurer would almost always have a cave available to sleep in. 2: Barns. Because horses, oxen and mules were so common, there were many barns and an adventurer would probably have somewhere with a roof, even if they had to sleep in hay. 3: Mules. Buying, selling, and trading mules was extremely common. Mules were the cheapest of the carrying animals and a group of adventurers would probably have at least a few to carry their gear. 4: Hoods/cloaks. They would have a special winter cloak and they would sometimes not even bring a tent. Just lean on a tree and cover themself with a very thick wool cloak and who needs a tent? If you absolutely wanted to you could attach one side of the cloak to the tree, and the other side to the ground at your feet, in case of strong wind and rain. 5: News. It was typical for people to welcome a traveler into their home simply to hear any news they may have heard. If they had no news they could still regale their host with tales of their own home town/village/local heroes/local legends/fairytales/stories/recent wars/etc. It was boring with no TV and seeing a passerby on the road you didn't recognize near sundown could very well mean some interesting stories you have never heard before, and maybe some interesting roots or tubers in the stew that night. 6: Carts. Before modern railroad and 18-wheeler shipping containers there were cartmen. It was rare to walk on a road for too long and not see a carter. If you had to carry a lot, you could wait for a carter and ask to share a story in exchange for a ride with the hay/wood/grain/etc.
If I had to travel on foot for any real distance, I would have a cloak instead of a tent, and a mule to carry the food and the packs. I would also try to find a cave or the smoke from a fire before starting my own. Friendliness is your most important asset and charisma is almost as good.
Genuinely one of the best, most insightful videos I’ve seen in a while. Keep up the good work
Glad to hear it, thank you!
Yes, nothing like a camping trip to learn what really works and what seemed like a good idea at the time.
I still remember an old documentary on PBS in 1979. Three men with camera crew in tow went from "upper civilized Canada" to the Northern tree line... On foot, at the break of winter. The trio only had sparse tools, blankets and food to get to camp. They spent a year out there with only the camera crew getting supplies. But the first problem was a lingering snow storm in the way. Once at camp in their first interview they were aske what was the hardest part of the trip. Two of the answered, "Taking a piss mid-march." Why? "With that wind it's easy to get a few frost burns down there." "You just have to suffer."
One important thing to take into account about traveling as a fantasy adventurer. If you do it regularly, say averaging six months of travel over the course of the year, your body gets accustomed to it. You do not need great strength or stamina, just practice. The first man to summit Mt Everest didn't have inches of modern arctic clothing or oxygen bottles like people do today. His body was adjusted to such tasks and environments because it was something he was always doing. If you are always traveling in mail and carrying 50-60 pounds of other gear, your body body adjusts to it. Even if you are healthy and in good shape, if you are unaccustomed to traveling in such a manner, it is much more difficult.
*In reality, people in the olden days traveled with wagons.*
The car is simply the modern-day car, and even gets its name from carriage. People would haul their gear in a horse-pulled wagon/buggy. Otherwise, it is just too heavy to carry all that weight. Especially, in those days when everything was made from wood, wrought-iron, dense canvas, wool, and animal fur/skin.
Something else to remember about witchers. All through the books it talks about Geralt and the other witchers "wintering" in a set location every year. Even with their mutations, strength and experience, they still don't fight the cold. I think that is very well written and easy to overlook from a reader.
Very true. We wanted to try winter camping just to see what it was like. I personally prefer cold more than heat, but with all the snow and wind chill, it would be rather silly to attempt a prolonged journey in these conditions.
The Roman FUCA was probably the best way to carry individual gear. A roman squad was supplemented by someone with a hand cart for bulky cooking and sleeping gear.
As a teen, I'd travel with a 30lb pack until I was unpacking for the 3rd time an realised that I'd never used most of it. Cut down to just what I'd used and then added a few luxuries and it was below 20. I did like my mini hurricane lamp, though. Never had a problem with kerosine fumes in my tent.
travelers would often carry a wooden staff and/or a sword. a staff is a helpful walking stick when traveling, and it's good protection against mongrel dogs on the outskirts of town. also, a good, hardy staff will make potential bandits think twice before robbing you. but if you could afford it, a sword carried for protection would probably be a traveler's preferred weapon of choice. it doesn't have to be a fancy, expensive sword. it just has to be enough to discourage/fight off any possible assailants.
the candle spike, awesome, looks multipurpose as well, a rope fidd for example. tarp sheets can be easily combined, can also make kitchen/eatout shelter. Donkey for the win, there should be more of them in films, go Bill!!!! Slip quick release knots on roycroft for instant drop of pack I woudlnt use a primary weapon as a tool. BUT if ranger character, bow might be primary and an axe/knife as sidearms might be only occasionally used. In fact i remember a character that didnt use them for several levels as used bow so often.
Candle spike could probably be used as a prick for eating, prying apart ropes, maybe as an awl for leather working. One of the ways I can probably test a load out is to bring it to a larp and see how often I need each item!
@@LivingAnachronism good plan, the eating prick came before the fork after all, and were carried on scabbards with sword and knife...
So legit concern with candles is what happens when they fall over. Also, where is all that wax going. If anyone decides to make their own candles, don't use just any string, get a modern candle wick. They burn down as the candle does. Regular string will just continue to wick melted wax and suddenly you have a drooping string that is on fire! Before modern wicks were invented, candles needed to be routinely trimmed when burning.
@@dogbert32 fantasy equivalent of altoids tin candle perhaps
@@neoaliphant could work. Just wanted to call those risks out before someone went and tested without identifying all the risks of having an open flame in a highly flammable environment
🎩Hi as a tool and possibly a close combat weapon you couldn’t do much better than a bill hook. A hedge laying tool. I have seen some with shafts up to 1ft long. These were being used by professional workers who had been doing it for 40 years.
🎩Hi of course if you wanted to be really posh a gipsy caravan. We occasionally get those passing through.
and by me in my garden still! neccesary in somerset where we have willow and hazel everywhere.
I did 600 miles when I was 19 all around Vermont in a group of 14; total time traveling was something like 3 1/2 months. Started very fit at 168lbs and by the end was 143lbs with an eating disorder; never felt full even after eating enough for five. Winter/spring.
I carried the tent, another guy had the titanium wood stove, next with pots, etc.
We had food bags delivered to us every 7-11 days, since if we had carried money and tried to shop on the way we wouldn't have been able to buy the right kinds of food needed to sustain our intake. All this was with pretty modern equipment, but the tent was cotton so it didn't turn to solid ice every night.
Spring time in boats was way easier on your body but portage was rough. Would have been a huge fan of lembas or a stamina potion along the way!
Love all this that you're doing, every time a new video comes out I stop what I'm doing!
Wow that sounds insane. I wonder how much our vision of the physique of adventurers is different from how they would actually be. Someone who was strong enough to carry a heavy pack would need to eat so much food (barbarians). Makes me wonder if there is an optimal weight and size to strength ratio, that most adventurers would eventually find themselves at. Thanks for your support, Kevin!
Nobody on youTube comes close to putting in the work you do for this kind of thing - amazing as always!
A couple thoughts -
1. regarding shelters and so forth: late 19th/early 20th century military field equipment is a great place to poke around for inspiration, because it's (A) generally after the point they expected every soldier to carry all his own stuff (shelter halves, mess tins, etc), but (B) before most modern materials and fastenings (snaps, zippers, synthetic fabrics...) enter the picture. Case in point: the button-together zeltbahn tents at 3:27. Early early Soviet stuff is often especially interesting because they were so materials-poor they're still using wood toggles and stupid-simple designs.
2. regarding dumping a pack quickly: old ALICE packs have a nifty pull-tab arrangement you might want to steal. It lets you set the straps to whatever length you want, leave them there.... but still just tug the cords and everything drops. I'm sure you could rig the same thing with leather straps (it's the same general idea as a "Birka" pouch closure)
3. regarding specialized equipment generally: I think it's a very setting/economic-dependent thing. Are "adventurers" a rarity (Middle-earth), or fairly common (most fantasy games). The latter potentially provides for a "gold rush" economy with a fair amount of readily made equipment (see 1). The former... I imagine almost everyone is just repurposing things from home: the family cook-kettle, the blanket off your bed, etc etc - or having things made bespoke.
Happy trails!!
Oh - PS: Clearly you're deep into bushcraft youTube and the parent books they draw from - but if you haven't seen it - "Wildwood Wisdom" by Jaeger is absolutely worth your time. There's a free preview on archive org if you want a hint of what's in it.
Thank you so much! For the compliment and all the resources. At a military surplus store, I found one half of a two part button tent, I would have bought it on the spot if they had both halves. Something like that or a large canvas tarp is probably what I will eventually end up with. Very good point (#3), many of us starting out will probably be in the "rare" category, I'm still repurposing a lot of what I have. Perhaps as the network of adventurers in real life continues to grow, we can influence the market and have many more, practical and specific items!
I'm pretty sure that adventurers would simply wear relatively thick clothing in the winter time and why something like a mantle or Ruana cloak is more preferred for warmth and sleep.
For food, actually the human body is built to last quite long while being fit with little need for food. In fact hunger, or more like fasting, can heighten a persons senses and awareness and help with when fighting against a monster. So I would think they only have things to snack on like cheese, flat bread, fruit leather, crackers, jerky, and such till they reach the next town and have a filling meal. That one filling meal with enough nutriants can make a human being last for 3 - 5 days or possibly more and only snack on little bits between.
It may sound terrible to us nowadays where food is everywhere but people back then would be used to it.
Firstly, great video as always! I always like to see people experimenting with new methods for these things for themselves.
I think for the context of fantasy adventuring (or travel in general), some interesting notes can be taken from military history. Napoleon was famous for having his army pack light, often leaving behind their supply wagons and living off the land as much as possible. What an individual soldier would carry turns out to be far lighter than some of us would ever even consider leaving with for an adventure! It's worth including, though, that the sheer amount of resources found and taken by a traveling army could lead to issues, both for the locals and for other soldiers traveling in the near future. That might not be a problem for a small adventuring party, but they might have trouble getting their hands on such resources in the first place, especially if they care much about morals.
Some details though: on the march, soldiers might be stopping for no more than a single night, in which case they may not even bother constructing shelter, sleeping only under the stars. The following is from the account of Elzéar Blaze, an officer in Napoleon's army:
"When one is at the bivouac, near the enemy, every man lies down fully dressed; each sleeps, one might say, with his eyes open; one must be ready for any emergency (...) When the season is cold everyone lies about the fire; but one gets toasted on the one side, while being frozen on the other; one of course has the resource of turning around, but that is not at all easy."
Not surprisingly, most recollections of this bivouacking are complaints of how uncomfortable it was, how they woke up with their jaws numb from being clenched all night, with dew on their mustaches, etc. I've also heard of soldiers using their leather rucksacks as pillows of sorts and covering themselves with their greatcoats. Anyway, the same account also mentions the sorts of shelters soldiers would sometimes construct for themselves:
"They are built only in places where it is expected to remain for some days: for a single night no such trouble is taken. This sort of shelter is simply a roof of straw on three walls of straw; the open part is the highest, the closed part is toward the wind. Each establishes himself as he pleases, selects the ground to his liking, and the whole presents a rather attractive picture.
In this sort of barrack it is impossible to stand, except perhaps near the entrance. One sleeps very well in them, but in the morning one must make one's toilet in the open air, which saves one from opening windows."
I do want to mention that I don't want to sound like this is *the way* to travel; it's just some interesting insight into what such travel might look like when our adventurers pack as lightly as possible. Anyway, I've found some sketches made by an artist present during Napoleon's campaign in Russia, and they help to really bring to life the sights described in Blaze's accounts:
A couple of drawings of the straw shelters, as described -
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Voyage_pittoresque_et_militaire_de_Willenberg_en_Prusse_jusqu%27a_Moscou_1827_(128823174).jpg
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Voyage_pittoresque_et_militaire_de_Willenberg_en_Prusse_jusqu%27a_Moscou_1827_(128822584).jpg
A few (of very many) showing how soldiers would find rest in the open -
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Voyage_pittoresque_et_militaire_de_Willenberg_en_Prusse_jusqu%27a_Moscou_1827_(128822820).jpg
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Voyage_pittoresque_et_militaire_de_Willenberg_en_Prusse_jusqu%27a_Moscou_1827_(128823176).jpg
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Voyage_pittoresque_et_militaire_de_Willenberg_en_Prusse_jusqu%27a_Moscou_1827_(128823188).jpg
Whew! This comment turned out to be MUCH larger than I had anticipated, but I hope you find some of it interesting or insightful!
So this video, and many others, is making me shift my novel from a company sized force marching to the Royal army to twenty brothers adventuring through occupied territory to reach the place they’ve been ordered to and I love it. Heavy emphasis on the survival and travel elements. Means scrapping half a dozen chapters and many characters, but I think it will be worth it.
Capital video, as always. Some of my favorite descriptions of overland travel in medieval fantasy come out of Prince Caspian by CS Lewis. He dedicates much of a chapter to the arduousness of a single day's travel, and his descriptions are so immersive without getting long winded. "The sun grew warmer and they took their helmets off and carried them..." "And still they trudged on and their mail shirts began to feel very hot and heavy..." "But as there was no dry wood to be had... the boys began to wonder if raw meat was really as nasty as they had always been told." And the companions get so tired and frustrated that they either don't want to talk at all or they bicker. They then get attacked after all that, and they run to the point that they can't run anymore "even to save their lives." An arrow glances off Susan's helmet (two fantasy tropes get pleasantly subverted here, 1) a main character is actually wearing a helmet and 2) the armor does what its supposed to do and protects her) , sweat pours off them, and "the boys held their swords in their hands for fear they would trip them up." I love that detail especially, since I've done some running in the woods with a sword and I can't help myself grasping the hilt to keep it from flapping at my waist. All that to say, he sets a high bar for depictions of travel in a fantasy setting, and the difficulty of it doesn't make me want to go on adventures any less; it helps me mentally prepare for the reality, and reminds me that I'd need some real grit to make it very far.
I have to re-read those books. I loved them, but don't remember the little details like this, great passages, thanks for sharing. This level of realism is highly admirable, in that it also isn't gratuitous. Lots of shows might just omit this sort of stuff. But since we're acting, it will inform our performances and how we handle our items. It's the little things. Cheers, Dawson!
@@LivingAnachronism Always happy to learn acting lessons at others' expense! You could have settled for simply watching the Revenant, but dang it, you went out and lived it! METHOD.
Thanks for addressing this subject so candidly. In light of many of these problems, there's more than one reason why, when dreaming up a D&D adventurer or similar character, I instinctively gravitate towards outdoorsy people like rangers, druids, and barbarians: because they're the characters that I know can reliably survive the trip. I am also reminded of how, in my real-life camping practice, it's invariably been necessary for members of a group to split up the carrying of various forms of equipment among themselves, but to share it in actual use.
As for potential equipment failures, which are a very logical argument to raise, I would suggest that this is one reason why games allow people with craft-oriented skills or backgrounds to be created: so that they can make repairs en route.
The way around the camp axe problem is to also carry a large knife or machete that can be used to baton wood in a pinch. The problem with a having a dedicated melee weapon is it adds a lot of extra weight but isn't as useful for adventuring as say, a crossbow which can be used for hunting and combat. A spear might be an exception because it can be used as a walking stick and for hunting.
You're spot on in your rule of two weapon assessment! We try to do the same thing in bushcraft/survival. 2 is 1, one is none.
Beeswax candles aren't *as* deadly in a tent on under a tarp *WITH AIRFLOW*. If you don't have at least a bit of air traveling in and out of your shelter, be it madern tent, a tarp, or a car, you need fresh oxygen! So same thing goes in car camping/emergencies. Crack the window, no matter how cold. Your own breath can kill ya!
i think carrying a long sturdy stick would make great sense it could be used as a tent pole, a walking stick and a rudimentary weapon when you dont have time to draw your sword
Never underestimate the humble stick
You clearly address the difficulties of freezing weather, but an even more difficult scenario is when it is a sometimes freezing+ snowing mixed with some rain. Everything might be covered in snow but it's melting, the ground gets muddy and the rain is soaking everything. It is very difficult to prepare for this without to much gear. Sadly it's the type of winter we're facing here in Germany nowadays.
Great discussion.
Here are a couple of things that make winter camping better than I learn in my 50 years of camping. 1) put a hot rock, kept near the fire, at the foot of your bedding when you turn in (be sure you can pick it up with your bare hand!) 2) a dry tunic/shirt to sleep in, change into it when you turn in. and 3) don't allow yourself to sweat. This is complicated, but getting wet is very bad. Remove/open up clothes before you get hot. Start any hike a bit cold or chilled your body temp with come up with exertion.
Kept up the good work and enjoy the journey!
I tried the rock thing on my trip, it was a very ashy, dirty rock, but it was nice and warm :)
From a retired military perspective when I first enlisted we carried shelter half's and a set of poles. It was half a tent we would set up with our battle buddy. In order to shelter 2 people also you could use it as a lean-to. Also we carried a ponch ( cloak) that was used as shelter as well.
I remember in old inns people would sleep up to six people per bed. I would imagine same could be said of at camps. Body heat is more than a candle would put out.
Look at getting your self a brass, collapsible candle lantern. Also look at the kit carried by medieval soldiers,
Also look at the sleeping systems used by vikings etc... The at times had no tents and use a long ground sheet in combination with a blanket or series of blankets to cover them selves. .
Woolen garments are also a good idea. While they can be bulky & heavy when wet, wool holds up to 60% of its thermal retention even when soaked all the way through.
As far as tents, in WWII the Germans had "Zeltbahn" which is a 1/4th of a 4 man tent which doubled as a rain poncho. The US Army had shelter halves which made a two-man tent. I just sewed a closable hole in a shelter half to turn that into a poncho too.
You always want a fire, if you need to do it on the sly, there are configurations like a Dakota Fire Hole that produce almost no smoke
Putting a stone in or near the fire and then sleeping with that wrapped up in something to insulate is a good idea. My uncle taught me that as a kid.
Something that I feel earlier editions of D&D covered but was kind of forgotten in later editions is the use of henchmen and hirelings. If you had to travel long distances, carrying a bunch of camping gear, food, water etc. in a potentially hostile area, you'd probably PAY SOMEONE to carry your stuff for you. The adventurers could carry just their weapons and be ready for a fight while the hirelings tote the heavy stuff... Granted, having a bunch of low-level disposables doesn't feel very "epic" in your fantasy, but it makes some great sense to have some folks along that can tend to the mounts, set up camp, cook meals, provide entertainment etc. for the low cost of a few silver or a share from your mighty treasure hoard.
My mom figured out a really interesting way of having candles warm up a room; she put several tea lights under a terracotta flowerpot and it judt exuded warmth, while keeping the flame safely enclosed.
Not really effective to carry a heavy pot on a trip, but something to think about, and find a compromising solution, i think.
Having a walking stick that is the size of a staff would be a lot more common. It works as a walking stick providing extra stability when crossing streams and such. It is in your hand so it turns into a weapon very quickly, its also less threatening. When you camp it can also be used as a tent pole or shelter tie off point. Also gathering leaves or pine boughs and using them with your skins will keep you warmer. If your skin only goes the length of your torso you can prop your feet on a couple of sticks to get them off the ground.
So something I picked up as a scout is that walking sticks work great as tent poles. If there are two of you, have one person carry the tent and one the bed rolls. Then each of you gets a pole to use as a walking stick during the day. I assume it would scale up with larger tents than 2 person ones, but I'm unsure as I've never needed to do so.
Really nice indepth vid mate!
Concering the "share the load" thing with multiple people: I was a scout for the better part of my life (not american, rather following the old german tradition of the "bündische Jugend") and we traveld in groups of 3 to 8. Longest trips would go for three to five weeks, and some of us spent those in high skandinavia, where theres literally noone around for many kilometres. We used tents introduced to the german scout scene around 1910. They are inspired by the lappian hertender summer-tents, and can be split up into 4 smaller segments. Each of those weighs about 2,5 to 3,5 kg (impregnated cotton). The full tent ("kohte") can easily fit 8 people, their packs, cooking gear, wood and a fire, whilst only one segment can be used to make a one-man tent as well. We usually had our packs weigh between 20 and 30kg, but that was including many things you could easily leave at home. We also always traveled with a guitar, sometimes even with a bodhrán. And: We also slept on furs most of the time. The only "modern" piece of our stuff was usually the sleeping bag. Also: candles! We didnt use any electric things.
Good ol times I tell you :D
That sounds amazing!
... the "kohte" pattern (at least one I could find a picture of online) looks really interesting - very clever the shape of the panels!
It also looks like it could be set up with a just a couple spears for poles?
@@jenniferc2597 yeah for sure! I completely forgot about the poles. We usually source two straight pine or birch trunks locally at the campsite, but have used four shorter hazels or bamboo sticks on the inside when there is very little forested land around.
@LordNeador That tent design sounds perfect and the experience you had does, as Jennifer said, sounds amazing. I'd love to do something like that one day.
@Living Anachronism @lordneador I think that kohte panel pattern could probably be adapted into a kinsale-type cloak with a drawstring straight across the panel a bit below the top edge and some means of closing up the top of the hood... sort of a more elegant / more medieval-y plash palatka.
I don't know as such a thing would have been made in a low fantasy world... but maybe.
.... now I want to try stitching up some experiments. :)
@@jenniferc2597 Sounds like a good idea. The panels are more than 2,3m long though.
I imagine bags of holding as mass produced products in the Forgotten Realms, to supply the many adventuring parties who will definitely need all the inventory space they can afford to go on grand adventures in such dangerous lands.
Read the combatreform article "combat light", or the book "the soldiers load and the mobility of a nation".
Basically for combat effectiveness your load must be absolutely minimal, if you can avoid it, don't even carrying your weapon until you need to use it. This modern hiking way of loading yourself up with a huge pack is detrimental to a warrior. Having a pack animal or sled of some sort is vital depending on the terrain. Cut all extraneous items, leave only food, water, sleeping bag and your weapon. In a pinch, dump the heavier items and bring only what you will die without.
This video is masterful in showing how hard winter travel was before modern vehicles--especially when you are carrying your own equipment, armor, and weapons. Add the fact that winter roads were either sheets of ice or quagmires, and it is evident why wars were rarely fought in winter.
Lastly, for tools that make excellent weapons, consider the bill-hook and the brush ax. Both were developed to clear overgrown terrain and both were historically used in battle.
Thank you! Many have recommended the billhook in this video, seems like a good item to check out, if I can find one
yes, you could carry that weight and then fight at the end. pacing is the key, and nourishment. when the fight starts the adrenalin kicks in. I am a combat vet, I am 6' 4" 258 lb. my IBA vest 60lb, Skull cap 10lb, weapon 35lb, 130lb in ammunition. combat knife SOG master, Tang leaf blade, entrenching tool, four frags, sidearm + four mags and my tomahawk = 30lb, survival gear, rations, med-kit, camelback lets say 20lb. 96 hours patroling in AFG in the mountains and engaged in battle many times. anyone can do it so don't overthink the poundage. I really like your channel. keep it up.
One thing to consider, is that before the modern era, unless you were traveling a very short distance, carrying your supplies on your back was rather uncommon. Carts, wagons, boats, and pack animals were far more common. Even if your party can't afford mounts, you could probably afford one or two ponies to carry some of your stuff. Backpack camping is really a modern invention.
One of the things that has frustrated me was trying to describe 'cold' without numbers in a story. I caught myself doing it .. implying '0' degrees meant something to people who had never seen a thermometer!! Thank you for this video.. you actually confirmed several things I had guessed.
One thing about walking overland that people overlook, you are constantly having to cross small rivers and streams. Even if there are fords this usually means wet feet and legs, or taking time to take off your shoes and roll up your pants. Its a good reason to have a horse, if its willing to enter deep water.
If you're used to hiking and fighting, it will be a little different. And if you expect to fight, you are likely to have shorter hikes, if possible. I used to do some heavy backcountry hiking, where a pack could weigh between forty and sixty pounds, depending on the length of the hike (longer hike = more gear), and at the end of the day, we were usually fine and would go swimming, build shelter, make fish traps, climb trees or cliffs (if there was time). And this was after hiking 15 km on a mountain range. On a long day we could do between 20 and 25 km, depending on elevation change. But that's pushing it, and you don't have energy for much else afterwards; set up the tent, eat sleep... That's about it.
Great, thought-provoking video! I camp quite a bit and even with modern, lightweight gear I can definitely feel it, after a moderate hike.
Also, If there were only *one* magical item allowed in this world, for me, it would most definitely be a "bag of holding"... 😁
Great video! Glad you got the chance to experiment! I think the season would matter a whole lot--most of your problems seem to stem from it being the dead of winter. I come at this from the perspective of a medieval reenactor. The medieval campaigning season was essentially summertime, often extending into spring or fall but usually not much more than that because armies tend to disband if they can't go home to harvest their crops. This really cuts back on the required gear for camping and warmth, and food is usually easy to come by, whether by forage or by pillage.
My reenacting group did an overnight hike along this premise last fall (there are a series of videos on my channel), except we took everything that a knight and his retinue would need on campaign. We headed out into the woods armed to the teeth and in varying levels of armor, and we literally had a baggage train in tow. Thanks to having a handcart full of provisions, we were able to take a big canvas tent, lots of food, iron cookware, extra water, and enough group supplies that the 7 of us were fairly comfortable. Each person only carried their armor, weapons, bedrolls, water, and a small bag of dry rations for eating during the day.
You mentioned that a cleric and a rogue would have the same carrying needs--I disagree. It's much more efficient to split it up depending on what roles everyone has to play. We reenact a 15th century English knight and his retinue, so with our march, we had a knight (me, wearing full armor and weapons and carrying only a small satchel), a squire (carrying a pack with the knight's bedroll and his own), a sergeant (wearing half armor and carrying his own pack), an archer (wearing light armor and carrying her own pack), a carter (pulling the handcart, wearing no armor and carrying his gear inside the cart), a spearman (just a helmet + spear + his own pack), and a lady-in-waiting (no weapons or armor, just her own pack).
People with different armor & weapon loadouts can carry less gear, and people who need to do more work like managing the baggage train or scouting or whatever. But realistically, the biggest takeaway is that you need pack horses, donkeys, mules, a baggage train, or even servants and squires to carry things. If you try to carry everything on your back you had better be prepared to take as little as possible. When I did a solo trip, I took just a blanket, sheepskins, and a water bottle, some food, and a flint & steel. Obviously not enough for a full adventuring party. Medieval gear was not ultralight, and medieval armies (at least the rich among them, the knights) often even took their furniture with them on campaign.
If you'll pardon the self-plug on your channel, here is a link to part 1 of our video: ua-cam.com/video/bjh54zr1pR0/v-deo.html
Funny that this was pretty much how a company worked when I was doing national service. Everybody carried their personal equipment and then the tent etc. were carried or drawn communally.
I really like this approach. Funny the journey is learning how to go on a journey. In this modern world of over done sedentary living I think that is needed.
Enjoy your videos. Travel with heavy gear is never easy but as a former infantryman we use to travel with 60+ pounds packs and 50+pounds of gear body armor, helmet, weapon. Moving 15 to 20 miles in a day to fight after. In history the Roman soldier did the same but takes lots of conditioning for to get good. All of what you say is what we do to ease load and planning is always key to being successful. Keep making great videos
You're also forgetting wheelbarrows and carts. Especially things like the Benpacker and the Monowalker .
I read a book where the 3 rangers (the main people) would just sleep on the ground and rap themselves up I their cloaks. The time was spring so it was warm out. Also they had shift change for watch at night so they wee tired. They took what little sleep they could.
Also they weren’t constantly adventuring. It was only because they were going to some event out in the forest. When they got there they had tents and if they weren’t in the wilderness they had houses.
My take,
Armor solution: Gambison with laced on sleves. Great protection, superb insulation, remove the sleves if its too hot. Boiled/lacquered leather can be added to the outside for a touch more protection if needed due to thickets or other inconvenience.
Weapon solution: Axe for tool, you have a chopper, whittler, planer, and hammer all in one; Short Sword for a weapon, light weight at a couple of pounds, and if it is damaged you still have a tool/backup weapon. An Eating Dagger is also advised as a last resort and another useful tool, and has a lot of historical precedent.
Side note: with a short sword you could design it to be used in hand, or tied to a walking stick and make a SPEAR!
In a world with adventurers, there would be more purpose built pieces of kit, but I think we have a good idea of possible outcomes.
You have inspired my artistic side to take a crack at the problem though...
I 100% agree with your kit suggestions. Sounds exactly like my Witcher kit. Gambeson, hardened leather breastplate, and a much shorter sword than a longsword.
13:37 a modern soldier has a 25-30lb set of body armor, a helmet, a 9lb rifle, and a backpack that weighs probably 50lbs minimum, mkre realistically 70lbs. And they manage to walk, live and fight for days. I've done it enough, it sucks, but it's perfectly doable.
Keepvin mind that even a fit person today walks a lot less than a medieval era person.
Recognize I am comming in way late to this, but you should definitely look into the daily life of a Roman legionaire on campaign.
They were trained to march 14-20 miles a day then build a full encampment with an earthen wall and ditches while carrying most of their own equipment (I belive for every 8 men there was one servant/slave to do some of the lifting). Not exactly the adventuring lifestyle, but an interesting resource for what you are trying to achieve.
Romans were the OG Chaddicus Thundercock Infantrymen
As someone who has travel through the woods by foot and knows a bit about historic materials
1- liquid fuels are hard to carry and easy to get contaminated with water and historic containers did not contain them well
2-It is not that I think of my tomahawk as being a replacement for having a weapon I think of it as being something I can still use as a weapon should my primary weapon go down unlike a 3lb felling axe and also it is useful to have a smaller axe even when I do carry a felling axe . By the same token a weapon that can also be used in a pinch as a tool when a tool is damaged is what I want in a pre modern context
3-There are a lot of people who talk about ideal situations like having a bunch of spruce trees just there for you to take bows from , this is not the norm . Think more about occasionally being able to have a resource but never being able to count on for any given night ( this also applies to rivers , trees , edible wild plants and huntable animals ) in the real world these resources are rare and frequently only available certain times of the year which you will not have the luck to be travelling in
4- EACH PERSON IN THE PARTY MUST BE ABLE TO SURVIVE ON THERE OWN !!!!!!!!!!! ok you are in a party of 4 and one person has the tent one person has the cooking pot , one person has the food and one person has the tools . The person with the tent fell into the river and was carried off with the tent still attached to them ! It is -10 at sun set and windy there are no trees around and the snow is about 18in deep . You are all going to die now . Each person needs to carry what they need to at least survive ( a shelter , rope, food , cooking implement like a pot , water , a heavy blanket or cloak , way to start fire in the wet , a weapon , a tool that can pound and cut wood, bandages ) This is non-negotiable if you think your quest is worth doing in the first place
5- light at night is probably not going to happen beyond a fire , historically when the sun went down work stopped
6- machetes are great above 0 degrees and progressively worse below 0 because the frozen wood starts getting much harder and more likely to ship tin metal
7- Towns , you are going to have to deal with them ie A- town regulations on carrying of obvious weapons B- paying for stuff in town C- not drawing any more attention to yourself in town then 100% necessary D- Speaking to people in the towns ( different dialects of even full on languages )
8- Money its heavy and makes you a target of thieves and others and could vary wildly in value from place to place ( I think if I were going back to the 15th century I might bring pepper and nutmeg over gold and silver )
9- Draft animals to help carry things and become food or a way to pay for things if need be
10-Water its not every ware, so we all must carry our drinks ! it sounds easy but its not pre modern canteens leak and are heavy and easily damaged especially if you end up in a fight or sliding down a hillside
Great points all, especially point 4. Carrying spices over actual money is an interesting idea. I wonder if in an adventuring setting where lots of people were travelling, having some sort of check system develop might make sense.
@@LivingAnachronism the issue of a check system is one of trust namely you dont have any . Getting a system of tokens for value took hundreds of years because of this problem and required the development early nation states and trans national institutions and even with that has been problematic at best (see countries devaluing there currency or banks that issued currency vanishing and there scripts becoming worthless ) . The sucses of the Medici and Rothschild was based on their unusual ability to actually maintain trust in their token systems . Also a lot of small towns are harder to defend than a smaller number so if you need adventurers then you probably can not have a lot of small towns because they will meet for bandits, people will band together in larger more defensible communities that can employ rough men to man the walls and display the heads of those that attacked on spikes along those walls.
Money is not heavy.
There is a reason there is an idiom "worth its weight in gold" and that is because almost nothing is worth more than its weight in gold.
Only the most expensive spices and perfumes and those are difficult to find buyers for.
An ounce of silver will at least buy you food for a week (a Roman legionary got paid less than 50 oz per year) An ounce of gold would have been worth 25 x as much as the same amount of silver so more than 6 months of a regular soldiers wage.
I know those are roman figures but there is no reason to think that silver and gold were less valued in medieval times. A Sceat (early penny) was only about 1 gram, half the size of a dime.
The value would have varied greatly but probably a soldier or laborer would only get a couple for a days work.
So not much more than 3 pounds of silver coins or 600 dimes is a years wages.
Only 25 dime size pieces of gold.
@@teatowel11 go to your local supermarket and try and pay in gold sometime . Historic people mostly had to use copper and today you will need the currency of the county and if you are using metal money for the weekly groceries (actually try this with the coins were you live for one weeks groceries ) you ill quickly find it is in fact heavy
Fun tip for next time you winter camp: put the coals from the fire under our sleeping area, with a layer of dirt over it. It's called a coal bed. Keeps you warm all night long.
I forget if I said in the video, this time I put a warm rock in the bottom of my sleeping bag (wrapped up of course). I think a coal bed would work better. Though with all the snow and ice, it was hard enough to get the tent stakes in!
One additional point, pack animals.
Even in LOTR and Witcher you see them using pack animals to carry the load. Granted that brings its own logistical headache, but it is both used in history and fantasy.
Another thing on the tent is that in real life there were cases when Soldiers each carried a half tent and combined them when encamped. That both cut the weight per Soldier and allowed the sharing of body heat.
8:16 There are lanterns that use candles. Some direct the light with mirrored surfaces. The glass would be tricky though. Only to be used in camp.
Rocks. Rocks make weapons and hammers. A slingshot is a heck of a weapon, and depending on the area, rocks are available everywhere.
I realize that I am being a bit fascious, but not entirely. A stout tree limb doubles as a walking stick, a staff, a pole and club. A prop (in the Tolkienian sense) in the wild (good for testing the ground ahead) and for rigging the tent.
If you want to lighten the load, you can have a dedicated weapon and a dedicated tool, but you can have a few that serve both purposes ( that's why Gimli carried more than one ax).
You can use the frame of your pack as is for a small one person tent.
In the old ttrpg Pendragon, you wouldn't go on quests during the winter. The system precluded such obvious lunacy -- you stay at home, maintaining your character.
David Centerbury has what he calls the 10 C's of survivability, you could use that as a basis to build a minimalist adventurer kit.
Cordage
Cover (tarp or poncho or the like)
Cutting Tool
Candling device (candle or lantern)
Combustion (Flint and Steel)
Container (for cooking and boiling water)
Canvas Needle (for repairing kit something an adventurer will need to do)
Cotton (This can be used to makechar cloth or used as a bandage head scarf etc)
Cargo Tape (Not usable in this context)
Compass (Again unsure if these are available in this context)
I love your videos! This is an interesting one, I live in FL, we might have freezing temps for just a few hours out of the year. Over this last weekend I attended a Ren Faire, middle of the day, it was between 40-50 degrees with a fairly constant breeze. Long sleeve tunic, sweat pants, a fleece viking hood, leather gloves and a few small bits of leather armor, and just walking around the fair for 5 hours my body is still sore two days later. Granted I am in absolute awful shape but its interesting to see how the weather could effect us that much.
I think 40-50 degrees is perfect weather personally :) I'd adventure in that weather any time!
wolf clan adventuring parties we always have just one maybe two sets of every tool (if we are many) needed for camping to save on the weight. we always go with saxes and spears, the spears also acting as walking sticks or leaning poles, and the sax is definetly a mega murder knife if it would be needed xD
I came across this channel about 3 days ago looking for something to keep me spirits up since Ren Fest in Ohio is coming to a close for the year… And my goodness! I’m so glad I found this guy! Fun, informative, passionate, and makes me feel like I’m not stupid for being a 31 year old geek wanting to have these adventures. 😄
I truly admire your channel and I’ve subscribed. Please keep this great content coming so I can binge and support other true adventures out there! 👍
I really like how you're feeling your way through the balance of necessity and weight. This is my favorite type of video on your channel. What is your personal preference or interest in materials like duck down? It can be incredibly insulating if kept dry, but might be hard to find it in viable historical products. I agree that weapon and tool redundancy sounds good but realistically you would want a dedicated weapon, preferably fairly light. Maybe an arming sword is one option? Also in my opinion a walking stick is a game changer for long hikes, especially when loaded heavy and dealing with terrain or weather. When it's seasonable do you think you'll bring your bow out? Love the channel name by the way, really communicates a love of various interests without gatekeeping or perfectionism. I appreciate your content a lot!
Thanks very much! I don't have anything with down at the moment, not for adventuring, anyway. I'll look into it. Walking stick was necessary when walking up hill, not sure I would have made it otherwise. I'd love to bring my bow out, but, where I am, you can't bring a bow or arrows, even individually, without a hunting permit, which I don't have. That will have to wait until I move or have property, I'm afraid
Hard to explain to the fish and game department that you're hunting orcs in the south farthing
I don't even go out and adventure but I enjoy so much taking some time out of my day to imagine what it would be like :)
From a military point of view, everyone having their own set of gear is good incase someone gets lost or separated from the main group they can survive until found. Additionally, that guarantees spare items that can't be replaced quickly or easily such as a cookpot or machete. The ODnd method of having followers to bear your burdens was based on historical depictions of a knight on campaign, so in the right context, both can be equally plausible.
Hey Kramer, great video. Good thoughts....Like you said, a party would normally plan out who is is carrying what rather than just getting together and going. Someone should be carrying a dutch-oven sized for the number of people in your party. Although I don't have these for "adventures" I have a full line of dutch ovens, so I _could_ theoretically just pick the right one for the job. They come in all sizes from big enough to support 20 people to as little as single serving sized. Obviously you want to carry one that's just right so you aren't wasting space and load, but big enough to support the party with hot food.
How you faring the weather on your side of the state? We've already got at least 2 ft of snow.
Hey Scott! We had 2 dutch ovens with us, wondering how you would pack yours or if you would just carry it in your hands like we did. It is snowing here, but probably not a foot yet.
@@LivingAnachronism We pack ours and don't forget that the void inside the dutch oven can be filled with stuff too, it doesn't need to be left full of air.
@@LivingAnachronism Alternatively folks like the Sarcerens and Mongols used what was called a Fire Bowl. A wrought iron nearly flat bowl that you would place over the camp fire and cook on it like an open griddle. This is where the chinese restaurant idea for mongolian beef comes from where the beef strips are cut thin, and cooked quickly on the metal bowl.
When it comes to something you need to survive, two is one and one is none.
Excellent phrase
I 100% agree with your final summation . For any semi-normal people, a multi-day winter trip through the wilderness with medieval gear isn't going to be nice. It's an adventure. It's something the average farmer or craftsman never does, and might die if he tries. The goal isn't to be comfortabe. The goal, like the goal of a trip into a dungeon, is to stay alive and not lose any body parts. In warmer months, you are only mildly cold and uncomfortable sleeping on the ground with your wool blanket. Unless it rains, then you sit up under a tree and life sucks (but you don't die).