primalscapesmithy88 Posted March 3, 2015 Share Posted March 3, 2015 Hi All, I am a blacksmith in Hampshire and have recently started camping again with my soon to be wife and young daughter (forgot how much I enjoyed it!). We went out and bought quite a lot of kit (admittedly on a budget) and on our first outing found a lot of the equipment flimsy and to be honest a bit rubbish so I decided to make some of it myself when. I made a fire pit, a stand roaster, a standing rack, a grill, tent pegs and loads of hooks, this got me thinking, as work for me is some what thin on the ground these days (economic downturn and all that) that maybe people might be interested in some of these things and I could sell them? Iv done a bit of research and found a lot of this sort of equipment available in the USA but hardly any here back in Blighty, do you think that this is lack of demand or have I found a niche? I don't want to sweat away for hours making these things if I'll never sell them and I'd have no idea how to go about selling them, I usually work to commissions so I'm not used to selling pre manufactured stuff. so in summary does any one have any advice, even if you think there is no market for it please let me know, I would really appreciate all your thoughts on this. Thanks in advance :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracker Posted March 3, 2015 Share Posted March 3, 2015 Hi Alex and welcome to the forum. As a motorhomer I have not camped for many a long year now as the floor has become too far from the end of my arms, but having seen some of the flimsy camping kit that you seem to have fallen victim to there may well be a market for stronger more durable kit. The three big obstacles are cost, weight, and space. So having to overcome all three and then market them yourself might turn out to be a big ask on top of running your existing business and devoting enough time to your family - congratulations on your forthcoming big day and I wish you many years of happiness together. Maybe if not wrought iron a stronger tubular construction either in powder coated/painted/chromed mild steel or maybe thicker gauge aluminium might be worth a passing thought? Some of us will find it interesting to see how your ideas develop and I don't imagine anyone will object to a wee small bit of self promotion in the process! Good luck and do let us know how it goes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
primalscapesmithy88 Posted March 3, 2015 Author Share Posted March 3, 2015 Hi Rich, Thanks for the feed back, I have been trying to get my head around weights! the standing roaster I made only whys about 3lbs all together so I figured that's not to bad but my fire pit is made from a brake drum off a tank transporter and weighs a LOT, it weighs more than me and Im pushing maybe 15 stone. What do you think is the sort of weight that would be good for things, when I go camping we usually park next to our pitch and I drive a fairly robust 4x4 ford ranger pick up truck so for me weights not that much of a problem and given that I swing a hammer all day every day I'm fairly thick in the arm but for Joe public it wouldn't really work. I'll see if I can use tubing more for thing like you suggest, that will definitely help. Cheers Alex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malc d Posted March 3, 2015 Share Posted March 3, 2015 primalscapesmithy88 - 2015-03-03 9:52 AM Iv done a bit of research and found a lot of this sort of equipment available in the USA but hardly any here back in Blighty, do you think that this is lack of demand or have I found a niche? Hi Alex and welcome to the forum. I don't think your observations of what is available in the USA is really very relevant to the UK. Seems to me that many people over there are into huntin' shootin' and fishin' in the vast wild spaces over there - there is no equivalent over here. I should think the main drawback with wrought iron would be the weight. Also be aware that many sites are quite fussy about what kind of cooking kit they will allow - certainly any equipment that may damage the grass. Maybe a few more visits to sites and a chat with other campers would give you a better idea of what may sell. Anyhow , I wish you luck -and, whatever kit you use, enjoy your camping. ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
primalscapesmithy88 Posted March 3, 2015 Author Share Posted March 3, 2015 Hi Malc, Thanks for the feed back, that thing with the American market is defiantly a good point id never thought about that culture difference, my aunt lives in New York (the state not the city!) I'll give her a shout, never know I could start telling people I'm an international business man if it worked out! (lol) . The weight seems to be the biggest concern people have, I was just messaging back Rich about this earlier, its difficult because as things get sturdier they tend to get heavier and one of the things I made which is a stand roaster is obviously heavier that what I bought but is only about 3lbs, it also doubles up jobs and can replace other items meaning you pack less, maybe could use that as a USP? The fire regulations that you point out are also helpful as I hadn't really thought of it, the campsite we use in the new forest was relatively lax about it but It had to be off the floor. maybe could try to design a collapsible fire pit/grill that could be sold with the whole lot as a kit? What do you think? Cheers Alex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malc d Posted March 3, 2015 Share Posted March 3, 2015 I'm not really in a position to ' advise ' on current camping gear. After 40 odd years of camping I went soft and bought a motorhome, some years ago now, so I'm not up to date with camping gear. In my day barbecues on sites were for wimps - but look how many there are now ! Looks like you could have a market in the States. Cheers ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.