The other day I watched some guy's video presentation of his Bug Out Bag and its contents. We can forgive him his choice of a multi hundred dollar military/civilian backpack with more outside pockets than a billiard table; after all we enthusiasts do tend to get carried away sometimes.
His choice of color (coyote) was good but short of shotgun shells I can't figure out what all the "shotgun loops" would be useful for. And truth be told, all those outside pockets could come in handy.
Any of the military/civilian camouflage patterns in dark green, brown, black or tan or those colors themselves would be as good. (Just stay away from the bright colors like reds, yellows, orange and white.) You'll probably find more of the blend-in and camouflage bags at sporting goods and outdoor stores.
One good thing about the backpack is the fact that it was a hydration pack which lets the wearer drink on the go without stopping to unlimber a canteen.
Water is one of the heaver substances out there weighing in at a tad over eight and a third pounds per US gallon so having all that weight in close to your back not only enables you to carry more water, it keeps the weight in close to your body and leaves room for something else besides a canteen on the belt.
Of course with water being all that heavy you can't carry very much of it without weighing yourself down to the point that mobility is adversely affected. That's were a Katadyn (or similar) water filter comes in. Or you could carry a small amount of household bleach (unscented Clorox) to disinfect as you go.
You'll want a suitably sized backpack for each family member. I've placed a list of links to hydration pack manufacturers at the bottom of this post. (You can find notes on Vehicle Bug Out Bags HERE.)
He chose to pack (without enumerating the contents for viewers) two first aid kits; one of the "Band-Aid variety" for small cuts and abrasions, and the other of the "bandage variety" (including a folding splint) for more serious injuries.
I would suggest that you pack the following two items in your "Band-Aid" level kit because I know from personal experience that both of these products work as advertised.
A bottle of New-Skin liquid bandage which dries rapidly to form a tough protective cover that's antiseptic, flexible, waterproof, and lets your skin breathe. (I've found New-Skin to last lots longer than a Band-Aid particularly on wounds to skin that bends.) Another use for New-Skin is for neutralizing splinters that you just can't seem to get out any other way. A drop of New-Skin on the splinter prevents infection, grabs the splinter preventing it from working its way in deeper and eventually, when the New-Skin finally comes loose days later, pulls the splinter out.
A package of moleskin because bugging out may require a bit of unaccustomed hiking which almost certainly will cause debilitating blisters if not treated immediately. (In my hiking days I'd use the scissors of my Swiss Army knife to cut strips and rectangles of Moleskin to cover sore red areas before they became blisters.)
In your "Bandage Level" first aid kit I highly recommend QuikClot or Celox or some other battlefield proven haemostatic agent for the treatment of deep or severely bleeding wounds.
A metal canteen cup or small pot for cooking and boiling water would be useful too. This brings me to Leather work gloves for use in handling hot things around the campfire as well as handling spiny prickly thorny things.
This brings us to walking boots or shoes, socks, pants, Gore-Tex jacket and a blanket or sleeping bag (in camouflage or a dark dull color) to be stored in a plastic bag to keep dry until needed. One of those large vacuum bags you see advertised on late nite TV would work well here, but any plastic will do.
He had another good idea i.e. packing a wad of small denomination bills in a plastic Baggie for use as long as money is being accepted. He chose small bills because, as he pointed out, there aren't likely to be a lot of people able to make change out there.
If things go from the paper money as legal tender to paper money as fire tinder stage it might be nice to have a few junk silver dimes and silver quarters in there too.
He chose to pack Electrical tape instead of the more versatile Duct tape. I'd choose the Duct tape because, as anyone who's ever compared the stickiness and strength of the two will tell you, Duct tape is stronger and will stick to more stuff. Electrical tape tends to stick to itself better than most other things and it stretches.
The Duct tape you'll find in the store is normally wider (17⁄8 to two or more inches) than Electrical tape which is usually about ¾ of an inch wide. That extra width plus the extra stickiness and strength makes Duct tape useable for more applications (you can always rip Duct tape lengthwise to get narrower pieces) in any situation where you're not repairing electrical wiring.
Please note that duct tape can be used for bandages and holding splints in place as well as dozens of other helpful uses like covering the international orange/reflective white stripes on your kids school backpack that's been pressed into service as a Bug Out Bag because you're on a budget. You'll find silver/gray duct tape at hardware stores and OD (Olive Drab) green and camouflage duct tape at military surplus stores.
In addition to his EDC knife he'd put another folder in the backpack as backup. Of course there was a big sheath knife too. Not a bad idea if you might find yourself needing to cut branches for shelter or fire.
My own choice of EDC knife is a genuine Swiss Army knife in a leather pouch on my belt. I choose a real Leatherman multi-tool for the Bug Out Bag.
Of course we all need fire starters. He chose a magnesium fire starter several BIC disposable lighters. A metal match would also be useful here.
You'll want a hank of 550 cord easily available in sporting and surplus stores. Try to get 50 to 100 feet of the real 550 cord not those cheap imitations. You'll thank yourself for doing so if you ever have to hang off the side of a cliff (been there done that) on a single strand of the stuff.
Two Flashlights; preferably LED flashlights using the same battery and bulbs (cannibalization to make spares) are a good idea in case one goes out when you need it most.
Of course anyone who watches Man Woman Wild, Dual Survival or any of the survival shows knows how to start fires with a nine volt battery and a piece of fine steel wool. So as a backup to your other fire starters why not add a small (many are the size of a pack of cigarettes) portable AM FM radio powered by (of course) a nine volt battery and a piece of fine steel wool in a baggie?
Like most of the other items listed here the cheap radio performs a multiple function i.e. morale booster, communications and fire starter battery holder. Having some idea of what's going on (or at least the official version) keeps you informed no matter where you are and could cheer you up.
The food in the video was just health bars, power bars and candy bars. Nothing wrong with that. This is after all a bag for getting the hell out of Dodge not living out of for months. But remember that the non-canned food you buy in the grocery store, although lighter, is produced and packaged with the expectation that it will be sold and consumed within a few months.
When he mentioned Slim Jims and beef jerky I recalled reading about some of those products found to have mold on them while still hanging on the merchant's rack. I'd eschew Slim Jims and jerky in my Bug Out Bag if it's to be stored unused for a long time; which, hopefully, it will be.
Health and power bars tend to have a lot of grains in them. You might want to stick them in the freezer for two weeks to kill any bug eggs that might develop into larvae while sitting in your backpack waiting for Armageddon.
Then I'd place each bar separately in a baggie evacuating as much air as I could while folding the baggie around the bar and sealing it. Then place several baggied bags in another one repeating the process. Of course the emptied baggies will come in handy if you ever have to eat the contents while on the run.
But why bother?
Why bother rotating (hopefully you'll remember) store bought food that wasn't packaged for long term storage for years while waiting for an emergency you hope will never come when you've got one of natures best all around, and longest lasting, foods right beside those perishables on the grocer's shelf?
Eatable honey has reportedly been found in Egyptian tombs and is as nutritious as any power bar. Additionally, because of honey's antiseptic and antibacterial properties it can be used as a field expedient wound ointment.
Buy a small sealed jar of pure honey and tape the top closed with duct tape. I'd also recommend putting duct tape all around the jar to buffer it during rough handling. I eschew plastic bottles of honey because it's too easy for them to burst when compressed.
The leading hydration pack manufacturers are:
Camelbak
High Sierra
Dakine
North Face
Outdoor Products
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JW (an international traveler) writes:
"I keep a “minimalist” first aid kit in the glove compartment of my car, along with a few gadgets (to cut seat belt straps, break car windows, etc). I keep a full first aid kit and tool box in my trunk.
When I travel, I have a small tool kit that I carry with the obligatory Leatherman, Swiss Army knife, etc., but have a couple of small, lightweight “unique” items. By memory (so not nearly complete):
Dentist mirror
Magnet on a 8” stick
1’ of magnesium ribbon wire (for fire starting)
Matchbox sized piece of “fire starter”
Waterproof matches
Fully charged extra cell phone battery
Compass
6’ of thin monel wire
3’ #12 electrical wire and a few assorted connectors
Long needle nosed pliers
Small “interchangeable tip” screw driver/wrench set (including metric sizes)
Compass
Eyeglass repair kit
Jeweler’s loupe and small magnifying glass
Small calculator
Small (slightly over matchbook size) book of various pictures to use when no one speaks English (food and car items, hotel/bed, policeman, etc.)
Water purification tablets
Cypro (strong antibiotic)
Pain killers/anti-inflamitory/stomach/muscle-relaxant assorted pills
Antiseptic/anesthetic cream, a few Bandaids
Assorted other doodads that I don’t remember off the top of my head
The kit is about the size of a paperback book in a zip-up “leather” carry case and has proved useful over the years. Many of the “doodads” come from my scratching my head in the middle of nowhere and saying to myself “If I only had a …”
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(Cap42 writes:
I wished I had brought mole skin or ducktape on my 24hour hike in Basic. Blisters really suck! I had one on my foot so bad from that hike that when the medic came around the next day and drained it it closed and filled back up over night and he had to cut it open and take the skin off the next day!
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(This note is from "KC" a person I know to be a retired Special Ops medic.)
Lot of good ideas there. As far as what medical gear to take, I guess it depends on what it is you’re preparing for (length of time and conditions expected). Not to mention medical experience of the user; an experienced medical professional would want a LOT more than the average citizen (IV fluids and such) ‘cause they’d feel naked without it.
Th[is] link West Marine Medical Kits is to a (much over-priced) website that caters to boaters. For Godsake don’t BUY this stuff, but get ideas on how they packaged medical kits by length of time, number of people, and type of injury. If you’re putting together a kit for aftermath of a disaster (think Katrina), then a 3-5 day kit augmented with field dressing packs and anti-biotic ointment would do. Anything else could be improvised. Add to it as needed for the amount of people you expect to use it.
One of the kit manufacturers on the West Marine site, Adventure Medical Kits lists the exact items contained in their kits.
The medical kit listing for each of the kits on the Adventure Medical Kits web site has a handy, “printer friendly” button to print the list. Nice for use when building your kits to show what’s inside. Don’t forget to add the expiration dates of any meds you put in the kit. [sealed in clear plastic baggies]
If you’re thinking TEOTWAWKI, you can’t pack enough, and what you do pack better be labeled in Chinese and Russian along with English, ‘cause they won’t ignore the opportunity.
Th[is] link is to the downloadable Emergency War Surgery book that has been studied by combat medics for many years. Very useful when combined with some medical training.
[Here's another link from KC's note that might prove helpful to some readers.]
Lastly, this idea came to me as I wrote the above. The electronic “books” (Kindle, Nook, etc) might be a viable way to take an extensive library of “How-to”, survival, medical and reference books with you in your G.O.O.D. BOB kit for TEOTWAWKI scenarios.
Serious. A solar panel charger in your kit could be used for many other things as well as the occasional re-charge of the Kindle/Nook. I think the cost-to-benefit ratio is in its favor.
Hope this helps. Please leave my name out of this; I have enough fame and fortune to deal with!
K (Invest in lead; the other precious metal.) C
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JSMI writes:
Are you some kind of delusionary mountain man? The day you try to make it with a bulging “bug-out bag” is the day you’ll become a sitting-duck target for every hungry redneck without one. Good luck hanging from that cliff with your 75 pound backpack.
75 pounds?
Well, let's add it up:
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Hydration backpack = Weight: 2 lbs, 6 oz Capacity: 600 cu. in.
"water weighs 8.33 pounds per gallon there is 128 ounces in a gallon 8.33 divided by 128 equals 0.065 pounds per ounce multiply by 100
equals 6.5 pounds per 100 ounces"
Backpack with full bladder = just under nine (9) pounds.
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Katadyn weighs 15 oz
205 piece First Aid Kit = 1.2 pounds (shipping weight)
My bottle of New-Skin and a package of MoleSkin from my medicine cabinet = 1.5 oz. The presenter showed personally assembled first aid kits in clear plastic baggies. I choose to go the same route because it's cheaper than buying a kit and you can tailor the contents to your particular needs and locale. I present the 205 piece kit here because it contains more they the presenter or I pack and it's weight is verifiable.
Paper dollar bills and some junk silver coins = 1 oz.
My two LED flashlights and a Leatherman multi-tool weigh in at exactly one pound.
My magnesium fire starter, the same size but Army issue, weighs in at just under 1.5 oz.
100 feet of 550 paracord = one pound (shipping weight)
Quick Clot = .2 oz.
GI metal canteen cup = 10.1 oz (shipping weight)
About five (5) pounds.
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my about a quarter roll of duct tape = about 4 oz.
Cabela's polartec long sleeve shirt, leather gloves pair of pants, boots & boot socks = 4 pounds
Surplus US Army woodland camouflage Gore-Tex parka = 3 pounds.
Surplus wool Army blanket = 4 pounds I also have surplus nylon poncho liners that weigh in at under a pound. (Being a retired military surplus dealer has its advantages) which I'd use for summer evacuations or in addition to the wool blanket in the cold of winter.
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About eleven (11) pounds.
So 9 pounds + 5 pounds + 11 pounds = 25 pounds which is a third of 75 pounds and a weight I can easily carry and (dare I say it?) live with.
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Showing posts with label Dual Survival. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dual Survival. Show all posts
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Monday, August 30, 2010
Survival Shows: Critique and Forecast
(I was going to just tack this onto the Survival Show Critique as an addendum to the existing column rather than starting a new one in order to keep the information all in one place and because the comments weren't really long enough to warrant a whole new blog entry when I started. But once I got started and realized I was going on three pages I decided to make it a new blog entry. If you haven’t read Survival Show Critique I'd suggest you do, for context and clarity before reading this entry.)
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I'm falling in love with the Man Woman Wild show. The man/woman, husband/wife camaraderie/friction that's evident throughout the shows is both amusing and enlightening. For example:
Mykel is showing Ruth how to drink from/eat an Amazon plant when she turns to the camera and says: "How can he remember all these plants? If I send him to the grocery store he comes back with the wrong detergent time and time and time again." The 'pained husband' look on his face while she's complaining to the cameraman is priceless. Yeah, guys, we've all been there.
Beyond Survival with Les Stroud
Les Stroud is back with a new version of Survivorman entitled: Beyond Survival with Les Stroud which I find not only less entertaining but less informative than the original shows.
The show's promo says it all:
Les Stroud seeks out the true masters of survival - the last indigenous tribes in the most remote corners of the planet - to learn their techniques, experience their rituals, and share the secrets of how they've survived in the wild for thousands of years - before they vanish forever.
I watched the first episode and frankly turned the sound down about halfway through the show. Watching Les chew, get high on and spit "betel nuts" as he mixed with the local population just wasn't my cup of tea. According to the promos the remaining shows will be the same as Les minimises the survival aspects and concentrates on going native.
Stuntman vs. Wild?
Man vs. Wild (or maybe it should be called Stuntman vs. Wild?) promises some changes this season as Bear Grylls will be taking two fans along for the ride as he hops hundred foot deep chasms and "gets trapped without light deep in the heart of an enormous limestone cave." We'll see if his two fans are up to eating rotting flesh too.
BTW Bear is doing more hawking of survival stuff than any of the other survival hosts. Bear has an official "survival knife" and official "survival clothes" listed online.
Mentioning knives reminds me Mykel & Ruth consistently carry large sheath knives that verge on being Roman short swords and the sheaths are often festooned with little pouches which presumably carry sharpening stones and other survival gear although I haven't seen any of it demonstrated yet. Mykel sometimes wields a large Gerka knife (Kukri) and I wouldn't be surprised if the Man Woman Wild show soon has an official knife or two.
The guys over at Blade Forums have some interesting ideas on new survival shows staring the same cast members:
trichos writes:
"I'd love to see an episode where Dave teams up with Bear. It would be action packed! On the other hand, it'd be great to see Cody and Les work together sans crew. They seem to share a similar vibe."
To which quick kill replies:
"Dave&bear would be a mad house! Then you have Les&Cody.It would be informative but I think it would be to calm to harmonic. And probably not be as entertaining. Now if you through les, Cody, bear, Dave, and Mike & wifey all on an island or up in the mountain. And they had a drawing for their partners and grab a random bag of gear. Then each had to make it to a randomly selected... but different point for "rescue"now that would be an interesting show.. "
The only problem with that is that idea is that although Cody + Dave + Bear + Les + Mykel + Ruth = six survivalists I doubt Mykel would be willing to have Ruth taking insane chances with Bear Grylls on an island OR a mountain top.
Likewise Les and Bear's styles are so completely different that I can't see them teaming up for anything more than a pre show cup of coffee at Starbucks.
Perhaps if the stars of the four shows maintained their current partners (or none in the case of Les & Bear) and then were to grab random bags of gear and head for four equidistant points for rescue…
Mmmmmmmmmmm… now that would be a good one hour show or series of shows as the cameras showed us ten minute* segments of each "team" as they trekked through jungles or forests, across deserts or tundra and mountains or savanna.
(* Your average TV show half hour has about twenty-two minutes of actual show. The other eight minutes or so is taken up by promos and commercials so a one hour show with four "teams" could be broken down into five or ten minute segments for each team.)
Another variation I'd love to see would be each of the four shows do a show or series of shows on disaster survival applying the same survival skills they use in the wild to deserted and destroyed urban and suburban environs.
Worst-Case Scenario
Bear Grylls did a mercifully short series entitled Worst-Case Scenario in which he mixed his usual tour de force of recklessness with a few good survival tips. Running in the open in broad daylight (while lecturing on the importance of remaining hidden from looters & outlaws), climbing up the outsides of buildings and repelling down elevator shafts in a survival situation is a recipe for further disaster not survival.
Survival Soap Opera
And now we turn to the problem of the "Survival Shows" turning into Survival Soap Operas.
Yes I'm talking about The Colony that contrived soap opera that's trying to pass itself off as a survival show. Every scripted scene in the promos I've seen (I refuse to watch this farce because it refuses to admit to the use of weapons & deadly force being used in an all out TEOTWAWKI situation) is just a shabby version of something from the TV soap operas. Replace the dirt smear on the protagonists faces with lipstick and you've got an episode from Days of Our Lives or any of the other melodramas.
To Comment on this article E-Mail Me Unless you specifically ask me not to, I'll post your reply here in the blog so everyone can read it. Of course I'll remove your last name, email address and any other specific information for privacy purposes.
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I'm falling in love with the Man Woman Wild show. The man/woman, husband/wife camaraderie/friction that's evident throughout the shows is both amusing and enlightening. For example:
Mykel is showing Ruth how to drink from/eat an Amazon plant when she turns to the camera and says: "How can he remember all these plants? If I send him to the grocery store he comes back with the wrong detergent time and time and time again." The 'pained husband' look on his face while she's complaining to the cameraman is priceless. Yeah, guys, we've all been there.
Beyond Survival with Les Stroud
Les Stroud is back with a new version of Survivorman entitled: Beyond Survival with Les Stroud which I find not only less entertaining but less informative than the original shows.
The show's promo says it all:
Les Stroud seeks out the true masters of survival - the last indigenous tribes in the most remote corners of the planet - to learn their techniques, experience their rituals, and share the secrets of how they've survived in the wild for thousands of years - before they vanish forever.
I watched the first episode and frankly turned the sound down about halfway through the show. Watching Les chew, get high on and spit "betel nuts" as he mixed with the local population just wasn't my cup of tea. According to the promos the remaining shows will be the same as Les minimises the survival aspects and concentrates on going native.
Stuntman vs. Wild?
Man vs. Wild (or maybe it should be called Stuntman vs. Wild?) promises some changes this season as Bear Grylls will be taking two fans along for the ride as he hops hundred foot deep chasms and "gets trapped without light deep in the heart of an enormous limestone cave." We'll see if his two fans are up to eating rotting flesh too.
BTW Bear is doing more hawking of survival stuff than any of the other survival hosts. Bear has an official "survival knife" and official "survival clothes" listed online.
Mentioning knives reminds me Mykel & Ruth consistently carry large sheath knives that verge on being Roman short swords and the sheaths are often festooned with little pouches which presumably carry sharpening stones and other survival gear although I haven't seen any of it demonstrated yet. Mykel sometimes wields a large Gerka knife (Kukri) and I wouldn't be surprised if the Man Woman Wild show soon has an official knife or two.
The guys over at Blade Forums have some interesting ideas on new survival shows staring the same cast members:
trichos writes:
"I'd love to see an episode where Dave teams up with Bear. It would be action packed! On the other hand, it'd be great to see Cody and Les work together sans crew. They seem to share a similar vibe."
To which quick kill replies:
"Dave&bear would be a mad house! Then you have Les&Cody.It would be informative but I think it would be to calm to harmonic. And probably not be as entertaining. Now if you through les, Cody, bear, Dave, and Mike & wifey all on an island or up in the mountain. And they had a drawing for their partners and grab a random bag of gear. Then each had to make it to a randomly selected... but different point for "rescue"now that would be an interesting show.. "
The only problem with that is that idea is that although Cody + Dave + Bear + Les + Mykel + Ruth = six survivalists I doubt Mykel would be willing to have Ruth taking insane chances with Bear Grylls on an island OR a mountain top.
Likewise Les and Bear's styles are so completely different that I can't see them teaming up for anything more than a pre show cup of coffee at Starbucks.
Perhaps if the stars of the four shows maintained their current partners (or none in the case of Les & Bear) and then were to grab random bags of gear and head for four equidistant points for rescue…
Mmmmmmmmmmm… now that would be a good one hour show or series of shows as the cameras showed us ten minute* segments of each "team" as they trekked through jungles or forests, across deserts or tundra and mountains or savanna.
(* Your average TV show half hour has about twenty-two minutes of actual show. The other eight minutes or so is taken up by promos and commercials so a one hour show with four "teams" could be broken down into five or ten minute segments for each team.)
Another variation I'd love to see would be each of the four shows do a show or series of shows on disaster survival applying the same survival skills they use in the wild to deserted and destroyed urban and suburban environs.
Worst-Case Scenario
Bear Grylls did a mercifully short series entitled Worst-Case Scenario in which he mixed his usual tour de force of recklessness with a few good survival tips. Running in the open in broad daylight (while lecturing on the importance of remaining hidden from looters & outlaws), climbing up the outsides of buildings and repelling down elevator shafts in a survival situation is a recipe for further disaster not survival.
Survival Soap Opera
And now we turn to the problem of the "Survival Shows" turning into Survival Soap Operas.
Yes I'm talking about The Colony that contrived soap opera that's trying to pass itself off as a survival show. Every scripted scene in the promos I've seen (I refuse to watch this farce because it refuses to admit to the use of weapons & deadly force being used in an all out TEOTWAWKI situation) is just a shabby version of something from the TV soap operas. Replace the dirt smear on the protagonists faces with lipstick and you've got an episode from Days of Our Lives or any of the other melodramas.
To Comment on this article E-Mail Me Unless you specifically ask me not to, I'll post your reply here in the blog so everyone can read it. Of course I'll remove your last name, email address and any other specific information for privacy purposes.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Survivorman vs Man Woman Wild vs Dual Survival vs Man vs Wild
First off, before anyone thinks I'm putting on airs, I want to stipulate that with the possible exception of Man Woman Wild's Ruth England* I'm quite certain that all of the survival experts critiqued below know more about wilderness survival than I do.
I've enough survival knowledge to evaluate most of the survival tips given on the shows, and the likelihood that you will ever encounter the "survival situations" they put themselves into.
Also I realize these are commercial shows that must entertain to reap ratings and so I accept that they will occasionally do things that are contrary to good survival practices. But I expect them to clearly label these exceptions and to keep them within the realm of realistic survival situations.
(*Ruth is the only one who doesn't list survival expertise in her résumé or biography.)
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Showmanship
When it comes to showmanship Man vs. Wild is a Barnum and Bailey Three Ring Circus compared to Dual Survival's Abbott and Costello; Who's On First routine. Continuing in the Vaudeville vein Man Woman Wild is a George Burns and Gracie Allen Show compared to Survivorman's Bill Cosby's one man standup routines.
Entertainment Value
Bear Grylls' antics on Man vs. Wild are, I think, more for ratings than instruction. Although he cautions against doing what he's about to show you how to do his examples speak louder than his words and his examples sometimes go way beyond survival.
The Abbott and Costello backwoods bickering of Dual Survival's Cody ("The more you know the less you need") Lundin and Dave (Patience my ass I'm goin' out and kill somethin') Canterbury is fun to watch. Cody's minimalist's 'at one with nature' eat shoots and leaves while foraging for bugs and snails style contrasts with Dave's 'hunter/killer "eating furry critters", snakes and alligators style.
Likewise watching survival expert Mykel Hawke instruct wife Ruth England in various survival techniques is entertaining as the normal give and take between husband and wife are added to the survival show mix. Mykel's explanations are more interesting because of the husband/wife aspect. I find myself looking forward to the next Man Woman Wild show.
Les Stroud uses neither outrageous antics nor verbal give and take between survivalists in his shows which makes him the best and least entertaining instructor of the lot. Still, if I had to recommend one show to learn survival techniques Survivorman would be my pick.
Relevance to Reality
If watching someone eat eyeballs from rotting carcasses, haul around half inch steel cable to slide down on from the top of a cliff to the top of a tree and repeatedly jump off of cliffs of indeterminate height into waters of indeterminate depth is your idea of relevant survival instruction then Bear Grylls is your man.
Walking around barefoot for twenty years is a great marketing gimmick for a Sonoran Desert survival school proprietor, but deliberately going unshod in a real survival situation is just plain stupid. Already Cody has had to resort to thick wool socks and field expedient sandals in the face of glaciers and cactus spines. The claim that having to go slow to look out for sharp rocks and scorpions somehow makes one more observant of one's surroundings reeks of excuse to me. Going slower or faster may be the difference between making it to the next waterhole or not. A discalced wilderness traveler is looking at the uneven ground immediately underfoot, not at surroundings.
Neither Bear's nor Cody's survival strategies is realistically defensible much less recommendable. The difference between the two survivalists is that Cody gives sensible advice while demonstrating realistic survival situations.
Survivorman
Survivorman Wiki
Survivorman on Discovery Channel
Les Stroud
Man Woman Wild
Man Woman Wild Wiki
Man Woman Wild on Discovery Channel
Mykel Hawke Wiki
Ruth England Wiki
Dual Survival
Dual Survival Wiki
Dual Survival
Discovery Channel
Cody Lundin Wiki
Dave Canterbury Wiki
Man vs. Wild
Man vs. Wild Wiki
Man vs. Wild Discovery Channel
Bear Grylls
Wiki
To Comment on this article E-Mail Me Unless you specifically ask me not to, I'll post your reply here in the blog so everyone can read it. Of course I'll remove your last name, email address and any other specific information for privacy purposes.
I've enough survival knowledge to evaluate most of the survival tips given on the shows, and the likelihood that you will ever encounter the "survival situations" they put themselves into.
Also I realize these are commercial shows that must entertain to reap ratings and so I accept that they will occasionally do things that are contrary to good survival practices. But I expect them to clearly label these exceptions and to keep them within the realm of realistic survival situations.
(*Ruth is the only one who doesn't list survival expertise in her résumé or biography.)
-----------------
Showmanship
When it comes to showmanship Man vs. Wild is a Barnum and Bailey Three Ring Circus compared to Dual Survival's Abbott and Costello; Who's On First routine. Continuing in the Vaudeville vein Man Woman Wild is a George Burns and Gracie Allen Show compared to Survivorman's Bill Cosby's one man standup routines.
Entertainment Value
Bear Grylls' antics on Man vs. Wild are, I think, more for ratings than instruction. Although he cautions against doing what he's about to show you how to do his examples speak louder than his words and his examples sometimes go way beyond survival.
The Abbott and Costello backwoods bickering of Dual Survival's Cody ("The more you know the less you need") Lundin and Dave (Patience my ass I'm goin' out and kill somethin') Canterbury is fun to watch. Cody's minimalist's 'at one with nature' eat shoots and leaves while foraging for bugs and snails style contrasts with Dave's 'hunter/killer "eating furry critters", snakes and alligators style.
Likewise watching survival expert Mykel Hawke instruct wife Ruth England in various survival techniques is entertaining as the normal give and take between husband and wife are added to the survival show mix. Mykel's explanations are more interesting because of the husband/wife aspect. I find myself looking forward to the next Man Woman Wild show.
Les Stroud uses neither outrageous antics nor verbal give and take between survivalists in his shows which makes him the best and least entertaining instructor of the lot. Still, if I had to recommend one show to learn survival techniques Survivorman would be my pick.
Relevance to Reality
If watching someone eat eyeballs from rotting carcasses, haul around half inch steel cable to slide down on from the top of a cliff to the top of a tree and repeatedly jump off of cliffs of indeterminate height into waters of indeterminate depth is your idea of relevant survival instruction then Bear Grylls is your man.
Walking around barefoot for twenty years is a great marketing gimmick for a Sonoran Desert survival school proprietor, but deliberately going unshod in a real survival situation is just plain stupid. Already Cody has had to resort to thick wool socks and field expedient sandals in the face of glaciers and cactus spines. The claim that having to go slow to look out for sharp rocks and scorpions somehow makes one more observant of one's surroundings reeks of excuse to me. Going slower or faster may be the difference between making it to the next waterhole or not. A discalced wilderness traveler is looking at the uneven ground immediately underfoot, not at surroundings.
Neither Bear's nor Cody's survival strategies is realistically defensible much less recommendable. The difference between the two survivalists is that Cody gives sensible advice while demonstrating realistic survival situations.
Survivorman
Survivorman Wiki
Survivorman on Discovery Channel
Les Stroud
Man Woman Wild
Man Woman Wild Wiki
Man Woman Wild on Discovery Channel
Mykel Hawke Wiki
Ruth England Wiki
Dual Survival
Dual Survival Wiki
Dual Survival
Discovery Channel
Cody Lundin Wiki
Dave Canterbury Wiki
Man vs. Wild
Man vs. Wild Wiki
Man vs. Wild Discovery Channel
Bear Grylls
Wiki
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Sunday, July 4, 2010
Dual Survival vs. Man vs. Wild
[Note, I've revised the knife portions of this post to reflect the ongoing influx of information on Cody and Dave's knives as the tools used change from show to show.]
I've been meaning to post something here about that new survival show Dual Survival staring Dave Canterbury; Army-trained scout, sniper, hunter who often carries a parkerized multi tool or sheath knife and barefoot minimalist, primitive skills expert Cody Lundin who carries a "Swiss Army Rock" (a knapped handheld hunk of flint or obsidian) and (probably) a Mora knife on a loop around his neck.
Their show is similar to Bear Grylls' Man vs. Wild which was also on the Discovery Channel.
Bear's modus operandi is to tell you how dangerous doing something is and that you should never do it; and then show you how to do it.
Dave & Cody just do it and after it's all over explain that they never should have done it because it's so dangerous.
Both shows are geared for ratings with survival tips thrown into the adventures.
The bits of survival technique are worthy of watching, just be sure to pay attention to the caveats.
None of these guys wears a boonie hat which would be the best way to shade the head, face and neck from sun, rain and falling debris. I guess the hat's wide brim makes it hard to light the faces for the cameras.
Bear's claim to fame is doing stupid dangerous things and eating rotting animals.
Cody's claim to fame is that he hasn't worn shoes in 20 years (although he did fudge a bit by wearing wool socks on a glacier and capitulated into sandals made from car tires when two inch cactus spines punctured his need to "be in touch with nature" in the desert.)
Dave's claim to fame is to eschew Cody's veggies & bugs in favor of "four legged furry food" which he is proficient at catching and adroitly killing.
None of the survival stars has plugged any particular knife on the shows although Bear has used a sheath knife we don't get enough of a look at it to tell what brand it is. Bear has since come out with his own custom made survival sheath knife.
Both Bear and Dave have used multi-tools on their shows to good effect (although not showing the full potential of these multiple tool tools). Cody's Mora knife is the essence of his minimalist survival technique but lacks the (so far undisclosed) versatility of Bear & Dave's multiple bladed knives.
Given my druthers I'd much prefer a genuine Swiss Army Knife or Leatherman brand multi-tool over the single blade of a Mora knife.
In a message dated 7/28/2010 2:07:04 A.M. Mountain Daylight Time, serge writes:
"What did you think about Les Stroud when he was still active in the survival business?
I do recall that Les always relyed on a multitool and always carried some sort of fire starting device, like a magnesium fire starter or a fire piston.
About Dave Canterburys knife, he seems to carry the pathfinder made by Blind Horse Knives. As soon as the word got out, the pathfinder went up in price by $200.00!!
Cheers,
Serge"
Serge,
I haven't thought about Les Stroud much since his show went off the air here in the states. I just Googled him and see that he currently has a show on OLN a Canadian cable network.
Although Les is less exciting then Bear, I always thought of Les Stroud as more of a survival teacher than Bear Grylls was on Man vs. Wild. Bear was more showman than instructor. Someone alone in the wilderness following Grylls' flamboyant examples would likely end up at the bottom of a cliff; a broken boned skeleton.
I believe the knife makers (Swiss Army, Leatherman and the custom knife makers) missed out when they failed (were they ever asked?) to sponsor or advertise on the "survivor" shows.
Google agrees with you about Dave Canterbury's sheath knife as seen on Dual Survival.
Custom knives, like luxury cars, are expensive and their finer points will likely be appreciated mostly by aficionados. Any quality knife (A.G. Russell, Buck, Case, CRKT, Camillus, Leatherman, SOG, and Swiss Army etc.) will do a journeyman job skinning game; shaving tinder, whittling kindling or carving notches in trap triggers etc.
Dave
-------------
To Comment on this article
E-Mail Me Unless you specifically ask me not to, I'll post your reply here in the blog so everyone can read it. Of course I'll remove your last name, email address and any other specific information for privacy purposes.
I've been meaning to post something here about that new survival show Dual Survival staring Dave Canterbury; Army-trained scout, sniper, hunter who often carries a parkerized multi tool or sheath knife and barefoot minimalist, primitive skills expert Cody Lundin who carries a "Swiss Army Rock" (a knapped handheld hunk of flint or obsidian) and (probably) a Mora knife on a loop around his neck.
Their show is similar to Bear Grylls' Man vs. Wild which was also on the Discovery Channel.
Bear's modus operandi is to tell you how dangerous doing something is and that you should never do it; and then show you how to do it.
Dave & Cody just do it and after it's all over explain that they never should have done it because it's so dangerous.
Both shows are geared for ratings with survival tips thrown into the adventures.
The bits of survival technique are worthy of watching, just be sure to pay attention to the caveats.
None of these guys wears a boonie hat which would be the best way to shade the head, face and neck from sun, rain and falling debris. I guess the hat's wide brim makes it hard to light the faces for the cameras.
Bear's claim to fame is doing stupid dangerous things and eating rotting animals.
Cody's claim to fame is that he hasn't worn shoes in 20 years (although he did fudge a bit by wearing wool socks on a glacier and capitulated into sandals made from car tires when two inch cactus spines punctured his need to "be in touch with nature" in the desert.)
Dave's claim to fame is to eschew Cody's veggies & bugs in favor of "four legged furry food" which he is proficient at catching and adroitly killing.
None of the survival stars has plugged any particular knife on the shows although Bear has used a sheath knife we don't get enough of a look at it to tell what brand it is. Bear has since come out with his own custom made survival sheath knife.
Both Bear and Dave have used multi-tools on their shows to good effect (although not showing the full potential of these multiple tool tools). Cody's Mora knife is the essence of his minimalist survival technique but lacks the (so far undisclosed) versatility of Bear & Dave's multiple bladed knives.
Given my druthers I'd much prefer a genuine Swiss Army Knife or Leatherman brand multi-tool over the single blade of a Mora knife.
In a message dated 7/28/2010 2:07:04 A.M. Mountain Daylight Time, serge writes:
"What did you think about Les Stroud when he was still active in the survival business?
I do recall that Les always relyed on a multitool and always carried some sort of fire starting device, like a magnesium fire starter or a fire piston.
About Dave Canterburys knife, he seems to carry the pathfinder made by Blind Horse Knives. As soon as the word got out, the pathfinder went up in price by $200.00!!
Cheers,
Serge"
Serge,
I haven't thought about Les Stroud much since his show went off the air here in the states. I just Googled him and see that he currently has a show on OLN a Canadian cable network.
Although Les is less exciting then Bear, I always thought of Les Stroud as more of a survival teacher than Bear Grylls was on Man vs. Wild. Bear was more showman than instructor. Someone alone in the wilderness following Grylls' flamboyant examples would likely end up at the bottom of a cliff; a broken boned skeleton.
I believe the knife makers (Swiss Army, Leatherman and the custom knife makers) missed out when they failed (were they ever asked?) to sponsor or advertise on the "survivor" shows.
Google agrees with you about Dave Canterbury's sheath knife as seen on Dual Survival.
Custom knives, like luxury cars, are expensive and their finer points will likely be appreciated mostly by aficionados. Any quality knife (A.G. Russell, Buck, Case, CRKT, Camillus, Leatherman, SOG, and Swiss Army etc.) will do a journeyman job skinning game; shaving tinder, whittling kindling or carving notches in trap triggers etc.
Dave
-------------
To Comment on this article
E-Mail Me Unless you specifically ask me not to, I'll post your reply here in the blog so everyone can read it. Of course I'll remove your last name, email address and any other specific information for privacy purposes.
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