The BladeForums.com 2024 Traditional Knife is ready to order! See this thread for details:
https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/bladeforums-2024-traditional-knife.2003187/
Price is $300 ea (shipped within CONUS). If you live outside the US, I will contact you after your order for extra shipping charges.
Order here: https://www.bladeforums.com/help/2024-traditional/ - Order as many as you like, we have plenty.
Emergency rations from that list look the same as the choices we had. I stopped reading it when I saw pemmican listed. Dried/powdered meat, dried/powdered berries and solidified fat what's not to love?
When starving the body converts to burn muscle and fat for energy. Pemmican is made of muscle and fat so every pound you eat is a pound of human you get to keep.
You only get ten items. This year a few contestants chose double rations and gave up an item of gear. I only took one portion of emergency rations.
My List...
1. 0 degree bag - Wiggy's/lamilite. VCI winter temps only hover a few degrees +/- of freezing, but w/ frequent rain.
2. US Army Bivy - I have too much rainforest in my past to not take a bivy. I don't plan to dry my bag. I plan to never let it get wet.
3. Knife - Custom bushcraft knife made by Abe Elias of Diving Sparrow. I've known him for many years. He made it special for me for the show. ATS-34 stainless, scandi grind, green canvas micarta scales.
4. Axe - 2 lb BMC, 26 inch handle
5. Folding Saw - Silky Big Boy
6. 2 Quart stailness pot w/ lid
7. 300 yards of mono-filiment line & 25 hooks (They specified mono)
8. Gill net
9. Ferro rod
10 Emergency Rations - 5 lbs of pemmican in five, one lb blocks.
My List...
1. 0 degree bag - Wiggy's/lamilite. VCI winter temps only hover a few degrees +/- of freezing, but w/ frequent rain.
2. US Army Bivy - I have too much rainforest in my past to not take a bivy. I don't plan to dry my bag. I plan to never let it get wet.
3. Knife - Custom bushcraft knife made by Abe Elias of Diving Sparrow. I've known him for many years. He made it special for me for the show. ATS-34 stainless, scandi grind, green canvas micarta scales.
4. Axe - 2 lb BMC, 26 inch handle
5. Folding Saw - Silky Big Boy
6. 2 Quart stailness pot w/ lid
7. 300 yards of mono-filiment line & 25 hooks (They specified mono)
8. Gill net
9. Ferro rod
10 Emergency Rations - 5 lbs of pemmican in five, one lb blocks.
I like your choices. One question why not a real saw? The silky is a great saw.. I've got one but if you don't have to hike far why not a real bow saw? And a real axe for the same reasons? Is there a total gear weight restriction or some other reason? Curious thanks
I'm going to give you an indirect answer, so try to follow my alternate example. There is a huge difference between an 18 inch Ontario machete and an 18 inch Tramontina. The Ontario is made from a thick slab of 1095 and the Tramontina by comparison is a light and flexible 1070 at about half the weight. Why carry that when you can carry a "real" machete.
If you chop through one kilometer of jungle you have done the same amount of work as clearing brush from a 1000 square meter lot. Trust me, I've done both with a machete. When you do multiple hundreds of swings a day with the blade you will curse that "real" Ontario and go buy a Tramontina. The Ontario is a great blade for certain applications, or if you're Conan the Barbarian. Bottom line. I'm not man enough to swing that much steel all day every day, but I know that and I'm OK with it.
Would love to see photos of that thing! Last December Abe made me a Boreal. I really like his style.3. Knife - Custom bushcraft knife made by Abe Elias of Diving Sparrow. I've known him for many years. He made it special for me for the show. ATS-34 stainless, scandi grind, green canvas micarta scales.
Randy showed some serious skill and determination out there tonight. If any of us were capable of handling friction fire there it was him. Cedar is really good friction fire wood, but it is totally waterlogged when you find it. Now that he has a fire he should be able to keep his kit dry but I don't envy the position he's in at all. I honestly don't know what happened with him out there so I'm seeing it for the first time like all of you.
I was also impressed with how well Tracy handled her bear encounter. Nicole and Jose are both very skilled in the bush. I expect to see great things from both of them. They are both totally at home in the wilderness.