Alone-What 10 things would you pick to bring with you?

Well if I was allowed more than 10 items i'd put em in my boat... with the coffee. :)

I wasn't aware there was some pre-approved gear list you had to select items from. Does anyone have a link to the approved list?
 
sideways said:
Well if I was allowed more than 10 items i'd put em in my boat... with the coffee. :)

I wasn't aware there was some pre-approved gear list you had to select items from. Does anyone have a link to the approved list?
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Well you probably know how to have fun in the woods, so you'd be good in a team survival marathon.

I think the info is scattered around in the participant videos. I think that the list has not been released due to casting for the other shows, or some of other proprietary reason. They were quite strict apparently, even with plastic bags and lanyard attachments. If you check the Alone History page it has a full list for what everyone took, that will give you an idea of a lot of the stuff that was allowed and the size.

Your list makes me think of conveyance and how crucial that could be in winter time. I wonder if a toboggan or portage cart would be allowed.

http://www.history.ca/alone/gear/
 
Well I would probably take that same ten items 6 out of 10 contestants took. The only issue was one of the contestants already came out saying that of the list of 40 only 18 or so were items that any reasonable person would pick the other 22 were more or less useless. I do agree with the idea not to allow firearms, too much liability, too much chance for AD and also you never know what people will do in a "survival situation" be kind of horrible PR if someone decides to off themselves on a T.V. show.
 
I wouldve taken most of what they all had, with one or two exceptions.

I don't understand why some had an axe AND a saw. Seems redundant to me. I would choose an axe, like my Gransfors SFA, over a saw any day. Reason being is it can do anything a saw can do and quite a bit a knife can do as well.

Also, I would've added a big fat book to the list, like War and Peace - something I could really chew on. You can see how much time they have spent lying around doing nothing when the weather is bad and a book would REALLY help pass the time in a situation like that, not to mention keep the mind occupied and away from depressing thoughts of home.

Mental needs can be as important as physical, sometimes even more so.

Other than that, I think the knife, a steel or Ti cook/water pot with lid and handle, gill net, fish hooks, fishing line, sleeping bag, fire steel and tarp were all essential choices.
 
Both axes and saws have their advantages. An axe is more versatile and stronger, while a saw offers ease of use. If you are untrained with an axe then a saw will be quicker for most operations. You need a high level of skill to be as quick with an axe as you can be with a saw, and that would require a 3.25 lb. head at least. Even then the axe will take more energy. None of them are on that level of axe use, it seems that Lucas was the only one beyond the beginner level. Notice that he was the only one skilled with an axe, and he took a saw with him. (I think Alan was the only other member to take a full-sized axe.)

The saw also offers the advantage of being able to work after dark, you have to use less energy concentrating on dangers (the axe is the more dangerous tool), and offers construction advantages. In squaring or cutting notches you have a big advantage if you have a saw and an axe.

If they made it to winter this combo would be crucial as none of the others would have been able to gather enough firewood to keep warm. Most only brought bushcrafting axes or boy's axes which would require 2-5 times as much effort to gather winter wood. And I think Wayne was the only other one to bring a saw, but it was a tiny hiking saw which would be useless in winter.

In short, the saw allows for ease of bucking which is crucial when building larger structures and gathering winter firewood. Keep in mind that none of them built a lean-to (as a second shelter, not primary) where they could have had an outdoor fire. This would alleviate some of the cabin fever and if a large fire was kept going most of the time may have kept predators away (combined with tinder fungus and punky wood).

Another point, nobody seems to use big fires, but a big fire is what you need to dry clothes. Without that ability you get mould, or you freeze. The large woods tools are the only way to get a big fire going in the absence of massive amounts of standing deadfall.
 
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Big fires require lots of wood. That cedar and spruce burn hot and fast.

A full list has been published of what they were given, were allowed to choose from, and prohibited items.
 
panzertroop said:
How can you tell what level everyone is at?? lol make grand assumptions
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Are you watching the show? You can see how they use the axe, and several of them have youtube channels. (Admittedy not much was shown of Alan, so maybe he is good with an axe, or better than what was shown.)

If you don't know basic safety, tempo of work, reading wood, care, repairs, splitting, and notches for both felling and bucking then you're a beginner. Simple as that. Not meant to be offensive, and it isn't. Hardly anyone uses axes or knows how to use an axe anymore, even in the bushcraft community (mimicking Ray Mears splitting kindling does not count as being knowledgeable in regards to axes). That's just an unfortunate aspect of woods skills being lost and the difficulty in recovering them. And it's not a remark on their other skills or knowledge, just where they stand in regards to axes.
 
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Could be that some of the video later in the survival period using axes shows the reduced physical vigor of the participant.

I think they had time to figure the axe thing on their own if they didn't already know.
 
Don't think there was much use later in the show apart from Lucas. And it's not really physical ability that would show one's knowledge, but how they carry the axe, where they hit, and the accuracy with which they hit. One of the main problems for men is that they think they can power through trees with an axe, but accuracy and notch methods are far more important. Base skill and method wouldn't be reduced much, if at all, from being tired.

Again, not knocking them, I'm beginner level in some survival areas too.
 
Are you watching the show? You can see how they use the axe, and several of them have youtube channels. (Admittedy not much was shown of Alan, so maybe he is good with an axe, or better than what was shown.)
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Yes, but I also realize it's heavily edited and hardly shows any skills. It's hard to determine who is good at what by a flash on the screen. I know better then to believe things are 100% truth from a TV show.
 
Well I don't watch much TV (actually none.....), but this is an interesting thread all the same!

So, as borrowed/adapted from Rock6:

1. my 3/8" x 6" fire steel
2. Mors Pot (2 quarts)
3. sleeping bag (a Western Mountaineering "Kodiak")
4. my Dustrude 24” Quick Buck Saw
5. my Bryan Breeden 6” bladed field knife
6. 40lb lefty recurve bow/a dozen aluminum arrows/8 Zwickey screw-in 125gr razor broad heads and 4 wire-gig/blunt heads
7. gill net (as large as possible!!!!!)
8. 550 cord
9. my 20" 2.2lb single-bit Helko Werks "Boys" axe
10. my Leatherman Wave multi-tool with a diamond sharpener

The bow/arrows and the gill net will allow me to search for food actively on land and passively in the water. The other stuff allows for making a shelter (and general construction)/fire/cooking.
 
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