Survival: How much of the hardware determine your chances of coming out alive?

Originally posted by DanielL
phwl - good point. A working cell phone beats the best knife that money can buy.
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I dont think i agree (from a personal point of view) i think that cell phones are more dangerous than good, they encourage people to go out places they shouldnt be where they dont have the knowledge and equipment to survive because they rely on being able to call someone out if they get into trouble.

1) its wong to expect other people to put their lives at risk to rescue you when you went out ill equipped and unprepared.

2) the cell phone can break / get full of water / go flat / _EASILY_ have no signal, i have been many many places where there is no signal.

3) before you take a knife you should be able to survive without one, before you take a tent you should be able to survive without one, before you take a compass you should be able to survive without one, before you take a GPS you should be able to use a compass, before you take a cell phone you should definately be able to survive without one, GPS and cell phones are 2 things that make it easy for people to go into the wilds but theyre such high tech bits of kit if your ely on them and they fail your totally stuck, i would take a knife over a cell phone any day alot of the time i dont even take a cell phone with me because they are so unreliable in mountainous terain, kit you cant rely on 100% is hardly worth carrying.
 
I wouldn't rely on a cell phone:grumpy:

one minute a connection the next static. :mad:


especially out in the woods. :rolleyes:

I do think it is good to have in urban situations but for backwoods it is too sketchy
 
knife should be the best you can afford, as it is your primary tool. sleeping bag, best you can get, it is your survival cacoon, and will definately keep you alive. pack good is ok. fire starters lots of them is better than one expensive one. tent, good is ok as they are replacable as long as they keep you dry. boots best you can afford as they are your transportation. cooking gear good is ok. water bottles anything will do. water filter good is ok and there are a lot of good ones out there.
just my opinion and its worth what you have paid for it,

alex
 
If I had to choose, it would be the skills over the hardware. The greater your knowledge of what's around you, the less gear you require.
 
Surely the skills are more important, but much depends on what level of "survival gear" you are going to allow. Am I stranded in the desert? First thing I'd like to have is 50 Gal. of clean water. Too much you say? Well is a doan magnesium block and ferrocium rod along with a striker (or knife) OK, or could I have my blazer pocket torch (it is frequently on me)? If I've got a fuel bar (hey they're in my jump kit), I wouldn't even need to worry about kindling... Same thing about shelter. I can build one out of what is around me, but if I'm carrying all (or part) of one already, it makes a big difference unless my skills/experience are so poor or the conditions so severe that I can not make use of even such advanced tools.

Having such survival conveniences could make a great difference in some people's attitudes. I am much more confident about my ability to face a survival situation if I have certain fundamentals more, rather than less, covered.
 
My theory has always been to build primitive skills (make do with nothing) and then all equipment you acquire (as long as you know how to use it) will simply make you stronger and more capable. But beware that you not forget the original knowledge and skills. If your steel knife falls into a rushing river, you had better know how to chip or grind one from stone or bone. If your GPS dies, you need to be able to read the stars and other signs. If your clothes are stolen while you're skinny-dipping, it really helps to be able to improvise...

I believe that one of our modern fallacies is that we expect technology to save us. Well, it had better save us, because we have forgotten the old ways. But when technology fails... TEOTWAWKI! Techology has become our Tower of Babel.
 
Brothers & Sisters of Survival,

Skills. No tools other than an open mind. Tools may ease a task, but without the initial ability to conceive of a solution no tool will ever make survival possible.

Regards,
Lance Gothic
Shibumi
 
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