Survival trip with Brother

SubaruSTi said:
Teach him how to get rescued not be rambo. Small skills that you might need during that time would be fire and water, not hunting.
Click to expand...

There's more to life than getting rescued.
 
It may be what you want, but you may also have to face the fact that it isn't likely, you may not be where people think you are and it could be quite some time before anyone happens upon you by random chance.

-Cliff
 
90% of people dont care about learning survival techniques or know enough of them to save their life. Alot of people survive becuase of luck. That man out in colorado or wherever it was that cut his arm off and walked out he sure didnt carry a rambo knife everywhere. I go camping alot and i recently bought the SAS survival handbook and found it very helpfull but you would have to have alot of luck to use the methods successfully even 40% of the time. Dont get me wrong i understand that its a long learning prossess and that may stray away alot of people from really learning it well. A knife is technology, as is a cell phone or a gps and these are more important in a real survival situation than a knife. I still cant see why every web site i look at is so obsessed with knives for a survival situation and not a phone or a gps. How many people could survive for a month in the woods with just the sas survival handbook?
 
SubaruSTi said:
A knife is technology, as is a cell phone or a gps and these are more important in a real survival situation than a knife.
Click to expand...

Most will note basics such as cell phones and value their use, it is however much easier for a cell phone to fail to work due to location, batteries, or simply getting wet or otherwise damaged. Many survivial situations can simply be solved by just letting people know where you are going and when you expect to be back, not gear related at all, just basic preperation. That is what you should start off with, then the mental focus you need to deal with a high stress situation. All the gear and experience counts for little if you panic.

-Cliff
 
Originally posted by Cliff Stamp
Most will note basics such as cell phones and value their use, it is however much easier for a cell phone to fail to work due to location, batteries, or simply getting wet or otherwise damaged. Many survivial situations can simply be solved by just letting people know where you are going and when you expect to be back, not gear related at all, just basic preperation. That is what you should start off with, then the mental focus you need to deal with a high stress situation. All the gear and experience counts for little if you panic.
Click to expand...

Cliff Stamp says it well. Having a cell phone and GPS is good, but there are a lot of other factors to consider. Planning is important. Remember the seven P's: "Proper Prior Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance." Bringing a cell phone and GPS unit is a form of planning, as is learning how to survive in the wilderness.

Keep this in mind: When disaster strikes, everything often goes to hell. There is no reason to assume that your cell phone and GPS will still work when you need them most. In the winter, cold temperatures sap the life out of batteries very quickly, which renders electronic devices practically useless. Have a GPS unit if you want to, but also have a map and manual compass. Know how to tell direction, and how to read the map. Go ahead and pack a cell phone, but know how to make a signal that will attract a rescue party. There are areas in the US, and across the globe, that have no cell phone reciever/broadcast towers; this means no signal in some areas. What will you do if you must spend several days and nights walking in an area until you can receive a signal? You are going to need to have shelter, and you will need to eat. That is where a knife comes in handy. A knife is by no means the only essential piece of equipment, but it is a valuable and versatile survival tool.

I am not saying that you must be a "Rambo" type; I'm simply saying that survival knowledge and a good knife may mean the difference between life and death until you are rescued.

SubaruSTi: You asked: "How many people could survive for a month in the woods with just the sas survival handbook?"

The answer is: Not many, but it is a hell of a lot better than nothing.

I'm sorry for my rantings. I tend to get worked up when people disregard the usefulness of survival skills. Rest assured, the day they need the skills is the day they'll be wishing that they had 'em.

Sincerely,
TheSurvivalist
 
SubaruSTi said:
I agree, but its hard to learn from a book.
Click to expand...

Agreed, I have the Woodmaster series 1-6 and I can say without a doubt that you will NEVER learn how to make a fire with a firebow by just learning from a book.

If you're strapped for cash, get the Firemaking and Shelter vids :thumbup:
 
I have most of the Woodsmaster series on DVD, well worth the money.

I am planning this tirp for some time in June when the snow melts off, the fishing is good, and plenty of small game. The plan is to take plenty of supplies and our ATV's a few miles from home, but try only to use our small survival kit and knife the whole time. I have no intention of actually placing us in a survival situation, we are very familiar with the area and on a ATV its only a few min from home. With that in mind what are your thoughts? What skills should we cover? How should I go about planning this?...

...The reason that I am planning to "jump right in" is because he already has the basics. We both are avid backpackers and have grown up our whole life camping, hunting, and fishing. We are both good at navigation and signaling. We have done several minimalist weekend trips, where we would camp out on the river by our house and take fishing stuff, a .22, and a backpack of basic gear.I wanted to focus mostly on living on what nature provides us. He has the basics down pat. I want to teach him the more advanced survival stuff. So what do you think?
Click to expand...
He has the basics down pat. :rolleyes: Does he?

Just take less stuff and make do without it. Sounds like you're within walking distance of your recreation area, so why even take the ATV's? Fix up a couple minimalist kits and take him for an impromptu walk. . .
 
SubaruSTi said:
I agree, but its hard to learn from a book.
Click to expand...

The book mainly tells you what to learn, what you should be aiming for, it stops you from having to reinvent everything from scratch. You should be looking at basic principles, not the specific methods / materials because all of these change depending on where you are and what you have on hand. You don't build the same shelter with an axe and saw that you would with a SAK for example. I would never pack such a book with you, you should already have all the information on hand, that isn't the time to actually be practicing, you want to have it all worked out before hand.

-Cliff
 
Most of that is basic knowledge not things you must learn but already should have some idea of. Most people have common sense and can build a shelter/fire/find water (if its a drinkable stream). trial and error helps alot. my family owns a farm and my dad can do about everything you can think of. a woman in newyork city that drives her suv around all day wont know as much as i about things like "survival".
 
work on a few skills at a time. for instance one weekend trip may focus just on building a couple different shelters and 3 different ways to start/build a fire. use different fire starting techniques for each hot meal.

build and tear down a shelter each night. you get the idea. have fun...

dhawk
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top