What two items?

O

Oregon Knife Guy

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On the alaskan experiment thread that's been going on for a few days now, a question arose that I thought should have it's own thread. If you were in alaska and knew you were to be in the wilderness for let's say a week. It isn't overly cold- mid 30's and snow. You get two pieces of equipment besides a metal match-(fire is covered). What would you take??? Should be interesting discussion.
Me, a good-sharp medium sized axe and I am trying to decide between a firearm and a tarp. Since it is only a week in my hypothetical situation I am leaning toward a tarp. You have fire and shelter taken care or with those two items. What do you guys think?
 
I would go with a large knife (like a BK-9) and a steel canteen with a removable lid.

I would opt for a large knife in this situation because I think it might be more versatile than an axe. While the axe would be better for chopping, I would want a knife for detail work, cutting branches for a shelter, making traps and fishing spears, etc. That's just my preference. A good hunting axe or large hatchet would probably work nicely instead.

The tarp sounds incredibly tempting. I chose to go with a canteen instead, simply because there's no shortage of material with which to construct a natural shelter in that environment, and if it's cold enough that there's snow staying on the ground, you probably won't have to worry about rain. A good pine bough shelter can keep out the snow. If it were warmer, and there was a risk of rain, I would probably opt for the tarp. With the steel canteen, I could boil water - both to purify it and to create a warm beverage (pine needle tea!), which is always nice when it's cold. Assuming I had any luck with fishing, it could also serve as a pot for fish stew.

All the best,

- Mike
 
I always like these questions. I would go with a large hatchet and a good quality large wool blanket. It can be a coat a blanket and for snow and wind a good enough wool blanket can act as a tarp.
 
Mike- good point on the rain issue. Aqua that is a good idea on the blanket since I did say snow and not rain.
A knife would serve you for most of your needs. I think if I knew I was in a situation like this I would go for a sharp axe because you can still do many of the same tasks as you will with a knife. You can go through a huge amount of firewood in a week and I don't see a knife as being useful as an axe for this purpose. IMO. You can certainly use an axe for carving a sharp spear or making a figure four or most any other useful thing you need.
 
Here are my 2 pieces of equipment :
wildlife-bikini-girls-9.jpg
 
In the last Alaska Experiment, the participants did not know how long it would be.

One week is very different from, "I don't know how long."

Would that change any answers ?

If fire is covered, I'd take a Busse SFNO-LE or Scrapyard SOD-LE (rubber handle in the cold might be better) and a .22 pistol, maybe a Ruger 22/45. (I'm presuming ammo would not be considered a third item)

Usually the gear supplied on the show was very low-end, so I wouldn't want to trust to their selection.

Food was often a problem, so I'd want to be able to shoot what I saw if someone else had the .22/.410 combo gun, or it was stowed in a pack.
 
Sat phone and a GPS. "Hello? Is this the bush pilot service? I need a lift and a pizza."

If not that, then an RD9 or BK9 and a firearm. The Native folks use AR-15's so I suppose one of those would do me fine. If I could upgrate to M-16, even better.
 
I'd want a compact axe, like a Hudson Bay Cruiser, and some sort of metal pot for water.
 
I'd take a medium axe and an RC-6 (or similar style of knife). I can always make a water container if I have to, and shelter can be constructed between the RC-6 and the axe. :)
 
I'd want an axe with a 2 1/2 pound head about 25" long. I'm a big guy so its not too hard for one handed use.
Definitely a 2-4 litre metal billy, preferably the largest I could get.

The axe can be used for all the cutting I need anticipate and the billy also has multiple uses from the normal cooking and carrying things, to use as a shovel. I think people under-estimate how tricky it can be to improvise something as simple as a pot.

I'd cheat a little and not take any blanket or anything because I normally try to take enough clothes when I'm out that I can make do with a fire. I think Mors Kochanski said that the most important physical thing for survival is the right clothing, and I have to agree.

Chris
 
Ok, 1 week and you have a firesteel. Good.

I'd go with an axe which can be used for fire wood, cutting tool, digging tool for snow shelter, and get to wild edibles. It will also help to make deadfalls and snares.

Stailess steel cup or better yet a billycan. Water is a necessity and in cold temps, hot water is a blessing. Plus alot of wild edibles need to be boiled and such to be eaten.
 
I'd probably choose a good sleeping bag for one of the items.

For the other, probably a bladed tool of some sort (an axe or a large knife), or possibly a bivy or a tarp.
 
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