Who has had to actually survive?

I hear ya.

Most of my experience is overnighters or two, or through hiking. I have often thought about spending 2 weeks in the same spot as kind of a test. Then the rules change. I would be setting snares and figure 4's and using fish hooks instead of just practicing.. I certainly would want some of the over the counter pharmacy stuff then also.

I'm going to stay away from Cairo for now.
 
The nearest survival survival situation for me came two summers ago. I took a crew of venture scouts canoeing in Canada. We were on a lake when we saw a storm rolling toward us. We beached our canoes on an island. I keep emergency stuff in a fanny-pack and the scouts used the fire kit I keep there to start a fire. We huddled under a rock outcropping and next to that fire the rest of the afternoon while the storm blew down trees around us.
 
PrimitiveMan said:
This is exactly why I don't carry a "kit" any longer.

Real life survival situations are not going to require the stuff in an altoids tin. Of course that doesn't mean you shouldn't carry one because they CAN help keep you more comfortable.

A knife, a good fire source with a backup and a means of getting some water are all I need.
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Well, let's see:

My Altoids tin has Bic, Spark-Lite, Tinder-Quik, oven bag. Sounds like that meets your needs.

My belt knife (Fallkniven F1 with Firesteel loop on sheath) takes care of the rest.
 
Well, I was picked up unconscious from dehydration in the desert years ago...but other than "take a lot of water" and "don't hitch hike through deserts" I don't think there are a lot of useful lessons I can give anyone.

I guess this, maybe: deserts, man...those are some dangerous places! Think it through before you do!
 
CSG,

I carry a K&M and a firesteel.

I used to carry neosporin as a multi duty for cuts, firestarting and coating my carbon blades. That is the one thing I might add back to my normal carry.
 
Talfuchre said:
I am beginning to think that most of us have not had a life or death situation because of our preparation.

TF
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It is a really hard question, how do you know if you would have died....unless you do. On two occasions I have taken a dunking in below freezing conditions, in both I was able to get a fire going and warm up and dry out, both times I was in remote areas. In one of them my clothes were freezing to my body before I got the fire going, would I have lived if I didn't have a waterproof fire kit? Who knows, probably, maybe not.

I think it is a very had question to answer with any certainty. Chris
 
Yes, I think the realization of what could happen keeps us in check much more than most.

Discussion with like minded people certainly prepares us more.
 
Talfuchre said:
I am beginning to think that most of us have not had a life or death situation because of our preparation.

TF
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I would guess that's true if you are talking about mental preparation. I think most people who end up in survival situations end up there because they've gone and taken on something drastically beyond their skill level.

Whereas I think people who like to talk survival and disaster preparations are inherently more cautious individuals who like to approach things methodically and with forethought.

So I would tend to think that many of us here have avoided life or death situations by making more cautious assessments of both our own abilities and the conditions we might face in the wilderness.
 
I think you guys are right. The folks who are interested in forums like this and the interests we have are likely to be aware and prepared. Barring unusual circumstances, things like getting lost are not the same big deal they might be for ill-prepared hikers or campers. What's a life or death survival for one may not be much more than a night in the woods for another.
 
yeah, chances are we are not going to get lost, and if we do, we are not going to wander around in circles till we drop of exposure.
 
Back when I was flying (private) I would attend the FAA Safety Meetings for pilots. They would always lament that the pilots who *needed* to attend never did. They were the ones that always got in trouble with their aircraft.

No real difference from the membership here. We're the guys who attend the meetings. ;)
 
Talfuchre said:
I am beginning to think that most of us have not had a life or death situation because of our preparation.

TF
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I would say that the statistical probability of any adult being in a survival situation is really low. We hear news stories and they get alot of attention but in reality the majority of adults in America and Canada do not take risks.
 
I have been working on some gear and thinking about this thread. I think we need to take two people of equal skill levels, physical strength and endurance, airlift them into the backcountry, preferably in winter. Equip one with a well thought out kit and one without, break one of their arms then leave them for a month and see which one lives. Of course these test subjects have to be seperated from each other by at least 100 miles. :thumbup:


Any volunteers? :D Chris
 
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There was a time in Afghan when I was told weapon, ammo and webbing only. A dozen of us went 10K ahead of the main force and the idea was we would set off before first light to take and hold a high point before being reinforced that night.

Like good marines we all followed orders and only one guy carried a poncho for casualty evac. So you can guess what happened. We got left there for 36hrs instead of 8. Not normally bad as we all carry 24hrs worth of water, rations and ammo. The twist was we were at 11,000 feet wearing a mix of desert and woodland camo. I having a bit of knife habit had the largest knife (a KaBar!) and used it to chop enough branches to form some insulation from the ground, while the poncho was used to keep the sleet of us. Then 8 at a time we slept butts to nutts through temps as low as -5ºC. I don't know what the windchill was but that's one of the coldest nights i've ever had. Did a fair bit of praying for the sun that night.

I would say the best pieces of kit we had was our sense of humor and positive mental attitude. In saying that a larger knife like the Busse Battle Mistress I have now and a couple of space blankets would've been very welcome.:D
 
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