Your knife might, but can you really survive?

J

josywales3

Gold Member
Joined
Jun 3, 2005
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152
If you're bored, here's a fun topic. I posted a topic with regard to a tactical/EDC knife and it led us to my final comment which was this:

"I agree and have posted that running is always the best strategy. Can you recommend a good treadmill?? Kidding! But it brings up another good point.

I see a lot guys discussing survival knives on this site and others. I can't help but wonder, are they in the kind of physical shape that one would need to be in order to improve chances of survival in the outdoors? I can tell you that with 4 kids, from infant to teens, I have at least 20 pounds I could shed..."

So how bout it? How many of us are in good physical and cardiovascular condition? Are our knives better suited to survvie than we are? After all, we're more likely to die of a heart attack than from being stranded off the Pacific.
 
I'm a big guy, 6'3" and 350 lbs. I have type 2 diabetes and atrial fibrillation, which can come on if I get pissed off. I can run for short distances, but get winded. If I had to run about a mile, I think I would probably die a painful death. Having said that, except for bad knees and shin splints, I can walk for miles and miles and miles. I think that if I were put in a fight or flight situation, I would probably stroke out whatever I did.

This is why I am trying hard to lose fat and keep muscle mass.
 
Not just physical fitness, but knowledge. Do you know what you could eat in a pinch and what to avoid? Can you build a fire without a lighter or matches? What if the wood is all wet? Do you know how to build a good shelter with the knife you have to do it? Do you know how to travel in the wild? Bring a good compass or go by the stars? Know some first aid? Yeah I have great survival knives, but in all likelyhood, they will find them on my corpse if it gets really nasty.
 
Honesty? On a fourm? Really? You guys are funny.

silenhunterstudios, (crap I get winded just typing your ID), which is why I want cardiovascular health (do they sell that in a pill form yet?) The weight loss would probably come with that for me.

Bob, I meant to imply that the survivor(?) would have the physical tools and survival knowledge, but your comment about the knife is too funny and probably very true for others, myself included...at this point anyway. If I have to admit that if I had to survive on berries, I would gain wieght. After all, dead weight is heavier than live wieight!
 
I don't have any wilderness or survival training, so I can't say how well I'd fare in a "Lost" situation, but I'd say I have a better chance than most. I always have my knives and my lighter, and I know a couple ways to make fire without out any of my own.

Due to the fact that I ride my bike everywhere, I'm in pretty good physical condition. Resting heartrate is around 70. I normally do about 10-20 miles a day on the bike.
 
I'll side with Planterz and say I'm better off than most. I've been in the Army for the last 4 years and overmax my PT test every six months, so I have the physical fitness part down. No real survival training to speak of but I can make a fire and figure out how to make a snare, things of that nature. Not that I care to test that theory anytime soon. :cool:
 
I could be in better shape but have some wilderness survival experience, a 21-day desert survival course. I also am an experienced backpacker and hiker. I have navigated through forests, deserts, and mountains as a professional archaeologist. I'm pretty good with a map and compass (only use my GPS to see where I've been at the end of the trip). Used to be good at firestarting with a flint-and-steel. Firearms experience - three years as 30.06 instructor, two as a 12-guage instructor.

My knife? An AG Russell Hunter's Scalpel. If you can learn to carry less, you don't need to be in as good of shape. :)

-Bob
 
Interesting to consider. I think both are important, but it doesn't take that much physical exertion to forage for food, collect small twigs, and stack branches on each other for shelter. Navigation, finding water, and starting a fire are more about knowledge and improvisation than physical condition.
 
Moving to Wilderness Survival Forum.
 
I am in pretty good shape physicialy as my job is pretty physcial but I could stand to lose a few pounds . I can build a shelter with my knife but don't have a chance in hell of building a fire with out matches or a lighter . I hunt and fish some but would be in pretty poor shape with out my modern equipment . Could I survive in a long term situation with only my knife ? I don't know but I would sure try .
 
Old guy here. About 15# over weight, good heart and strong body. My weakness is my wind. Gotta rest a few times to climb a steep trail, but other than that, I got the will and determination, as well as the tools and knowledge, to keep myself and my loved ones alive.
 
I'm 6 ft, 197 lbs, and 39 YOA. BP and heart rate are excellent.

Up to about a year and half ago I was in great shape. I was actually going the gym lifting 1.5 hours and running .5 hr 5x a week. I was down to a rock solid 185, I hadn't been in that kind of shape since college.

All that changed when I went back to the states for a year. I was in school 8 hours a day for two months and I lost my forward momentum. I shot up to 215 in one year and felt like a slug. I've lost 18 pounds since I got back to Brazil in Jan. I keep telling myself I'm going back to the gym but that hasn't happened yet.

I get a kick out of how we trim so much weight out of our packs and neglect the obvious, the "belt pack". Back when I was 185 I stepped onto the scale to weigh my pack and it shot up to my lifetime high weight of 225. I had been lugging a heavy pack for years. Mac
 
A little extra weight can actually help you in a longer term survival situation. There are oil reserves in the ANWR. Think of those love handles as energy reserves. :)

I did say a little though. A lot of extra weight is just plain unhealthy- not that it needed to be said.
 
Moving to Wilderness Survival Forum.
__________________

~Ken~


But that was the whole point. Many of us have survival knives and frequent the blade forums, but aren't to the point where we would be on a Wilderness Survival forum. I was just looking for average Joe and curious to what extent he/she was prepared.

I realize that many forum members are military, or live in areas where frequent outdoor travel is common, are frequent cyclists, etc. I was just curious how many of us that have to put on a tie everday are really in good enough shape to "play" with mother nature. My personal quest is to be back in shape by summer's end and maintain that condition. We'll see.

Pict hit it. School, work, kids, etc. all take it's toll on our time and desire to get/stay in shape.
 
I'm over 50 year point, 5'9", 160#. I work out regularly, run, bike and lift weights. Getting or staying in shape is a way of life, not something you do once in a while. You either do it or you don't. Something is missing when I don't work out, I feel guilty.

My favorite wilderness walk takes me up 1200' in about 20 minutes and then continues at that altitude. Beautiful view once on top but man am I breathing hard.
 
A conversation earlier this evening with my partner pretty well summed up our views on this now that we are somewhat older, heavier (probably due to a love of too much chocolate), and slower than we might have once been. She asked me if I knew enough plants and the like to live on if put in a "Survival" situation. As we have a standing joke between us about the herbal tea she drinks where I call it "twigs and herbs" I immediately answered that yes, I could live on "Twix and berries" for as long as it took. It took a moment or two for the penny to drop with her, but she saw the funny side when she realised that I said "Twix", not "twigs".
(For those of who do not know it, Twix is a chocolate, caramel and biscuit "candy" bar here in the UK.)
Basically, it was an admition that whilst I'm relatively fit for 40, have a good knowledge of the countryside and the things to be found in it, and the practical skills to make a damned good effort if put into a real SHTF scenario, I'd much rather camp in a little comfort these days!
 
it's funny how often this point is overlooked...i know people who have their bug-out packs all ready, know all kinds of skills, have all the tools, but have never carried a backpack in their lives...they don't walk, they don't run, they don't do any exercise, but they think when the SHTF, they're going to rely on all their book learning and equipment-accumulation to pull themselves through...yeah right, lots of good it's going to do you when they find you huffing and puffing and puking your guts out 600 yards from your house, huddled over your 70-pound bug-out bag...

your body's your most important survival tool, second only to your brain...if it ain't in shape, good luck getting by with your $700 custom blade and tricked-out survival rifle. most likely, i'll stop by and "borrow" it off your carcass. :D :D :D
 
I am actually in exceptionally good physical condition. I am 25 yrs old, 5'9" 143 lbs. I am quite athletic, and have been my whole life.

I have been weight lifting steadily for 10 years, and swimming my whole life. I started hiking and backpacking when I was around 5 years old, and would go almost every weekend during high school and college. I am in the middle of a masters degree and it is hard to find time to go as often now, but I keep to the gym and pool.

I am also an avid mountain climber and have been doing that quite regularly. I rock climb and ice climb quite a bit, and go on longer mountaineering and alpine climbs as often as possible. I cross-country and backcountry ski a lot in winter. I used to bike and kayak a lot, but don't as much anymore. It is hard to find time for everything, and backpacking, skiing nad climbing are my favourites.

I have read tons of literature on wilderness survival but have never truly put myself to the test. I hope next spring to go out with a pocket survival kit for night and see how I do. I have lots of experience camping and with campcraft and have been an active member of scouting most of my life, where I learned and priacticed lots of campcraft as well.

I am not the foremost expert on wilderness survival, but I feel I much better prepared, in knowledge, skill and equipment than most people I encounter in the backcountry.

Will
 
I'm not in to bad of shape at 44...

One of my power hikes is a 20 mile round trip 5500 foot incline/decline highest point is 10,500 ft elevation cross country see if I can wear my Plott Hound out walk into a little portion of the Rockies... :)
 
Around here there isn't much else to do other than hike and work out.I hope That would be enough to help me survive outdoors. :(
 
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