Here's a case for you to examine. Two survivor specialists: Les Stroud- a Canadian who knows his stuff but comes off as boring, and Bear Grylls- a former British SAS commando who has explored Mt Everest and so forth and has a really exciting way of presenting information. Each has a TV show demonstrating techniques for survival in a variety of situations. Bear tends to be very adventurous, he can afford to be, his camera crew is right there with support. Les tends to show us how the everyman would deal with situations. He is by himself, and his show is less exciting but no less adventurous, just slower paced. Les gives us lots of educational advice that you can actually use. Bear does too, but usually his advice is meant to give a shock factor to his show. Where Les would dig a hole into the water table for a drink, Bear would squeeze bear crap for a sip. I bring up these two for a reason- their gear.
Knives are the first outdoor pack item every person should have. Let's see what these guys carry. Les Stroud uses a Buck 119 Special.
It costs $49 retail. It's widely available. Sturdy and practical.
Bear Grylls uses a special made Bayley Knife blade with his signature attached to it.
Bear Grylls uses a special made Bayley Knife blade with his signature attached to it.
After converting pounds to dollars you come up with a cool $580. Can you tell the difference?
A knife is important. It can be a useful tool as well as a weapon for defense. It's essential to any outdoorsman. It's important to find a knife that works for you and your situation, not a knife that is pretty and has someone's name stamped on it. This is why I hate it when people start talking about why they think their gear is so great based on who made it-
"I have a North Face tent. What do you have?"
"I have an Marmot. I like it because it gets the job done for short range hikes and is light weight. It's fairly inexpensive so I don't mind putting it to some rugged use. What do you like about yours?"
"It's a North Face."
I'm all for talking about gear with someone who can actually give you the pro's and con's. If you want to talk about fashion find someone else.
It's gear talk right now though, and here's a cool little item I was just looking at. Survival rifles are meant to be compact, lightweight and dependable. It's meant to be there for you when you need it. Usually they come in .22 caliber and are meant for defending yourself and taking small game for food. Henry Repeating Arms makes a convenient little package that covers all these options for a good price.
A knife is important. It can be a useful tool as well as a weapon for defense. It's essential to any outdoorsman. It's important to find a knife that works for you and your situation, not a knife that is pretty and has someone's name stamped on it. This is why I hate it when people start talking about why they think their gear is so great based on who made it-
"I have a North Face tent. What do you have?"
"I have an Marmot. I like it because it gets the job done for short range hikes and is light weight. It's fairly inexpensive so I don't mind putting it to some rugged use. What do you like about yours?"
"It's a North Face."
I'm all for talking about gear with someone who can actually give you the pro's and con's. If you want to talk about fashion find someone else.
It's gear talk right now though, and here's a cool little item I was just looking at. Survival rifles are meant to be compact, lightweight and dependable. It's meant to be there for you when you need it. Usually they come in .22 caliber and are meant for defending yourself and taking small game for food. Henry Repeating Arms makes a convenient little package that covers all these options for a good price.
I'm planning on picking one up, I'll have a review for you soon.
A nifty little survival item you may have seen on TV used by our two favorite survivalists is the Swedish FireSteel. I picked one up at Dicks and I have to say I'm impressed. With a little practice you can learn to start a fire very easily with this spark striker. It has a metal key and a large red thumb handle on a rope, is very lightweight and lights in the wind, rain, snow or whatever. It doubles as a signal device. The bright white shower of sparks can be seen for a good distance. It's definitly worth the price and can make a great back up to a book of matchs or BIC lighter.
A nifty little survival item you may have seen on TV used by our two favorite survivalists is the Swedish FireSteel. I picked one up at Dicks and I have to say I'm impressed. With a little practice you can learn to start a fire very easily with this spark striker. It has a metal key and a large red thumb handle on a rope, is very lightweight and lights in the wind, rain, snow or whatever. It doubles as a signal device. The bright white shower of sparks can be seen for a good distance. It's definitly worth the price and can make a great back up to a book of matchs or BIC lighter.
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