How Surival Turns Deadly - It's Not a Game.

[crashdive123]

....and a survival knife.

[crashdive123]

Oh - and a

survival gun
survival tarp
survival spam
survival canteen
survival shoes
survival belt
survival pack
survival whistle
survival mirror
survival hong
survival radio

Seems that not only is it a verb, but an adjective as well.

[kyratshooter]

Now Crash, after camping with you for a weekend I can insure that the two of us would truly survive for at least a month as long as we could stay warm, sheltered and had a good pot of coffee. Living off the "fat of the land" as it were.

If we each had all that stuff we would just call it "camping".

Is the umbrella camo? How about orange? Which is the official "survival color"?

[crashdive123]

Well that's true......would that be survival camping?Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.

[Rick]

the two of us would truly survive for at least a month as long as we could stay warm

I'm not EVEN gonna ask what when on when you two went camping. Nope. Don't wanna know.

I survived by the way. I know ya'll were worried. It was just to the mailbox and back but, hey, things happen.

[BENESSE]

You know it was the jamboree that sealed the deal.
Next tihing you know they'll be registering at Cheaper Than Dirt.

[Daniel Nighteyes]

I don't want to be the wet blanket, so to speak, but true survival situations are, by definition, risky at the very best.

In my not-so-humble and somewhat experienced opinion, NO ONE (including yours truly) should willingly, intentionally, place themselves in situations where true life-or-death survival is at stake. Even the most experienced outdoorsmen (mountain men, NDNs, other aboriginals, etc.) frequently died in true survival situations. Let there be no mistake about that.

Want to practice your skills? GREAT! In fact I encourage it, but please do so in a situation where back-up support is readily available in the event your practice should fail. Said back-up doesn't have to be much -- just enough to ensure that you don't become food and/or fertilizer for the indigenous wildlife and plants.

Regards,

-- Nighteyes

[Wildthang]

Yeah I honestly hope I never have to truly survive again, and just hope I know enough if I ever do! Almost every survival situation has different factors, and odds can turn against even the best of survivors and it is usually unexpacted. I hate that oh fudge feeling you get when it dawns on you that things just turned for the worst! That's the moment you have to clear the mind and make the plan.
But I swear that feeling is something you never forget!

[hunter63]

Know what your doing and being prepared helps save your life.
http://www.vvdailypress.com/news/los...safe-bear.html

[Rick]

And having a plan with someone you trust. A+ in my book.

[Wildthang]

Know what your doing and being prepared helps save your life.
http://www.vvdailypress.com/news/los...safe-bear.html

That is a great example of being prepared. You see some people on hiking trails sometimes that do not have as much as a fanny pack with a water bottle and just wonder what they are thinking?

[dizralph]

He was missing some stuff in order to survive.

[Celticwarrior]

I think that every Les Stroud/Bear Grylls wannabe should go out and do this as soon as possible, and let Darwinism remove them from the gene pool. Maybe we will have a smarter society as a result. Too many people think that they are somehow too smart, too important, and too amazing to actually DIE when they go out and do stupid things without any safety net 'just in case' of the worst case scenario. I think the same holds true for people who go out into the ocean on ill-equipped boats or even jet skis, or go hiking up a mountain without any gear or checking the weather reports, or go backcountry skiing without regard for getting lost/injured or avalanches. If you are dumb enough to go out into nature and not have enough respect for what it can do to us frail humans to pack accordingly, then you likely deserve whatever happens to you. Sounds harsh, but that's the way things are out in the wild. I feel bad for their families, but I won't shed a tear over someone who intentionally puts themselves out there and then dies when they don't prove hardy enough for the challenge.

[dizralph]

Maybe we will have a smarter society as a result. Too many people think that they are somehow too smart, too important, and too amazing to actually DIE when they go out and do stupid things without any safety net 'just in case' of the worst case scenario. If you are dumb enough to go out into nature and not have enough respect for what it can do to us frail humans to pack accordingly, then you likely deserve whatever happens to you. Sounds harsh, but that's the way things are out in the wild. I feel bad for their families, but I won't shed a tear over someone who intentionally puts themselves out there and then dies when they don't prove hardy enough for the challenge.

This x100.

[lilshadowxzx]

why would anyone learn survival skills exclusively from tv? don't they specifically state NOT to attempt this? especially without actual training from professionals/experienced teachers?

[Kudos]

I live close to the Wilderness and would like to believe that I possess enough to be able to make it if the need arose but, to be honest, I am intensely aware of just how dangerous it can be especially in Winter.
A Weekend trip into the woods for fun knowing that your car is not far away is one thing but trying to Survive with the minimum of equipment is far removed from that. Even with a full set of well prepared equipment there are still major challenges and dangers that could result in far less than a happy ending.
I would also consider it extremely unwise to venture into the Wilderness alone especially in Winter especially with no means of contacting the outside World. One fall resulting in a disabling injury could result in a grave and/or Life threatening situation very quickly. Let's not even consider an Animal attack or being unable to start a fire.........

[msbhvn]

wow this really is an eye opener...thanks

[Tokwan]

I guess that when everyone sees the TV shows (be it Bear Grylls, Les Stroud, Dual Survival and the good looking Ruth), we seem to think that once we know the "art of survival", we will make it safely back to civilization.
Actually, we learn or go in depth about surviving the wild, woods, forest, make our own survival kits, it is to know how to survive and gives us a chance to maybe get out of it safely. It gives us chance as I said...not 100% guarantee. We have even seen experts on TV not able to complete their "handed a situation" task and they have to bail out. Life is like a car..it starts, work and sometimes it has some problem, it doesn't start.
Its okay to practice, but enroll in a survival school first, learn from the experts, then practice at safe surroundings in safe situations. Even if one is an expert, we always pray that we do not need to use our survival kits.

[ninjasurvivor]

About a month ago an alleged "experienced" survivalist named Mike Herdman set off bare foot at night to look for his dog who ran off in the Los Padres wilderness. They found his body two weeks later 3/4 mile away up a 1200 foot tall cliff. His body was in such an odd place that searches hadn't bothered looking there and just happened to see it from the air by random chance. He died from blunt force trauma from falling down the cliff.

It remains unknown why he would choose to go off in such a remote area with no supplies or shoes. You'd think if you were really trying to search for a dog then you'd go back and get a flashlight and shoes. Even more baffling was why he attempted to scale and huge cliff under such conditions.

This serves as a good real life lesson to the rest of us. Poor decision making and lack of supplies will get you killed. Prior knowledge and experiences amounts to nothing in such conditions.

[Asiza]

We tell every numpty this every time. Then we get flamed. Then they vow to never come to this forum again. A numpty won't read a sticky - they want instant gratification, and they want it their way. Any advice to the contrary means we're just a bunch of old F.A.R.T.S. that don't understand.

Sadly, our society was groomed to be an instant gratification one. Easier to control them when they are groomed to have little 'real' knowledge, an inflated sense of self entitlement, and have been pampered with guaranteed electricity, food, medical care, and 'education'. Most in America would die of hypothermia in their own homes without our modern conveniences. The rest of the world doesn't live like that (98% would think the poorest of us rich). We were groomed for stupidity by our own betterment in life.