Where to Start in Survivalism? (ground, best, truck, Arkansas)
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Unfortunately, as Mac_Muz has pointed out, survivalism has become part of pop culture, and the Interent's overloaded with a lot of bad information. Obtaining a basic kit is largely over emphasized into two extremes. One, any kit is better than no kit, and two, you must have X knife, fishing kit, etc and so forth. Just using the "survival knife" as an example, I've had a cheap ten dollar Mora Clipper for a few years. They hold their edge, sharpen easily, I've beat them to death, and I've yet to break one, although I know I could if I just abused it harder, yet many youtubers and forum members tell me that the Mora isn't a good "survivalist" knife. I've seen this fallacy that everybody has to have a full tang knife with a blade that's 6 plus inches long, so I can baton with it, and the minions are buying into it because it's pop culture plastered all over popular media channels full of faux experts that will tell you exactly what you have to have in order to survive the impending crash.
I've largely stopped searching bushcraft/woodsman videos on youtube because that place has become inundated full of would be preppers that want to know how to go John Rambo when the SHTF. Rather than getting many hits on learning a primitive skill, it's nothing but preppers and faux survivalists telling me what I need to have in my kit, where I need to live, how many bullets I need to buy, water, food storage, a 10 gun list I need to purchase, add nausea, and if I don't get it I won't survive. Very few channels, videos, and forums get into learning skills. They just seem to be consumer based telling me what I need to buy in order to survive. I guess that there's a survival purgetory I can buy my way into...
I used to be into a forum that had bushcraft in its title. They had a free work at your own pace class room, people from the forums met and went on outings, and since City Data doesn't have a sub forum like this, maybe you should search for that particular forum that was located in the United States. Be warned, many of the newer members inundating the site are nothing but preppers in disguise and showing off all their junk that they rarely use, but you can sift through that and find free online courses, tutorials, and it's a boon for how to photos and videos. There are still a lot of good people over there waiting to show somebody how to select the right wood for friction fire, find wild edibles, and the like.
Unfortunately, most of the prepper syndrome and or survivalism rage is nothing but pop culture.
Man we can't have enough posts like this one. They need to be posted over and over and over again. The only difference in my view is that I see "survivalism" as "emergencism", things use to stay alive until you can live again. They are certainly not the means used by bushmen/woodsmen/mountain men to live normally in the wilderness. There are a few crossovers, like making fire and cordage (even I buy rope and matches now though). Being ex-Army who use to teach a simple navigation class I can also say that military and LEOs are looked up to much to often.
I used to be into a forum that had bushcraft in its title. They had a free work at your own pace class room, people from the forums met and went on outings, and since City Data doesn't have a sub forum like this, maybe you should search for that particular forum that was located in the United States. Be warned, many of the newer members inundating the site are nothing but preppers in disguise and showing off all their junk that they rarely use, but you can sift through that and find free online courses, tutorials, and it's a boon for how to photos and videos. There are still a lot of good people over there waiting to show somebody how to select the right wood for friction fire, find wild edibles, and the like.
Unfortunately, most of the prepper syndrome and or survivalism rage is nothing but pop culture.
Try to see if the city closest to you has a hackerspace. (HackerspaceWiki), The advantage for people is that thee places usually have tools that are expensive that you can use to make stuff (3D printers for example). The other advantage is that there are a lot of DIY types and folks who know how to use their hands and simple tools to make things. A great place to pick up valuable skills, in my opinion. Also a great place to pick up ideas and other people's valuable experiences.
i was over in Maine the other day and for $8.00 + tax you could buy a sardine can survival kit.
best i can recall now it contained:
2 non asperin tabs for pain.
a safety pin
a small bit of duct tape (I bet no more than 2 square inches)
waxed thread (small I bet maybe 24 inches)
TP (no clue how much)
a needle for sewing.
a fish hook
a plastic whistle
some form of signal mirror that fits in a sardine can LOL
2 bandaids
tweezers
mini scissors
match book
What the Hell was that for? You can't re seal the tin....
Now, Mac. It ain't a waste. Some yuppie without a clue can spend as little as eight bucks, carry that in his pocket every day, and feel like he is ready to suvive teotwawki every day until it happens, which won't matter, because he will die that day anyway. What's it worth to have a false sense of security for years prior to finding out it was false? You get all the peace of mind that comes from thinking you were prepared, without having to spend the money, time or effort to truly be prepared. Win,win, no? He will be happy for a lifetime, and only disappointed for a day or so, so hey, 8 bucks is cheap!
8 bucks + tax man That was over in Maine...... I bought some strange looking maple sugar candy and these were 30 cents each I set down 90 cents and they clerk looked at me like I had 2 heads.. LOL
No sales tax in NH and i forgot about Maine and their sense of taxes.... I still don't know if that candy is any good or not. I stuck it in my back pack..... What might happen is i go CRS and find that sticking to my gear months from now, but by then maybe maple flavor ants will be in fashion ............
Oh I do carry some of that stuff myself... But not in a closed up tin where I have to dump out junk to get it.
I even carry a flint n steel in a tin, but it opens and closes back tight, and has real tinder and fire starter, jute twine linen bits of bone for toggle hooks which are bait less from owl puke really
I never carry band aids and have almost no use of them. If i get cut no little band aid is going to do anything for it anyway, only maybe lessen how much blood i get on clothing, and my clothing isn't good. When I get cut I usually sacrifice some of my clothing to wrap a wound, but the worst cuts i get come from knapping rocks. These don't hurt a bit, you just discover a lot of blood from somewhere.......
Flint cuts between molecules and you don't feel that type of cut til it begins to start healing and then i would say it's more itchy than a pain or a hurt.
I gave up on whistles long ago I can't hear them so how the hell is anyone else gonna know if i blow into one Huh?
I guess that item is for bear.... You know to let the bear know you are there..... probably best to have a salmon or a big trout handy when you call in a bear....
I carry some form of fry pan even if it is only 5 inches across and a pot of some sort. It all depends on what the camp is gonna be.
That sardine can would be ok for little cakes but it still had the sardine tin rim and it would be next to impossible for me clutz that i am to get cake out, and it would likely be burned in for good anyway.
I suppose i could boil water in that tin 2 ounces at a time.... probably the best time to do that would be if some body elses gal was getting ready to give birth so i could just have something to do with meaning..
Haha! You playing midwife... Funny. Really. Yah, we all carry stuff like that tin holds. Just not in a tin, and generally not just one fishhook.... Funny thing about kits, those who need to buy them most rarely know how to use the contents! Anyone who knows how to use what they need, knows what they need, and where to get it, and builds their own "kit". At least in my world.
Bandaids. I have a philosophy about those. Pretty simple really. If a bandaid will fix it, you don't need one, and if you need one, a bandaid won't fix it. Deep, huh?
I am expert at several survival dances. My favorite is where I lay down my basket hilt Claybeg sword and 2 ss dog bowls of water to jump the pond fer bonnie prince charlie
No band aid will work if you miss a skip and fall on the sword
Some of the other survival gear one needs to preform this survival dance is beer and the more the better.
Of course this is the 21st century now, I think we all know that. So no one really dies doing this dance today, but some of them sure as Hell wish they did when morning comes.
That blade you called an Arkansas Tooth pick isn't, it is a Scottish Dirk and we use that in this dance too.
The purple stone gives us something to focus on come morning when everything else is a total blur.
I think MTS was the one who called it an Arkansas toothpick? I (usually) know better...
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