A silly man?

rik_uk3

Banned
Jun 10, 2006
13,320
28
70
south wales
So why was the 'expert' in the clip striking his firesteel with the bladed edge of his knife???

Maybe he hadn't roughed up the back of his kukri? The rod is softer than the blade metal (has to be or no sparks) and don't really do any great harm in the scheme of things. I may be wrong but Ray Mears used his knife blade in one episode IIRC?

I wonder if there will be a media backlash against survival programmes after this? Who will sue Les Stroud first "I cut my finger after reading your book" etc.
 

Opal

Native
Dec 26, 2008
1,022
0
Liverpool
Gotta agreewith Prawnster, there.

It's not like it was his first trip out into the wilderness. sure he got a bit cocky and decided not to take any emergency backup equipment, but at least he died doing what he loved.

If he died of hypothermia, that's quite a pleasant, dreamy way to go, really.

"If not duffers, wont drown, but better drowned than duffers" - Swallows and Amazons

Have you tried it? :)
 

Chinkapin

Settler
Jan 5, 2009
746
1
83
Kansas USA
Some pretty harsh comments. The poor guy probably got wet and died of hypothermia. Or perhaps he didn't get wet, but still died of hypothermia. Usually when things like this happen you can find a chain of events that lead up to the bad outcome. Seldom just one event. If he got wet and for what ever reason couldn't build a fire, he was doomed. He could have been a very bright guy who just had an empty Bic and some damp matches, and didn't realize it, until it was too late.

Unless we have all of the facts I think we owe it to this guy to cut him some slack.
 

Broch

Life Member
Jan 18, 2009
8,490
8,368
Mid Wales
www.mont-hmg.co.uk
Come on guys. First of all they still don't know the cause of death! You could be carrying 30Kg on your back of survival gear and come a cropper because it overbalances you!

Like John, I've taken some exciting risks and I would like to think that I've always come out because of good planning etc. - in absolute honesty though, I've had some luck sometimes as well. But they're the experiences I look back on with a thrill and the ones I really value.

Cheers,

Broch
 

HillBill

Bushcrafter through and through
Oct 1, 2008
8,166
159
W. Yorkshire
Some pretty harsh comments. The poor guy probably got wet and died of hypothermia. Or perhaps he didn't get wet, but still died of hypothermia. Usually when things like this happen you can find a chain of events that lead up to the bad outcome. Seldom just one event. If he got wet and for what ever reason couldn't build a fire, he was doomed. He could have been a very bright guy who just had an empty Bic and some damp matches, and didn't realize it, until it was too late.

Unless we have all of the facts I think we owe it to this guy to cut him some slack.

If he couldn't build a fire when it was wet then he was out of his depth, which makes him going out there stupid. If his lighter was empty, same reason.

Either way, he wasnt prepared for the environment. Making his decision to go a stupid one.:)

If he went out there to survive for fun and didn't, what other conlusion can you come to?
 

steve a

Settler
Oct 2, 2003
821
14
south bedfordshire
So why was the 'expert' in the clip striking his firesteel with the bladed edge of his knife???

Quite a few Scandanavians use the tip of their blade on a firesteel, just the way they use it. When I asked the expert teaching me why, he said, well I can always resharpen the blade, and I need a fire now.

Maybe they are not so preoccupied with their knives as we are.
 

stooboy

Settler
Apr 30, 2008
635
1
Fife, Scotland
i think the comments are harsh, imagine one of us died in the woods how would it be portrayed in the uk media.

suvivalist nut with mereley a small school sack heads out into the harsh scottish weather with only a small water bottle, and a water proof cover for his sleeping bag and a small axe and knife, he was often said to be reading Ray mears the well know tv suvivalist and never missed a show and often lurked on survival forums such as BCUK. it was known that he often had went out on his own in the past but at this point the cause of death is unknown but is possible that the elderberry wine was a little to potent and had chocked on a large chunk of bannock

the small ruck sack being a sabre 45, a bivvy and a sigg water bottle (knowing that the snow was very drinkable), SFA and mora.

define harsh weather here first sign of snow and the country grinds to a halt, and hundreds rush to the ski slopes to risk breaking limbs are they mental for wanting to enjoy the extreme weather in that fashion?



Maybe he was unprepared but a guy that can do rope work with bark in his back yard sounds quite well skilled. like i say its easy to judge others as we are often judged im sure im not the only one who gets a funny look when i reply to the question "what you doing this weekend?" - "oh im off out into the woods to camp"
 

rik_uk3

Banned
Jun 10, 2006
13,320
28
70
south wales
There is a massive difference in doing rope work in your garden and trying the same thing in sub zero temperatures with cold and maybe numb fingers?

I feel very sorry for the loved ones and family he left behind:(
 

stooboy

Settler
Apr 30, 2008
635
1
Fife, Scotland
im not saying that being able to make rope in sub zero is useful but rather its about the only piece of character information about the guy that's relevant, it tells me he has patience and the ability to learn, and that if he has time to do that he has "probably" spent time learning and mastering other more basic skills such as fire, water & shelter.
 

HillBill

Bushcrafter through and through
Oct 1, 2008
8,166
159
W. Yorkshire
im not saying that being able to make rope in sub zero is useful but rather its about the only piece of character information about the guy that's relevant, it tells me he has patience and the ability to learn, and that if he has time to do that he has "probably" spent time learning and mastering other more basic skills such as fire, water & shelter.

If he had mastered fire making and shelter he wouldn't be dead.
 

stooboy

Settler
Apr 30, 2008
635
1
Fife, Scotland
If he had mastered fire making and shelter he wouldn't be dead.

i have a driving licence and can drive a car, i think i have mastered driving, i bet you do to, does that mean tomorrow if i goto work and i get killed in my car that i was not a skilled driver?


people are assuming because he is dead he was unskilled,

nobody thinks the athlete killed at the winter Olympics died because they where unskilled, as we already know that to get to the olympics you have to be very skilled and at the top of your game,

so why then with so little info in this scenario are so many prepared to jump on the bandwagon...
 

HillBill

Bushcrafter through and through
Oct 1, 2008
8,166
159
W. Yorkshire
i have a driving licence and can drive a car, i think i have mastered driving, i bet you do to, does that mean tomorrow if i goto work and i get killed in my car that i was not a skilled driver?


people are assuming because he is dead he was unskilled,

nobody thinks the athlete killed at the winter Olympics died because they where unskilled, as we already know that to get to the olympics you have to be very skilled and at the top of your game,

so why then with so little info in this scenario are so many prepared to jump on the bandwagon...

No because an accident like that may not be your fault. There were other drivers on the road.

He was alone, the fault was no ones but his. You are comparing totally different situations mate. The only person responsible for his survival was him, if he was skilled he wouldnt have died.

Build shelter light fire, live.

He didnt.

This is a typical case of out of his depth, the very fact that he died makes this true, nothing you, i or anyone else can say will change that.

If he had mastered firelighting, he would have lit a fire and lived.

If he had mastered shelter building then he will have built a shelter, but may still have died without the fire.

Either way, he wasnt upto the task.

It could be that he fell and died or injured himself, in that case fair enough, his chances wont have been good, but nothing indicates this and hypothermia being the biggest suspect. If it was Hypothermia then HE made a mess of it somewhere.
 

Prawnster

Full Member
Jun 24, 2008
806
0
St. Helens
If he had mastered fire making and shelter he wouldn't be dead.

Hillbill, assuming you have mastered firemaking and shelter building, does this mean there is zero chance of you getting hypothermia when you go out in the cold? If you think so then it is you that is over estimating your abilities.
 
Quite a few Scandanavians use the tip of their blade on a firesteel, just the way they use it. When I asked the expert teaching me why, he said, well I can always resharpen the blade, and I need a fire now.

Never had a problem getting a good shower of sparks from the spine of a blade :confused:


Maybe they are not so preoccupied with their knives as we are.
Preoccupied? Nay - passionate!
 

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