You have a knife, 1 quart metal canteen and 50 foot of paracord. Sustain life.

[Siberianfury]

shelter: Brush Tipi with internal fireplace, a project im working on right now., would use the knife with a batton to cut large peices of wood.
Fire: Providing the knife is carbon i would use a peice of flint or even glass to strike a spark on some crampball fungus or amadou and blow into flame with a tinder bundle.
Water: i would use a disgarded bean can, bottle ect to boil water, i would filter it through my sock using tightly packed moss and sand.
Food: make traps, mainly spring snares, make a bow and practice with it, lots. depending on the season i would gather wild plants ect.

i would spend most of my time trying to improve life and make it more comfortable

 

[johnboy]

A so true gem of info there, John! Over here in the states, ill-prepared / equipped hunters account for many SAR situations.
Gordy

Same here in NZ Gordy... Especially around the Roar in April more hunters out and also very changeable weather. You always here of a couple of SAR type incidents..

I think the OP is a good cerebal exercise but for most temperate environments with the possible exception of high summer the clothing would be a limiting factor IMHO... I'd rather ditch the paracord for an insulating layer....

 

[rik_uk3]

Why on earth not? It's not an easy subject to search under and no one's forcing anyone to reply - right? Just cos you've got (blimey) over 5000 posts to your name don't assume that everyone is as up to speed as you.

Your quite right of course, and when you have been here a while you too will see the same question asked time after time after time, its tedious after a while truth be told.

 

[forestwalker]

Beige ? beige ? I refuse point blank to wear beige; ever!

So don't wear the t-shirt then (presumalby this is not in the city centre, so it would not be a spectator sport anyway). In my world it would get used to make a snow-shovel, bandages or water filters pretty soon in any case. Considering the rest of the clothing I hope not a snow-shovel...

 

[forestwalker]

Commander Krill, why ask this question, its sort of been done to death a few times in the past? Anyway, in the UK with that equipment in winter you would more than likely die.

Do it here in winter; running like mad to keep warm an hour or two I'd say (how long do you have the stamina to keep generating heat to compensate for -20 -- -30 C temperatures), but hands would be useless within half an hour.

 

[forestwalker]

Rik's correct, the only thing I need to survive in comfort here is decent clothing, and even though I can gather, prep and spin and weave nettles, limebast, and the like, it would be impossible to do it in time.
I suppose if one were inclined one could make a bow and arrows and try to shoot one of the deer for it's skin, but again, it wouldn't happen in sufficient time. I've turned deerskin into buckskin, I know how long it takes.

Same here (minus the weaving; I know the theory, but is no star). Here you would be eeaten alive by the mosquitos, unless youy spend all your time in the smoke of a fire. Too chilly (+5 C and raining) to do the Tom Brown "coated in mud" thing.

Unrealistic scenario.

Agreed. No sane person would choose that kit to go out, even for an hour, in the woods here. I've done it, but though not even the mosquitos like me *very* much, and I'm one of the lucky ones that do not get any reaction to mosquito bites (sometimes red marks, but never any itching, it was not a peacefull nature experience.

If we ammended it to "dressed for going out walking the dog last night, a knife on the belt and some cordage in a pocket" we have a slightly more reasonable scenario. In which case I would build a shelter (no tools needed, save the paracord for better things), and wait out the rain. Bowdrill fire (with spruce by personal choice). Then scavenge for a discarded metal container, or look for good birch barkfrom which to make a container to boil food in. Set a buch of traps, fish and mammal, gather plants, make a cattail or reed based mat to sleep under, make some traps for larger animals (a roe deer would feed me for a week or so, a moose until christmas).

Look for some slate to make a wetstone so that I can put a decent edge profile on the bloody F1. Braintan any smaller hides (moose calf, roe) for clothes, etc.

Or just hike home (or to someone elses home) and grab some kit.

 

[TomBartlett]

Well, I've highs of 45'c (113'F) and terrible lows of 25'c (77'F), so for me the clothing's probably adequate. Unfortunately finding water might be an issue. There are a few goat and sheep herds about I could probably get close enough to turn into food. Don't think the shepherds would be too happy though. The terrain outside of the urban areas (assuming the scenario is supposed to in some sort of wilderness area) is mainly rolling grasslands with the occasional shrub. There are a few rabbits about, some plants I know to be edible, but I'd be well and truly in a survival situation here if I had nothing but the suggested items.

 

[Corso]

can't say i'd ever find myself equiped like that - far too basic for my skills - asuming I were in woodland and there is a clean water source near by I might 'live long enough to get a decent fire going with a bow drill, build a shelter and attempt to make a trap or too - however I could see those activities removing my energy reserves very quickly and i dont think my foraging skills would be able to replace them.

To 'live' i would need a more self sufficient approach where i have shelter, a garden, livestock, and trade items before my energy/ supplies run out! - I'm no ray mears but i think even he would struggle with that list!

 

[forestwalker]

To 'live' i would need a more self sufficient approach where i have shelter, a garden, livestock, and trade items before my energy/ supplies run out! - I'm no ray mears but i think even he would struggle with that list!

With sensible clothes inatead one could survive easilly here with that for a couple of weeks or more. If you are talking rebuilding a total infrastructure from scratch (i.e. so that one could survive 6 months) that is *hard*, much harder than most people think. If I get a moose -- not guaranteed! -- then I would have to work very, very hard to dry it before it went bad, small game would be eaten "at once". A decent long term shelter is doable, but again hard.

 

[Tengu]

Yes, Sam Gribley was better dressed.

And he had an axe and firesteel

And a sympathetic author

 

[British Red]

The first thing I would do is find who had drugged me. This is the only way you would get me in shorts and a chav hat. I would then give them the F1 (which is about the nastiest thing I can think of to do to someone).

 

[Corso]

With sensible clothes inatead one could survive easilly here with that for a couple of weeks or more. If you are talking rebuilding a total infrastructure from scratch (i.e. so that one could survive 6 months) that is *hard*, much harder than most people think. If I get a moose -- not guaranteed! -- then I would have to work very, very hard to dry it before it went bad, small game would be eaten "at once". A decent long term shelter is doable, but again hard.

how'd you catch a moose with a knife some paracord and a canteen

I cant see it myself even with decent clothes the task vs body fuel issue would kill anybody you just wouldn't get the calories in you

 

[Commander Krill]

The first thing I would do is find who had drugged me. This is the only way you would get me in shorts and a chav hat. I would then give them the F1 (which is about the nastiest thing I can think of to do to someone).

What's wrong with the F1? Fallkniven make some of the best knives available. Most people take blades far too big than they need.

 

[ged]

Dont know why, but the above comment about beige made me larf... (possibly the humour, or ale!

It's the ale. Quite a bit of that lately, if I'm not very much mistaken.

As for the challenge, I assume a temperate climate, with hills, woods, wildlife. I would first find somewhere that would provide fresh water. A spring or mountain stream is best. With nearby woodland, shelter is not a problem. A knife makes it easier. Some of my most enjoyable nights have been under shelter made with the materials to hand and my old 'cubs' knife. With a knife and some paracord and some woodland I can make fire. There are photographs on this site which prove that. Now all I need is to find something to cook. In an emergency I would prefer a bowtrap but there are many other ways to catch and find food. Finding enough of it may be a real challenge. I imagine that I could soon become tired of stewed squirrel, but I've shot four or five this week and not fired on many more, so I could have survived on squirrel, if not exactly feasted.

 

[rik_uk3]

The first thing I would do is find who had drugged me. This is the only way you would get me in shorts and a chav hat. I would then give them the F1 (which is about the nastiest thing I can think of to do to someone).

Chav hat? could be worse Red, could be a Kakadu or bushcrafty stetson....you know my views on those

 

[ged]

All right, the F1 isn't everybody's ideal survival tool. I'd rather have my Victorinox, which is always on my belt. But the F1 is small, it's light, and it will cut things even if you've broken it in two. I agree that shorts leave a lot to be desired. I've never seen most of the legs on this forum and I feel no particular urge to remedy that. My own legs are bad enough even before being attacked by a swarm of bloodthirsty mosquitoes. But the main thing is that it's a lot more tedious reading intolerant gripes about protocol (or whatever you want to call it) than it is sifting for nuggets of gold in the flowing sands of the BCUK forum.

Incidentally, I'm a fan of hot water bottles. A few hot rocks will do in a pinch.

 

[British Red]

What's wrong with the F1? Fallkniven make some of the best knives available. Most people take blades far too big than they need.

Matter of opinion on the Falknivens - the F1 in particular. Happy to take it to PM if you really want to know - my opinions on the f1 are well known!

 

[sandbender]

"...1 Baseball cap..."

Is that one of those huge brimmed affairs that the young folk are wearing? I'd rather rip up the t-shirt and turn it into a bandana thanks. Shorts I don't mind, a bit chilly at night and the ticks can be a pain though.

Lots of rivers around these parts so I'd dismantle the paracord and construct a gill net, I'd probably catch a few before the rangers arrested me for illegal fishing, which would then provide a shelter and four square meals a day, probably for the next six months or so.



Edited to add:

"...a Kakadu..."

What is a Kakadu?

 

[Retired Member southey]

Edited to add:



What is a Kakadu?

What ever it wants!just try an stop it!

 

[British Red]

any thing a Kaka can


http://www.kakaduaustralia.co.uk/acatalog/Hats.html