'Alone' gear used ~ History Channel

[atla]

if they take an axe, big knife and a big saw, instead of the shovel, the multitool (and saw blade) I know that they have their priorities wrong. When they dont take the bow and 6 arrows, the paracord gillnet, paracord hammock, and the treblehooks, they're going to just starve. When they dont take the duct tape, I am certain that they have little or no experience in this stuff!

 

[atla]

the file blades (I'd add one, in place of the bit driver) can sharpen the saw blade. A stone can sharpen the shovel, the belt knife and the blade of the Crunch. So a sharpening stone is a wasted pick. You can clean your body, clothing, and utensils with hardwood ashes and water, altho a bit of rendered fat mixed in is helpful. So a bar of soap is a wasted pick.

Cut a 3 ft wide slice off of the 12x12 tarp, and use 9 ft of it to make a tube, sewn and taped seam, stuffed with (force dried) soft debris, as a "buoyancy-guarantee" for your outrigger log raft. Then all youneed is 4x8 ft of 5-6" OD logs. Have a protective cage around the pontoon, 1-2" saplings, have a chair mounted over it. Point both ends of the logs, and shave them at an angle, to reduce drag. you dont want to have to turn the raft around. Make a kayak paddle out of 7 ft of 3" sapling. Notch this sapling at both ends and lash some splits of 3"x6" sapling across the ends. Narrow the handling part of it to about 1 3/4" OD, Pine aint very strong, so you have to leave extra mass to allow for that weakness. If you cant get the raft to shore (due to kelp beds) to tie it off vs storms, then take the pontoon ashore with you . Twist and braid some lengths of the paracord sheathing, and anchor the raft to a 20+ lb stone, or several stones that are as large/heavy as you can find.

 

[atla]

I realize that this is a lighting forum, but a flashlight is a wasted pick for the Alone show. They are given headlamps, as well as a big light for the camera. Every item that you pick is one less choice that you have and there's gear that's far more needed and far more versatile, than a flashlight, under the conditions of this show. Remember, you CLEAR 1/4 million in less than 3 months! About $200 an hour, even while you sleep. There's serious money at stake here.

 

[atla]

Your main concern has to be harvesting 600 lbs of (live weight) food per month. If you can be the only guy who lost no weight on this challenge, doing so will make you rich! You will be the "go-to" guy for training, videos, books, endorsements of gear, etc. If you've lost no weight the first month, and have preserved another 100 lbs of food, they'll declare you the winner on the spot. This will limit your exposure to illness/injury and double your hourly wage while you are suffering out there. Take adequately warm clothing and sleeping bag, so you dont have to waste time and calories on an elaborate shelter, or cutting and hauling lots of firewood.

For season one, they were only allowed ONE 5 lb ration of food (pemmican and gorp are best). Since, they were given the option of 2 rations, but season 4, the ration size was cut to 2 lbs. (for 2 men)! For season 1 and 2, they were just given a 20x20 tarp, but that has not been the case since. So the 12x12 was a wasted pick for those first 2 seasons. They should simply have cut up the 20x20, that's all. An axe and big saw are both wasted picks, contrary to what everyone "thinks". The Indians didn't have either one and they made it. There are other, more useful picks, like a Cold Steel shovel, one of Chief AJ's slingbows and the 6 arrows, the duct tape, the paracord hammock. Unravel the hammock, gut the paracord, and weave the 7 inner strands into the 3" mesh netting that will feed you. Ditto for the paracord gillnet, of course.

If it's really cold, then force-dry (using hot stones) some soft debris and stuff it between the layers of your clothing. Use the Dakota fire pit (with a long, tapering entrance and the Siberian fire lay to heat big, flat stones, and use half of the stones to radiate heat from the far side of your work-awning. Put the stones under your raised bed at night, if need be. Also, you can wrap hot stones in your socks and take them to bed with you. So you do not want to be messing with lots of firewood, or having a fire inside your sleeping shelter, where it can burn up your gear (and your hair!) or kill you in your sleep with CO poisoning.

I have to laugh when I see entrants who waste $150 on a huge folding saw, when all they have to do, in order to reach branches that are overhead, is lash their smaller saw to a pole. This lack of critical thinking shows up in all their gear and what they do (and dont do).

 

[atla]

it never occurs to people that their gaiters can become dry bags, sewn and taped. The pants of their rainsuit can be used to haul a lot of water, and the jacket can be used to make a water filter and to store drinking water. You'll get wet inside that rain-suit anyway, so you should put it to a better use.

 

[atla]

Digging j-channels is a quick and easy way to catch minnows for bait, if it's not too cold, that is. Make them longer, deeper and wider than this video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1w_SKFDxkIs