If you were going on the Alone show, , what 10 items would you pick

here is the show's homepage, note the gear you have to choose from. There's half a million $ riding on this, it's not a joke.



Every one of them has lost 1/2-over 1 lb of bodyweight per day. Only fat guys have won (so far)

I would take a Kukri, the ration of sugar and salt, a wool and oilcloth sleeping bag, the 12x12 tarp, the Silky (non folding) saw, the pot with lid, the hooks and line, a paracord hammock, a nylon gillnet and a big roll of duct tape. The bear canister is no longer an option, and the 20x20 tarp is no longer given to you. You have to get by on just a couple of 10x10's, and one of those is supposedly just for sheltering the camera. Which is why I chose the 12x12 as one of the picks. A wool and oilcloth sleeping bag can be dried out with hot stones.

Seasons one and 2 were shot on Vancouver Island, in Canada. Season 3 was shot in Patagonia, Argentina. AFAIK, nobody knows where season 4 will be shot. It might well be getting shot as we speak. They say that they've already chosen the cast for it. Please note that firearms are not allowed, compound bows and x-bows are not allowed airguns are not allowed, nor are steel traps, modern snares, water treatment, bug- netting or bug dope.

You will be stuck in a 5 mile radius of your drop off point, according to Larry Roberts, and you have to film yourself, all the time, or be kicked off of the show. They get replacement batteries and a physical exam once a week. They have to constantly lug around batteries, a couple of cams, tripod, satellite phone, etc. The having to film yourself all the time is a horrible handicap. Apparently, they drop you in the late fall, like October 1, in the Northern Hemisphere. So lots of the stuff that you'd normally eat just aint there and you need to gather hundreds of lbs of food in just 2 months, cause once snow and ice hit, you wont be doing much of any food-procurement. There's no way to film yourself while hunting, so that's out.

 

1 ax, hammock, ferro rod, canteen, bow and arrows, 5lbs pemmican, hunting knife, sharpener, fishing kit, and 2qt cooking pot. Should suit my current skill set and philosophy. Be happy to explain if necessary.

Seems like a fun thing to me, other than the no family part...I'd really like to try it one day, honestly.

 

I have already applied for the show for season two that's already been aired

 

I have a youtube channel, so I at least have some experience...

Starting in on the rest, I live in a swamp, and cannot rem...no, the last time I went camping without doing it in adverse conditions or bugging out in front/over floods was 10 years? 11? Wow.
Which is why I CHOSE a hammock over a sleeping bag. You ever lived in a place that is wet everywhere, and has all of the "only sopping" wet ground covered in ants/other biting sob's? Not to sound like I'm condescending, but unless it is all that cold, the sleeping bag in my experience is dead weight compared to an instant off the ground shelter option.
On top of that, cannot remember ever getting a full nights sleep in a sleeping bag...always wet or not warm enough before the night is out. Cowboy camped around a few fires though. Haha.

As for the ax, I find saws inefficient for my build, and not a good use of my trained ax and crating skills. The ax is for raised bed or browse bed options, depending on climate, as well as for EFFICIENCY in crafting tools or watercraft/bridges type of thing. Also for making other weapons to improve my odds or replace broken gear. Plus you can hit things with it. Never even considered it for winter shelter or masses of firewood, but those are definitely good reasons to bring one along.

I have also spent a week plus, sometimes just a few days apart, starving because...promised food conditions were not as advertised at camps...I'm not a nice guy when I get hungry (reason 1 for pemmican in kit) and I am a persistent carnivore who stalk hunts for opportunity kills and I trap...honestly, not the best at it, but I eat, and I do not get complacent. I also smoke meats. which is another MAJOR reason to bring an ax. I also find wet and windy days are good time to sneak up on dinner with a bow...and I shoot a #55 stickbow at least a few times a week, and make my own arrows and whatnot.

As for the sharpener and the ferro, this is a HUGE hurdle in understanding I am about to inform you of...the nearest rocks to me are 200+ feet underground...I'm planning around that happening in whatever godforsaken hole they dump me in. Also, diamond hones are a wonderful half step between a file and a strop, which means I can repair or regrind my tools (once did this for a weekend at a reenactment while everyone else did my chores! Haha) so that I can maintain pristine conditions on my tools.

For that matter, I have both "survival net hammocks" and real, material hammocks the way they are designed. I have also chosen a hammock as a destressing recliner as well as a sleeping perch. The nets are a good idea, but fishing with them is retarded illegal here, so I don't know how to use them, and I am playing to my strengths. They also suck to sleep on by comparison.

In my AO, the humidity is so high, that it dampens the tinder to to point that ferros can be insufficient for days on end (rewatch that season 1 and 2 footage, you'll hear that over and over)...not downgrading to an objectively worse heat source nor shorting out my resources for a one hit wonder.

As for staying dry, a 10x10 tarp is provided, and I have staying in less. Plus, I have shelter building tools if it is that bad.

Also, don;t get me started on the ax etiquette used by some members of the cast (and I know I ain't perfect).

Also, you are aware that hot rocks thrown an wool with cook it, yes? They dry out on their own, and make good clothes (think kilt) even when wet. And REAL oilcloth will turn into a blaze if you throw hot stuff on it, and the waxed versions will be greatly reduced in effectiveness or burn. You have to dry those things out slow and easy, or live with the suck.

I use shows like this and Naked and Afraid as good thought lessons to learn and see where people fail, and where my weaknesses still are...very surprised with this post, come a long way since the first one of these I answered years ago...
Anyway, hope that answers your questions. Be happy to talk on it more. kinda surprised you didn't ask about the 2 water containers (hinthint) Haha,

 

Alone - Full Gear List and Prohibited Items - HISTORY.com

 

Yes I am good on the filming and know how and the doing and the being by my self

 

I think I got most of it covered trapping hunting fishing noodling bush hooks fish traps snares crawfish traps l been doing this all of my life I live in snow caves in the jungle desert swamps the thing that goes bump in the night is me

 

I do not live in a jungle, I live in a subtemperate climate that is primarily swamp, and the areas you can still camp in are marshy as often as not. And I have camped at 18F in 87 percent humidity by the gauge, after spending all day playing Civil War in the rain (was 87 when we got there), and had to deal with getting put in a tent with half the roof missing. Heck, I've also done it in 120F (plus heat index) in 90+ percent humidity in the Summer...

How is a 10x10 tarp not a shelter option? Plenty big enough to put the bulk of a hammock under, or as a base layer for a shelter. And I will have clothes with me that will make up for a lot of it (part of the strategy).

As for getting camera shots of me hunting...I'd have to try some things, but I'm sure I can pull it off...new project for this week, I guess.

As for sealed containers, (hinthint) I have 2 I am taking, a canteen and a lidded pot. So I can forage, store, cook, of boil a lot of things. I was originally thinking on a spare knife or tarp, but I think the better resource managemnet would be 2 container, especially if I have to boil water (2 time a day instead of 6, for the same # ounces).

Personally, not that big a fan of duct tape.

Ever if it is fish, and they taste like crap without some cajun spice (THOSE FISH LOOK GOOD BISHOP!), smoking them will give me an opportunity to store them...as for the traps, once again, I have an ax, and 300ft of fishing line before I have to find something to tie them with. 6-12 traps should take me, what, less than a week of light work? And I have bait with me. 2 dozen if needed should be doable. Never built that many in a single stretch, care to weigh in hoss?

And how do you I will have no meat to cook? Hunting and trapping are a thing man, and you need a plan to keep as much of it as you can, as safe as you can, for as long as possible. And I have seen the show, a lot of survival shows. Can you tell me why noone ever shoots a predator? Because they are food too. I'm definitely not going to sit on my butt for the first week doing nothing proactive while my wits and body are at their peak.

AND I get to walk in a 5 mile radius??? I'd get shot for trespassing in these parts for trying to throw that wide of a loop. Certainly for poaching someone elses game.

As for the machete thing, I have never been able to make up my mind which is the best blade for my AO. And neither could the French when they moved in. They are documented as carrying up to 7 different blades to perform the different taks required of them. Bayonet, hanger, belt knife, tomahawk, neck knife, folder, and machete, depending on so many things.

I find the ax is the best all around in most AO, but I am not giving up a druid 230 or a bowie for a machete (hunting knife option), and the options for a chopper were ax, hatchet, or saw. Otherwise, I would be VERY tempted to take a 22" ontario of have one made to take with me.

 

LMAO I applied for that show twice im not sure that they want true experts cuz there wont be much drama my dad got me to apply and the first two seasons on Victoria island would have been like being at home lol its about the same as where I spend my time in the Olympics and as far as the ten items hell any of the ten and all the stuff they make you take with you would be way more then what I would need the Olympics are the largest organic food store in the west you just have to know how to shop it lol

 

An interesting pi$$ing contest between an unknown newcomer, and some guys who've been around here for a while and who've demonstrated their creds. My money's on the Jarhead.

Discretional gear picks for season1 History's "Alone" Survival Gear Lists - Season 1 (Known Rules Included)
Note that the winner of season one lasted

Season 1
total number of days contestants were in the competition = 218 days
Average number of days in competition = 21.8 days
4 of 10 contestants beat the average

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Season2

Total number of days contestants were in the competition. =337.25 days
Average number of days in competition =37.73 days
3 of 10 contestants beat the average

Total Number of days contestants were in competition =541 days
Average number of days in competition =54.1 days
5 of 10 contestants beat the average

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Meta statistical analysis over 3 seasons:

average number of days in competition 34.37 days 17 of 30 contestants beat the average
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Each season the competition seems to be getting tougher....whether that reflects the process of selecting candidates is becoming more nuanced and better predictively in choosing better quality candidates, or whether the more competitive of the candidates, are becoming better prepared for the contest by doing some conditioning and training beforehand.

It should be noted that season 1 there were no medical evacuations....season2, a single medical evacuation (due to accidental injury)...season3 there were 3 medical evacuations....the latter 2 attributed to the effects of starvation.

I suspect that, for most contestants, the choice of (10) discretional equipment picks would not have made much difference to the outcome of their endurance in the competition, given the number of contestants who pulled the pin within 7 days. It would however, probably make a significant difference to the outcome of the top 3-4 competitors, particularly as the duration of the competition seems to becoming longer and longer each season.

In my view...a competitive contestant will need

1. Mental toughness
2. Physical conditioning and endurance
3. Knowledge and experience in living in austere environments
4. Sufficient appropriate resources (equipment, supplies, and technology) to enable them to bridge the gap between lodgement and the ability to becoming effective at hunting, trapping, fishing and gathering sufficient food for long term sustainment.

 

We agree there, if not on the specifics. Haha. And each environment does take a slightly different take on fishing.