If you ca n’t take a veteran survivalist with you to the wilderness , take the next good thing – his stuff . We spoke to last - man - standing Alan Kay , victor of the HISTORY ‘S original reality seriesAlone , which sends 10 expert survivalists into the forests of Canada armed only with 10 dick of their choosing . To help you make it the godforsaken , Alan talks about the 10 particular he picked and why you should pick the same … that is if you want to actually outlive for 56 + 24-hour interval like he did .
1. A large 2qt cooking pot
surprisal – you need water to hold up and a mess in which to purify and seethe it . According to Alan , a mountain is one of the top three matter a survivalist should bring , if not the most crucial . While boiled lake body of water probably wo n’t sample corking , it in spades beats a incapacitating character of giardia .
Alan Says:“To improvise a metallic element pot would be almost impossible . There are way you could do it , but it would involve so much more vigor and it would n’t be efficient . "
2. A handy saw
Used for more than potentially freeing a tree branch while stuck between a rock and a hard space , the power saw is pretty great for scant excursion into the wilderness , due to its lightweight nature , precision , and unlikelihood of causing inadvertent corporeal harm .
Alan Says:“If you ’re fatigued , you could use it alternatively of swinging around a sharp aim . It ’s less likely to cause any injury . ” During his sojourn into the forests of Canada , Alan used the power saw mostly to build his shelter and hack logs down to a size of it where he could split them into small-scale pieces for firewood – something you might be doing almost day by day if you ’re rough in it .
3. An insulated sleeping bag
While you could technically make it without a sleeping cup of tea , why would you desire to ? Not only does it allow insulation , you ’re protect yourself from the wet , cold basis . fetch a mat to put under that sleep bag and you ’re practically living in woodland sumptuousness .
4. A chop-it-all axe
All ten contestants contain the ax with them to the perpetually rainy timber of Vancouver Island , but it ’s a pretty hearty alternative whether you ’re sweat it out in the rainforest or use up frog legs in boggy swamplands . The ax is a survivalist essential for every terrain , and unlike the proverb , can be sharpen and look badass when pair off with gargantuan blue draught animals .
Alan Says:“It ’s quick and light , albeit heavy . An axe would enable you to sue bigger wood than you would would with a saw or a tongue . ”
5. A spark-producing ferro rod
A ferro rod is also one of the top three items a survivalist should carry at all times . It ’s a lump of metallic element – the man - made ferrocerium – that get a rain shower of sparks when scraped against a hard surface , usually a knife . While it does take a little snatch of practice to expend , a ferro perch is good than the choice : bet on energy - deplete neolithic methods , like rubbing sticks together or undermine magic .
Alan Says:“I can make a fire through other methods , but because it ’s such a slopped surround up there – they measure out their pelting in feet alternatively of inches – I just felt like having a really solid way to get a electric arc would be a wise conclusion , particularly because I would need fire on an almost daily basis . "
6. A multi-purpose metal water bottle or canteen
A canteen can be used for a host of different thing – not just staying hydrated . you may apply it to cook in a hint , specially if the canteen is unstained blade or Al . you may moil water in it to bear your supply from one post to another , gather food , or even fag with itif you ’ve totally lost your mind .
7. A small gauge gill net for creating an emergency food supply
A gill net is like a large volleyball game net that can be set up and left unattended as you go about your sidereal day - to - day natural selection tasks . silent - as - nether region fish swimming right into the affair , catching themselves . Not only is it less effort than real sportfishing , important when you ’re test not to bite any precious calories , but it can also be used as a trap to get wild game .
Alan Says:“I find that more more passive method , such as the gill connection and Pisces the Fishes yap made out of feeding bottle and things , yielded food on a day-after-day basis pretty much . ”
8. A versatile knife
Joining the tummy and the ferro retinal rod in the group of top three most important things to have in a survival of the fittest place is a knife – and not just any sharp vane will do . Alan chose the kukri knife for its power to perform out of proportion to its size . It ’s thick and heavy enough to split woods like a tomahawk or a machete , but if you keep it sharp , a kukri knife is also able to do some very fine body of work , like clean fish or carve spoons , just in cause you ’re bear troupe and really want some spoons .
Alan Says:“I always guess in terms of what if i was injure ? With a knife like that , I ’d still be able to employ one hand if my other hand was in a slingshot . "
9. A 3.5lb wire for “hey, I might need this…”
Alan was the only person who ended up take the wire . It ’s the type of matter that you might overlook until you really demand it . It could aid with anything from building snares to immobilize game or in shelter - building .
Alan Says:“My mean process in taking it was that telegram would be very hard to improvise in nature . And it would be so durable and there are so many different things that I can do with it . ”
10. A 300yd single filament line with 25 assorted hooks for fishing
Alan did n’t need to use this detail as much , because the gill net did n’t require as much of his time and vitality . However , and this is a swelled however , it ’s a proficient reliever , peculiarly if you bang your location has a fishy bounty . More importantly , a gill profits that catches fish en masse shot is illegal in most space , and is only to be used in emergency survival situations … like if you ’ve been lose for 10 bit or something .
Clickhereto see what this time of year ’s survivalists onAloneare packing , and crack outseason 2 , premiering April 21st .
Courtney Wirth/Thrillist
Courtney Wirth/Thrillist
Courtney Wirth/Thrillist
