Deep Survival

[gunsmith]

OK, I guess we had a thread on this book when it first came out, but I just got done reading it.
 Not really a book on how to survive,more of a profile of the psychology of survivors.
Yet it did have some great ideas, like actually going to a survival school and also reading accident reports.
Anyone know where to get accident reports though? Who else read the book/liked it/hated it-why?

[Perd Hapley]

Also, get a big knife with a saw on the back, and a hollow handle and a compass on the end. 

[gunsmith]

Oh, I have that knife- I substituted the fishing line with detcord.

[MicroBalrog]

Also, get a big knife with a saw on the back, and a hollow handle and a compass on the end. 

In actual fact, the Jungle King knives are like this and they're fairly good.

[CNYCacher]

In actual fact, the Jungle King knives are like this and they're fairly good.

Mine came from an ad in the back of "Boy's Life" magazine and cost $4.88

[Ron]

The Ultimate Knife is the pinnacle of Gerber’s Bear Grylls Survival Series:
 
½ Serrated High Carbon Stainless Steel Drop Point Blade – Ideal for edge retention and cutting rope
 
Ergonomic Textured Rubber Grip – Maximizes comfort and reduces slippage
 
Stainless Steel Pommel – At base of handle for hammering
 
Emergency Whistle – Integrated into lanyard cord

Sheath Features:
 
Fire Starter – Ferrocerium rod locks into sheath, striker notch incorporated into back of knife blade
 
Nylon Sheath – Lightweight, military-grade, mildew resistant
 
Land to air rescue instructions
 
Diamond Sharpener – Integrated into sheath for on-the-go sharpening

Priorities of Survival – Pocket guide contains Bear’s survival essentials



http://bear.gerbergear.com/Knives/ultimate-knife/

[Perd Hapley]

Ron, was that endorsement sarcastic? I think that knife/system has a lot of things going for it, though I don't find it ideal.

[Ron]

Ron, was that endorsement sarcastic? I think that knife/system has a lot of things going for it, though I don't find it ideal.

Sarcasm? not at all, though I'm not a fan of Bear at all either. Les is more.

It is actually a pretty practical piece of kit IMHO and if I was a knife guy I would be even more intrigued than I am already, maybe.

[MicroBalrog]

You may laugh at the Jungle King knives but they're really not all that bad.

[Perd Hapley]

You may laugh at the Jungle King knives but they're really not all that bad.

Can you post some more info? Why do you like them? Are those made by Aitor? What blade steel? And so on...

I have no problem with a well-made hollow-handle knife, like a Chris Reeve. Got no problem with saw-back blades, either. Usually prefer my knife to just be a knife, though. Just my taste.

It is actually a pretty practical piece of kit IMHO

Yeah, it looks OK. I'm a bit more of a purist, but it doesn't look half bad.

[MicroBalrog]

Can you post some more info? Why do you like them? Are those made by Aitor? What blade steel? And so on...

I have no problem with a well-made hollow-handle knife, like a Chris Reeve. Got no problem with saw-back blades, either. Usually prefer my knife to just be a knife, though. Just my taste.

I  have not yet purchased an Aitor knife (it is ony my list of things to do). I have read several reviews of them, which are all in agreement that they are fairly good - not amazing kit of awesome +3, but not $5 junk either.

From where I sit, it seems a lot of the time, serrations, hollow-handles, hooks, and other such things are simplistic marketing ploys used by unscrupulous marketing types to sell knives to mall ninjas, which gives them a very bad name. However, they're not necessarily bad things in and of themselves.

It also seems to me that in the sort of situation where it's better to have a basic tool than no tool at all, a hollow-handle knife is great. It allows you to have a variety of improvised tools on your person.

[Headless Thompson Gunner]

You could do a lot worse than that Gerber knife.  I'd round off the end of the handle, maybe shorten the blade a smidgen, but otherwise it looks like a darned fine knife.  It has some really smart features, like the orange accents (have you ever dropped a small brown/green/black tool in the woods?) and big finger guards.

I've never seen a hollow handle "survival" knife that was worth a darn.  Someone, somewhere, might make a decent one.  But the ordinary ones you see at stores and gun shows all suck eggs.  Run away from them.

Anyone know where to get accident reports though? Who else read the book/liked it/hated it-why?

Most of the national parks will publish their search and rescue reports online.  Here's the listing for Mt Rainier, for example:
http://www.nps.gov/mora/planyourvisit/search-and-rescue-reports.htm

You have to go to each park's site to find their reports.  There's an org out there that aggregates all of the S&R reports from each of the major parks into a handy digest format, but I can't for the life of me remember who they are.  Sorry.  

As for Deep Survival, I read it and thought it was pretty valuable stuff.  Most survival books or guides focus on fieldcraft and ignore mindset and mentality, so a book like Deep Survival is great to fill in the mental aspects.

[Ron]

Just as a disclaimer, I'm an avid outdoorsman but never have really been into knives that much.

I have a Sven Saw for cutting wood and a Leatherman Blast for multitool needs, the knife gets used to cut extra sharp cheddar cheese mostly :)

[Perd Hapley]

I've never seen a hollow handle "survival" knife that was worth a darn.  Someone, somewhere, might make a decent one.  But the ordinary ones you see at stores and gun shows all suck eggs.  

The only ones I have are my Bushmen, both sizes. Probably not the best steel in the world, but a nifty design, and better than the plastic-handled dreck.

Chris Reeve Knives have a very good reputation, and at those prices, they darn well better be good. The fixed-blade knives are of one-piece construction, except for the screw-on butt-cap. Never tried one, but would like to.

The Buck-Masters are not bad, from everything I've heard.

The Robert Parrish custom knives are supposed to be the real deal. Same goes for the Jimmy Lyle knives that Rambo used. I would imagine the Gil Hibben reproductions are somewhat lower quality, and the United Cutlery knock-offs are probably at or below Jungle King quality.

I guess I may as well admit I was a knife dork for years, until I made enough money to buy guns. Given my economic circumstances, I'm back into knives again. 

[gunsmith]

Chris Reeve Knives

I've never heard of em, thanks.

Deep Survival recommends getting lots of sleep in survival situations, seems like a good idea. G'dnight!

[Unisaw]

I read Deep Survival a couple of years ago.  It struck me as a good book, especially the way it addressed the need to make the mental shift into survival mode and the need to never give up.

[White Horseradish]

 It has some really smart features, like the orange accents (have you ever dropped a small brown/green/black tool in the woods?) and big finger guards.

I have always wondered what the rationale was behind camo-handled hunting and camping tools. It occurred to me that it might be the manufacturer's way of ensuring a market by making them easy to lose. :)

[Jamisjockey]

Surpsingly practical knife endorsed by the king of impractical survival.