Amazon Jungle Survival Trip (pics)

We weren't in Pacaya. We were just above Bagazan on the Carahuayte River that branches off of the Ucayali. As the crow flies we were about 120 kilometers form Iquitos.

As a side note, you may want to watch the video forund here: http://www.ratcutlery.com of the RAT Cutlery RC-3 skinning out an Amazon deer.
 
Is there an official write-up of this trip? I'd love to see more of it. Mac
 
bearthedog said:
We were not allowed food or deet to be taken into the jungle. There was a spyderco military, SAK, K-bar folder, and CRKT m-16.

Aguilar our instructor was given an RC-3 for the trip. We are all going to get one for being on the trip.
Click to expand...

So, did Aguilar have any comments about the RC-3? Did he use it or demo it?

Also, did any of the guys using the knives you mentioned have any conclusions about them, like "Glad I brought this," or "This was useless..."? This forum often speculates on using different knifes like this in "survival" situations, so actual user comments would be interesting.

Thanks for this thread--fantastic. :thumbup:
 
Speedo1 your welcome for the thread. Aguilar found out how sharp the blade was right away. Yes he did use it. When we arrived he had a Falkniven but changed it out for the RC-3.

Now without bad mouthing any brand or design I would still like to give it to you guys straight about knives in a survival situation. What ever you have on you is your knife of survival. Some big name knives broke after battoning. Some seemed to large and thick for jungle use. Yes the machete rules but we don't always have a machete on us everywhere we go in the wilderness do we. When we traveled on the boat most of us had a knife clipped to our pants, or belt. I keep one around my neck or shoulder. Sometimes the machetes were in the other boat or away from us. This means if the boat turns over you have a knife on you still.
In the mountains if your boat turns over you have a real survival situation. You must stay dry in the cold temeratures of night. This could mean getting a fire started even if the materials are wet or covered with snow. Along the Amazon you won't get hyperthermia from being in the water so this is not an issue, but what a great habit to get into.

Now for the "Glad I brought this" comment. I would say no. We had a variety of knives around at all times. Everybody shares. Food, drinks, machetes and knives were all used by everyone. If you had a knife out someone will just ask or motion to use whatever was handy at the time. It is very easy to get cought up in the pages of knife magazines and have our dream knife or perfect do all knife in mind. How many times on this and other forums do we see "If you could only have one knife" threads? The truth is knives are tools. We use what works. It doesn't need to be $100-$350 and take months to get. There is no one knife wonder. Oh and there is no Santa Clause.
 
Good post, Bear. It's amazing to me how much of the knife fantasy world goes to hell once you really start depending on a sharp edge to feed and shelter you. There were a LOT of good knives on the trip and I would be happy taking any of them along with me. Too bad about the KaBar style (not KaBar brand) knife breaking in two, but stuff happens. Those old Tramontina and Bolleto machetes just kept on going though, didn't they? I think we give 4 bucks a piece for the machetes we had on the trip.
 
Hey, Don;t mind me asking but what is the model of the Traumonica machete that you guys use there? Any idea how many inches are they?
 
There were a couple. I had the 18" blade wood handle Tramontina from Smokey Mountain Works. Then they used the 22" blade plastic handle from the hardware store out there.


18"
IMG_0759.jpg

JungleDay2_053.jpg


22" Black handle
JungleDay2_054.jpg

Orange is easy to see in the thick green forest
JungleDay2_066.jpg
 
So any recommendation for any specific Machete from Tramounica? Was thinking of getting one but not sure which to get and how long to get? Maybe you could recommend?
 
acwire,

Not addrerssed to me directly but I do have about a dozen Tarmontinas on hand down here.

The 14 inch Bolo is a solid all around performer especially on woody stuff, easy to pack, hard to sheath, great handle.

I use mainly the 16 and 18 inch Latin pattern machetes with the smaller, round-bottom handles. Mainly this is becuuase they are the most frequently encountered in my area. I have several of the 14 inch as well and thay are real handy on the belt.

The 18 inch wood handled model in the photo above is a very solid performer. It is a little heavier than the narrower bladed Tramontinas and the handle seems to fit better for me. They are easier to hang-on to.

Machetes are like golf clubs, you pick the right one for the job... that is if you know ahead of time what the job is going to be. In long grass or when clearing land down to the ground I use a longer blade for the reach. I find a 20 inch works well and saves my back.

For general use clearing trails and campsites the 14, 16, and 18 all work well. If it is going to spend time on the belt and only be used occasionally I like the 14. If it is going to ride on the pack and spend alot of time in my hand then I want an 18.

In my experience the thicker and tougher the stuff you are cutting then the stiffer and heavier you want the blade. For light vegitation and grasses then you can use a longer, narrower, more flexible blade. I find that on woody plants that a thin flexible blade will turn and follow the grain getting itself wedged in and it can be a pain. A thicker blade won't do that. On light vegitation and grasses a long thin blade allows you to keep swinging without wearing your arm out. Anyway, those are my preferences. Mac
 
How come the mora gets all the use and not the rat? Its a rat trip right? the rat a safe queen or a belt queen?
 
I agree with pict. Without splitting hairs go with an 18" or 20" Tramontina and just use it. You will see. Anyone who has seen my posts around know that I love the 14" bolo. But when Mike Perrin at R.A.T. told me the 18" rules down there I believed him and thank him for the tip. They did seem to notice my 18" wood handle was heavier than the standard 18" black plastic handle they get there in peru. I believed it when I picked up an 18" plastic orange handle tram. It is 2 oz. lighter on my scale.

The mora was what I had on me when the trip started. We don't get our RC-3 knives until a few weeks after the trip. The Mora 2000 is a real good jungle knife. Sharp for cleaning fish and cutting lots of jungle vines. No rust and a non slip handle for the times when the rain doesn't give you a break.

Blackwind you are welcome. I always enjoy sharing an outdoors experience with others.
 
thanks guys for your response on the Machete.

I'm residing in Singapore and am looking for another machete to use when I go for Jungle exploration. I currently own a Becker BK1 and find it rather good, but lack the reach.
 
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