If I were to wander off naked in the woods, I'd just bring a blanket... And maybe my Sebenza
I would demand a Winkler WKII Camp Knife or go home.
Yeah, the first two guys to tap out on 'Alone' were obviously freaked out by the wildlife, and were in the most severe stages of gun-withdrawal. In the first case, I can't fault him for leaving; he had the bad luck to be dropped off less than a hundred metres from a mother bear and cubs, and had two bears outside his tent the first night -- arm's-length away, in total darkness, separated by just a thin piece of fabric, with only a knife for protection (maybe bear-spray[?])... F**k. That.
He might have been okay; the bears ran when he finally found his voice. But you can't predict a bear's behavior. One of the remaining 'contestants' tried to scare off a large adult crossing a channel in his direction, and it wasn't intimidated in the least. The second man to quit felt even more naked without his gun, and went to Jell-O when a few wolves started howling. I don't have as much sympathy in his case; a bear sticking its snout inside your tent in the dead of night is one thing, but you have to expect some howling wolves. He was apparently attacked by a German Shepherd once, but he should have been better prepared to hear some howling. 'The Grey' was an excellent film, but wolves don't attack people all that often. The attacks that have happened recently have mostly been wolf-coyote hybrids in eastern N.A., for some reason inclined to take on humans when neither wolves nor coyotes would dare. Cougars, on the other hand...
Sorry, I've gone off-topic. From 'Naked and Afraid' (and Stuck With Some Idiot for 21 Days), to 'Alone' (and Fully-Dressed in Wet, Freezing Clothes, Until Finally Becoming Cougar-Scat).
Heat treatment fluke aside, I don't like the BK9. Don't like the ramp. Don't like the swedge tip. Don't like the standard scale materials either. If I had to take a Becker, it'd be my 15. On a budget similar to a bk9? I'd take an Ontario SP-53.
From what I own? I'd take my Skookum Bushtool in 3V anywhere that wasn't mandatory machete country. In a thick jungle I'd take my ESEE Junglas.
To all of the Becker bashers, google up ANY of your favorite brands and see how many of them have been broken. I've had many different makes of knives and I've found a broken one or two of each. Not a specific brand fanboy, just pointing out the facts.
Whoever started batoning that piece of wood with any knife was sure uninformed on wood types and tree contruction. Looks like a locust with at least two distinct ring patterns. That stuff is extremely dense with a supper tight fiber pattern. I have split a lot of that stuff for firewood and a piece like that would give a 24 ton wood splitter some pause.
That'll buff right out.
All kidding aside, this is an interesting question. The choice between a stock blade and something customized/modified would be tough.
I'd say an ESEE Junglas or possibly a BK5 Camp Magnum.
But either way, there's no doubt in my mind that I'd never make it 21 days in the conditions those people have to deal with. I'm fine sitting at home on my couch and watching them suffer the bugs, dehydration, starvation, cold, mental anguish, etc.
The Naked and Afraid XL 40 day challenge should be REALLY interesting to watch...
I know this is a knife site, and I also love knives. And if I were to take a knife I would probably opt for my Spartan Harsey Difensa.
But that said, after watching a number of episodes, I would want to bring iodine. I know basic flintknapping. Groundstone can be made even when there is no knappable stone. But safe water is pretty darned precious.
I laughed out loud.
Alone/Naked Afraid is very interesting...I find myself shouting at the TV...having spent time in the bush when I was a pup and sitting on the couch now I seem to know all the things they should be doing and how to do them, although I don't have the distraction of bugs biting va j j.
Yeah, the first two guys to tap out on 'Alone' were obviously freaked out by the wildlife, and were in the most severe stages of gun-withdrawal. In the first case, I can't fault him for leaving; he had the bad luck to be dropped off less than a hundred metres from a mother bear and cubs, and had two bears outside his tent the first night -- arm's-length away, in total darkness, separated by just a thin piece of fabric, with only a knife for protection (maybe bear-spray[?])... F**k. That.
He might have been okay; the bears ran when he finally found his voice. But you can't predict a bear's behavior. One of the remaining 'contestants' tried to scare off a large adult crossing a channel in his direction, and it wasn't intimidated in the least. The second man to quit felt even more naked without his gun, and went to Jell-O when a few wolves started howling. I don't have as much sympathy in his case; a bear sticking its snout inside your tent in the dead of night is one thing, but you have to expect some howling wolves. He was apparently attacked by a German Shepherd once, but he should have been better prepared to hear some howling. 'The Grey' was an excellent film, but wolves don't attack people all that often. The attacks that have happened recently have mostly been wolf-coyote hybrids in eastern N.A., for some reason inclined to take on humans when neither wolves nor coyotes would dare. Cougars, on the other hand...
I think anyone who has spent an inordinate amount of time in the wilderness has to be attracted to some of these shows.
Footfalls and maybe some snorting or breathing around the tent at night is normal in many places. If the food is hung a good ways away and you didn't forget and bring the Dentyne and peppermint toothpaste into the tent, the biggest factor for most people becomes their imagination.
As to "Naked and Afraid," I'd never attempt it due to the 'no shoes' policy alone. And if I were allowed shoes the nighttime bug/insect factor would probably be next. it's like....been there, done that; why?
For me the main entertainment provided by "Alone" is the fact that so many people are now so distant from the reality of nature. Their own nature.
The Spartan Harsey model 1 looked damn cool on an episode of "man, woman, wild"