www.Lawrence.UtahValleyLive.com

We will have a special offer to those listening to the show tomorrow.

We will be talking about our philosophy, a training program, and a little in detail on some of our gear. Hope you can join live, and if not just listen later online.

Also Upcoming for those of you in the Uintah Basin we will be near Roosevelt in Altamont on Saturday June 23rd at 10am. I will be talking on my article “Circles of Priority” which is about common sense Survival and Preparedness, and a method of integrating the two in a simple manner. More info in a couple of weeks.

OH, one other note, we are now, soooo close to launching our Multicam gear, keep watching.

AND, OK here’s another thing, we will have the bug net add on for the PSS (Hammock, Poncho) shortly and some other fun add on’s as well.

Until next time this is Perry Peacock, “Simplifying Survival”

Click for “The Rest of this Story”

Thanks for reading this story, a compilation of my experiences.

Until next time this is Perry Peacock, “Simplifying Survival”

The other day on the farm just South of my place they were out with propane torches setting fire to all the dead grass and weeds in the irrigation ditches. The sight of this brought back memories of my youth when I spent my time working for various farms and ranches in the area. Back in those days we didn’t use propane, things were simple then. We got an old tire put a length of chain around it and then about 30 feet of rope. We’d douse the tire with a little gasoline and light it, then I’d hop on the horse and tie the rope to the saddle horn. Then I’d drag that tire slowly down the ditch letting it catch the weeds on fire.

Why did we do that? If you don’t live in the West or where farms are watered by ditch irrigation, this may be unfamiliar to you.
During the year grass and weeds will gradually grow in the ditches, in the fall this all dies off. To assure good water flow to the crops all this dead material is easily burned out in the spring. Weeds in the ditches acts like friction slowing the flow of water, also the weeds occupy space in the ditch reducing the volume of water delivered. Burning the ditches solves these problems.

In relation to survival there is the matter of preparation as well as analyzing limiting factors that influence our effectiveness. We could also learn from this example to have a seasonal routine for improving our survival gear, skills, and knowledge.

Some examples might be:

• During the year we accumulate things into our gear, look at what works and pare down the unnecessary, it is too easy to get cumbered down over time into a set up that’s too big.
• We should never get a bug out bag or other setup and always thereafter assume it’s still OK, being lean and mean is a constant effort.
• It’s not just about gear either, to be effective we should always be honing our skills and adding to our knowledge.
• We must have a plan to be constantly learning or we become sluggish and ineffective.
• Just like burning may seem a drastic measure, there are times in our lives that we need to take a step like that and “burn” out all the stuff that holds us back and keeps us from getting to where we want to be.

A while back we did a video entitled “Magnesium Fire Starter Fraud” many of you may have found us as a company through that very video. It has had some popularity, and has received tremendous feedback on YouTube including many people who went and tested their magnesium fire starter and found out that it in fact did not work. They were able to go out and get one that did work and practice with it, to ensure that they could light a fire when the time came that they would need to in a survival situation.

Upon doing a little research we found that this video may have been taken out of context (most likely the video was not viewed in it’s entirety) and some people may have got the wrong impression. Today I write this post to clear up a few issues and make sure that we are getting across our true reasoning for the video and the tests that were done.

The research and tests that were made on the magnesium bars that were shown in the video, are  just a few that are available in the marketplace today. We were not able to test all generic magnesium bars that are out there, because there are so many available. A couple years down the road, and after testing several others including inexpensive options that can be found in hardware stores around the nation, we have found the magnesium itself in most of these will in fact produce fire. There are still several issues with the generic brands and the striker rod falling out, so be aware of that issue and check your gear often if you have a generic version.

There are still several generic versions out there, like the one shown in the video that WILL NOT produce flame. This is due to faulty magnesium that cannot be scraped, no matter what way you try, to start a fire.

Test Your Survival Gear

Our main emphasis of all this is to make sure that you get out and test your survival gear and practice with it. Make sure that in your EDC, survival pack, bug out bag, or whatever you carry your survival gear in, you have tested and used the gear that you carry, so you are rest assured it will work when you need it to most. Hopefully after further testing of your gear (if you haven’t already) you find that what you had works just fine and you do not need to replace any piece of gear. Generic version or regular brand name aside, if your gear does not work, it should be replaced.

The reason we carry the Doan magnesium fire starter and have chosen it as our primary fire starter option in our Fire Starting Kit is, with the right training, practice, and preparation it will start a fire 100% of the time. With the Doan, we never have to worry about any issues of the striker rod falling out, it will always be there. The Doan magnesium bar was the originally patent fire starter for the US military and is still today.

Bottom line, test your gear, know how to use it, and stay safe in the wilderness!

If you would like to see the “Magnesium Fire Starter Fraud” video, check it out below:

We were able to catch the Utah Valley Super Preparedness Fair last year and had a great time sharing our products with everyone that we were able to meet. There were many vendors with awesome products and from what we have heard, there should be even more this year, along with great seminars that you are able to attend.

As a company we are SO excited for the Utah Valley Super Preparedness Fair this year. At each of the shows we attended last year, we were able to bring something new to the show that we didn’t even have for sale on our website at that point. At this event, it will be no different.  We will be debuting our MULTICAM line of our products! We have had so many people excited and asking about our survival gear in MULTICAM, and that day is finally almost here!

To officially hit the ground running with our new MULTICAM survival gear, along with adding some excitement to the show, we will be doing a drawing each day (both April 6th & 7th) where we will give away one MULTICAM Fire Starting Kit. So make sure if you are able to make it to the show to sign up for the drawing! After the show we will be officially launching the MULTICAM survival gear line on the website.

Our favorite part of these events is connecting and meeting new people! We are very excited to meet the people that follow our company, and receive feedback on how we are doing. So if you are able to make it, make sure to stop by and say hi!

If you have any additional questions on this show please let us know at Info@WildernessInnovation.com or through our Contact page.

The title seems like a ridiculous question, right?

• Shelter
• Fire
• Water
• Medical
• Food
• Social/Rescue

BUT… And you know something is coming anytime you see a “but”… anyway, food is essential for certain, however, it’s not as urgent as we might think.

So here’s the deal, most people are rescued in less than three days, and are found at or near where they were lost or broken down. The average person  can live longer than three weeks without any food at all. Knowing this, is it essential to immediately go out setting traps or start foraging for plants to eat?

No. A person would be better served setting up a comfortable enough shelter to allow for a good 8 hours of sleep each day, to arrange fire as needed, and a water supply, set up a pre-staged signal fire, have mirrors handy, etc. then get cozy and relax. Did you know that young children are among the best survivors? They lay down and sleep.

Years ago I had a good friend in Canada that was a trapper. I used to go around with him sometimes on his traplines. One thing is certain that I learned from that experience; many traps need to be set in order to have a chance at food, they have to be checked often as some will false trip, or if an animal is caught, it is easy prey for predators and you’ve got to get there before they do. You need 12 to 24 traps set. Also it’s not just setting the traps, it’s being familiar with the animal life and patterns in order to set up properly for the  type of game you are after. It can be a lot of work, building traps, setting them, making rounds checking them, resetting them and all, and that effort = CALORIES.

There are two mindsets on this, one says unless you really know what you are doing you’ll be better off calorie wise to just rest. The other says you need the calories, so go get “em. The caveat is if you spend more calories than you get in food, it’s better to rest. The same applies to eating plants, if you are not thoroughly familiar with those in the area, it may not be worth the risk.

In the end you have to evaluate the options and risks based on likelihood of rescue in a few days to a  week.

Does anyone know approximately where you are? Are you missing now? Or soon? If so it’s probably best to get comtfortable, get ready to signal, and wait for help.

Over the years I’ve studied certainly hundreds of survival accounts, and a good number of them have gone over a month without food and still been healthy enough to recover quickly after rescue. One preeminent case I recently talked about in a blog was Helen Klayben and her pilot Ralph Flores, who crashed in the Yukon in the winter, enduring temperatures of -40 F and living 49 days with virtually no food, just what they had on the plane for lunch.

So yes food is needed for survival, but perhaps we spend an inordinate amount of time on it as related to a survival experience. Of course each situation demands it’s own set of rules, but don’t think all is lost without an immediate known source of food. I certainly would not want to go a long period of time without food, but I would not want to give up hope early due to a lack of it.

Until next time, this is Perry Peacock, “Simplifying Survival”

So how do we maximize the value of our gear?

One word. Multipurpose. When I was growing up I would think of my Boy Scout knife, or a Swiss Army Knife. When my boys were growing up it was MacGuyver who was the king of multi-function. Then there was the coming of Leatherman, and now all the others making similar tools. Remember however, there can be too much of a good thing. Another consideration in multi-tools is this, the various tools on one of these rigs are not as good as the separate individual tool is, so it’s a compromise. Anything you really need to make full use of would be best as the real thing. If you frequently need a certain screwdriver or wrench, it would be best just to have it, rather than make do with a multi-tool.

This is all much more than tools, it’s all our gear, food, and supplies of every kind.

For ages it has been considered wise to carry only items that have many different uses, at least 2 or 3 anyway. That’s how you get more “bang for your buck.”

Look at the graph for our CSK (Core Survival Kit), it shows how many ways each kit component can be used in relation to the Six Elements of Survival. In our training we divide up Survival into Six areas that we call “Elements,” these are essentials without which, if lacking any of them, our very lives are in danger. These are, in no particular order; Shelter, Fire, Water, Food, Medical, and Social/Rescue. You can see from the graph that many items have functions in two or more Elements, this is ideal. 

When you are gearing up, besides the initial function of an item, consider how else it may be used. You may find a better gear choice this way, something that can help you in many areas.

Ideas–

Now you don’t need to have our gear, but for the sake of illustration I want to use it as an example of some things that can be done.

For Shelter, our PST’s (Personal Survival Tarp) are made in a way that they are very adaptable and can be set up in many ways, 18 to 25 ways. They include 100 feet of parachute cord, 6 tent stakes, and shock cord. Many uses for each of those items as well. Our PSS (Personal Survival Shelter) is one piece of gear that does three main things, it’s a Tarp, a Poncho, and a Hammock and it comes with 40 feet of parachute cord as well. You can even add the liner, to make a jacket or sleeping bag out of it.

Food/Water, our new Firebox Folding Stove Combo Kit gives a stove that can burn most any dry fuel, and our FSK (Fire Starter Kit). With this kit you can cook, boil water, start a fire in the stove or almost any where else, so it can contribute to Shelter, Fire, Water, Food, Medical, and Social; a very valuable asset.

Even a pot like the Billy Pot we are testing has a number of uses. It can be used for cooking, it can be a container for storage, it can also be a shovel to dig with. So it’s Elements are; Food, Water, Medical, Social/Rescue.

So whether you choose our gear or something else the important thing is to consider all the possible functions of every item in your kit. Over time your gear will be streamlined as you find things that fit better with your needs.

Have fun gearing up, I hope you are able to use some of these thoughts to make more effective kits, and utilize better gear.

Until next time, this is Perry Peacock, “Simplifying Survival”

Stephen Callahan in his book “Adrift: 76 Days Lost at Sea” notes the following sentiment many times during his intense ordeal.

“Clouds ease the roasting afternoon sun, but deny me maximum water production. (from solar desalination still) Life is full of paradoxes. When the wind blows hard I move well toward my destination, but I am wet, cold, scared, and in danger of capsizing, when it is calm I dry out, heal, and fish more easily, but my projected journey lengthens and my encounters with sharks increase.”

In the book “Island of the Lost” the crew of the Grafton shipwrecked for nearly two years on a sub-antarctic island, in warmer weather the men face a devastating scourge of blowflies, who lay eggs on literally everything, hatching maggots everywhere, and biting flies that are so visious that the men are disfigured by the sores that develop, the warmer weather is however a relief and allows harvesting plant life in a challenging diet. In the cold the seals are closer to them are easier to kill for food.

Years ago I took some training from Jim Phillips on “Living in Sub-zero conditions, without Fire or Shelter.” One of the first exercises in the class was to make a list of things that were advantages while camping in the winter. Things listed would be such as. No snakes, no bugs, plenty of water, choice of camp spots, ability to use snow for shelter. The list would go on and on, soon it seemed that perhaps it was better to camp in the snow and cold of winter, than the traditional summer camp.

In the WWII story of Jan Baalsrud, “We Die Alone,” he is nearly killed by an avalanche while skiing the mountains along a fjord in northern Norway to escape capture by the Germans. Jan winds up injured and seriously frostbitten. When he finally gets to a cabin for help, they are afraid to keep him there for fear they would all be killed for harboring a fugitive. Jan is unable to walk at all due to his injuries. They end up stashing Jan strapped into a sled, high in the mountains, where people from a remote village are supposed to come by and ferry him into neutral Sweden. He is lowered into a drift well around a large boulder, they left him supplies for a few days. As it turned out German movements and storms made it impossible for rescuers to come for him, it was 27 days before he was rescued! Snow had practically buried him, yet he was able laying in his sled, to melt snow and ice in his mouth and hands from the roof that drifted over him,  additionally the drifted snow insulated him from the arctic cold and winds. He was able to survive, though just barely.

The challenge really is to use adversity to your advantage, sometimes the positive effects accompanying change far outweigh the trouble that is seen. If we only see a scenario as a negative we may fail to sincerely look into it to discover the good effects that we may use to benefit us. A kite cannot rise without the force of the wind opposing it. If we only see the wind, we fail to see how it may be used by us to our advantage.

One ancient writer who knew many difficult and challenging times stated, “there must needs be an opposition in all things…” further indicating that troubles and hardship make the good times better and more appreciated.

The other day I was hiking in a canyon that has one section that in the summer is filled with boulders and rock debris that must be navigated around. This time of year with snowfall and drifting, the path is almost as smooth as a sidewalk.

It is difficult to find a book telling the story of some survival experience, where the survivor does not in some way become involved in a dichotomy, where the seeming death knell blow ends up providing the energy or means to forge ahead, to actually ease suffering, or even provide the means for rescue.

Until next time, this is Perry Peacock, “Simplifying Survival”

Twenty months stranded on a sub Antarctic island

The ship was captained by Musgrave with Raynal, a Frenchman, as the first mate, three other crew were hired as cook and seamen. When they got to Campbell Island and searched it thoroughly they were unable to find any ore, so they left that island and pulled up to the Auckland Islands determined to see if there was anything there, even seals for a load of seal oil. a common commodity in those days before petroleum. As they navigated close the the shore in a sort of harbor, they dropped anchor, soon finding that the chain was not long enough nor of sturdy quality, due to tight funding of the investors, to securely grab bottom, and under gale force winds they soon crashed into the jagged rock along the shore, tearing the bottom into gaping holes.

In the end it was 20 months before rescue, during that time the investors had not made any real effort to mount a search. The crew endured through a tough winter, but it was never really warm and pleasant any time of the year. About six months after the shipwreck of the Grafton another ship, the Invercauld, a larger vessel with a crew of 25 shipwrecked on the other side of the same island. They were rescued 12 months later.

In the end both crews were rescued, but with far different results. From the Grafton all five crew survived with little long term ill effects. From the Invercauld 22 of the 25 crew died, leaving only three survivors.

There were some factors which caused the Invercauld to lose more men, these due to the type of wreck and the time of year; however, one of the most significant factors was a near total lack of leadership by the captain or anyone else. In both cases and in most survival experiences what is done in the first hours or days sets the tone, and has dramatic consequences on the outcome, be it weeks or months later. Below are a list of some critical things done or not done by each crew. The accomplishments by Captain Musgrave and his crew are truly amazing, and are due to his overall optimism and getting the most value out of each crew member. This is not to say Captain Musgrave was positive 100% of the time, there were many times all of the crew wondered if they would ever make it out of there, but optimistic thoughts and plans kept rising to the top like cream in a jar of fresh whole milk.

• Immediately set about getting all usable items from the wreckage
• Quickly set up emergency shelter for all
• Once established organized new leadership, since they weren’t on the ship anymore old positions and jobs no longer mattered. They elected Captain Musgrave as leader. This made them willing to follow him and contribute.
• Built a 16 x 24 foot shelter with wood walls and thatched with 5000 bundles of grass, it had a chimney made of stones, a wood floor, and even windows salvaged from the wreck
• Made thread by unraveling sail cloth and spinning it into new thread
• Saved a gun from the wreck to hunt seals and other animals
• When they decided to try to build a boat to escape, they built a blacksmith forge and made hundreds of nails, bolts, saw blades, other tools and needed items
• When they had extra meat they salted and smoked it to try to preserve it for times when they could get nothing.
• They started a school in the evenings, realizing that each man knew something the others did not, so they took turns teaching each other. This strengthened the bonds with each other and developed a good camaraderie.

• The ship sank at once so not much of supplies could be gathered
• The captain was despondent most of the time and made little effort to lead the crew. He continued to act as captain of a ship and the lower hands were his servants, and he did nothing
• There was no unity, almost an every man for himself attitude
• The Crew split into many factions going different directions
• Even when better circumstances were located, there was no leader encouraging the men to move on. Many lay down and died.
• There were a couple of cases of cannibalism
• There was little trust by one man of another, leading to many sleepless nights
• There was much apathy and laziness as others mimicked the captains demeanor
• If not for one lowly seaman, Holden, none would have lived. He explored found and built shelter, gathered, hunted and found food, while most of the others lay around doing nothing.

These are just a few of the significant points. Without a doubt the Invercauld would have lost many crew due to circumstances alone, however the deaths may have been half as many had Captain Dalgarno exercised the kind of leadership that Musgrave did.

In some of the courses I have taken related to survival and disaster response, it was noted that when disaster strikes the vast majority of people wait to be told what to do. It is then incumbent on each of us to train and practice to the best of our abilities, and if the need arises, to stand up and be leaders. Not to be a leader for aggrandizement, but for the welfare of all. In the stories of these two shipwrecks leadership made the difference between life and death.

Until next time, this is Perry Peacock, “Simplifying Survival”

Here’s the deal, none of us know what each new day will bring us, we have no idea about an accident, a natural disaster, civil unrest, a breakdown or any of hundreds of possible scenarios. To help out in determining what your minimums are, which is what EDC really is, the least gear you can tolerate having on hand at all times, look at your life Sunday through Saturday and imagine if something serious came up during your normal every day schedule, what do you think is essential?

Most EDC’s seem to be more geared around the minimums carried when in the wilderness, but the fact of the matter is, for most people they are only in that situation weekly or monthly, what about the rest of the time? How about travel to and from work? It would seem more likely that something, were it to happen, would eventually occur during the activities where we spend the greatest percentage of our time.

What EDC do you carry to work, to your kids football game; what EDC gear do you have on you when you go to church, or to a business meeting? If it’s truly Every Day Carry, shouldn’t that be what you never leave home without?

Here are some ideas to use in analyzing what a real EDC should contain

• Multi Functionality in order to maximize the value of the item
• An indispensable tool
• Shelter, either a shelter item or means to create one
• Fire, at least one reliable way to produce fire
• Water, not likely water itself, but means to obtain, although I am seldom without my water bottle
• Medical, a few small items

Our Wilderness Innovation Mini EDC, or equivalent  is an absolute bare minimum. The kit contains our Fire Starting Kit (FSK), and a Victorinox Hike/Camper knife. The FSK allows nearly anyone the ability to easily create a fire, it is exceptionally reliable. The Victorinox multi function knife is a sturdy top quality tool with two knife blades, a saw, drill/reamer, awl, openers, screw drivers, tweezers, etc. I feel it is essential to not compromise on this tool as it will likely be used in an abusive manner in tough situations and any inferior copy cat type tool may likely fail you when you need it most.

This Mini EDC can be worn on a belt and hardly noticed, it can be special ordered without a logo in order to be more discreet. I carry mine in a suit pocket if that’s what I have on, or at times I hang it inside my pants with a short loop of paracord looped around my belt and through the “D” ring, in this manner it is unnoticeable except during a pat down. I always stash a 20 foot hank of 550 paracord in a pocket as well.

I carry this kit or it’s equivalent everywhere. Also my Bug-Out-Bag (BOB) is always with me or near me. Even so the key thing to consider is that anything not on your person is separated from you and there is the possibility that if it is not on you, it might as well be in Timbuktu. The more you can reasonably have on your person, the safer you are.

Realistically it would be ideal if you also had a container to boil water in, but that can be difficult if you are in an office setting. A space blanket could be stowed without too much trouble as a shelter aid, I have experimented with vacuum packing the space blanket to make it thinner.

In reality EDC is one of the toughest preparedness kit items to do properly in every day life, it does not lend itself very readily to a modern office environment, for example. I can do it pretty well and am always refining things in a way that is convenient, and discreet, yet functional. I welcome your ideas, let me know what you have found helpful. It would be very profitable to collect these ideas and publish them for others to use as they evaluate how to work what is really essential into a personal EDC.

Thanks so much for reading these blogs during the past year, watching our videos on our YouTube Channel, for your comments and your incredible support at our website. We have many new and improved products and ideas coming up in 2012, including a nicer delivery of these blog posts to you.

Until next time, this is Perry Peacock, “Simplifying Survival”