I just got done reading it for the second time or so and I would like to post a review, where can I do this? Should I do it here or in the other forum.

Garrett

I look forward to seeing it. I bought the book about three weeks ago and would like to compare notes.

Go ahead and post thought here, in this thread.

I will post it in the next few days. I am super swamped right now and want to make sure that I dont mess up.

Garrett

As I wrap up my fianl hurrican preparations I realied that I had not completed my review of the Lundin book. I am sorry. I will try to get it done tommorow but with the storm coming, I am not sure if I will get ti done or not. I am sorry about this, I will get it posted soon.

Garrett

98.6 Degrees, the Art of Keeping Your Ass Alive by Cody Lundin is one of the better books about survival and outdoor activities that I have read. As advertised, it is a no BS look at how to keep yourself and your friends and family alive and relatively safe until you either get out of your situation yourself or the SAR team fiends you. This book is broken down in a very simple and very entertaining way that makes it a fast read and easy to digest and remember and is aimed at people who have are both novices and experts around the woods or wherever the trail finds you.

This book is not a primitive living skills book. It is all about survival and how to avoid a survival situation. He opens the book talking about the psychological aspects of getting lost or getting into a situation and then he discusses the physical aspects. He discusses clothing and the science of body heat and the effects of water on the system. I learned more from this book than any other survival book I have read and I will probably say this quite a few times. .

He stresses a few things over all. Mostly maintaining your core temperature to prevent your body from being weakened by environmental conditions, namely hypothermia and heat related injuries. He stresses a good attitude, which as most of us know, will get you a lot further than you think. He also pushes the issue of water like I have never seen. Being a Marine, water is your life and you aren’t drinking it all the time, you are wrong, at least that’s what I tell my Marines. He states the three gallons a day is adequate for a survival situation, but you could use more. Maybe I haven’t read as many survival books in my life, but I have yet to see that number anywhere. He also discusses setting yourself up for a successful outdoor excursion by letting someone responsible know what you are doing. Who what where why and when will you be back, that sort of thing. He also gives tips on how to get yourself found if you need rescuing and what to leave for the SAR party at your vehicle, for example, a piece of foil with your boot tread pattern and name on it to aid the trackers.

Now for the part I know you have all been waiting for, the survival kit. His kit is great, with a few exceptions. I have modeled one similar to his based on what he wrote in the book as most of it is a good idea, but I have heartburn with some of it.

First off, the kit covers all the things that a normal PSK would have except the snare wire and fishing gear and has some things that one of our PSK’s may or may not have. All the items are easy to use and he suggests that you wrap bright tape around the each item so you can see them. How many times have you set a knife down and almost walked away with out it? Or is that just me? The food gathering groups are left out for a good reason, you really need to know what you’re doing to set a snare and for his area of the world (the deserts of New Mexico and Arizona) I assume he doesn’t need too much fishing gear. I will touch on this a little later as well. His kit is very complete and in building one yourself you have a better appreciation for its components and uses, and to top it off, you probably have most of what he suggests in your field gear. It has all the major groups of our PSK’s but it is larger, and by that I mean the parts are much larger. The entire kit is over four pounds!! It does have almost triple redundancy in all areas (signal, water and fire) but not much in the way of food gathering. This, as he states is due to the fact that this kit is for 72 hours, not extended stays in the bush.

As I have said the kit is large and there is a reason for it. All the implements can be operated in a state of shock or cold or whatever. He explains in detail the levels of motor skills your body has and how they are affected by stress and the environment. This is why I agree with his large tools and kit. After doing some dry runs with the PSK I built before reading this book I see where he is going with it. I ran three miles and the immediately tried to open my PSK and start a quick fire tender (like Doug’s). I wanted to introduce some stress into the process you see. Getting into the kit was clumsy due to my body’s state and trying to finger around inside my otterbox was difficult due to its size. Using Lundin’s kit, it is much easier for me to break out a cotton ball with Vaseline on it and strike a flint on it.

Now I know what you’re going to say, “You should calm down first before you do anything.” I know, but what does the average person know. But, put any inexperienced hiker or soccer parent in the woods with one of our PSK’s and see what happens.

I know that some of you will take issue with his use of liquid iodine as a water purifier, but he is pretty adement about it and looking at it from a fiscal standpoint, he makes sense, 3 dollars for 50 pills, or 59 cents for many gallons or “good” water. But then again, how much is your life worth.

The very serious issues I have with the kit however stem from only a couple of small issues. The first is the magnesium black. He likes this a lot as it has double use, having a striking surface and as tender for a fire. But his example of how to use the block doesn’t work. He states that using the broken edge of a hacksaw blade (I don’t mean the teeth) you can scrape enough off to get a large pile of shavings in minutes. Well I tried this and I got nothing. After about ten minutes of experimenting with holding the blade this way and that, I finally got a system down where I use the teeth on the saw and cut on it like I am cutting bread. You get a big pile of Mg dust, but not real shavings. Also, you have to use the teeth of the blade to get any kind of a spark out of the metal match, again, contrary to what he states. Maybe I had a bad blade, or my bock is old, or whatever, but I could not do it like he states. Mg also makes a hell of a mess after it is done burning, which can make your wife upset if you do it while she is right next to you. Will I leave it out? Probably not, I can use it as a last resort.

Second is the kit weight. I see and understand the need for items that are easy to use when you are cold and in a state of panic or shock, but the whole kit is over 4 pounds. This weight does include the homemade first aid kit (which I will talk about in a minute). He includes a full size space blanket (in addition to the smaller thinner types), a 2 gallon collapsible water bag {on top of two unbreakable bottles (NALGENE type) he suggests carrying} a LARGE (3x5) signal mirror, barrel liners and an extra fixed blade knife. All of these have their uses, but when weight and cubic space are at a premium, something’s got to give. I have slimmed mine down based on his kit and it still takes up a full pocket on my camel back M.U.L.E. I am reviewing my pack job. I know I just got done talking about how good the large kit is, but I have to play devil’s advocate here as well.

The next issue I have with the book is that he starts to talk about subjects and never really gets into them, namely the first aid kit. He shows his and talks about it, but only spends about a page a half on it. He states that your kit will be dependant on your situation, and I understand that, but he needs to be more in depth with that part. I built one for myself to augment my issue FAK, but I wish he would have spent more time going over the kit itself. All he really said was to have one and get some first aid training, kind of a cop out in my opinion. He also likes to introduce subjects are not applicable to the book at all, and then drops them like hot potatoes. For example, he states that surveyors tape makes weak cordage, but then says that with the proper knowledge it can be woven into a strong cord, but that’s all. Why mention that at all? He also shows you in the picture section, how to make a juniper bundle, something exclusive to certain parts of the country, and never explains it in the book.

All my gripes and complaints aside, the book is great. I have completely re-evaluated my outlook on my PSK and what should go in it. I never once considered my mental and physical state when I pushed to get the smallest stuff possible. I will keep the old kit, but I was able to make a kit based off the Lundin model for about 5 dollars as I already had most of it in the house or in my camping and hiking gear. In learning how your body reacts to stress, heat and cold and how much of a role water plays in your day to day and survival life, I have already noticed that I am much more comfortable and even more at ease in the bush. And I did even have to make any drastic changes.

I would recommend this book to anyone who is remotely interested in outdoor activities whether you are a weekend hiker or ultra-light camper, you will learn something or get a tip that may help you out in the future. Give this book a serious look and I assure you, you will be entertained and educated even if you don’t agree with his views or ideas.

I hope this helps. I have reviewed it a few times to make sure I did restate things too many times, but thanks for reading this, let me know what you think.

Garrett

Nice review Garrett.

I looked at this book over the weekend but did not buy it. Now it looks like I have to go back to the bookstore.

Sounds like his kit is more like a daily carry bag or a small grab and go bag. I tend to favor real shelter and insulation in my kits of this size which adds bulk and weight.

Thanks

I'll try to add my two cents to Garrett's great review; I too found Cody's book to be entertaining and informative. To be fair this will be less of a review and more of a personal reaction to the book. FWIW, I plan to get a copy for some of my family members because it is very simple to understand and get through.

The book revolves around a simple premise; if you let someone know where you are going and when you expect to return, the ideas and recommended gear presented could keep you alive for the 72 hours it normally takes for rescuers to find you.

I found this approach to be quite manageable; I will admit that sometimes the kits, lists, and knowledge presented in other books leave my head spinning. Personally I don't have an interest in fishing, snares and plant identification; but I think I can get a grasp of keeping warm or cool, staying hydrated, and lighting a fire. So like garret, I learned more from this book than any other and was immediately able to put some ideas in action.

For instance, I immediately realized how often I break the basic premise of
filing a hike plan with someone. I travel to Tucson, Phoenix and Denver
dozens of times each year and go on day hikes during each trip. I never
tell anyone where I am going, the most I do is let my wife know I am going
for a hike. Luckily, my only semi dangerous incidents so far have been
stepping over a rattlesnake and encountering a mountain lion. From now on I
am going to email my wife with specifics of my hike plan.

The pictures of the kit pieces and their uses are great. Like any kid, I went through the pictures first and back through them over and over again. You can learn a lot just by looking at these pictures.

The knife section was awesome. Basically he uses what looks to be like a Mora. Simple, fixed blade, easy to sharpen. Of course this is one section of the kit where I am over equipped with folders so I decided I will augment my kit soon with a Mora. No matter what he thinks of folders but will keep carrying my spyderco military!

I totally agree with garrett about needing more specifics about the FAK. Most items in a survival kit are single items, but the first aid kit is just that, a kit, and I believe it needs its own list of items. This is one piece of the survival kit that seems to get used all the time
even in non-survival situations. The only specifics mentioned about the FAK
are krazy glue and lanolin cream for repairing cracked feet. Given that
most of us are not hiking in barefeet this seems to be a very Cody specific
set of items. While he explains that his goal with a first aid kit is to fix that one big cut and that most of us don't have the training to heal a traumatic wound or injury it still seemed a bit light to me.

The caffeine/ephedra mixure or homemade go-pill recommendation just bugged
me. While Lundin certainly warns to make sure you take the right amount of the
mixture and to be careful with it, it just seems like an odd thing to add to
the kit.

Lundin spends a great deal of time talking about the perils of dehydration. While I know this is important, I couldn't figure out what his solution was to finding water for the 72 hours. He recommends not wasting water by over exerting yourself in the heat, to carry plenty with you, and to carry plastic bags, condoms, and a platypus type folding containers to carry water but not much about where to find it if you need it. Maybe I missed it.

I didn't mind the weight of the kit of the space it takes. Now the kit stays permanently in my camelbak transalp. I still have room for appropriate clothing and food depending upon the area and time of year I am hiking in.

Well that is enough rambling. I am glad that garrett posted his review, because I have wanted to share my take on the book for a few weeks now.

I agree with you PVR. I forgot about the Pep pack. I didn't really read that as I am not a big proponent of ephedrine or the use of caffiene in a survival situation. And the issue of finding water was not addressed as as well as it should hve been, like you pointed out. I think in his discussion of water purification and carrying he mentioned places where he can find water in his area, but nothing specific as to techniques of locating and gathering water in your environment. I think he might have been assuming that common sense would prevail and if a person just looks around, there is water all over the place. Most people however, even in a survival situation, are not likely to drink swamp water, or muddy water from a tire rut in a mud road. I am gladly not most people <img src="images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />.

Good comments pvr and I hope more people read this book and learn as much as well did.

Garrett

The survival community is small, geographically big and financially poor <img src="images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />. I try read every text available. First you have to distill the author's own persona; philosophy, geographic expertise which may create a parochial view and writing style ( our own posts here are evidence of that <img src="images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />) Then you subconsciously suppress the 99th viewing of the same incorrect illustration of a trap or geometric perfect brush shelter. This is when ( hopefully) a different explanation or emhasis brings information from the hypothetical to real life. If I can learn or understand one thing from each book it is worthwhile. It would be interesting to gather everyone together at once with their books and a good editor. I think the result would see pages selectively torn from each and spiral bound in paracord <img src="images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />