A lot of it is pretty borderline stuff, like assisting a victim with a broken leg to walk out of the woods - only in the most desperate circumstances would I even think of doing what they demonstrated.

I really got nostalgic when they demonstrated tying a single loop bowline around the waist. That was the procedure in 1957, but by 1960, climbers were going over to the bowline on a coil, still something I would use in a tight situation. Fortunately I never took a stiff fall when tied in with a single loop - it has been known to cut off breathing and result in fatalities....

Don't accept ideas in Backpacker uncritically. Their purpose in life is to sell their advertisers' gear.