Well, I guess some people are more accident-prone than I am which is another way of saying not everyone is as wimpishly afraid of getting hurt as me
But just out of curiosity, how many of those injuries were so bad as to preclude you using both hands to start a fire?
Easy to say if your outdoors experiences are walking down a dirt road or along a well-beaten path at the local city park. I think a statement like this is an indication that you don't ever rock climb or cross rapid flowing rivers or ride a horse or climb a tree or have to use a rope to lower yourself down a steep grade or put yourself in any other inherantly dangerous situations (and there is nothing wrong with that but you must consider not everyone plays it that safe). I have broken plenty of bones and I won't even begin to try to count the amount of stitches I have had and I seriously doubt it's because I am "whipishly afraid of getting hurt". As a matter of fact I would say it is quite the opposite. If I were afraid of getting hurt I would play it a heck of a a lot safer when alone, in the woods, many miles from civilation.
You don't even need to be injured. I can use an experience I had yesterday as a perfect example. Yesterday on my way home from work I stopped to check a skin that I had place in a creek to remove the hair. Those of you that know this technique know that you are best served to used the most rapid flowing area of the creek/river that you can find. Well the skin was breaking free so I had to resecure it and on a very steep (almost 90%) and muddy bank. So to make a long story a little shorter, here I am with bare feet dug firmly in to the side of the bank dangling over a very rocky, rapid flowing creek hanging on to a tree root sticking out of the side of the bank with my right hand and attempting to resecure my skin with the left hand. I was not in any way injured but if I had not been able to deploy both my knife and rope bundle with one hand then this never would have been possible.
I think for more information on the need for equipment that can be operated with one hand I will defer to Doug Ritter. Here is what Doug writes about one-handed tools.
Why is One-Handed Functionality So Important?
Too often a survival emergency is caused by an accident or incident that causes an injury. If that injury precludes the use of one arm or hand, and the equipment you have requires two hands to operate, you could be facing an even more difficult and life-threatening survival scenario. If it is freezing cold and your fire starting gear requires the use of two hands, as many do, you could freeze to death. On the other hand, to make another bad pun, if you can start your fire using just one hand, your situation is much improved and chances for survival significantly increased.
In some circumstances, even though you have use of both hands, one may be needed just to hold on, leaving just a single hand to accomplish whatever needs doing, such as signaling for rescue.
Given the option, and all other things being equal, it is always better to have tools and gear that you can operate with one hand only. Why wouldn’t you want every possible advantage when your survival is at stake?
Quote: Doug Ritter
http://www.equipped.org/psp/amk_psp_faq.htm#_Toc62951675
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