In this thread Chris K. made a very good point:



This prompted me to post some thoughts I had recently after reading Peter Kummerfeldt's excellent book on survival. One of Peter's main points is that relying on bushcraft for survival is sketchy because successful bushcraft requires 1) prior knowledge & practice 2) plentiful natural materials 3) hours of time to execute 4) cutting tools and 5) a (relatively) uninjured survivor.

My thought is that while I certainly don't want to rely 100% on bushcraft, I believe that knowing and practicing bushcraft then combining it with readymade gear (tarps, firestarters, etc) gives the survivor another advantage in the fight to live.

Chris brought up the perfect example: shelters. If all you have is a tarp or 55gal plastic liner, you have no insulation. If all you have is bushcraft, you will have to have lots of materials and time to even approach a wind/waterproof shelter. But, if you know bushcraft AND you have the tarp you can use bushcraft to develop some insulation then add the tarp to thoroughly keep out the wind & water. If due to circumstances (time, injury, etc) you can't execute the bushcraft then your space blanket or bivy bag will give you a chance to get by.

I believe that it is a mistake to completely reject bushcraft, just as it is a mistake to completely reject modern survival gear.

Sounds like you're directing this post more towards the "eddie bauer" survival crowd. I couldn't agree more. Realistically a person in a survival situation is going to use what's available. That might be a tarp or it may just be a ditch with some branches near by. The more skills you have ingrained the better off you are going to be.

Very true, I carry a ton of stuff with me, but I still make sure I have the knowledge to improvise without the items I carry. You just never know what might get lost, broken, or ruined.

The now famous story of Ishi, 'the last Wild Indian' is worth reading. The Yano indians were once 3000 strong. Ishi's major subband, the Yani were massacred with only 30 survivors. 15 were killed shortly afterward by cattlemen.Then some prospectors came upon their camp and took everything for souveniers; firemaking, knives, bows, baskets-everything. They all died of starvation or exposure save Ishi, found near death in a ranch corral. There is a dangerous myth of the primal superhero 'McGuyver in breechcloth' who can whip up a fire, brush shelter and elk slowly turning on a spit for dinner by nightfall with only his obsidian equivenent to a SAK. First, you need the obsidian, and sometimes it just isn't there at your feet along with medicinal herbs. This is why minimalist 'bushcraft' knives with their trick looking firesteel slotted sheaths scare me. My kit? It's still a sickening mess of military surplus, state of the art commercial, home made coffee can stoves and raw materials gleaned from Nature. Early iron baldes were formed from meteorites. Now there is a real finite resource base!