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#291004 - 11/04/18 04:03 PM Fowlers equipment for winning 'Alone'.
quick_joey_small Offline
Addict

Registered: 01/13/09
Posts: 571
Loc: UK
Think this 'Alone' series has been mentioned here before, so apologies if it's old news. Maybe it never got shown in England, but somehow I missed it.

> 'Day 1 Shelter and What I Brought for Clothing To Patagonia (87 DAYS Episode 2)':

https://youtu.be/8lgjMtqBJ6I

"The jacket I picked out was a cheap piece of junk" lol. And so many think they need a $600 knife and the most expensive of everything. Fowler was broke when he was equipping. The only expensive items he brought; the Sorel boots, were a terrible dissapointment.

The 10 items chose:
'Alone: Fowler's 10 Items (Season 3) | History':

https://youtu.be/QHfLI1DK7cs

Note the winner was the only one not to bring a knife.
qjs

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#291005 - 11/04/18 04:50 PM Re: Fowlers equipment for winning 'Alone'. [Re: quick_joey_small]
hikermor Offline
Geezer in Chief
Geezer

Registered: 08/26/06
Posts: 7705
Loc: southern Cal
"Note the winner was the only one not to bring a knife."

But he apparently had a Victorinix multi-tool, which I believe does include a blade. I would think that to be perfectly adequate, rendering a large bladed, SERE style, macho cutting tool unnecessary.

I like blades that are tough and small, like a DR PSK Mk 5, as well as a good multi-tool (either Skeletool or Wave).

This isn't strictly survival related, but on Tuesday (Election Day in the USA), as part of the election staff, I will be roaming between 9 or 10 polling places, troubleshooting and dealing with issues, which often include equipment breakdowns and malfunction. I will be packing both my Skeletool and my Wave, equipped with Bit Kit and a small adjustable wrench. It is always good to have versatile tools handy to deal with unpredictability.
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#291006 - 11/04/18 06:21 PM Re: Fowlers equipment for winning 'Alone'. [Re: quick_joey_small]
quick_joey_small Offline
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Registered: 01/13/09
Posts: 571
Loc: UK
> which often include equipment breakdowns and malfunction.


Really; I know american democracy is a very complex, complicated, controversial subject, but I can't help thinking the UK 'put an x against the option you want' is a lot less hackable. There is a paper slip for every vote. Any candidate who wants to object is welcome to see the actual votes.

qjs

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#291007 - 11/04/18 06:35 PM Re: Fowlers equipment for winning 'Alone'. [Re: quick_joey_small]
hikermor Offline
Geezer in Chief
Geezer

Registered: 08/26/06
Posts: 7705
Loc: southern Cal
Voting system vary across the USA, according to the individual county. Our systems (Ventura County, Caliornia) uses a paper ballot which is electronically scanned and recorded. The paper ballot is retained in case of the need for a recount until the storage space is needed for the next election. The tallying, and all phases of the casting and processing of ballots is open to public view. It is mostly like watching paint dry...

Not all systems rely on paper ballots and there are recent stories of unaccountable glitches in some systems, which is a really serious problem.

I have been working as a part time employee in elections for nearly two decades and it has been really gratifying to see the strenuous efforts to secure an accurate count of the ballots, time after time...

Anyway, a good multi-tool rules, whether in the wilderness or in the polling place....

Mods: I know this is inching toward the forbidden "P" word, but the intent is to make these comments strictly non-partisan



Edited by hikermor (11/04/18 08:01 PM)
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#291008 - 11/04/18 08:02 PM Re: Fowlers equipment for winning 'Alone'. [Re: hikermor]
chaosmagnet Offline
Sheriff
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 12/03/09
Posts: 3819
Loc: USA
Originally Posted By: hikermor
Mods: I know this is inching toward the forbidden "P" word, but the intent is to make these comments strictly non-partisan


So far so good.

Voting is good. If you’re eligible to vote, please do so.

Election security is offtopic which means that here, in Campfire, is the right place to discuss it.


chaosmagnet

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#291009 - 11/04/18 08:45 PM Re: Fowlers equipment for winning 'Alone'. [Re: quick_joey_small]
Phaedrus Offline
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 04/28/10
Posts: 3148
Loc: Big Sky Country
Fowler is a semi-regular poster at another forum I'm on. As evidenced in his videos he seems to be a zany guy! One of the "items" that probably helped him was a gut- he was pretty portly when the show started. But pretty skinny when it ended.
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#291010 - 11/04/18 09:13 PM Re: Fowlers equipment for winning 'Alone'. [Re: quick_joey_small]
Phaedrus Offline
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 04/28/10
Posts: 3148
Loc: Big Sky Country
He did have my favorite multitool, the Victorinox Spirit X, which has a pretty good large SAK blade. Along with the axe and large crosscut saw I'd say he was well covered for cutting tools (ie 30% of his items!).
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#291011 - 11/05/18 07:27 AM Re: Fowlers equipment for winning 'Alone'. [Re: quick_joey_small]
quick_joey_small Offline
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Registered: 01/13/09
Posts: 571
Loc: UK
phaedrus wrote:
> One of the "items" that probably helped him was a gut- he was pretty portly when the show started. But pretty skinny when it ended.

Since all you have to do is stay there the longest to win, one could sneak in tons of spare calories by gaining 150 pounds and almost guarantee winning.

He said he didn't regard it as a survival situation it's a homesteading situation.
Well yes; if you don't mind your homestead coming with a 6 month life expectancy......

wikipedia:
'The third season premiered on December 8, 2016. The winner, Zachary Fowler, had lost 70 lbs (a third of his starting body weight) before the end of his stay. The person who stayed the second-longest, Carleigh Fairchild, was pulled out because, at 101 lbs, she had lost nearly 30% of her starting body weight and had a BMI of 16.8. Participants were automatically "pulled" at a BMI of 17 or less. The fourth longest stayer, Dave Nessia, was pulled out when, due to inadequate caloric intake, his systolic pressure barely exceeded his diastolic pressure (80/60 mmHg), putting him in danger of death due to inadequate perfusion of the internal organs.'

Like all the Survivorman episodes I've seen. Trying to survive in the wilderness seems to be basically a slow death sentence.
qjs

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#291012 - 11/05/18 02:10 PM Re: Fowlers equipment for winning 'Alone'. [Re: quick_joey_small]
hikermor Offline
Geezer in Chief
Geezer

Registered: 08/26/06
Posts: 7705
Loc: southern Cal
Interesting stuff...Are you really 'alone" when a medical team comes by to check your BMI and you can end the experience at any time, your option? I think this shows the basic artificiality of these "reality" shows. They don't reflect real life at all.

Consider an actual WWII survival story-Poon Lim adrift for 133 days in the S Atlantic in 1942. He was the sole occupant of a life raft with food and water for 50 days, but did the rest of his stint surviving in rainwater and fish. He was reported to be in good physical condition when rescued and I'll bet he wasn't overweight when he began his ordeal.

If I am ever stranded, you can bet a significant effort will be made to make my presence known; I won't be attempting to prolong the situation. I am not that good a hunter or fisher....
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#291013 - 11/05/18 06:22 PM Re: Fowlers equipment for winning 'Alone'. [Re: hikermor]
DaveL Offline
Journeyman

Registered: 10/03/18
Posts: 90
Loc: Colorado Springs,CO
Yep look for the large smoke signals, I am to skinny to stay very long

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#291014 - 11/06/18 05:52 AM Re: Fowlers equipment for winning 'Alone'. [Re: hikermor]
rafowell Offline
Enthusiast

Registered: 11/29/09
Posts: 258
Loc: Southern California
Originally Posted By: hikermor
... Consider an actual WWII survival story-Poon Lim adrift for 133 days in the S Atlantic in 1942. He was the sole occupant of a life raft with food and water for 50 days, but did the rest of his stint surviving in rainwater and fish. ..

I learned the Poon Lim story after spotting a photo of him being presented with one of the first engineered US signal mirrors by the head of the US agency responsible for developing equipment for safety of life at sea, the Committee on Emergency Rescue Equipment.

Poon Lim Signal Mirror Presentation, Aug 1943

This news story describes Poon's technique for catching seagulls:

Article on Poon Lim Ordeal, Nov. 1943

There's a pretty good overview on Wikipedia:

Poon Lim article on Wikipedia
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A signal mirror should backup a radio distress signal, like a 406 MHz PLB (ACR PLB) (Ocean Signal PLB)

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#291015 - 11/06/18 01:13 PM Re: Fowlers equipment for winning 'Alone'. [Re: rafowell]
hikermor Offline
Geezer in Chief
Geezer

Registered: 08/26/06
Posts: 7705
Loc: southern Cal
Great article, with many more details than the source I have. Ingenuity is a key ingredient in survival.
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#291022 - 11/07/18 05:35 AM Re: Fowlers equipment for winning 'Alone'. [Re: quick_joey_small]
Phaedrus Offline
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 04/28/10
Posts: 3148
Loc: Big Sky Country
Originally Posted By: quick_joey_small


Like all the Survivorman episodes I've seen. Trying to survive in the wilderness seems to be basically a slow death sentence.
qjs



To be fair though both shows had many arbitrary rules that a normal person would not have. On 'Alone' the contestants were pretty much assigned areas that they weren't allowed to leave. IRL you'd move to find resources. Also guns were not allowed and all game and fishing laws had to be observed. In a real survival situation you'd do whatever it takes to stay alive.
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“I'd rather have questions that cannot be answered than answers that can't be questioned.” —Richard Feynman

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#292550 - 06/24/19 09:20 PM Re: Fowlers equipment for winning 'Alone'. [Re: quick_joey_small]
willpo Offline
Stranger

Registered: 06/24/19
Posts: 15
Fowler had no idea what was what. If he hadn't had 70 lbs on carleigh, she'd have beaten him within 2 months. He had 80 days of staying power on her, right there, and caught 60 fish, to her 6 fish. he wasted all sorts of time and energy, on a shelter, on firewood, on traps, on a fishing dock, on steps and handrails. What he should have done was make a pontoon outriggger raft, using the pants of the rainsuit, the backpack, the camera case, the life vest the spare pair of clothes, the airhorn, the bear spray, as pontoons, so that it wouldn't matter if his local wood floated well. The above items provide 6x the needed flotation potential for a man. So just use the craft to move on down the lakeshore with ease, including all your gear It can be built in one day, so why not? he's supposed to be a 'boat-builder", eh? Get where the hills next to your lakeshore aint so steep. Stick to a small tarp shelter, until it's really cold, then use a dugout stuffed full of debris, so you dont need to heat it with wood. If he'd put in 1/4 as much effort, making netting out of the 2 person hammock, the 12x12 tarp and half of the 20x20 tarp, he'd have caught 600 fish and burned a lot less calories while doing so.

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