March 2016 -

Camping Basics Part 1 Episode 95

March 30, 2016March 30, 2016 James Burnette

Camping Basics

This is a solo week after the two week break. James got hit with a sore throat and couldn’t talk and Mike went to Disney Land. I am back with a show on camping. I cover a few of the basics of camping in this part 1.

The focus of part one is on shelters and fire. I cover a few of the types of shelter and their strengths and weaknesses. Ending on why everyone should just own a hammock.

In the fire section I talk about how to make a fire. What tools to use, favorite tinder. I talk about two methods of building a fire. My prefered way is to build a fire teepee. For me it just works the best.

Smart Phone Apps For Survival 94

March 9, 2016September 22, 2020 James Burnette 3 Comments

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Smart Phone Apps For Survival

This week Mike and I talk about how to use smart phone apps for survival. Now that everyone has a smartphone on them why not use it as a survival tool. Many of the apps can and should be used as additions to stand alone devices. Phones can become damaged or run out of charge. A good compass does not need to be charged. But there’s no reason to not have a compass app on your phone.

Even without service many of these tools will still work. One of my favorite is the Serval mesh app. It creates a local area network to send and receive phone calls and texts on the network. As long as there is wifi signal between the devices you can make calls. It does not have to be internet connected. In fact one device can be used to create the ad hoc wifi network. The only problem is distance that way.

A flashlight app is another must have app for survival. It’s a decently bright light with you everywhere you go. Even if you carry a dedicated ecd light an extra light is good. You can leave one light on strobe mode to help find your way back to camp.

As always if you like the show please rate and review in iTunes.

Picking a Survival Knife Episode 93

March 2, 2016June 23, 2022 James Burnette 1 Comment

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Picking A Survival Knife

This week Mike and I tackle picking a survival knife. We focus on how to find the right knife or blade system for your area. Not all systems work well everywhere. Jeff Radtke in Wisconsin has little need of a machete. Just like carrying an axe in Florida isn’t the best.

After location budget is the next big concern in picking a survival knife. You should get the best knife you can afford. It needs to be one of, if not the most, expensive items in your kit. Not saying you can not get by with a $17 Mora. In fact you should definitely own one. If you break on, which is hard to do, you aren’t out much money.

The knife is your main tool and should be high quality. I would not be happy to have my life depend on a cheap knife. You can’t take your money to the grave. I have a few hundred in my knives and they are all quality.

We list off a few recommendations. Knives that I have owned and used. We also talk about some to avoid.