Ever notice on the Net that there is an abundance of survival "experts" and "guru's ". Look Even I have a blog HAHA . I take the joke most can't. Most folks on the web really have not tried everything that they preach. I am guilty of it as well when it comes to certain preps, many others are to . We are all human we all procrastinate ,get lazy and just assume. You know what they say about that dont you !
Practice what you preach.
I've personally made it a goal since I first starting posting about survival topics on the net a few years back to only post about what I know and what I have tried and tested!
Most of my topics are gear or skill related. We can see some of that carrying over in our movies at the P.A.W productions youtube channel. There is several BOB,GHB and kit movies along with a few reviews of common grain mills. The main reason for that is that I dont enjoy posting about "what if's ". You've seen them if you have been to any blog or forum that is survival or preparedness related. " what if the market crashes.." or "what if the election goes sour and....".
Most folks thrive on these topics becuase the only thing they have to work out is their fingers and their imagination! Brain work is good, but hands on work set's those ideas to stone!
Ever read about making fire from a bow drill or simple flint and steel? Ever do it in the rain or tired and hungry, how about under stress? That is where reality meets fiction. To many read and study on how to do stuff but have failed to try even it. A few years back at one of the hikes that i hosted we had some basic fire building and starting course's put on by some volunteer instructors. After a short talk about fire making skills everyone took out their fire starter of choice, gathered their tinder and went to work. Needless to say 25 minutes later most did not have a fire going or if they did it went out after a few seconds!
It is not that they didn't know how to use a fire steel or mag bar. It is just that they did not practice basic fire building! Anyone can drag a rasp across flint and make a spark, it is monkey stupid. It is what they do with that spark that shows if they have done it. If they have practiced what they preach. So there we were a bunch of frustrated campers not impressed by their fancy blast matches,fire steels or mag bars. Magnify that stress in a real event! At this point one of the volunteer's that was helping with the course asked everyone to hold up their tinder. Pencil sized sticks, leaves, wet/green sticks. The volunteer held out his when asked by a camper. There in his hand was a baseball sized "fluff"ball of grass. While everyone was man handling their fire starters whittling them down to tooth picks he sat there watching, rolling the dried grass and leaves back and forth in his hand. Want to know how many strikes on the fire steel it took to get his fire going. One.
This is not just a story about a guy who made a fast fire. It is about how many assume how their gear or they themselves will perform when needed. I will tell you 20 minutes of not being able to make a fire in front of other "survivalist" from the net is a stressful even to some folks! The fact that the volunteer just sat back ,relaxed and took his time made it worse for them . That is because he had done this 100 times before , He had practiced what he preached!
Take that into account when your looking at other preps that you have be it your fighting gear, your rifle, your dutch over or something as simple as a pair of socks.
You have to test yourself just as hard as your gear. Remember these are items that you are depending on to save your life, to survive with! I dont know about you but having a PDF print out of how to make bread wont do me any good if i waste food trying it for the 1st time during an event or looking back and saying " hey didn't i read that blog where that guy said......."
Train,test, learn and prepare. Do not rely on information you have not tested, it is that simple. Get out there try it yourself and make your choices based on your experience's, not on what I or anyone has said will work! Then you can sit back,relax, and KNOW for a fact that you can practice what you've been preaching with 100% reliability!
Bob
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7 comments:
Bob I realy like your videos on utube. I have some information you may or may not know.I have discovered a product,called survival tabs.(survivaltabs.com)They are very compact and portable.The company has been around for decades,and there product has been tested.resently the FDA put a disclamer up saying that the tabs do not meet FDA standards.But if you know anything about the FDA then you know they are a bunch of money grubing frauds.look into this product,thanks again for the cool videos. Dan---from north central Idaho.
Bob if you wish to e-mail me, here is my address--- cavemandm8@hotmail.com Dan from north central Idaho.
Thank you for this post. Seems simple, really, but it got me moving in the right direction. I am still learning, but the first thing I tested was my food tolerance.
For instance, I can get plenty of oats, but do not usually eat them, so I tried them out. Tastes great and can be fixed up a variety of ways. But I learned that oats do not quite agree with me.
A small matter, and I will experiment. But as it could be said: better to learn now than to think I have all this stored food that will not have the most positive or healthy effect, when necessary.
Also, I realize you were writing about equipment not necessarily food testing, but the principle of testing to be knowledgeable can still apply. :-)
Great point. I try real hard to make it clear when I have done something or if I am just musing about an idea.
Hey Bob,
Great info you're putting out there and a fantastic service you're providing. I've been up to my neck doing just the same as you're doing here in these vids for the past year or more. Had I found these clips it would've taken out a lot of the "searching on the net" to find out the pros and cons of different ideas on how to do it. One might add that with the avail. of large bags of legumes and other products that can be bought in bulk from distributors in 40-50 pound bags, that it would be very beneficial for folks to invest a little time in learning how to cook from the basics. So many now are into to the "tear open and microwave" foods, that folks have lost contact with what our grandparents did ie: cooking a kettle of food, or soaking beans, etc. A little learning now, can avoid the learning from scratch while you're having to eat the scratch process. Some spices, salt etc. will go a long way in delivering hearty great tasting meals, which can be a real morale booster when the it hits the shan.. :D
anyways, you rock and please continue as well as branch out into other topics that folks can utilize. I strongly suspect you've a plethora of knowledge on other topics, yes-yes. Tash
Thanks for all the info; You mentioned in the videos that you can buy feed from a local animal feed supply store. I live in South Florida and its impossible to find a local supplier for 50lb whole grains(wheat,oats etc) other than a feed store for the whole grains. Can you please advise as to which feed is the best?Brand or supplier etc, when i called the feed stores they said its not for human consumption b/c the grains are run and processed and packed on the same conveyer belts as the mixed animal feed products, pesticides etc? Also the grains are sprayed with corn/vegetable oil to eliminate dust(wouldn't this outer layer of sprayed oil decrease the long term food storage) Please Help and advise, Thanks again
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