Given the limited options and the potential to scavenge scrap, it's honestly one of the best options to have. Thought exercises with the potential items to take is always a fun game, though some items on the list are just utterly confusing.
Here’s a list of the standard items and their specifications: 1 pair of gaiters 1 pair of waterproof Arctic winter boots 1 fleece/wool shirt 2 pairs of thermal underwear 1 Waterproof un-insulated shell/Jacket or un-insulated, windproof anorak 2 hats (brimmed, wool, fur, arctic, or baseball) 1 pair of eyeglasses 2 pairs of underwear/briefs 1 pair of high-leg hunting boots 1 Insulated Parka-style Jacket or Anorak-style Jacket. No system-style or multi-layer jackets. 6 pairs of wool socks 1 leather belt 2 wool, fleece or cotton sweaters 1 T-shirt 4 pairs of gloves 2 pair of bushcraft pants/bibs (can unzip into shorts) 1 shemagh OR scarf 2 buffs or neck gaiter 1 personal photograph 1 toothbrush 1 pair of fully insulated or waterproof winter pants/bibs 1 hiking or bushcraft backpackShelter/Hygiene Ground cover cloth or tarp (12×12 max) – See our guide to the best bushcraft tarps for some options. 8-mm climbing rope (10 meters max) 550 Paracord (80 meters max) – an essential part of my bushcraft gear. 1 sleeping bag 3-mm cotton cord (40 meters max; must be non-waxed) 1 sleeping pad 1 bivy bag 1 bar of soap 1 hammock (See our Haven Tent Hammock Review) 1 tube of toothpaste (8 oz) 1 shaving razor 1 face flannel Dental floss (40 mm) 1 small bio shower soap 1 towel 1 comb 1 shaving razorCooking & Food 1 roll of single-filament fish line up to 20 lbs weight test (300 yards) and 35 barbless hooks 1 primitive recurve bow (or longbow) and 9 arrows 1 small gill net 1 net foraging bag 2 lbs of trapping wire 1 slingshot, 30 ball bearings, and 1 replacement band Various Emergency Rations (type and amount vary each season) 3 lbs of one solid salt block 1 large pot 1 steel frying pan (no more than 2 quarts) 1 flint or Ferro rod (or equivalent) 1 enamel bowl for eating 1 spoonFurthermore, participants cannot take more than two food selections.Tools/ Weapons/ Other 1 pocket knife (four-inch blade max) 1 hunting knife 1 survival multi-tool (or similar) 1 sharpening stone 1 roll of duct tape 1 small shovel 1 small sewing kit 1 carabiner 1 LED flashlight or headlamp (no batteries) 50 feet of hose (no more than 1 inch in diameter) Machete Axe Adze 2-Hand draw knife Scotch-eyed auger Pair of ice spikes
not sure we also saw a sharpening stone, which would have been quite logical in the earlier seasons
so Vidar, now the question is what would be your 10 items?
Ok, I'll play. It is difficult though and just 10 items would require some hard prioritizing. Assuming they get to know the location up front, and that it is arctic at some level but still with at least small trees and not permafrost. (Only environment I have a grain of an idea about). I think of those 10 items at least 3 are a given. Sleeping bagPot Ferro rodFor shelter I would be looking to dig in deep. And keep it small and tight to make it easier to warm. I'd look for a natural spot with 2-3 three sides sloping enough to be made into thick natural walls to reduce digging and help with wind proofing and insulation. To help with the shelter I'd go with: AxeParacord (also for making a gill net)- and that pot better have a shape or lid that can help with digging. Food is crucial and locations seems to be unpredictable. So I'd try to be versatile and include:Trapping wirePrimitive bow with arrowsFishing line and hooksAnd given the post above I would have include the sugar and salt to try that. And of course a multi-tool! Sugar and saltMultitool(Of those not chosen pemmican food pack, saw, shovel and ground tarp seemed very tempting).
You know you can't just say 'multitool' so vaguely on here, come on, which one would you take
What season was the sugar and salt mix from? I only remember the salt as a single item, a guy in one of the more recent seasons had a massive chunk of himalayan salt he'd shave with a knife.
*Salt is a good choice imo, there was one woman that started eating her own snot to preserve electrolytes.
I'd bring my own design if that is allowed. Actually, come to think of it I'd consider making a special one for Alone with less emphasis on portability and more on the tool side. Brain droppings: Maybe some 14-16 cm long or so. Long sturdy knife blades, big saw, small knife blade for whittling spoons and what not, pliers, tweezers, long awl, wood shaver, sewing needle, surgical blade, magnifying glass, possibly scissors, easy to clean. No bit drivers, wine openers, pens or stuff urban stuff like that. I wonder if one can work in a fixed size round bolt cutting function too? (Matching the big awl sized hole). For wood assembly and possibly round arrows. I just followed one of Styx links, Elemental Bushcraft I think, and it was an option. No idea what season that list was from.Does that work? I would imagine electrolytes leave the body other places...?
It doesn't really work, you could never make a meaningful dent in electrolyte loss like that. It was more an act of desperation from someone running on fumes.
*SPOILER ALERT*Being somewhat of a data guy, I couldn’t resist analyzing what the winners of each of the first ten seasons took. Again, this is only looking at winners, not all participants or the average participant. I think there are some interesting insights:100% of the winners took an axe or hatchet. Individual choices varied from smaller hatchets to larger axes.100% of the winners took a saw. Individual choices varied from folding pack/bushcraft saws to large crosscut saws. Note that these are all dedicated saws; smaller MT saws are not counted here.90% of winners took a ferro rod. There are of course more primitive ways to start a fire, but the ferro rod is so much faster and easier that almost all participants thought it merited a spot in their gear.90% of winners took a pot, primarily for boiling water and cooking food. The one winner who did not take a pot opted for a frying pan instead.90% of winners took a sleeping bag. Seems like a clear choice to me.80% selected snare wire.80% selected a fishing kit. With the amount of line and number of hooks included for a single item, as well as the relative success some participants have had fishing, this seems like a pretty obvious choice to me.80% of winners took a MT. It is worth noting that the season 1 & season 2 winners were the two who did not take a MT, so no one has won without a MT in the last 8 seasons. Personally, I would go with a LM Surge. It’s a heavy duty PBMT, and the removable diamond file could be used to keep all blades sharp, including those on the Surge itself.60% chose paracord. For something that many consider a bushcraft/survival mainstay, I was a bit surprised this number wasn’t higher.60% chose a bow & arrows. My initial inclination was to be a bit skeptical of this choice, considering it to offer a somewhat low probability of significant success. Only three contestants have managed to take down a large animal, but when they do, it is a game changer; all three ended up winning their seasons. Also, some contestants have managed to take smaller game.So, if we’re picking by the numbers, our ten items would be:- Axe or Hatchet- Saw (dedicated saw, larger than MT size)- Ferro Rod- Pot- Sleeping Bag- Snare Wire- Fishing Kit (line + hooks)- MT- Paracord- Bow & ArrowsLess commonly selected items…40% of winners took a gill net.30% took a fixed blade knife (and only one of these was after the first two seasons). I thought this was interesting, considering a fixed blade is often regarded as a survival/bushcraft staple. I believe the moral of the story is that, if you have a large MT with a couple of blades, a saw, and a hatchet or axe, you are pretty well set for cutting whatever needs to be cut without the fixed blade. In contrast, if you only get one cutting tool to do everything (e.g. Naked and Afraid) from shelter building to fire prep and maintenance to food prep, then a large and heavy fixed blade knife is probably your best option.Direct consumption food items were not commonly chosen. Only two of the winners took emergency rations, and just one winner took two pounds of flour and two pounds of trail mix. I suspect this is because the quantity of food offered is quite small relative to what will be needed to complete the challenge. A typical food item from the list is 2-3 pounds, and contestants are not allowed to take more than two direct consumption food items. This is a drop in the bucket when you consider that Alone contestants have had to survive anywhere from 56 to 100 days in the wild in order to win their seasons. The calculus could of course change if larger quantities of food were offered as items (e.g. 50 pounds of _____ as one item), but I don’t foresee that happening.As noted above, one winner took a frying pan in lieu of the much more popular pot.I might have seriously considered a 12’ x 12’ tarp, but only one winner selected this, so it clearly isn’t critical.I might have seriously considered a small shovel, but again, only one winner chose this, so not vital to success.One winner took the slingshot, which also comes with 30 BBs and a replacement band. This was back in season 3.One winner took a bivy bag. He also selected a sleeping bag. I understand the general use of bivy bags, but with the strict limit on number of items allowed I’m not sure I follow the logic here.One winner took a canteen, and this was all the way back in season 1. If the challenge were to hike from point A to point B, then I could understand this choice. Or if he chose a large, wide mouth, all metal canteen in lieu of a pot maybe, but he selected a pot as well. With the challenge being basically to live at a fixed campsite for as long as possible, I don’t really understand this choice.I used the lists of items from this article:https://survivalstoic.com/alone-gear-list/
Canteen: I can see plenty of value in this. Being able to carry safe water with you allows for ranging further afield, it can be used as a hot water bottle, and generally as a water reservoir. Mutliple people complained about having to constantly boil water to drink, a canteen would reduce time/energy/mental toll of this. Whether all of that is worth an item slot is obviously debatable, but there are tangible benefits.
Boiling water didn't even cross my mind as I assumed these locations were supposed to be way off in the wild. I guess that shows my blind spots from assuming similar conditions elsewhere. Over here I'd happily drink water in big lakes or any running water unless near or downhill from agriculture or animal herding. Likewise we drink tap water without issue. Maybe some locations have known bacteria issues? (I remember when the shops started selling bottled water to tourists around here in the 90s. Back then we thought that was both crazy and funny, but tourists of course didn't know or trust the water and thus there was a market).
dang, that was one hell of an analysis.to me, snare wire would be more useful as a building material than actually for snaring. I have a feeling that in earlier seasons participants had a bit more unpredictability in some of their choices. we had a guy with a kukri, with a shovel, etc.now there are 3 brands of saws from what I saw, 1 for multitools, maybe 2 if someone does take a fixed blade. even pots are mostly all universal, though that could probably be tied to having to cover up brand names and logos.
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