A true tale of survival with a twist.

Photo by author (note the story did not take place on komodo island)

If one travels the globe enough, and I don't mean staying in posh hotels or even youth hostels, the latter can of course provide countless traveller's tales; one will find themselves maybe in some situation which was far from satisfactory, maybe even in peril; fact. As a traveller as apposed to a "tourist" I really do enjoy the real "off the beaten track" travels. However, these sorts of trips can yield many unexpected delights but can also come with many unexpected problems. 

As long as one can talk about it later, learn from it and have a good laugh if possible. Here is one such story about some travels of mine and a friend. I decided to tell it now after many years, mainly because i just got sick and tired of all of the survival BS in the media and social media; popularised by Mr Grylls and Co. and TV ratings of key broadcasters. Maybe the following isn't very exciting but it certainly was at the time for us.

Now let's have a real unexpected situation:

You have decided to go camping on an island in the tropics which is uninhabited. The island is a short distance off shore but too far to swim to the mainland due to fierce currents and possible shark attacks during the long swim. About 5kms let's say. You plan to be there for just 2 nights and three days. You have no mobile phone (there isn't a mobile signal anyway), you have no satellite phone-who are you going to call in another country anyway??? (it's a quick trip anyway). 

What you do have is an agreement based upon money, for which your transport guy will come back to the island (if he wants to get paid in full) and pick you up on the fourth day). 

You take 20 Litres of water with you. Water can be dug on the island but only with some effort. You take the following things:

1. Quality made Expedition tent
2. 1 quality carbon fibre 3 piece fishing rod and two quality Japanese made Yozuri lures and quality Japanese fishing reel with 20lb. line.

3. Waterproof jackets, two diving masks, one snorkel, one pair of diving gloves, one set of dive fins.

4. One Leatherman multitool, one parang -no scabbard (locally made and second hand-bought from the hands of the guy who was using it on a coconut  processing farm for about $5 USD! (The handle BTW was wood (some sort of hardwood), fixed by a brazed brass ring- compression- to a partial tang with a pin.)

5 Matches, cigarette lighter and a fire steel.

6. Food for 3 days (includes several large green coconuts)

7. Two people

8. First aid and basic medication such as Iodine and lots of it!

9. One multi-fuel stove with enough fuel for several days.

10. Basically the clothes we were wearing, no shoes or boots. (note we had been travelling and camping wild for several weeks and our feet were like leather LOL).



Prior knowledge: 

There are zero trees on the island except for one small shrub under 2 metres in height. No it wasn't any kind of fruit tree LOL! There is a derelict fisherman's hut about 2mX2m square, half falling down. There is a small patch approx 7mX4m of cassava growing, intended for stranded fishermen (anyone is allowed to use it within reason.

You have it on good assurance some of that cassava will be ready for digging.

The weather forecast is good, no tropical storms.

You are told that the boatman is reliable and the father in law of the guy who you left all of your camping stuff that you didn't plan to take with you to the island. However you do not know these guys from a bar of soap!

However, as not to get distracted, you will see we did not take with us any huge numbers of knives, only those as listed above. We carefully choose the Leatherman as we could use some of its functions to repair or maintain the fishing gear and or take the lure out of the mouth of tropical fish with very big teeth.

I did in fact purchase (with great amusement and astonishment) a parang (as mentioned) which was being used at the time of offer from a guy hacking off the husks of coconuts in a small roadside business on the mainland. I could see it was well made and had seen some use but no loose handle and a good sharp blade. He gladly parted company with it in exchange for 5 USD and even put a super edge upon it for me into the bargain (BTW I still have this parang today! but hanging on the wall now, as a reminder of what survival can mean).
We wanted a reliable largish knife that could be, if necessary dig with and of course hack open the coconuts we took with us in the small launch to the island.


One needs to think carefully about planning trips where if things were to go wrong then you would be really screwed if not prepared. We were only 5 or less kilometres from the mainland but it may as well have been 20 due to strong currents at this particular time of year.

If the boatman did not return after 4 days?
Ok no probs, we could dig for water and eat cassava (cooked of course)-there was in fact lots of drift wood to burn.

Now things were going pretty good for the two of us, basically idea, I'd say: Caught huge fish, BBQued it, went snorkelling and  were having a great time until...........

Until a small "home made" sail boat came towards the island with two largish teenagers aboard. At first they were friendly ad quite perplexed as to why two non natives were on this island, then even helped out with some tricks of cooking food without a metal grill (more on this later). But then things turned sour in an unexpected way, when I had my back to them and heard my companion call my name in what could have only been the  of a very concerned, if not frightened tone of voice. I turned immediately and saw that one of these guys (the other was smiling and looking very keen) was jerking off in front of her and made known they were very interested in the blonde woman. 

Many things immediately crossed my mind. Do I reach for my machete and ward them off? Do I yell at them and swear (using of course that universal translated F word)? or do I do something else? Let's face it, there were two burly teenagers, who could maybe overpower me if it got wild (I was confident however my female companion would be able to fight if she had to). No I didn't race for the machete otherwise this could have definitely ended badly; I kept calm and made it known she was with me and that's it, no sharing (she wasn't with me but they had no idea about that). After some gesticulating that it was now time for them to set sail as they had outlived their welcome, off they went, even smiling as they pushed off and their little craft's single sail took the wind.

The internet is full of BS about "survival" and especially survival knives and how to use them etc etc. I learnt that day that survival has nothing to do with knives but only to do with keeping your head and whilst we were totally kitted out for even cyclone weather on this small (I can walk around it in minutes) island in the Indonesian archipelago, we were not in the least expecting any such trouble was what had happened.

Little did we know that further travels would have the both of us (including the remaining 20 or so passengers of a small mini bus) all held at gun point by a bunch of mercenaries! 

To make it even more insane of how i commenting to my companion; "look they're making a movie here, look at all of those guns and weapons"! (except there were NO cameras, no food trucks, no generator trucks, no lighting trucks and no director. Well there was a sort of "director" but he was in fatigues and armed to the teeth!............. Stay tuned and i'll recount this story soon.

This is taken from an earlier blog.

Uninhabited islands, Big knives and Fishing

The reason why you should always take a big knife and small knife with you into the wilds

Survival with a twist!

BCT

Wisdom Miner's Cap Lamp 12LM Perfect for Caving Adventures

 The New Wisdom Miner's Cap Lamp KL12M Review.

by BushCampingTools: (caving since 1978 WOO HOO!)

Super bright LED caving lamp from Wisdom

Deceptively small, the New Wisdom Miner's Cap Lamp  KL12M fits easily in the palm of your hand!

Quartz halogen and lower current incandescent bulbs being a thing of the past, 

Seen here a typical sized battery of old (in this case a Russian made miner's cap lamp made from HDPE, both the case and head lamp itself- It has been converted it to run off 18650 lithium ion batteries and LEDs).

The above lamp is the new KL12M Lithium ion battery powered LED (CREE) headlamp, a mere fraction of the size for the battery- same size headlamp but with crazy waterproof specs! (see below).

it's important to note that the older QH bulbs on quality miner's cap lamps could throw a very very good light and spot, so in order for a LED equivalent to do the same, it must have good optics and LED driver circuit design in order to achieve good burn time at minimal temperature rise for the LED die. The New Wisdom Cap lamp model KL12M satisfies this requirement for the caver and search and rescue. In fact whilst on one S and R, we were all wearing cap lamps for extended run times and durability.  (they were not Wisdom's but much older MSA and or Oldham lights- all very extremely heavy and now outdated designs.

Wisdom, or NEW WISDOM INVESTMENTS is a company specialising in the manufacture of Mining lights to international safety standards. They also make a full range of charging racks for the mining industry.

Of the various miner's cap lamp models available from Wisdom, the KL12M represents the best entry level ones for the purposes of heavy duty caving. Other models for even greater extended times underground are available.

Waterproof to ridiculous depths >20m, they say IP68 diving certified!

Being waterproof is a must for caving, it means one can confidently perform "swim throughs" "duck unders" and basic swimming and or crawling in the water without fear that their lights will let them down.

Explosion proof rated.

Run time at high beam is 13 hours (standard model- there are 2 other models, one which provides 16 hr plus and one which provides 24hr plus of high beam lighting) at 28,000  Lux or 512 lumens (that's deadly super bright for caving) at 1m (standard version) and low beam, with a run time of approx 110 hr at low beam!!!!! 76 lumens or 5200 lux at 1m!

For technical caving it's very useful to have a good spot forming beam for many reasons and the New Wisdom KL12M certainly satisfies this requirement.

14000mAh Lithium Ion batteries

Fully charged in 5 hours!

Full Bayer polycarbonate body and cap construction.

The KL12M standard model is waterproof to >20m and explosion proof.

The charging system is the more familiar looking "twist" to unlock the outer contacts and lock onto the charging unit.

The fast charging unit for the cap lamp. Flashing green lamp indicates a fully charged light. Blinking Red and green, indicates a 90% charged light.

The Wisdom KL12M easily mounts to any standard configuration mining cap lamp bracket (here seen on a Petzl Ecrin). This cap lamp cord exits the top of the light and not via a more traditional sideways exit. I believe this has certain advantages for less stress on the connection. A possible drawback maybe the cable runs over the top of the helmet and a possible head plant into the cave roof may damage the cable although my many years caving experience tells me that these cables are pretty much indestructible LOL!

The Wisdom KL12M cap lamp came with an anti-scratch plastic insert to protect the glass- soon to be removed.  But just another small but nice thing to see about this product.

Using industrial rubber adhesives (Silyl modified polymers) to affix a stainless steel cap lamp bracket.

Excellent reflector producing a powerful beam from CREE LEDs.

You can also see their products here:

Now let's take it underground!!

LATEST NEWS!!!!!

SeeVideo field review now!

BCT

Extrema Ratio DMP Tactical Medium sized Drop Point Superb!

 Extrema Ratio DMP Tactical Medium sized Drop Point Superb!

I know, many will be saying: "At last, Extrema Ratio has released a medium sized multi-purpose Drop point, about time"!

Certain forums have had access to drop point knives made specifically for them but the general public as a whole have not. This much recapitulated knife design is such because it simply works however, it is possible to get it wrong in designing a drop point and the DMP is far from that! The Extrema Ratio DMP features a useful sized finger guard to prevent accidental hand slippage onto the blade during "vigorous" activities; and even sports a small amount of gimping! This Extrema Ratio DMP, like many of the more recent releases from Extrema Ratio also features an absolutely no nonsense thumb gimping, of which the edge finish is just ever so slightly rounded so as not to destroy ones fingers/thumb and provide a superb grip under wet or slimy conditions.

The Extrema Ratio DMP is a full flat grind with a small shallow blood groove/fuller on both sides of the blade. Clearly designed with tactical applications in mind, the Extrema Ratio DMP knife will, I believe also satisfy the wants/needs/desires of the outdoor's persons who want a drop point but until now have not had this on offer from Extrema before. There are many advantages of this tactical knife for the outdoors persons, namely:

1/ Easy to keep clean, uncoated stainless steel blade with good corrosion resistance upon continual immersion.

2/ Scabbard is unaffected by moisture and high humidity

3/ Proven usefulness of a drop point blade for hunting and Camping activities.

4/ Easily carried/transported

5/ Beefy construction, one fixing bolt but not too heavy.

6/ All weather use without gloves.

7/ Can be carried whilst hunting as the scabbard is silent and the retention system will prevent accidental knife loss if stalking/crawling (nearly lost my Puma like that on several occasions!).

The Extrema Ratio DMP could be the camp knife you have been waiting for from them :)!

There is a full sized "full tang". ie no holes or milling except for the fixing bolt (same arrangement as seen in the Giant Mamba). Ok maybe many will argue this isn't a "full tang" so i will clarify what i define as a full tang. No milling holes or slots within the tang, wider than 1cm, protruding to the end of the handle and either as wide as the knife blade itself or almost as wide as the knife blade (in this case).The definitions are rife on the internet because one could have a tang which is as wide as the handle but for obvious reasons is not as wide as the blade itself. In fact, most useable knives are constructed as such. Some ay this is a "concealed tang"; it really doesn't matter too much this classification as the current dimensions of the DMP tang is such that it is more than strong enough and whilst i would never recommend the following I reckon one could hang off this tang like a piton for climbing, so there!

The spine/tang thickness will satisfy many at 6.3mm, no need to be paranoid about tangs, this is more than strong enough. No tools are required to strip this knife in case it requires a full clean (eg immersion in sea water/prolonged use in dirty freshwater/contaminated liquids etc.).

You can see from the image below that the full spine thickness is almost from the hilt to the tip. Whilst the tip of the spine has been thinned down, the "beefiness" can be seen in the next image.

Extrema Ratio are calling this a "reinforced tip", in other words the swedge does not end in a "false edge" as seen on so many "military" type products.

There is also no upper guard which can be restrictive for use outside of the military arena, hence the knife is correctly deemed "Multipurpose".

Made in Italy and serial numbered, quality construction we have know to be synonymous with the ER branding. Individually inspected before leaving the factory and a full warranty.

If you are already an Extrema Ratio owner, then you will not need any introduction to their superb, truly ergonomic Forprene grips. If however, this is the first time for you, these grips  can appear somewhat crazy in their design however rest assured, there is NOTHIN crazy in this design. The grip is super comfortable in wet or dry hands, gloves on or off. Cold (sub zero) or the boiling hot Australian desert !**

Able to effectively absorb shock from impact, resist a plethora of chemicals and UV radiation, Forprene in this design simply works. The grip also resists a twisting motion within the hands and of course like all ergonomically thought out grips; tapers towards the back end because as i have said a million times, that's how the human hand closes.

The carry system

The carry system is almost the same as seen in the Giant Mamba; ie a glass reinforced Nylon no nonsense, impossible to get clogged with dirt (free draining) and prevent extraction in a hurry, scabbard, rigid and providing good safety features.

The Extrema Ratio DMP knife comes with an elasticised  leg strap, which can be removed for a "bare bones" carry, although upon doing so the press stud strap feature is lost however, this allows for strapping the molle compatible sheath to a vest or pack.

The Extrema Ratio DMP has been designed with versatility in mind.

There is a lever actuated quick release and it provides a sure locking mechanism for the knife and we also see a nylon webbing double snap press stud handle retention strap fitted for extra security when one is on the run. The scabbard is also anti rattle by introducing a small rubber shock absorber (for want of a better word) into the sheath (see above image-upper righthand side).

The release lever can be ordered for either right of left handed people.

Of course it goes to say the Böhler N690 stainless Cobalt steel business end of the knife was deadly sharp out of the box.

**

The Extrema Ratio DMP knife and scabbard comes in a range of colors, such as: Ranger Green (my model), Desert, Wolf Grey, Black and HCS; enough to suit all users/end uses, whether military or civilian. Clearly a knife design which is begging to be used and not looked at on a shelf.

b                              

Just a final note here, remember with this knife/scabbard system, if one removes the pommel whilst the knife is in the scabbard, then the knife can come out of the scabbard very easily as the handle plays an integral part in the retention of this blade within the sheath, just like the Giant Mamba.

Anyway, this was just a quick overview from me. Stay tuned for a proper field review of this the Extrema Ratio DMP being used as I deem fit.

 You can also check it out here:

You can now watch it in action here

BCT