"Snow Cruise" Pt 2 with Allie the Mtn Dog and Nutnfancy

Recipe for adventure: one female black lab, four to five feet of snow with more falling, a good shoeshoe hike in and out, knife and axe testing while setting up a survival shelter, and snowy firemaking in a remote area high in the Rocky Mountains. Taking place again in the "Nutnfancy Knife Clinic" (hey we haven't been here in awhile), the solitude we achieve in this winter wonderland is breath taking. But the work sure wasn't! Making a survival camp a reality in these conditions takes a lot work (hard to appreciate really until you do it!). Allie and I simulate a stuck-out survival situation in these harsh conditions and set up a survival campsite (using the portable Coghlans® brand orange plastic tube tent). This scenario was realistic and provided good gear testing opportunities. As I've done before, I show a lot of the work necessary to find and process standing deadwood into useable dry firewood with sharp edges that ignite more readily. We fall several dead trees in the process with the Cold Steel Trail Boss axe, Norse Tomahawk (very good performance for weight), and Sawvivor backpack saw and split a few other blades too (like the Dow Coated 3400A Ontario RAT-7 knife shown!). Some may say thinner wood could be used to build a fire but usually it is rain and moisture soaked therefore is an ureliable fire STARTING source. Once your fire is hot and self-sustaining then these unprepared wood sources can be used. Be careful with these bladed tools as they can very dangerous, especially your axe. And when you are all alone up there it could get ugly real fast if you cut yourself severely; an arterial cut could be deadly. No surprises came really in the Trail Boss axe testing: crosscutting required huge effort and was exhausting (and is jarring to the arms and tendonsnot good in a survival situation especially). The saw remains a more efficient backcountry cross cutting tool. For limb stripping and spliiting the axe was excellent with wood given (but for that matter so was the RAT-7). Sappy, dense hardwoods might be a better test. Allie was chilling in the tent once erected as the snow really started to dump on us. The heavy precipitation made switching over to my waterproof camera necessary and the audio suffered because of that switch (sorry about the muffled soundtrack in Part 2 on). With this focused work if several hours, a warm, relatively comfortable campsite was achieved and it was time for some hot chocolate. I discuss overnight and insulation considerations in the tube tent (like construction of some snow dam end caps to block wind). It was hard work but fun adventure with my faithful girlfriend Allie...thanks for coming along. //////////////////////// Music: Kevin MacLeod at www.incompetech.com and Jimmy Gelhaar at http://www.jimmyg.us/home.aspx. I thank you for any donations you can make to these guys.

Category:

Science & Technology

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• reviews

[MrShooter7676]

I noticed you constantly referencing "Eagle Scouts" as not being proficient at fire making/outdoor skills, just a few notes on that:

1. Fire building isn't required for Eagle.

2. BSA highly frowns upon fixed blades so most scouts don't know how to use one.

3. You don't need skill to get Eagle, just dedication.

4. In my experience, some of the best "Eagles" never earned the rank of Eagle

5. I'd be happy to make a video of how a life scout makes a fire.

[nutnfancy]

@MrShooter7676 Fair enough.  Send it over, and I'll post it as a response to this vid. =) -- Veri

[MrShooter7676]

@nutnfancy Sounds great but there is just one problem. I live in the southwest and wildfires are everywhere right now therefore We won't be able to have a campfire on our next campout. I do however keep a decent supply of wood in my backward and would be able to build a fire in my backyard. I'll just have to check the burn restrictions and okay it with my folks. (It's very dry right now so I might have to wait for it to rain for safety and for the challenge XD.)

[nutnfancy]

@MrShooter7676 For sure, be safe. -- Veri

[ericvault]

is your sawvivor 15in or 18in?

[nutnfancy]

@ericvault He's got the 15 in. -- Veri

[TheEmarbe]

where is the review of the Gerber axe???

[TheBreakback]

life shows us that duct tape fixes everything XD

[817riverparkmusic]

how did that high lubrussity coating do on the knife?

[bowshott007]

I agree with MrShooter eagle scouts are not taught how to make a fire in those conditions. we are taught to not get stuck in those onditions and we dont get a fancy fire tab to use either. you cant say that us Eagle Scouts dont know how until you have seen every one of us fail. and not everyone will.

[Montblanc1986]

Nutn needs to order a Busse Combat and test it and do a table top!

[armedtetrapod]

talking about using tamahawks as weapons, I would love to see a review in the CS trench Hawk!

[AirForceAce3571]

Nutn, did you feel guilty whacking on that San Mai III SRK? for what that costs, I'd be cringing with every baton strike! ;)

[ZdayJones]

Could you use an entry tool backpack for lugging gear during reviews?

Issues of course would be price, space, and weight. Just a thought.