Survivor...and fire starting

[blackgrass]

I'm not sure who all caught the latest episode of Survivor after the Super Bowl but there are three tribes and none of them could start a fire in three days of trying. When I was a Scout we learned several methods of fire starting without matches/lighters...ect
I was really surprised no one could do this on the show....Maybe it is much more difficult than it looks...maybe I need to go out and try it again for myself....
One of the contestants was a ex-Navy SEAL and he couldn't get it going either....
What do you folks think? Could you do it?

[Kerosene]

I think I'd be hard-pressed to get something going, especially if there wasn't a lot of dry tinder at hand. I keep thinking about the Tom Hanks' movie, Cast Away, where he gets blisters trying to get something going over several hours, only to finally realize that there's no oxygen getting to the sparks. You'd think the Navy SEAL would have gone through this in survival training though.

[Rancid]

I was really surprised also; all of these people and no fire. The funny thing to me was that when the host was badgering them,(he was amazed), the camera was focused on a women wearing glasses, in the Tropics! Plenty of sunshine on those first 2 days, how stupid!!

[brian]

I was really surprised also; all of these people and no fire. The funny thing to me was that when the host was badgering them,(he was amazed), the camera was focused on a women wearing glasses, in the Tropics! Plenty of sunshine on those first 2 days, how stupid!!

Or how richard (the first season winner) brags about being easilly able to start a fire but isnt for reasons unknown....

Brian

[TedB]

When I was a cub scout I tried out a store bought fire making kit. However, I didn't quite grasp the concept. I tried it out a little, but didn't seem to get more than just a little smoke. To make things a little easier for learning, my dad suggested I try using an electric drill. I had that spindle turing at 2000 RPM. Smoke was pouring out, but for some reason, it never did catch on fire, a big disappointment. It was many years later before I found what was missing. It turns out a bow drill fire is not the same as using matches, it doesn't just burst into flame. It is actually a two step process. Part one, you get a coal started, which I think that electric drill did quite well. Part two, which is very important, is that you take that coal, place it in a dry fluffy bundle of tinder and gently blow on it until it gets hot enough that the tinder bursts into flame.

So if I had my electric drill with me and a nice dry bundle of tinder, I could have kicked some survivor-weenie butt.

[oyvay]

IMHO who needs reality TV? I never saw any episode of the first survivor and only seen ad previews of other shows and they all sound similar to "hiker talk." I'll stick to hiking, meeting others along the way and sharing our trail stories and trail wounds during evening mealtimes. Who knows, maybe the people in LA will put cameras in the shelters for a round of "AT survivor?"

[Mike Drinkuth]

Who knows, maybe the people in LA will put cameras in the shelters for a round of "AT survivor?"

DUDE! Don't even joke like that!

[Tallpaul]

I too was amazed no one could start a fire. Although I have never tried to start a fire by rubbing two sticks together, I did see it done on the History Channel on an episoide showcasing Marine Corp Advanced Survival training. It wasn't too easy but each of the 10 Marines had too do it. It took some several days to accomplish.

[snuffleupagus]

I was kind of hoping, since it was raining that last episode. That lightning would strike the "freak'in naked dude" and they could all borrow some of the fire streaming off his bare behind, as he ran down the beach screaming. If I was trying in all desparity to light a fire in the sopping rain. I definitely wouldn't need some fat over-rated naked guys little "thangy" swinging two inches from my face. Put some G#d D#mn'd close on Richard.

I sure hope we don't find out that the next rotation of thru-hikers are trying to start all their MSR Wisperlites with magnesium scrappings and flint tools. I'll be the one with the Bic. It just takes a flick.

Good luck, Rupert.......

[Don]

What amazes me about Survivor is that all of the players had been there before, all knew the importance of fire, most knew about the difficulty of starting a fire, all knew well in advance they were going to the game, yet not one of them felt it important to figure out how to start a fire in advance......loons all!!!!!

[Jaybird]

I'm not sure who all caught the latest episode of Survivor after the Super Bowl but there are three tribes and none of them could start a fire in three days of trying. When I was a Scout we learned several methods of fire starting without matches/lighters...ect
I was really surprised no one could do this on the show....................

first, let me tell you i work for a CBS affiliate in Nashville,TN & have a bit of insight into the "goings-on" of SURVIVOR (the most highly rated "reality" show ever!) & my wife is a SURVIVOR junkie & knows the "ins & outs' of all this stuff.

as far as making fire is concerned....they're in the TROPICS...it rains all the time there....they had no flint (or as someone else said...."a fire making kit")

with wet twigs & wood & no "spark" agent....you're doomed! (they werent allowed matches as a "luxury" item)

according to my wife (SURVIVOR-junkie) all 3 teams got flint after the 3rd episode & winning a "reward" challenge.

Wow! i'm tired just thinking about this.....& PLEASE....don't even joke about putting cameras out in the A.T. shelters for an A.T. SURVIVOR....OR the next thing you know....Jeff Probst will be on top of Springer Mtn.....saying:...."okay Survivors you only have 3 months & no food, no water, & no flint.....can you get to Katahdin?"



see ya'll Up the trail!

[okpik]

If they were in the tropics, they had bamboo.
Alot can be done with bamboo including making a simple friction mechanism that will start a fire and create a vessel to cook in and or eat & drink out of in minutes. It's all about the ratings. If they could do it they were told not to so it sells better. the SEAL was taught that in basic training. I know this to be fact.
It's as fake as wrestling (yea, wrestling's fake).

The same guy created The Eco-Challenge which are real amateurs really racing through extremes. It didn't sell because no one was naked or fighting like these pukes they pull from allegedly real life.

Doomed you say Jaybird?
Only if their makup runs or they forget their lines.

[squirrel bait]

Okpik, what BUD/S Classs were you in. Things might have been a little diffferent when Rudy went through in the 60's. Never the less, yea they were stupid not to practice beforehand knowing this was on the schedule. IMHO

[okpik]

Okpik, what BUD/S Classs were you in. Things might have been a little diffferent when Rudy went through in the 60's. Never the less, yea they were stupid not to practice beforehand knowing this was on the schedule. IMHO

Late 70's, Coronado, CA, but you're missin' the point.
It's scripted, Rudy and others know what to do, they're told not to do anything not on the script.