SAS Survival guide on i-phone.

[Comptona]

My Collins little gem sas survival guide has a sticker on the front saying i-phone app available. I have an android HTC does anybody know if i can find the guide in that format?

[Bambii]

Try a google search, Mate.

I would look for you but I dont have an android so I couldnt test it.

[Martin]

Why not go the Android Market on your phone and search 'Survival Guide'? I just did it and there are several survival guides on there. Having said that, there isn't a Collins one.

Martin

[Mouldsy]

There is no sas
survival guide on android mate but there are a few other guides,the US survival guide is on it for free and is pretty good reading, I downloaded the sas guide on my daughters I pod but unfortunately it's not on the android downloads

[Comptona]

thx mouldsy- done

[Humakt]

What use would you iphone be in a survival situation, anyway? Unless there was a handy nearby survival plug socket for you to plug your survival phone charger into...

[Ken]

I think whoever creates the SAS Survival Guides for the iPhone, Android or Windows powered phones is in it for the money.

A better investment is the Collins Gem version, it needs no batteries and from what I can tell contains far more information for your money. At only £4.99, you can't go wrong.

[Fletching]

But you can't phone for a takeaway with a Collins Gem, can you? ;)

[Martin]

But you can't phone for a takeaway with a Collins Gem, can you? ;)

Game, set and match to Mr Fletching!!! :D

Martin

[Ken]

"Hello, Peking Chinese Takeaway".
"Yes, I'd like to order a takeaway for delivery please."
"Certainly sir, what would you like to order?"
"Yes I'll have a .................................. (insert desired food here)"
"...and your address?"
"Yes, I'm at 52.072733 degrees north and 1.444793 degrees east".
"What street and town is that?"
"It's in the woods near Boyton."
Line goes dead....

Damn, thank god I've got my Collins Gem!

[Martin]

"Hello, Peking Chinese Takeaway".
"Yes, I'd like to order a takeaway for delivery please."
"Certainly sir, what would you like to order?"
"Yes I'll have a .................................. (insert desired food here)"
"...and your address?"
"Yes, I'm at 52.072733 degrees north and 1.444793 degrees east".
"What street and town is that?"
"It's in the woods near Boyton."
Line goes dead....

Damn, thank god I've got my Collins Gem!

Yeah, you could always boil it up. ;)

Martin

[Ben Casey]

I think if your in a bad situation the last thing I would look at is a survival book or an app on the phone. I would be to busy wondering what I was doing there and just how to get home :) Or dialing the emergency services if I had a signal.
A mate of mine was in a plane crash though and as he ran from the flames he rang home to say he was alright and had survived the crash. His family thought he was drunk as it was about two in the morning and did not believe him till the news came on the next morning :)

[Ken]

Yeah, you could always boil it up. ;)

Martin

Yep, it's full of goodness!

[Comptona]

What use would you iphone be in a survival situation, anyway? Unless there was a handy nearby survival plug socket for you to plug your survival phone charger into...

I have the little gem series anfd they are indeed very good and an essential part of my kit. However when hiking with the scouts and they ask me a question regarding survival i can garauntee I have my phone.

[Humakt]

I have the little gem series anfd they are indeed very good and an essential part of my kit. However when hiking with the scouts and they ask me a question regarding survival i can garauntee I have my phone.

Yes, but going out for a hike with the scouts is hardly a 'survival situation'. If you were in a survivial situation and every time you needed info you turned to your phone then you'd soon find it drained of power (assuming it hadn't been damaged whilst getting into said survival situation). If you truly needed your phone for survival you'd be better off conserving its energy until you were in a postion where you could get a signal with your phone and make that much more useful call to the emergnecy services, rather than looking up a reference on how to correctly abandon ship!

[JonnyP]

Yes, but going out for a hike with the scouts is hardly a 'survival situation'. If you were in a survivial situation and every time you needed info you turned to your phone then you'd soon find it drained of power (assuming it hadn't been damaged whilst getting into said survival situation). If you truly needed your phone for survival you'd be better off conserving its energy until you were in a postion where you could get a signal with your phone and make that much more useful call to the emergnecy services, rather than looking up a reference on how to correctly abandon ship!
A day out with the scouts *could* turn into a survival situation. To be able to look at a point of reference (be it gem guide or good info on your phone) *could* be helpful, or even a life saver.
It doesn't make your kit weigh any heavier downloading a booklet onto your phone. It is something you can read during your lunch break, or while waiting for a train or whatever.
Obviously it is better to call the Emergency Services in many a survival situation, but it doesn't hurt to install a guide or two on your phone..

[Humakt]

A day out with the scouts *could* turn into a survival situation...

Well, yeah, it could. But realistically, in the UK, it won't happen. And you'd be cautious in the extreme to expect, every time you go out for a walk, that you may end up in a survival situation.
Having the SAS Survival Guide on your phone, just in case, seems pointless and silly, to me. Having it on your phone as something to read whilst on lunch or travelling, however, does make much more sense.

[Comptona]

Yes, but going out for a hike with the scouts is hardly a 'survival situation'. If you were in a survivial situation and every time you needed info you turned to your phone then you'd soon find it drained of power (assuming it hadn't been damaged whilst getting into said survival situation). If you truly needed your phone for survival you'd be better off conserving its energy until you were in a postion where you could get a signal with your phone and make that much more useful call to the emergnecy services, rather than looking up a reference on how to correctly abandon ship!

It is amazing the questions you get asked. For example if the weather closed in and this hike was in a mountain range, or if I lost my compass what would I do, or if we got trapped and had to cross the river etc etc. I would rather give them the answer to their questions there and then, when they asked it than wait till we are back at HQ reviewing the walk. When working with kids you find that the more bizzare situation where the question is asked will 9/10 result in the answer staying in their head. You have to remember these kids ar as young as 10 and if I can give them an answer quickly it might just save their lives in the future. Too many adults tell kids to look things up on the internet or ask later etc etc, they then forget they ever asked. If i was seriously considering using my phone as my last resort then I should never have been anywhere near that situation. Besides I could always use the battery to start a fire if I really needed too.

[Fletching]

Don't forget the mottoes about being prepared. If you're still reading the book, you're not ready to go into a survival situation, are you? ;)

[Humakt]

Don't forget the mottoes about being prepared. If you're still reading the book, you're not ready to go into a survival situation, are you? ;)

Exactly!
I've always found the SAS Survival Guide more entertaining than useful (though useful on occasion). Especially the section on survival at sea. I can just imagine the situation - 'Captain! Captain! The ship's going down', 'Steady on there, chaps - I'll just turn to page 97 and see what it says. Give us 5 minutes...'
Or, 'Ah! The rocks have given way and we're caught in a rock slide! Hold on whilst I just read what we're supposed to do...'

[Mouldsy]

A day out with the scouts *could* turn into a survival situation. To be able to look at a point of reference (be it gem guide or good info on your phone) *could* be helpful, or even a life saver.
It doesn't make your kit weigh any heavier downloading a booklet onto your phone. It is something you can read during your lunch break, or while waiting for a train or whatever.
Obviously it is better to call the Emergency Services in many a survival situation, but it doesn't hurt to install a guide or two on your phone..

:happy-clapping::happy-clapping::happy-clapping: Well said mate, I agree with Jonny, It happened here about two years ago when a teacher had took his class out for a day in the Mourne mountains, things turned nasty and they had to call mountain rescue to get them out. I am in no way saying that a guide would have got them out.

[JonnyP]

Don't forget the mottoes about being prepared. If you're still reading the book, you're not ready to go into a survival situation, are you? ;)

And just who is "ready" to go into a survival situation..? A survival situation is something that can happen to anyone at any time.
I am not saying that someone will say "hang on tsunami, while I look you up on the survival guide on my posh phone". Many survival situations suddenly happen and there is little you may be able to do about it, let alone turning your phone on and looking up what to do.. But... If you have a tiny bit of data on your phone, that happens to be a well written e guide, then from time to time you will look at it. The more you look at it, the more it will stick in your brain.
There *could* however be survival situations where there is a bit of time for you to look at a guide. Like in the same way many first aid kits have instruction guides.
A survival situation is something you are forced into against your will. Yes its something we can train for to help give ourselves the best chance, but who knows what that survival situation will be..?

[Comptona]

some of the questions are about things i will never come across. I think maybe i should just give up on the idea of teaching these kids what they want to know and just let them hang around the street causing trouble. I guess spending my own time to give other peoples kids a bit of fun and a taste of adventure is just a selfish excuse to make myself sound clever. The chances of me being in a real desperate survival situation are pretty minimal, I am not likely to crash a plane over bornio or get stuck behind enemy lines but if i can engage their minds at an early stage it might just make them understand the uses of and become comfortable in their natural surroundings.

Stupid me for misunderstanding the uses of this forum to share and gain knowledge.

[Martin]

In my, albeit limited, experience, there are two subjects that should never be discussed on a 'bushcraft' forum. One is the 'Who is better, Ray or Bear' subject and the other is the 'Survival or Preparedness' subject. They both always appear to end in tears, bad feeling, or just a massive argument.

Bottom line is that everyone is entitled to their opinion but sometimes it is tactful if you keep it to yourself. It is simply not acceptable to make a fellow member feel stupid for holding a particular view or opinion.

As I occasionally tell colleagues, "When I want your opinion on the subject, I'll give it to you."

Be nice guys. :)

Martin

[Comptona]

In my, albeit limited, experience, there are two subjects that should never be discussed on a 'bushcraft' forum. One is the 'Who is better, Ray or Bear' subject and the other is the 'Survival or Preparedness' subject. They both always appear to end in tears, bad feeling, or just a massive argument.

Bottom line is that everyone is entitled to their opinion but sometimes it is tactful if you keep it to yourself. It is simply not acceptable to make a fellow member feel stupid for holding a particular view or opinion.

As I occasionally tell colleagues, "When I want your opinion on the subject, I'll give it to you."

Be nice guys. :)

Martin

Sorry Martin, lip well and truly being bitten.

[Martin]

Sorry Martin, lip well and truly being bitten.

Not aimed at you mate or anyone in particular, but everyone in general. Let's be nice. :)

Martin

[Fletching]

Shall I phone for that takeaway now? :)

[Comptona]

i would do it mate but my batteries gone flat.

[Ashley Cawley]

Yes, but going out for a hike with the scouts is hardly a 'survival situation'...
No your right, it isn't a survival situation and comptona never implied it was... but funnily enough some of the skills in the e-book/app are relevant to what he might teach the kids or it could enable him to answer their questions about survival.

He just made out it was useful to him, it could be useful to many people in many different use-cases, not just the worst case scenarios your thinking of.

Please try to be less argumentative Humakt.

[Fletching]

The takeaway's arrived. Who ordered the Kung-Po Chicken? :)

[ghost]

I recently downloaded the Bear Grylls app, its not bad there are some things on it i dont agree with but mostly its interesting.

[Humakt]

No your right, it isn't a survival situation and comptona never implied it was... but funnily enough some of the skills in the e-book/app are relevant to what he might teach the kids or it could enable him to answer their questions about survival.

He just made out it was useful to him, it could be useful to many people in many different use-cases, not just the worst case scenarios your thinking of.

Please try to be less argumentative Humakt.

Erm, yes - point taken: the original post wasn't about 'survival sitautions'. I admit I misconstrued that point.
No need to tell me off - I wasn't being argumentative. That's the problem with the written word, you can never hear intonation in someone's voice or see body language. I have better things to do than argue with people on the internet, so no worries there!

[Metal mug]

But now to the more important matter......................................where' s the take away?

[Fletching]

But now to the more important matter......................................where' s the take away?

The takeaway's arrived. Who ordered the Kung-Po Chicken?

[Fuutpad]

What use would you iphone be in a survival situation, anyway? Unless there was a handy nearby survival plug socket for you to plug your survival phone charger into...

Modern technology has designed a charger the charges from the sun called a solar charger, handy little gadgets (The Sunday sarcasm is oozing). I also think that because it is an i-phone that it may have read the survival guide itself and can get you out of pretty much any shit situation you may encounter.
Don't possess one as I can look after myself :)

[Adam Savage]

Modern technology has designed a charger the charges from the sun called a solar charger, handy little gadgets (The Sunday sarcasm is oozing).



Just a quick note on solar chargers, Watched a report on tv a short while ago about them, bottom line, they don't work if you have a dead battery. they may trickle enough power to keep the standby time running a little longer, but generally not even enough power to activate the charge circuit.

In the case of the collins/wiseman book. I think it's a useful book to have on your bookshelf, in your pack if you have spare room (can't hurt) or as an app on your phone. Even if it makes you feel better about the situation you have landed in, it's worth it. the key to survival is keeping your head and PMA (positive mental attitude), if the book helps with this and shows you a few things you haven't yet learnt, or even just gives you something to read when your at a loose end laying in a shelter with a broken leg, waiting for the evac chopper, then I'd rather have it. The iphone app is a little less use if your battery dies, but if your out on a walk through the woods and fancy practising one of the skills in the book, you have it to hand.

conclusion: knowledge is power, the book is best for lack of batteries, general reading material to keep you sane and the extra page or two of tinder :), app is good for a day out practising or until the battery dies in an emergency situation.

[bigzee]

Oops...I seem to have accidentally stumbled onto "glamping gadgetry bushcraft.com"....I'm terribly sorry - I was looking for "Naturalbushcraft.co.uk" !!!!

[RohitMR]

The SAS Survival Guide is now available on the Android. https://market.android.com/details?id=com.trellisys.sas

More Details at http://www.sassurvivalguide.com
2683

[LandRoverMatt]

I downloaded this bushcraft one really helpful just put it into search in the apps shop
ipod

[jus_young]

Dont have i phone or android, mines the windows 7 so I guess that I will have a fair old wait for this one. It would prove very usefull for easy reference when my scouts throw their questions at me.

[schooner]

On the subject of chargers, I've seen hand-crank chargers for mobiles, does anybody here own one?