Survive Outdoors Longer - new from SOL kit

[happybonzo]

On the other side of the pond is a company called Survive Outdoors Longer. This is their latest offering LINK (http://www.survival-gear.com/sol-origin.htm)

It has a reasonably comprehensive review HERE (http://www.arrse.co.uk/content/554-review-survive-outdoors-longer-sol-origin.html)

[Fletching]

Nice modular design, but you're always better of making you own kit IMHO.

[JEEP]

It looks like one of those "Designed by Bear Grylls" thingies....

Not a compliment btw.

[Aaron Rushton]

LMAO off at jeeps reply. The knife is bearable but tbh it would be hard to catch anything on the fishing kit.

[CanadianMike]

Lol, I thought it was one of these more useful kits:

http://www.adventuremedicalkits.com/product.php?product=199&catname=Kits&prodname=S.O.L. 3 Survival, Medical, & Gear Repair

http://www.adventuremedicalkits.com/product.php?product=151&catname=Kits&prodname=S.O.L. Survival Pak

Whenever I see the SOL (Survive Outdoors Longer) applied to these things, I think of the other meaning of SOL.......... S*** Outta Luck!

[Fletching]

Here's my home-made one which fits into a double magazine pouch (which you can use to semi-filter water):

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4109/5433774767_9dca48f2a1_m.jpg

And the contents of the watertight canteen tin, which you can cook in:

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5216/5434388972_27c68a283e_b.jpg

Survival blanket (shelter)
Condom (carry water)
Razor blade
Vaseline soaked cotton wool
tin foil (make extra cooking bowl/save food)
First aid kit
Fishing lures and swivel
Wrapped: 6 feet of wire, 20 feet para cord (split for fishilng line), candle, zip-lock bags (carry water/food)
Wire saw
Signal mirror
Water purification tabs
CRKT knife (sharpens really easily)
LED light
Mini glo-stick
Fire sticks
Signal whistle
LMF and striker
Cheapo lighter
Silva compass

I'm sure there are other things you could add depending on where your going but for a 72 hour kit, this should suffice for the basics.

Steve

[comanighttrain]

mil-spec steel wire...mil spec....short for military spec so you know its good... and everyone knows the military talk like that...so its high tech mil-spec wire...

[Fletching]

mil-spec steel wire...mil spec....short for military spec so you know its good... and everyone knows the military talk like that...so its high tech mil-spec wire...

Thanks for clearing that up Coma. There's a mil-spec condom in my kit, mate.

[comanighttrain]

lol! I hope its not french! You're survival kit gets my vote fletch

[CanadianMike]

mil-spec steel wire...mil spec....short for military spec so you know its good... and everyone knows the military talk like that...so its high tech mil-spec wire...

Likely it's just plain simple aviation grade stainless steel lockwire. Which is better than mil-spec BTW.

:)

[mahikan]

Always sceptical of Survival Kits made by companies wanting to jump on the Bear Grhyls Survival driven 'bandwagon'.

Doubly sceptical of 'Mil Spec' equipment.

[Fletching]

Yeah, but it is orange and 'mandatory'. You'll probably find it sells well for thirteen year old boy's Christmas stockings bought by mummy as their little boy's a scout now and turning into a responsible man. And lots of people like Jakob will be getting lots of laughs when they turn up to scout meets with them to show them off. Do they do a 'Gullible Consumer' scout patch? :)

[JEEP]

Yeah, but it is orange and 'mandatory'. You'll probably find it sells well for thirteen year old boy's Christmas stockings bought by mummy as their little boy's a scout now and turning into a responsible man. And lots of people like Jakob will be getting lots of laughs when they turn up to scout meets with them to show them off. Do they do a 'Gullible Consumer' scout patch? :)

I'll have to invent that patch now :D

I got a sample of the Zippo Emergency Fire Lighter Kit the other day. It follows the same recipe as the SOL kit; blaze orange, overly expensive, overly complicated with lots of big words on the packaging - and on top of that you will have to buy overly expensive original Zippo tindersticks to keep it working.
Like the SOL, the Zippo fire lighter is probably actually good for something, but for a fraction of the price and a half a houer on your hands, you could put something similar together yourself.

[comanighttrain]

Always sceptical of Survival Kits made by companies wanting to jump on the Bear Grhyls Survival driven 'bandwagon'.

Doubly sceptical of 'Mil Spec' equipment.

That is the Parody i'm making...its a sell word

We used to use them in currys - Hi def, hi fid, hi res, pro-spec etc etc etc

[Fletching]

Doubly sceptical of 'Mil Spec' equipment.

Especially if it's given to UK troops. Poor chaps.

[JEEP]

It is funny though; Mil-Spec usually means: This *insert item* is supplied by - or lives up the standards of - the company that was able to offer the lowest price.

Not that reassuring at all - when you think about it.

[jbrown14]

I'm laughing on my end not just because this is a funny little "survival" kit, but because "SOL" is an acronym for S**t Out of Luck, i.e. you're screwed. To Jakob's original point, that it looks like something Bear Grylls designed, that's the first thing I thought of as well, because it reminds me of THIS KNIFE (http://www.cabelas.com/product/Gerber-Bear-Grylls-Fixed-Blade-Knife/1088019.uts?Ntk=AllProducts&searchPath=%2Fcatalog%2Fsearch%2F%3FN%3D1000003511 %26Ne%3D1000003511%26Ntk%3DAllProducts%26Ntt%3Dkni fe%26Ntx%3Dmode%252Bmatchall%26WTz_l%3DHeader%253B Search-All%2BProducts%26WTz_st%3DSearchRefinements%26form _state%3DsearchForm%26search%3Dknife%26x%3D0%26y%3 D0&Ntt=knife&WTz_l=Header%3BSearch-All+Products) co-designed by Bear Grylls with Gerber here in the US. Same color scheme and all...

[mahikan]

Its always interesting to look at the way many survival products are thrown out in that lovely 'Blaze Orange Colour.'

In some provinces or states, over here, it is requirement that hunters wear blaze orange so that they will not be shot by other hunters. In a recent spate of accidents where some hunters were wearing 'blaze orange' and still ended up getting shot there was an enquiry held. This enquiry found that in some lighting conditions it was hard to see 'blaze orange' and essentially to cut a long story short it was found that light blue was a better colour. The shade of blue named as the best was "United Nations Blue" many search and rescue groups have also named this shed of blue as easier to spot from the air while on SAR ops.
There is a whole scientific reason behind blue being a better colour to spot but I will hang onto that till next time.

[CanadianMike]

Problem with light blue is, it's a great camo for winter due to shade (look at your avatar). Heard that blaze orange was chosen because it's less IR than any other colour so it's the hardest for a deer to see, yet is the easiest for us to see. I can see light blue causing more problems than the orange. I think the reason the orange has been said to fade out during certain light conditions is because of the red element in the colour, red is the weakest of all the shades.

[happybonzo]

I'm laughing on my end not just because this is a funny little "survival" kit, but because "SOL" is an acronym for S**t Out of Luck, i.e. you're screwed. To Jakob's original point, that it looks like something Bear Grylls designed, that's the first thing I thought of as well, because it reminds me of THIS KNIFE (http://www.cabelas.com/product/Gerber-Bear-Grylls-Fixed-Blade-Knife/1088019.uts?Ntk=AllProducts&searchPath=%2Fcatalog%2Fsearch%2F%3FN%3D1000003511 %26Ne%3D1000003511%26Ntk%3DAllProducts%26Ntt%3Dkni fe%26Ntx%3Dmode%252Bmatchall%26WTz_l%3DHeader%253B Search-All%2BProducts%26WTz_st%3DSearchRefinements%26form _state%3DsearchForm%26search%3Dknife%26x%3D0%26y%3 D0&Ntt=knife&WTz_l=Header%3BSearch-All+Products) co-designed by Bear Grylls with Gerber here in the US. Same color scheme and all...

Bacon Grylls got a bit of stick over his "first" knife. I can't remember how much it cost but it was quite a lot LINK (http://www.bayleyknife.com/site/index.aspx)

[mahikan]

All good points about the colours you have mentioned Canadian Mike.

Some even refer to the colour Blue disappearing in a massive growth of blue flowers.

On the courses I teach I put out blue coloured clothing, items wrapped in blue then put out other coloured clothing etc statistically blue is the colour that people spot first. I have a few friends on the SAR teams who say the same thing.
Of course start incorporating the seasonal colour of the bush and suddenly blaze orange/red disappears.

Shape, shine, shadow,colour,silhouette, sound, spacing, smell, movement (and more) all those great elements of the camouflage lessons I used to teach come into play.

Its all down to the 'doppler light shift' of certain colours, the light waves from the red colours are significant of bodies moving away from you, the light waves from blue make the object appear as though it is moving towards you. All of this is without me getting to scientific. Though I will say that this is how astronomers can plot our expanding universe by observing red stars that are moving away from us and blue stars that are either stationary or moving towards us.

Its all down t

[Saxon]

Quite a few years ago I read a report by a scientific body (can't remember who..:ashamed:) but their conclusion was that pale or light blue was a far more recognizable colour for emergency service vehicles. This survey I understand came about after people claimed "I didn't see it" when being involved in traffic crashes with the traditional white, with red stripe, police cars and ambulances common at one time on British roads.
As a result emergency service vehicles, certainly in England, now appear in colour schemes such as this.. http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/kk136/highandry_photos/policecar.jpg

[jbrown14]

Bacon Grylls got a bit of stick over his "first" knife. I can't remember how much it cost but it was quite a lot LINK (http://www.bayleyknife.com/site/index.aspx)

Looks like a nice knife, but nothing extraordinarily special. I did find a discussion on Knifeforums.com where someone mentioned that they sell for $700.00 (that's USD) so that's about: £437. Wow, just...wow. Thanks for the link.

Josh

[Fletching]

Looks like a nice knife, but nothing extraordinarily special. I did find a discussion on Knifeforums.com where someone mentioned that they sell for $700.00 (that's USD) so that's about: £437. Wow, just...wow. Thanks for the link.

Josh

You can pick up a Gerber Prodigy for about fifty quid which pretty much serves the same purpose (and looks the same - without the 'rescue orange'). Or should that be blue? Not sure :)

[CanadianMike]

You know what's interesting, Les Stroud does all his Survivorman shows armed only with a Leatherman Wave or Swiss Army Knife.......... and a harmonica of course. I have to meet up with him someday and play dualing harmonicas with him, would be a blast. :D

[Fletching]

You know what's interesting, Les Stroud does all his Survivorman shows armed only with a Leatherman Wave or Swiss Army Knife.......... and a harmonica of course. I have to meet up with him someday and play dualing harmonicas with him, would be a blast. :D

Just lay off the chilli beans or that blast might be dangerous.

[jbrown14]

You can pick up a Gerber Prodigy for about fifty quid which pretty much serves the same purpose (and looks the same - without the 'rescue orange'). Or should that be blue? Not sure :)

Good call, I thought that shape looked familiar! It's also very similar to the Gerber LMF and LMF II, both very high quality military knives, both under $100.