10 KILLER Survival Fails
Summary
TLDRIn this informative video, Greg Ovens of Rocky Mountain Bushcraft debunks common survival myths found in books and on TV. He cautions against rubbing snow on frostbite, eating any berries birds consume, and relying on moss growth to determine direction. Ovens also warns against drinking urine in a survival situation, as it can lead to faster dehydration. He emphasizes the importance of fire-making skills and the practicality of using paracord over plant fibers for bow drill strings. The video serves as a reminder to always research and question survival techniques for reliability in critical situations.
Takeaways
- 🚫 Rubbing snow on frostbite is dangerous; it should be warmed up instead of being cooled down.
- 🍓 The myth that eating berries birds eat is safe for humans is debunked; some berries can be deadly.
- 🌲 Moss growth on trees does not reliably indicate direction, as it can grow on all sides of a tree.
- ❌ Drinking urine in a survival situation is a fallacy; it can dehydrate you faster than not drinking anything at all.
- 🔥 The importance of fire-making skills in survival situations, and the practicality of different methods is emphasized.
- 👟 Shoelaces are not always suitable for making bow drill strings; other materials like paracord are more reliable.
- 🌿 Making a string from plant fibers can be time-consuming and impractical in a survival situation.
- 🌞 The use of a clear ice lens to start a fire with the sun is not practical due to the rarity of clear ice and insufficient sun intensity.
- 🔥 The fire roll method is not practical as it requires specific materials like ash and cotton to smolder into coal.
- 🔧 Carrying a lighter and a Ferro Rod is recommended for starting fires in survival situations due to their reliability.
- 🌳 Researching plants is crucial for accurate identification to avoid consuming toxic berries or plants.
Q & A
What is the common misconception about treating frostbite with snow that Greg Ovens addresses in the video?
-The misconception is that rubbing snow on frostbite can warm up a frozen object. In reality, this is harmful as it does not warm the area but instead cools it further, which is the opposite of what should be done.
Why is the advice to eat berries that birds can eat potentially dangerous according to Greg Ovens?
-This advice is dangerous because some birds can safely eat berries that are toxic to humans, such as nightshade berries. Consuming these berries can lead to poisoning and even death.
What is the myth about moss growth on trees that Greg Ovens debunks?
-The myth is that moss only grows on the north side of trees, which could help in navigation. Greg shows that moss can grow all around trees, not just on one side, making this method unreliable for determining direction.
Why should drinking urine be avoided in a survival situation as per Greg Ovens' explanation?
-Drinking urine should be avoided because it contains concentrated salts which can dehydrate a person five times faster than not drinking anything at all. It does not provide the necessary hydration for survival.
What is the importance of the string in a bow drill setup according to Greg Ovens?
-The string is the most important part of a bow drill setup because it needs to be strong and reliable to create friction and generate an ember for starting a fire. Weak or stretching strings can break or fail to produce the necessary heat.
Why does Greg Ovens recommend against using plant fibers like dogbane for a bow drill string in a survival situation?
-Greg recommends against using plant fibers like dogbane because it can take a very long time to create a strong and thick enough string, which is impractical in a survival situation where time is critical.
What is the practical alternative to plant fiber strings that Greg Ovens suggests for a bow drill setup?
-Greg suggests using paracord as a practical alternative because it is reliable, does not break easily, and only needs to be tightened a few times before attempting to start a fire.
Why does Greg Ovens mention the movie 'The Edge' in the context of survival techniques?
-Greg mentions 'The Edge' to illustrate the point that some survival techniques depicted in movies, like making fire from ice, are not practical in real-life situations due to the specific conditions required for them to work.
What is Greg Ovens' opinion on the necessity of bringing a lighter and a Ferro Rod when going into the wilderness?
-Greg believes that bringing both a lighter and a Ferro Rod is essential for wilderness survival. A lighter can be used to start a fire, but if it gets wet, the Ferro Rod serves as a reliable backup as it can still spark even when wet.
Why is it important to do your own research on plants, as emphasized by Greg Ovens?
-It is important to do your own research on plants because there can be mistakes in books and videos about plant identification. Misidentifying plants can lead to consuming toxic berries, which can be dangerous or even fatal.
What are the fallacies Greg Ovens discusses regarding the identification of poisonous and edible berries?
-Greg discusses two fallacies: one is that birds can eat certain berries safely, but humans cannot; the other is that sweet-tasting berries are safe to eat while bitter ones are poisonous, which is not a reliable method of identification.
Outlines
📚 Debunking Survival Myths
Greg Ovens, a Bushcraft expert, starts by addressing common misconceptions found in survival literature and TV shows that could be life-threatening if followed. He emphasizes the importance of not taking such advice at face value and instead thinking logically. For instance, he explains that rubbing snow on frostbite is harmful, contrary to old first aid teachings. He also refutes the myth that one can eat any berries that birds can eat, highlighting the danger of consuming certain berries like Bane berries. Ovens then discusses the fallacy of moss only growing on the north side of trees to determine direction, showing examples of moss growth all around trees. He also warns against the advice of drinking urine for hydration, explaining that it can lead to faster dehydration due to its high salt content. Lastly, he talks about the impracticality of making a bow drill string from plant fibers, suggesting the use of paracord for its reliability in fire-making, a critical survival skill.
🌞 Fire Making Misconceptions
In this section, Greg Ovens discusses various fire-making techniques that are not as practical as they may seem. He mentions the method of using ice as a magnifying glass to start a fire, which he finds ineffective due to the rarity of finding clear enough ice and the sun's insufficient intensity. Ovens also addresses the impracticality of the fire roll method, which requires ash and cotton to smolder into coal, pointing out that one would need an initial fire to create these conditions. He advocates for carrying a lighter and a Ferro rod as reliable fire-starting tools, especially since a lighter can fail when wet. Ovens stresses the importance of doing one's own research, especially with plants, as he has found errors in both YouTube videos and plant books. He provides examples of misidentified plants and berries, such as the confusion between thimbleberries and salmonberries, and the incorrect identification of tarium honeysuckle as soapberries. He emphasizes the need for accurate plant identification to avoid consuming toxic berries.
🍇 Berry Identification and Toxicity
Greg Ovens concludes the script by focusing on the accurate identification of berries, particularly salmonberries and soapberries, and the pitfalls of relying on taste or bird consumption as indicators of edibility. He clarifies that salmonberries have a pinkish flour, unlike the white flour of thimbleberries, and that soapberries are dark red when ripe, unlike the orangey transparent berries of the honeysuckle. Ovens points out that the leaves and stems of these plants have distinct characteristics, such as the velvety underside of the soapberry leaves and the positioning of the berries in relation to the leaves. He also dispels the myth that all bitter berries are poisonous and all sweet berries are safe to eat, using soapberries as an example of an edible but very bitter berry. Ovens reiterates the importance of personal research and verification of information, especially when it comes to foraging for food in the wild.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Survival
💡Frostbite
💡Berries
💡Moss
💡Urine
💡Bow Drill
💡Paracord
💡Fire Making
💡Plant Identification
💡Taste Test
💡Research
Highlights
Greg Ovens critiques common survival myths from books and TV shows, emphasizing the importance of logical thinking and practical experience.
Rubbing snow on frostbite is debunked as a harmful old-wives' tale that can exacerbate the condition.
The myth that birds can safely eat all berries that humans can is challenged with examples of deadly berries.
The belief that moss only grows on the north side of trees is refuted with visual evidence.
Drinking urine in a survival situation is cautioned against due to its high salt content, which can lead to faster dehydration.
The importance of the string in a bow drill setup is highlighted, with common materials like shoelaces found impractical.
The impracticality of making a bow drill string from plant fibers without readily available strong materials is discussed.
Paracord is recommended for bow drill strings due to its reliability and quick setup time in survival situations.
The use of a sandwich bag as a makeshift magnifying glass for fire starting is noted as situational and not always effective.
Greg shares his unsuccessful attempts at making fire with ice, pointing out the impracticality of this method.
The fire roll method is critiqued for its reliance on specific materials and conditions that may not be available in a survival scenario.
The combination of a lighter and a Ferro rod is suggested for reliable fire starting in various conditions.
The necessity of personal research on plants is underscored with examples of misinformation in popular media.
Mistaken plant identification in foraging videos and books is used to illustrate the dangers of relying on inaccurate sources.
The differences between thimbleberries, salmonberries, and soapberries are detailed to prevent foraging errors.
The myth that bitter berries are poisonous and sweet berries are safe is debunked with examples of edible bitter berries.
Greg concludes by emphasizing the importance of personal research and verification of survival techniques and plant identification.
Transcripts
things that were written in survival
books that you'll see on TV that could
get you
killed hi I'm Greg ovens and this is
ovens Rocky Mountain
[Music]
Bushcraft here we go
oh I don't want to put the authors down
because I read a lot of these books a
lot of the good information that I know
came from some of these books so I won't
mention names rubbing snow on frostbite
now think about
it logically would that warm up a frozen
object no they even taught that in first
aid classes in the old days the worst
thing you can ever do you don't rub snow
on frostbite it is not going to help you
got to warm the Frozen area up not cool
it down or keep it cold another fald in
the old survival books you can eat any
berries that the birds can eat I have
seen birds eating uh Bane
berries they just sit and eat them uh
five or six berries will kill you and I
so
why would they tell you this that's
going to get you killed so that's two
fallacies in the old books ah Moss only
grows on the north side of of the tree
if you're lost just look for the north
side of the tree because the Moss only
grows on the north side of the tree I'm
going to show you these trees and you
decide for yourself if I'm right or
wrong we got a tree here this I think is
actually the south side of the tree all
the trees are covered in Moss all the
way around where's the north side makes
you wonder same with this little
guy Moss all the way around let's decide
maybe there's a happy tree look at that
isn't that a nice little tree maybe this
Branch Points North you're starting to
get the gist of what I'm
seeing another real fallacy and I've
seen it on TV shows again not going to
mention names but if you're in a hot
area you got no water you drink your own
urine okay well research it not true it
contains concentrated salts it will
dehydrate you five times faster than if
you didn't drink anything at all if it
isn't water you can't drink your urine
to hydrate the string for your uh bow is
the most important part of a bow drill
setup or kit some work and some don't
because I always when I read the books I
would practice the the things they
taught but I would try to improve on the
practicality of the method because what
I did learn is a lot of shoelaces that
they would say oh use your shoelace they
don't work I've used leather
shoelace what I found with that is it
would usually break before you would get
your Amber other shoelaces I found just
kept stretching and stretching so that
wasn't practical you know they would
teach that you can make your string from
PL fibers now this was an important
lesson I learned yes I have been able to
do it with dog Bean but the problem was
uh my dog ban kept breaking until I got
it almost the thickness of a pencil and
long enough the thing about that is what
if you're in an area that doesn't have
dog Bean doesn't have stinging nle
doesn't have milkweed for any of the
fibers strong enough to make a bow drill
string by the time I got a string that
was adequate to get my Ember uh it took
about 2 days to get one strong enough
thick enough that would work so in a
survival situation you don't have 2 days
to make a plant fiber string and what if
it's winter take it from me it's not
practical to think that you're just
going to make a string from Bush
material that's going to work bring some
paracord for your string it's reliable
and yes the first couple of times when
you're starting this will stretch to a
degree as well so you usually have to
tighten it a couple of times before you
attempt your actual fire because it will
stretch to a degree but it will not
break on you because in my opinion it's
the most important survival skill to
learn is
fire even though some methods may
work are they practical you got to
really think that over you've seen me
use the sandwich bag which does work
I've used it several times it's only
going to work certain times a year when
the sun has enough
intensity it's not going to work if it's
cloudy out obviously it kind of reminds
me of a movie actually um I don't know
if you've seen the edge with uh Anthony
Hopkins and Alec Baldwin he's he's
basically they're in a plane
crash and they have to survive and Hike
out of the Wilderness in Alaska
and it's kind of winter time Charles
Anthony Hopkins character is explaining
to Bob you can make fire from Ice now it
is true it can be done but again you
have to keep in mind that when you have
clear enough ice that would work the sun
won't be intense enough to make it work
as a magnifying glass I've tried that it
doesn't work and then the other problem
is to find clear enough ice that would
work most ice is milky gray uh just
foggy so cloudy so you you cannot make
this lens work would be very difficult
and uh the other thing uh which I'm
going to do and I've been working on a
method of the uh fire roll the problem
with that as well is it's not really
practical because you need
Ash to use in your cotton to get the uh
fire roll smoldering and into coal so
again I mean obviously you would have
had to have a way to make the first fire
in the first place I've Come Close I've
got it very hot but not quite achieved
my goal so I'm still going to work on a
video
and always Advocate bring a lighter but
even then you know if you fall in a
creek your lighter gets wet or you drop
it in the Creek but I would suggest
bring a lighter and a Ferro Rod because
a feral Rod you can drop it in the lake
or the river take it out and it'll spark
right away again I going to do another
video as well about you know backpacking
for a night or two nights and the things
that you should
bring good boy you know how I always say
do your own research with plants now
it's very essential to do that because I
have
seen YouTube videos and I have seen in
plant books mistakes the one YouTube
video they said they were picking salmon
berries but they had the plant
absolutely wrong and I'm going to show
you another example in a plant book
where they're absolutely wrong about the
plant and the berry they actually were
picking in this foraging video
thimbleberries and I'll show you how
different the plant Al together is this
is thimbleberry it's got a
huge Maple Leaf and this is what they
were picking in the video it gets white
flowers and the berries are a dark red
and Dome
shaped thus the name thimbleberry
because it resembles a thimble that you
used to use for pushing sewing needles
through tough material yeah they're very
very good berries and that's what they
were picking they were calling the
salmon
berries which were the thimbleberries
absolutely wrong this is a salmon Berry
Leaf much much different you have the
one leaf here and two on the sides side
by side on the
stem now how can you get this plant
wrong I mean look at the difference one
leaf maple leaf shaped three leaves and
then the berries come in uh three types
of colors here we got kind of a
reddish salmon
Berry very good as well and then they
come in this yellowy
orange okay so I'm just going to use a
stick here because I got I'm zoomed in
on here they're calling it Canadian
Buffalo Berry or soap Berry is is the
name you can notice here the color of
these berries are like an orangey almost
transparent now this is not salap
Berry this is tarium honey
suckle now see how some of the leaves
curve
upwards some are cup shaped round the
berry this
way they're white
and round at the tips oval shaped round
at the tips I'm going to show you
soapberry in a second tarium honeysuckle
the berries aren't really even the same
color the salt berries get a dark red
berry now you notice with the uh
honeysuckle the
berries are above the
leaves above the leaves above the leaves
above the leaves so the leaves are on
the bottom the berries come there's the
uh Sal berry bush that's the shrub that
one has no berries on it you can see
that the berries grow along the stem
below below the leaves
not above the leaves like the
honeysuckle now these berries aren't
quite ripe here it's just not that time
of year but they'll get a dark red dark
red uh not an orangey transparent now
you notice when I was showing the plant
in the book there the leaves were like
kind of a lime gream and basically you
can see some of the leaves you can see
the back side you can see both sides of
the leaf now the salt
Berry is a dark green not not that light
lime green color
okay now the other thing is on the back
side the underneath side of salt Berry
leaves
it's almost a white green uh the
underside of the salt Berry leaves is
velvety or fuzzy it feels like Mullen
plant or Mullen Leaf so the ones on the
uh the honeysuckle there you can tell
they're smooth so these leaves are fuzzy
on the bottom as well okay so there is
the bottom of the salt Berry and I put
it right on the picture of the honey
suckle there but you see up the stem all
the brown dots and you can even see in
the leaf the brown dots all over the
bottom side of the leaf not smooth
different
color uh more of a whitish green on the
bottom side the wind's trying to blow my
leaf away so there you go and see how
it's pointed it's not oval leaf or
shaped it's not round it's not cup
shaped it's just flat and kind of like
an arroe head and this is to show you
the uh top side uh one thing concerning
the salmon berries the flour on the
salmon berries is a pink or purplish uh
not white like the thimbleberries so
that's one thing I forgot to mention
okay so with the uh
honeysuckle the berries on honeysuckle
are generally mildly toxic whereas the
salt berries are
edible but here's the thing with the
salt berries they're very bitter it's so
bitter you'd have to add a lot of sugar
but I still want to make some of that
and uh just show you how to do that uh I
guess the the main point is do your
research I mean you've got Google
nowadays and actually Google the things
that I've been talking about to to see
that I'm right or not so the other
fallacy was in one of the books they
said the way you can tell poisonous
berries from edible berries
Is by The Taste if if they're sweet and
pleasant
tasting they're okay to eat if they're
bitter they're poisonous well that's not
true either and I can think of several
examples like I just mentioned the salap
berries are very bitter but they're
edible there's another example where
twin berries black twin berries actually
taste fairly good so there's another
fallacy that you can tell a poisonous
from an edible Berry by The Taste that's
a fallacy as well uh but anyway I have
tasted some of the poisonous berries not
eating them but tasted them because I
wanted to know about that theory and
sure enough the theory is wrong because
you can't go uh by if the birds can eat
them the same as you can't go by The
Taste if they're bitter they're
poisonous if they're sweet they're okay
it's not true so do your own research I
hope you learned something I hope you
really will comment and I really
appreciate all you subscribers and
viewers so we'll see you on the next one
and I really hope that you learned
something but that you'll check it out
for yourself right on we'll see you on
the next
one for
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