First off, I have to apologize for not getting this done sooner. I came down with the evil flu, that took me down a couple of days, I had some bagpiping engagements I had to take care of, and I had an army buddy visiting this past weekend. So, its been a crazy couple of weeks, but I DID get to watch them (plan on it again soon too).
First, the packaging. The DVD set (two DVDs) come packaged in a standard plastic type case. The front picture is gorgeous: a mist covered mountain. The back is a quick overview of the contents, and the bios of the 4 authors: Gretchen Cordy, Doug Ritter, Buck Tilton, and Rich Johnson. Reading these quick bios, these are some heavy hitters in the world of preparedness. You have a USAF survival instructor, a leading authority on survival, particularly small aircraft safety, co-founder of the Wilderness Medicine Institute for NOLS, and an ex-special forces soldier, who regularly teaches outdoor survival tehniques, and writes for several outdoor magazines. So, these are your instructors; needless to say these are some heavy hitters!
The DVD set is broken down into two disks; the first one is basic concepts, in depth topics, and profiles. This DVD goes into a LOT of the mental state of a survivor; they pull on some real life scenarios, and have interviews with some folks who had survived several days snowed in on a mountain in CA. There is alot to take in; the DVD is over 2 hours long. They show a little demonstration, using some lost hikers, or basic things; a quick lean to using plastic sheeting, carrying a whistle, little things like that. This DVD mainly touches on the preparedness part of it; skills you should know, and some of the thought processes one goes through. There are quite a few concepts that are discussed, and the narrators pull from personal experience to illustrate some points. It is not dry; all 4 narrators are presenting information that, although it may not be fresh, new ideas for some of us, is certainly alot of the things people overlook, such as the boredom of your situation, the Rules of 3, and the fact that, by the time most people admit they are lost, it is dark. These are things that arent normally discussed, or are at best brushed over, in alot of the books out there. So, it is nice to see someone touch on these things (I have carried a deck of cards for YEARS in my survival kit, for just this purpose!).
The second DVD is bonus materials. They go into some of the things one would want in their kit, as well as some knife selections. This is nice, as they point out the pros & cons of some of the equipment, but dont seem to endorse any particular brand (so it doesnt really feel like an infomercial). With the knife selection section, they go over what to look for in a good sheath knife, showing several different models. Again, as these folks are professionals, they keep it well on track (no Rambo style knives). Gretchen does a section on knots; this part I found sort of lacking. She went over a timber hitch, and a square knot. IIRC, that was about it. Personally, I think that this was sort of glossed over; I would've liked to see some other basic knots reviewed as well; classic ones like the figure of 8, bowline, girth hitch and a reef knot would have been nice. Not sure why only 2 knots were covered, but, dont expect much.
The last part of the 2nd DVD is scenery; I must admit, I didnt look at these as of yet. However, I believe most, if not all, of this DVD was shot in the Pacific NorthWest, so, I am SURE it would be gorgeous.
Overall, I think that this is a worthy addition to any outdoors library. It isnt campy, they arent pushing a particular product on you, it isnt a military-style movie; it is just 4 experts sharing their knowledge & experience with the rest of us. My suggestion would be to pick this up if you can!
First, the packaging. The DVD set (two DVDs) come packaged in a standard plastic type case. The front picture is gorgeous: a mist covered mountain. The back is a quick overview of the contents, and the bios of the 4 authors: Gretchen Cordy, Doug Ritter, Buck Tilton, and Rich Johnson. Reading these quick bios, these are some heavy hitters in the world of preparedness. You have a USAF survival instructor, a leading authority on survival, particularly small aircraft safety, co-founder of the Wilderness Medicine Institute for NOLS, and an ex-special forces soldier, who regularly teaches outdoor survival tehniques, and writes for several outdoor magazines. So, these are your instructors; needless to say these are some heavy hitters!
The DVD set is broken down into two disks; the first one is basic concepts, in depth topics, and profiles. This DVD goes into a LOT of the mental state of a survivor; they pull on some real life scenarios, and have interviews with some folks who had survived several days snowed in on a mountain in CA. There is alot to take in; the DVD is over 2 hours long. They show a little demonstration, using some lost hikers, or basic things; a quick lean to using plastic sheeting, carrying a whistle, little things like that. This DVD mainly touches on the preparedness part of it; skills you should know, and some of the thought processes one goes through. There are quite a few concepts that are discussed, and the narrators pull from personal experience to illustrate some points. It is not dry; all 4 narrators are presenting information that, although it may not be fresh, new ideas for some of us, is certainly alot of the things people overlook, such as the boredom of your situation, the Rules of 3, and the fact that, by the time most people admit they are lost, it is dark. These are things that arent normally discussed, or are at best brushed over, in alot of the books out there. So, it is nice to see someone touch on these things (I have carried a deck of cards for YEARS in my survival kit, for just this purpose!).
The second DVD is bonus materials. They go into some of the things one would want in their kit, as well as some knife selections. This is nice, as they point out the pros & cons of some of the equipment, but dont seem to endorse any particular brand (so it doesnt really feel like an infomercial). With the knife selection section, they go over what to look for in a good sheath knife, showing several different models. Again, as these folks are professionals, they keep it well on track (no Rambo style knives). Gretchen does a section on knots; this part I found sort of lacking. She went over a timber hitch, and a square knot. IIRC, that was about it. Personally, I think that this was sort of glossed over; I would've liked to see some other basic knots reviewed as well; classic ones like the figure of 8, bowline, girth hitch and a reef knot would have been nice. Not sure why only 2 knots were covered, but, dont expect much.
The last part of the 2nd DVD is scenery; I must admit, I didnt look at these as of yet. However, I believe most, if not all, of this DVD was shot in the Pacific NorthWest, so, I am SURE it would be gorgeous.
Overall, I think that this is a worthy addition to any outdoors library. It isnt campy, they arent pushing a particular product on you, it isnt a military-style movie; it is just 4 experts sharing their knowledge & experience with the rest of us. My suggestion would be to pick this up if you can!
