Alone 10 Items

The History Channel's Alone is a reality show where 10 survivalists are dropped off with their own camera equipment, clothing, a satellite phone, and 10 survival items of their choice (from a limited list of options). Aside from occasional medical checks, they are left alone. Last man standing wins.

And it has been a man every time so far, although a couple women have come extremely close to winning. 

One of the best known and in my mind the most legendary of the show's contestants is Roland Welker of Alaska. Do a little Googling and you'll get a sense of who this guy is; and watching him in Season 7 is quite the journey. Roland became the first contestant to reach 100 days in the wilderness, and earned a cool million dollars for his accomplishment.

This is all for context. One of the intriguing questions of the show is which 10 items different contestants choose to bring along. Assuming I took a couple years to learn how the heck to survive in the wilderness and live off the land, here are the 10 items I would envision taking along.

1. Fixed Blade Knife (Gerber Strongarm)

To me, a rock-solid fixed blade knife is among the most useful and hardest to improvise items out in the woods. This is also one of the few items on the list that I already have; it has been great on camping trips, which is the extent of my wilderness experience.

2. Ferro Rod (Uberleben)

Fire is essential, and the consensus most reliable way to make it happen in the wild is throwing sparks. No running out of lighter fluid, not running out of matches, no hours of agony making a bow drill or other ancient gizmo. Just good old tinder, kindling, fuel, and some sparks. Another item I already have.

3. Sleeping Bag (-30)

This is one that practically all the Alone contestants have used, and it makes sense. You have to be able to get warm and go to sleep.

4. Pot

This one I could picture people improvising out of wood, but then you're going to have so much more trouble cooking stuff over your fire when your vessel itself is flammable. Re-carving pots every few days as your old ones burn out does not sound appealing. A metal pot is an essential and incredibly useful simple tool for daily needs.

5. Axe

I have so little experience using an axe that I'm not sure what makes it necessary when you already have a saw and a knife as well, but everyone seems to think it's essential, not just on the show but across the pages of history. I guess you have to split a lot of wood when the only heat source is your fire.

6. Saw

And before you split that wood, you have to cut it down. Definitely the easiest manually-powered method that I know of.

7. Fishing Kit

In terms of actually obtaining food, this seems like a method worth trying. You want to be able to obtain calories from as many sources as possible so that if one dries up, others are still available. Fish have fat and protein, and that can keep you going.

8. Snare wire

Again, you want to give yourself a chance at meat however you can. Snares are a passive way to potentially obtain food for yourself, traps that can work for you even when you're not actively there.

9. Bow and arrows

One theory the show has promulgated is that large game is necessary for surviving the winter while outdoors in cold wilderness conditions. There simply aren't enough calories, fat, and protein available in the winter from smaller animals and from plants. Bow and arrows represent a clear path to obtaining big game. The show does not allow guns.

10. Paracord

This last item, with its seven smaller inner strands just seems like it would be useful for a variety of applications such as lashing, fishing line, clothing repair, hanging items, etc. 

There you have it! Again, this list assumes that my wilderness survival skills were at an expert level, as opposed to their novice level. I should also note that even if given the opportunity, I would not seek to participate in a show like this. The premise itself is warned against by God - "It is not good for man to be alone". As so many of the contestants discover, a good life does not consist of solo survival, but of serving one's neighbor. That's hard to do when you leave all your neighbors.

Finally, here's what I would bring if dropped into Alone tomorrow, with my current skills, and asked to see how many days I could make it:

1. Fixed Blade Knife

2. Fishing Kit

3. Pot

4. Sleeping Bag

5. Saw

6. Axe

7. Ferro Rod

8. Food Rations

9. Food Rations

10. Food Rations