Review of Survive: Learn to Become a Survivor in the Wild! DVD

An excellent 60 minute introduction to a topic with a good summary introduction to wilderness survival techniques. Obviously, this stuff will race by too fast to soak up the details, but the DVD format naturally allows for repeated viewings and note-taking. By no means should it be more than a supplement for a good book on the subject, at the least. That said, as a supplement, it does provide a helpful visual perspective for the armchair adventurer.

Good clear video quality, good sound quality, Not the exciting storyline presented in the Discovery Channel's Man vs. Wild and Survivorman series, this video excels by providing close-up demonstrations of techniques those series lack, like the proper use of a magnesium fire-starter.

Mel DeWeese and his sidekicks focus on acquiring wilderness survival skills as part of an overall survival plan which includes the issues of

1. Fire.

2. Water.

3. Shelter.

4. Signaling.

5. Food

6. First Aid.

He and the other narrators emphasize that the immediate priority is not the same in all conditions, due to the environment. A cold weather environment, for example, gives higher priority to getting a fire started and arranging shelter than acquisition of food and water. Obviously, whatever the conditions, first aid is the highest priority when an injury is involved.

Knowledge of the following topics will help the survivor deal with seven enemies of survival:

1. Fear and anxiety.

2. Cold and heat.

3. Thirst.

4. Boredom and loneliness.

5. Fatigue.

6. Hunger.

7. Pain and injury.

Topping the list of useful information is an impressive and ambitious segment on 17 ways to start a fire without matches.

In addition, there's basic advice on fire building. One tip that came out here is that a dry bird's nest contains all of the light materials that make it valuable for fire-starting.

Other segments include, but are not limited to, what goes into a good survival kit, navigation tips, water resources, and the dangers of hypothermia. In the food acquisition category, there's a compact segment on edible wild plants, trapping, and hunting tools. In the segment on signaling, the hosts advise you use a mirror. It reaches farther.

I liked the video. Basic but visual, inexpensive, and a good supplemental resource. Naturally, hands-on experience at fire-starting and learning edible plants and the like is recommended above all.