Well, I burned right through this book. I actually finished it a week ago, Thursday. It should really be called, Survivability for the Common ‘Sense’ Man. Dave takes a no nonsense real common sense approach to the concept of ‘what if I get lost in the woods while taking a walk, hiking, camping, etc.’ It is written in language everyone will understand and I like his writing style.
Dave starts by covering his philosophy of the Pathfinder System. The Pathfinder System, according to the book comes in 10 parts, and each one is outlined in some detail in the book. There is enough detail to give you an understanding of what each part of the system is, how it affects you, and what you should do to stay alive using it or recognizing the affects of it. Dave also goes into some detail about what to carry (his minimum pack requirements) with some enhancements when you go out into the woods, with tips and tricks on how not to lose your gear, and what to do if you find it floating down river without you. Topics cover everything from fire making, shelter, hunting for food, foraging (he made several good points in this section that I am going to definitely take his advice on), orienteering, and more. He does not go into deep detail about many of the subjects, otherwise this book could have been a 500 — 1000 page encyclopedia on how to survive in the wilderness with a knife and a firesteel. But that was obviously not the sole intention of the book. “I think” the intention here was to give an overview philosophy of the pathfinder system so that you don’t freak out if you get lost, and with general instruction on how to be found by a SAR (Search and Rescue) team. It is all about thinking smart, because the philosophy behind the Pathfinder System, really does seem to be common sense.
Who will enjoy this book? I think everyone will enjoy it to some extent. If you are a 20 year veteran Army Ranger or Marine, I am sure you probably already know much of what is in this book, less some of Dave’s philosophy. If you are an experienced bushman, you may learn a few new tips and tricks, which is always good. If you live in the suburbs
or an urban environment, this is a no nonsense, no fluff book on building and maintaining a minimum size bug out kit, hiking, or camping kit coupled with the high level outline of skills you will need in the outdoors. And, for this reason, I highly recommend it.
Much of Dave’s minimum kit were standard equipment in my Get Home Bag when I worked in NYC.
As I mentioned, this book could have been much longer, but you can do three things to learn more. Read a book on the subjects and then get out and try them, take a class or classes in your local area on the subjects, or you can go to Dave’s Pathfinder Gathering to learn directly from the man himself and his team. I would like to do this as well, should I be able to find the time.
You can buy the book here. I earn NO revenues from your purchase.
Since we live in an urban environment, with limited outdoor skills, we can definitely learn from this book. We will be ordering it shortly. Thanks for reviewing!
It really is a good book… It is a quick read, and it is full of the basic information… I am going to be posting a list of books I think would be good for the suburban prepper to read and use going forward, and this one is certainly on it. It seems to provide the right information without the fluff…
Would like updates of the Path Finder School.
Shance — You should go to YouTube.com and check out the Wilderness Outfitters. http://www.youtube.com/user/wildernessoutfitters
Just my perspective:
This book is to expensive for the information you are getting.
The editing is terrible. Sentence structure makes this book harder to read.
It appears that Dave was in such a hurry to get this book published and out the door that he didn’t bother to get it edited.
There is also a couple of places in the book were Dave refers back to some other information. The problem with that is that Dave forgot to print the “other information” in the book in the first place.
Just a sloppy book as far as I am concerned. Hopefully, Dave will get it “cleaned up” after his first printing run.
Splash7 how many books have you published?
You don’t have to publish a book in order to discern sloppy editing.
@Splash7
Knowing how to survive is worth more to me than the cash i might have in my pockets when i’m found dead in the woods.
–Also.
The link to purchase the book is dead. You can get it directly from The Pathfinder School website.
http://stores.thepathfinderschoolllc.com/-strse-71/Survivability-For-The-Common/Detail.bok
Thanks for the updated link… They must have changed the URL. I just noticed they changed their Website.
This book is a mess. While Dave is probably the best survival expert out there, he has got to be one of the worst authors and publishers of outdoor material. There is a massive amount of wasted space in the book. The concepts are not clearly spelled out unless you have seen his videos and know what he’s talking about. The book is waterproof and designed to be carried in your pack — what is the point of that if it is too large and filled with wasted blank space? I would have bought the book any way because I want to support whatever he does. Dual Survival is my favorite show on t.v. His YouTube videos have also taught me so much. I think he’ll get it right with the second edition.
since this book is waterproof does that make the pages tear proof or atleast very hard to tear?
Keith, I do not have the waterproof version… I would assume any coating on the pages would make it thicker and harder to tear. In hindsight, if you watch many of his videos, you will get the same content, and make your own notes…