Bushcraft 101: A Field Guide to the Art of Wilderness Survival (Bushcraft Survival Skills Series)

Awesome book full of useful info

Most books about survival and outdoor skills don’t become “bestsellers”. But somehow Bushcraft 101 made it onto the 2014 New York Times list of Best Selling Sports Books. Why was that? In our opinion this book was popular because it’s a good, basic beginner bushcraft/wilderness survival book that can also be enjoyed by an experienced outdoors person because of the author’s credentials, writing style and content. Written by Dave Canterbury, known to many people as one of the original two survivalists on the TV show “Dual Survival,” where he was teamed with Cody Lundin (Dave was the one that wore shoes), the book focuses on Dave’s view of bushcraft; a view that means taking advantage of what nature makes available to you and using a minimum of gear to survive and thrive in the natural world, carrying “the knowledge and skills needed to create items straight from the landscape”. The main way that Dave’s book differs from the first two books on our favorites list is due to his focus on the skills necessary to thrive in the woods – not just the skills essential to surviving in the wild in an emergency. Because of this much of the book is based on Canterbury’s “Five Cs of Survivability” – items chosen since they are extremely hard to make in the wild and directly impact controlling your body’s core temperature. Dave’s Five Cs are: 1) Cutting Tools – to manufacture needed items and process food 2) Covering Elements – to create a microclimate of protection from the elements 3) Combustion Devices – for creating the fires needed not only to preserve and cook food, but also to make medicines and provide needed warmth 4) Containers – to carry water over distances or to protect collected food sources 5) Cordages – for bindings and lashings The book also shows how Dave has a “systems” mindset (e.g. never carry anything unless it can perform multiple functions). The book has sections on: Gearing Up Your Pack Tools Rope, Cordage, Webbings, and Knots Containers and Cooking Tools Coverage Combustion In The Bush Setting Up Camp Navigating Terrain Trees: the Four-Season Resource Trapping and Processing Game Appendices Conserving and Utilizing resources Wild Edibles and Medicinal Plants Bush Recipes Glossary Dave’s detailed section on Tools is especially helpful for people new to camping. We also like Dave’s “Four Ws” relating to setting up a camp – Wood, Water, Wind and Widowmakers. Having 256 pages, measuring 5½ x ¾ x 8½ inches and weighing ~10 ounces this is probably a book that you learn from but do not take on the trail with you. Although shorter than all of our other recommended books, Bushcraft 101 is not intended to be all encompassing – since it is only intended to cover the “20 percent of bushcraft that is of the most value”.

Rarely do reviews of products but I’m a big fan of Dave Canterbury. I grew up hunting and camping but I’ve recently taken a dive into the art of bushcraft. Now I’m looking to expand my knowledge and hone my skills into mastery. This book is very easy to read and comprehend as it feels more conversational than lectured. I’m excited to finish this one and move on to advanced bushcraft.

Bushcraft 101 is a pleasant source of knowledge for many different expertise levels, the descriptions are well worded although as a beginner myself I prefer more diagrams than what was provided. There were so many useful points that someone could use no matter if they were primitive camping or stranded in the middle of a jungle. Some of the topics that were discussed ranged from tools, your pack and shelter, cooking and cleaning food, fires, ropes, and navigating terrain. There was continued useful information in the appendix sections which detailed ways to conserve your tools and resources, bush recipes, medicinal plants and wild berries, as well as a glossary for almost all of the terms used. The way Canterbury addresses the reader is not as if they are incompetent rather that they do have some knowledge but are not well versed in the survival skills discussed. The book is written from the point of view of a teacher or mentor and has a very simplistic language during the explanations of the skills. As I went through the book I found the glossary to be extremely helpful since I am not well versed in outdoor pertinent terms. The index was also very helpful and would be helpful in the case of practicing the skills after reading the book. It has a thorough list of different sections that point you to where the information you are looking for is located. I also liked how the skills were separated by headers and the book was sectioned into two parts, this made it very easy to go back and find what I needed even without using the index. The separations and headings also gave a sense of organization throughout the book which I feel, makes me more secure when I imaging needing to find something in an emergency. The size of the book is perfect to store within my emergency backpack or any camping bags, the cover is also a little more firm than a regular paperback which leads me to think it could withstand more abuse. One issue that I found when looking over skills is the diagrams are not very descriptive, the knots portion of the book only details the steps of certain knots instead of all knots. The book seems to be geared more towards an auditory learner versus a visual learner, although the verbiage is clear you would have a harder time learning the skills without seeing the step by step directions in some cases. It also does not appear that the author used any outside sources, these seemed to all be skills that the author practices frequently and has learned through experiences. I felt as if the tone of the book was very formal, with verbiage that would be used in a classroom or workshop. This tone throughout the book does take some time to read through due to the lecturing or monotone delivery as would be used in a classroom. As a person who often needs some sort of excitement in my reading choices, this was a harder read to get through only because it was strictly focused on teaching the skills outlined. Although this can also be a positive attribute when you are attempting to find a skill in a hurry when you are out in the field, fewer words to filter through to learn the skill you will need. Personally, upon reading the book, I could not relate to any of the chapters due to my inexperience in the field. There were specific skills outlined within the book such as using a cast iron skillet and some of the fire lighting methods, which I was able to learn quickly and use for a camping trip that came shortly after beginning to read the book. However the more we practice these skills the easier it will be to remember them in the times a survival situation or emergency comes around. I have attempted some of the knots shown in the book and some of the fire-starting information was helpful as well. I found when I have used the information given that it was very helpful and rewarding to see that what skills I was learning were paying off. This made me enjoy the book more than when I had originally begun reading it.

I'm about halfway through it, and so far here are my observations. 1. Anyone who knows bushcraft/woodcraft isn't really going to learn much from the book. It is basics. 2. It could use more illustrations, for sure. I understand what Dave is trying to say with various things, but someone who is a beginner is going to be like "what?" Some techniques just need to be illustrated rather than tried to explain in words alone. Probably these are some of the pictures the editor cut out. 3. The book is remarkably well laid out and organized. I mean really well. It is systematic. Hard to explain, but this is a great book for a sort of Boy Scout field guide, or that type of thing. 4. The book, in the gear section, has a gear list which is not only huge and heavy, but names brands like Wetterling and GB, which in my view is not something you should do for a "101" book ostensibly for beginners. I could see someone looking up a GB as a beginner and getting shell shocked by the price. On the flip side, he does explain the qualities you want in the tools such as your knives and axes, and backpacks very well, so if you are a beginner and can't afford a GB (who can? Not me), you still have guidelines on the length and properties of what you want in your tools. Better would have been to take a more "ideally, you want a GB, but you can get good tools with these properties, and here are some manufacturers that make quality tools at affordable prices". Overall, I think it is a very quality and handy book. I think it is more orderly, and therefore a better "textbook for learning", than some other classic books of bushcraft and survival. I think this book is a GREAT teaching tool, the sort of thing a dad and son can bring into the field, and dad use the book to teach his son. I would call it a 10/10 in this category. As a book to become an expert woodsman, or for a total greenhorn to read and learn, not so much. Maybe a 7/10 for a greenhorn....due to lack of illustrations to show some basic woodsman techniques. On this point, I don't think that was in Dave's control, as he lamented all the illustrations the editor cut out.

Very happy with this book. I don't understand why all the haters. It's a thin, 12 dollar paperback. With that in mind, it's loaded with good information for a novice or first timer. As a sort of added bonus, you have the author's youtube channel as an extra resource. I found that for virtually any subject in the book, I could go to his youtube channel, search the subject I was reading about, and there was a video showing everything the text was talking about. So you have an actual guy doing the stuff and describing it as you watch, as well as text and pictures to go along with it. Then when I was in the field, just browsing at the book brought back to mind watching the guy doing the stuff and the next thing I knew I had a shelter and fire ~ no matches, no paper, no lighter fluid, just what I collected around from the woods and the knowledge I had obtained from this book. In just a few hours I had a pleasant camp site and an enjoyable weekend with no sort of artificial aid. It was very satisfying to me. I am grateful to Mr. Dave Cantebury simply for sharing most of his knowledge and experience for free on youtube. And then he took the time and effort to write a book, which now is a valuable reference in the field. If you are a novice at bushcraft, camping, field craft, etc, then I think you will appreciate this book very much. If you are an "expert" at everything, and/or get hung up on details (such as, "the title clearly says SURVIVAL, which implies EMERGENCY and he doesn't adequately cover all scenarios blah blah blah blah") then this book might not be for you. I will be ordering and reading the advanced version of this book in the weeks to come, and I feel good that it will also be a good purchase simply because I already know I have his youtube channel as an added resource. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfa-XVztQrDlf-2v1UUdkwg bayite Survival Drilled Flint Fire Starter Ferrocerium Rod Kit with OD Green Paracord Landyard 6 Inch Large Catahoula Manufacturing #12 Tarred Twisted Nylon Twine (Bank Line) 395' Spool, 100lb Test 138' Catahoula Manufacturing #36 Tarred Braided Nylon Twine (Bank Line) 320 lb Tensile Strength Ontario Knife 7025 7-Inch Butcher Knife Ka-Bar Leather Sheath, 7-Inch, Brown

The 6 C's of Survival are Cutting tools, Cover elements (shelter), Combustion devices, Containers (food and water), Cordage, and Canterbury. This is a great book that distills the wisdom of Dave Canterbury down to everything you need to know in 250 pages. Chapters include your pack, tools, rope/cordage, containers/cooking tools, coverage, combustion, setting up camp, navigating the terrain, trees: the 4-seaason resource, trapping and processing game, and appendices on edible/medicinal plants, bush recipes, with many professional diagrams that illustrate concepts. There is a LOT crammed into this little book. It gives you just enough valuable information in a clear delivery but doesn't become tedious. Canterbury offers a nice combination of old school bushcraft skills (fire by friction and debris huts) with new technology (ferrocerium rods and gear). I like how the book is clearly laid out, and each chapter opens with a relevant quote by experts like Mors Kochanski or Horace Kephart, so you know what he's been reading, and maybe what you should be reading, too. Even though this is titled "101," if this were the only book on bushcraft you ever owned and studied, you would learn a great deal of useful information. I don't have any negative criticisms of it, except I wish there were some more diagrams on subjects like constructing a lean-to, for example, where a picture is worth a thousand words. I enjoyed watching Dave Canterbury and Cody Lundin on the first 2 seasons of "Dual Survival," but without them the show is so bad that it should be shown to terrorists to torture them.

Great book. Covers the important details of skills and wildlife knowledge. Can even take it with you while outdoors. Researched well, takes from the knowledge brought forth by early age woodsmen, in addition to modern practices. An essential book for my library.