Seeing someone as skilled as you struggle is actually a huge confidence boost for beginners such as myself.

@clayhayeshunter

8 ай бұрын

Glad to help😉

@michalurbanful

8 ай бұрын

Seeing someone as skilled as the author struggle actually means I'd be proper f'ed ... :o :)

@truthseeker922

7 ай бұрын

I have so much more respect for someone who's willing to show their mistakes instead of just showing perfection every time.

@elderizback3752

7 ай бұрын

@@truthseeker922 yea survival is about metal to staying possitive

@frikkiesmit327

5 ай бұрын

​@@elderizback3752also about good sized metal and sharp metal

It takes a real dude to air his mistakes and fumbles in action. Good video

@clayhayeshunter

8 ай бұрын

Thank ya

@markblocker4565

7 ай бұрын

100% agreed.

@peggysuedavis3395

7 ай бұрын

Awesome workmanship . Detailed and organized. I will show this off on our next woods ride. Thank you.

@flingshotlife

6 ай бұрын

I agree @joshjames253. I feel alittle chit chatty: In general. Learn from our mistakes and try to find more positive ways and outcomes. Surround ourselves, yourself with positive events, people and situations. Which leads to a phrase I say a lot “Hunt the Good,” and don’t focus on the bad. Seek the positive. The negative or mistakes can ruin you and your mental game if you keep dwelling on them. Learn from mistakes, and drawn them with positivity. Have a good day. Hunt the Good.

@rogerjensen5277

6 ай бұрын

This man practices what he preaches!

I thought this vid was great cause regardless of not getting it going first try, you did and for most people attempting this the first time it's good to see how to work around these problems. Sometimes seeing someone nail it fast and effectively doesn't help others to process the information like I felt this video allowed.

@clayhayeshunter

8 ай бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it!

@satchsh

7 ай бұрын

Yes I agree.

@80RedRock

5 ай бұрын

16 minutes with wet wood. Well Done. I couldn't help but think of the saying: slow is smooth, and smooth is fast. Well done, though none the less.

Arguably this is the best way to teach how to light a fire in the wet, because you showed how NOT to do it as well. You warned about rushing to light the fire before having enough kindling in your last wet weather fire video. Proof is in the pudding, thanks for your content Clay

live in Alaska and I've tried this exact same sinerio like 2 weeks ago on a solo camping trip. I failed and was cold all night, so I respect the process thanks for content like this Mr. Hayes. Helps alot 🙂

@jtc1947

5 ай бұрын

EXCUSE PLS? Can You tell us why You failed? Ir what You think that You did WRONG?? Thank You

I’ve got to agree with others here. I wouldn’t in any way label this a fail. As a matter of fact it’s more than a win, because it’s literally the reality of it. Nobody is perfect, and in a life or death situation training like this, putting yourself under pressure when all of the chips are in your pocket, is what’s going to get you through for real for real. You’re good to go bud. And thank you for showing the people who don’t train, just how important training really is. It’s literally the difference between life and death when the chips are down.

Here in the UK we have more Christmas tree looking conifers with dead branches at the bottom of live trees, which is very helpful. I just smash dead branches into stumps as I don't have the tools that could handle battoning, you get loads of dry splinters in different sizes in no time. You live in a gorgeous place, a nice backdrop to some realistic fire making, I love it.

Good old pooch running along to keep you company and laugh at your antics!!!

So many stories about people losing/misplacing their black ferro rods. Having a handle that you can rig a lanyard to helps, especially if you use orange paracord for the lanyard. High viz colors always for those small items you take out of the pack, that can easily be misplaced.

@clayhayeshunter

8 ай бұрын

Definitely

Not always too big to baton. Try angles and corners to chip away at it. Often we fixate on baton right down the middle ,which by diameter is the most difficult ; )

The first time I went to look for fatwood I thought it would be a big deal. I shortly realized in the Mountain West just about everything is fatwood. Which is kind of scary as regards forest fires. Good video showing not only fire building but slowing down. I could use that! :)

Thumbs up for working on/practicing/maintaining those skills that everyone who hunts in the mountains should probably have. I neglect this type of stuff OFTEN, I know I do, and I know that one day it could be to my determent. I spend so much time working on my bow, muzzy, or rifle, or scouting for elk, or thinking about what the elk or doing, etc... my heads always in "the game", that I never make time to practice basic survival and woodsmanship. It's hard to just slow down, and do this stuff. I did my last hunting trip, only because I couldn't find elk. I figured, "well, I might as well build a fire or two for practice, I've got nothing better to do..." You definitely know how to work wood, i'm guessing it's those bowyer skills coming out, and I'm jealous of your archery range. All i've got is a bale in the basement. Great work man! As an aside, I started following you before you went on Alone. You used to do alot of videos for BHA. When I saw you on alone, i was like, "Hey i've seen that guy!" I was pulling for you the whole time, I wanted to see a hunter from the intermountain west win it, and you did. I wouldn't last a week, hell, maybe not even 3 days. My metabolism is too high, and I'm not skilled enough to find enough food.

@chriskourliourod1651

7 ай бұрын

You’re on the right track by getting more interested in overall woodsmanship! One of the values of outdoor recreational pursuits is that they often arouse curiosity about everything in nature, including living in it. Take care, and good hunting! 🦌👍

Good job! I'm a big fan of small split pieces and lots of them. I find them more effective than feather sticks. Also since I always carry a little toilet paper I often use one sheet as my starter tinder. I'm also a fixed blade kind of guy

When I was in Boy Scouts, years ago, we would have fire building events at our camporee's every year. It was about 10 other troops/patrols vs the other troops/patrols. You had to build a fire using any method of ignition (bow drill, friction, 1 paper match, magnifying glass, etc) and burn 2 strings that were strung across the fire ring. One string was set at 12" above the ground (which was as high as you could place any wood) and the other string was set at 36". The object was to build a fire from scratch and burn through the top 36" string in as short of time as possible. My patrol always won that competition. It was a fun exercise to fine tune your fire making skills. It was all about the prep. Get it setup up right and you could burn that top string in under 2 minutes. But that is having 6 guys all working on a different part of the fire and not solo. Wish we would have had solo competitions. Might have to try it some day.

Slow is smooth, smooth is fast. And that's the best argument I've seen for throwing away a multi tool and carrying a real knife I've seen so far. Thanks for letting us see the whole/real process.

@rogerjensen5277

6 ай бұрын

No, carry both, two is one! He could have lost his ferro rod, then what, friction fire in those conditions, not likely!

@enegron6987

6 ай бұрын

@@rogerjensen5277Absolutely agree, 2 is 1 ✨💫💎

@jtc1947

5 ай бұрын

No need to throw away the multi-tool but a BETTER STRONGER KNIFE is a GREAT SUGGESTION!

It’s some good reminders that preparation of wood for every phase of fire building and mindfulness in action goes a long ways. I reckon taking the rush out the pace would go a long ways in regulating one’s nervous system in a dire situation. I really appreciate the real time, no cut video. Jump cuts are not my favorite. Thank you for sharing fire making skills!

Good job and thanks for sharing honest struggles of time pressure and wet conditions. Reminds me of the old saying “ fast is slow and slow is fast”.

@clayhayeshunter

8 ай бұрын

You bet

This video is a great display of skill. How you transition from one technique to the next. Very fluidly as the situation calls for it. Some people might not even be able to appriciate the intricacy of it all. But having been out there. Trying many times to get fires going in the rain and snow... i often go back when im editing the footage. Like..." i wish i thought to do this.. or that..." its skills ive practiced. But being able to incorperate them all so seamlessly speaks to years and years of experience. I hope you put out more videos. I really enjoy your vids.

It's possible and even do-able to get a fire going under bad conditions. But real-world survival seems to come with even more challenges, like actively downpouring, cold/hypothermia messing with your dexterity, injuries keeping you from being as mobile, terrain blocking you from better materials or locations, physical exhaustion... It's a huge part of why I think learning these skills is so important for just about everybody who wanders the backcountry. If you struggle under mild challenges, then you'll be screwed when you need these skills for a real-life safety scenario. Good to learn for ourselves and all those under our care -- just in case. Thanks for putting this content out there. It's worth adding it to the old "Backcountry College" series. There has been some changes at BHA so maybe there's an opportunity for more custom content with them again.

Almost every time I try to baton wood with my knife in a real situation where I don't have everything perfectly situated in advance it never works the first time. The wood is too tough, too knotty, knife gets stuck etc. Glad to see it's not just me. I'll definitely be incorporating that half-way saw and split technique into my own fire starting skillset though. I always learn something new when I watch your videos.

Great video of what you face in real life, real time situations and how small decisions lead down roads with real consequences. You showed how to flex and adapt and overcome. The tools you have, the time you have, the mindset you have, the environment you're in, the resources available to you all come together as ingredients in a stew you get to be creative with. There's always cool things to learn looking back and ways to improve because no 2 situations are identical and no execution is all together perfect. Very inspiring video for me. Thanks!

A wise man learns from the mistakes of others, a normal man learns from his own mistakes, a fool learns from no one's mistakes. Thanks for being real so that we can all learn what not to do... as well as what we should do.

The unscripted, real time shoot was fun to watch. Thanks for sharing.

@clayhayeshunter

8 ай бұрын

Thank ya

Nice challenge! Good job, with all its little difficulties. Always learning a few things when watching you work. Thanks Clay and Coye!

@clayhayeshunter

8 ай бұрын

Thanks 👍

My best time was just under 10 minutes. I heard your words of advice and took time to really prepare the setup and a good bird's nest. Once that was done, I made a fire in 30 seconds! WOW, it really pays to take a deep breath and think it through first.

I knew there was a reason I like carrying my fixed blade along with my multitool. Not being sarcastic in any way I genuinely hadn't thought about the difficulty of splitting wood with a leatherman.

A lot of good information here for people to know especially wood processing techniques without much in the way of tools. And to process 2 to 3 times more material than you think you need. Also realizing the colder you are and the more stress you are under will make this that much harder, so you are showing how important it is to control your emotions. And this is also a time injuries are more likely to happen. Thanks Clay and Coy Great video!

@clayhayeshunter

8 ай бұрын

Thanks 🙏

The best thing about this video is that it shows just how much work is involved in outdoor living. Doing everything from scratch makes one appreciate modern conveniences even more-when finishing an outing, I like to treat myself to a hearty cheesesteak sub just the way I like it. Keep your powder dry! 👍

It was very interesting watching this done under pressure and seeing how easy it could be to lose vital equipment. Great camera work Coye!

Love the uncut video, Clay! Please make more in the future, it helps me learn better

Preparation of your shaving and taking your time is a key factor to a successful fire thank you very much Clay

@clayhayeshunter

8 ай бұрын

Very true!

I think no matter where we are in life or what we’re doing, it’s always good to challenge ourselves in some way

Thanks for the honesty man. It's a great test.

Real world we all make mistakes but it’s how we recover from them that makes the difference. Nicely done

Great video! I think, when we rush, we tend to make mistakes. Knowledge and time will prevail!

Main part of what u proved prep enough ahead before u start, good job that's 1 reason I love your show , truth

Hey Clay, fun video as always. I'd like to make a suggestion if no one else has done so; take a few seconds to make a wooden wedge the next time your blade is too small. Use the blade to create the space for the wedge and use your baton on that. The bigger the log, the more wedges. I've seen this done up to 24" logs and bigger.

If you had a wedge shape from say flint, it would help open the wood up. Could use a stick end to help drive it down the length of what you’re splitting. Obviously, that may not be available. I really like that though you had a plan, you made but admitted your mistakes and what you should have done initially to get a quicker success. That demonstrated both what can go wrong as well as right. Good job, not an easy task!

@clayhayeshunter

8 ай бұрын

Many thanks

Awesome video as always. I spend most of my free time in the north coast range mountains of Oregon. It’s an extremely wet place . We practiced this very thing during hunting season. This is a great challenge video for everyone to sharpen the most necessary skills.

Here in the one we took suffer from soppy wet weather for about 8 months a year. After watching you I definitely need to get out and practice more often!

Yes, a clear and calm head is THE MOST important thing to have!

Showint the wrong and the right is EXCELLENT instruction!

Quality video as always, the bigger pieces of wood can be laid like a bed to start the fire on, level surface and keeps the fire off the cold and wet. Hardwood this way make great cooking coals. Good to see the next generation involved

Amazing video Clay and it shows people the reality. Its possible to light a fire in really wet conditions but its not a walk in the park. I deal with wet conditions most of the times here in the jungle of Bali. Cheers mate and thanks for sharing your knowledge with all of us

Dog did the best job helping 😁

I agree with your choice in wood and I learn from the experience of others . I got some definite ideas on how to increase my chance of making a fire in the rain or wet conditions

Thanks for keeping it real Clay. I drill a hole in my ferro rod and tye some flagging tape to it to prevent me from loosing it.

Good job. Preparation is everything.

Use your knife (and saw) to make a baton and wedges. Use unlocked blade to start a split line then use wedge to split up to large logs. No need to risk knives, even tough fixed blades in real serious survival. Dry wood can also be reached shaving into smaller sticks with a knife by simply removing wet bark. Before YT, we did everything with a slip joint 2 blade or a 110...it can be done lol. All the best, Clay and family.

Great video. It shows how difficult firelighting can be in poor conditions and the importance of a good cutting tool. I live in Wales, UK and we get more than our fair share of rain. We also have crazy knife laws which limit us to a 3" folding blade for legal carrying. That size makes processing larger wood difficult. Your video shows that it's best to take the time to prepare your materials properly and smaller. Nice job! 👍👍

Good video about the difficulty's of starting a fire. Don't forget the Blood triangle, saw you slip a couple times. Rain cold and stress easy to forget the safety measures even for someone as experienced as you!

Learned a lot here! Actually super helpful to see your first attempt…thanks!

Nice demo, kind of adds perspective for tjhose wondering. One more thing you can do is make finger size pieces and feather one end, also you can use one of the smaller splits as a wedge when you start batoning

I personally would try using something like the bill of the cap or anything dry to catch the sawdust you created. Still a good challenge to take on. You did well and thank you for taking us along.

Best real time .wet, fire vidio I have seen.

I always wanted to do a survival challenge with just a multi tool. Very cool.

Man the second that spark took a hold my soul cried "ME MAN I MAKE FIRE, ME MAN I DANCE IN RAIN !" Appreciate all that you do man Congrats on conquering alone Seriously the embodiment of what one has within them self if they just simply tried whole heartedly. Hope you stay golden Clay God Bless you and the fam also take care everyone ! time for me to get me trunks and start a fire !

I'm not a outside guy being paired with my wheelchair and all But your video was So fun me and my buddy tried to do it today. Thank you for the instructions, it was super misty after rain today but we got a fire goin in 24 mins it was fun not using fire starters and doing this ourselves.

Love it. Reality of survival fire making.

I really thought you were going to snag some birch bark along the way. It's definitely one of my favorite things for starting fires, and works fine even when soaking wet. I see some aspen, and possibly some cottonwood, so I wouldn't be surprised if there is some birch close by. That said, the way you did it was probably even better for teaching purposes. There is not always birch nearby, but there is always dead standing dry wood, if you are in any sort of bush or forest. Thank you for a great video. This is probably one of the best fire making videos anyone has made.

Use you knife (not locked) to start a split. Then take a small branch and whittle it down into a wedge. Use that wood wedge to help split the logs. Felix Immler has videos about doing this.

Nice job! Placement of small, early pieces of fuel is critical…esp wet and windy. It’s great FUN.

Nice video and great effort! The humid and wet conditions were challenging. I need to practice that more often!

Great vid! I just added a good folder knife with my edc. Folder, leatherman, ferro, and a bic my edc

Good job getting it going. I like when making the fire is somewhat difficult. They are the most rewarding fires. I was scanning the trees in the background for pine sap leaking out of old wound. Some pine pitch would’ve helped out a lot.

Been there Done That! FFFFFing COLD! Busted up a pine tree that was totality dead. Had no problem collecting twigs and branches of every size. In the back country of Yellowstone.

Great real life/real time demo. Great to see an example without ideal conditions, materials and tools - far more analogous to an actual survival situation. I'd only add that I wouldn't baton anywhere near my femoral artery, particularly with an unstable blade (5.20 onwards) glad you moved over to a branch as a base for this 👍 Just discovered your channel and really loving it. Subbed, Atb from the UK, Andy

awesome video clay, i love your vids. Keep them coming bro

Love me some long leaf pine absolutely beautiful

Respect! for not starting over with a fresh take after that first fail! Had to laugh at myself at the 15:50 mark--I actually leaned forward to breath on that waning flame! 🤣

That's why I always carry Cold Steel's Trail Hawk. Yes, a little heavier, yes, a little larger in size. But much more functional than a multitool in the forest. Paired with a small knife, you don't need anything else to have a fire in almost any weather. Thank you for showing people how it can be by example.

@asmith7876

7 ай бұрын

LOVE the trail hawk, cutting edge isn't huge but adequate and you can hammer with it too.

Fire is all about prep - This was great to watch all the gotchas ;>) Great video ;>)

Cool demonstration. Like you said, if you take your time prepping you up your odds but if the clock is ticking and you NEED that fire quick, you gotta do what you gotta do. Did you all have to read a story for english class , "To Build a Fire"?

That was fun. Thanks, Clay.

@clayhayeshunter

8 ай бұрын

You bet

Those are challenging conditions: wet wood in the wind. I'm sure no expert, but I've learned a few things through the years. I've learned that the more time spend prepping your material before you put spark to tinder, the better the chances of turn that spark into a fire. Relative humidity plays a huge role as well, in how much wood needs to be processed, and to what degree of fineness the tinder should be, to start and "keep" your fire lit. I became aware of this fact in prescribed burn exercises. It's all about the quality of the tinder, how much tinder and how much wood you've processed - IMO.

I was amazed at the patience of the deer, then I realized there were several targets out there!

great info man and i been breaking sticks by hitting the on trees or the ground for years great stuff

Great stuff! I appreciate the uncut, raw footage that shows the whole process, with raw emotions, frustration etc. Awesome!I did also similar video on my channel, but I edited that heavily (shorts format). Thanx! Great channel btw. Cheers from a fellow outdoors lover/youtuber from a village of Fiskars, Finland!

You got it going man😊 you got fire. Thanks for sharing 😊

Great job! Real life stuff. I think by making a wooden wedge from a piece of wood would speed up the splitting of kindling, but save your Leatherman from possible failure. A wooden wedge can be made in under a minute but can split many pieces for you. Thanks for the info.

I have found that using the saw blade vertical against the grain creates a nice fine or finer tender. Nice job showing the challenges of creating fire even with a fero rod.

I learned some good lessons from this video. Thanks Clay 👍🏻

@clayhayeshunter

8 ай бұрын

Glad to help

Good tips. Thanks!

I must say, never baton with your knife. It is far too easy to break the knife, get the blade stuck, or be injured cut if it breaks. A broken tool won't help you survive as well as an unbroken tool. A bleeding injury is never good in any situation. Instead of batonning the knife, make some wedges from thumb-diameter limbs/wood and use those for splitting. Hammer them into the wood with another piece of wood. If you have a saw, you can start the split with it, to make the job more easy when driving the wedges. Being in a survival situation requires a clear thought process and good well-honed skills. When you are cold, wet, tired, and hungry you are being handicapped both mentally & physically. Each easy action you perform, when in good conditions, becomes a difficulty when in bad conditions. Do not rely on a, seat-of-your-pants, method such as batonning with a knife. It can be difficult to do in the best of times and disastrous to do in the worst of times when mistakes are more apt to happen.

Never seen the halfway-saw-and-split technique used for firewood before. Also, I'm going to get an extra ferro rod or two!

This shows why you should always have a good fixed blade in the bush. Love all you do with your leatherman though.

I carry a multitool as well, and i know theres a limit to how much gear you want to carry, but i also carry a thick, full tang small dagger. I find a small (8") fixed blade to be invaluable and worth the extra weight/space. I carry an old dagger that is 1/4" thick, good quality steel that i made myself specially for this purpose. Its thickness makes it extremely strong and suitable for baton'ing, prying, twisting, etc. I made it full tang of course, but i carried the handle end of the blade an inch past the end of the handle, and while i was making the blade i heated that tang extension and hammered it towards the tip end so that it thickened, gained density and mushroomed. I shaped it and after heat treating I had a surface suitable for hammering with, or hammering on, to drive the blade into things. Although heavy for its size, the little dagger is indestructible and ive found it to be invaluable in survival situations. I lived in Alaska for about 15 years, working as a bush pilot, and whenever my friends and I went caribou hunting or on extended canoe trips (if you ever get the opportunity, travel the Koyukuk river through the Gates of the Arctic...its amazing) people would watch me with that dagger and instantly want one. I highly recommend it- benchmade makes some suitable models as well.

It’s funny that I tried the same thing in Kentucky last week, while taking a break from deer hunting. I used my Tops Tracker to make feather sticks and it caught right away using a Clipper lighter. I’ve used a dozen knives to make feather sticks and the Tracker is the best, in my experience.

No lies, real life ! Good job man

Now you’ve made your relaxing camping trip as stressful as an overnight PowerPoint presentation for the board.

Great tips Thank you!!

@clayhayeshunter

7 ай бұрын

Glad it was helpful!

2:00, when snapping logs like this you want to pull because it’s more torque and you can get a good rhythm going, ive snapped trees as large as the one you tried pushing down earlier that way, it’s all in the torque your body can create

Love this video! Great job Coy and love your dog!

@clayhayeshunter

8 ай бұрын

Thanks so much!

Nice job clay, the other method that works sometimes is to look for some for some dry twigs in brush and stuff.

👍👍👍 A worth-watching exercise .. much can be taken from this. Yep, it is noteworthy that with many 'bush crafters' out there, how conveniently what is required to get a fire going just 'pops up' 😏. The saying, 'more Haste, less Speed' comes to mind .. as any paint expert will tell you, "Preparation is 90% of the End Product Quality." Notwithstanding the local 'Forstamt' doing their scheduled clearing and thinning out, leaving plenty of fuel lying around to get a fire going, my forest is pretty wet this time of the year. DON'T .. cut down a living tree / sapling, or, set the forest alight. The Swiss Authorities have no sense of humour in this regard with eye-watering fines 😳 being the order of the day 😏. Perhaps the real lesson to be learned is not to be 'caught short', or even better, try not getting oneself into a 'survival situation'. There are so many good ideas out there regarding fire-lighters / tinder, that one should be able to get a fire going under most circumstances. However, 'train hard and for the worse scenarios' also comes to mind. A good share .. thanks. Take care ..

Excellent video!

In a forest full of pines You'd certainly find some fatwood. It makes fire starting so much easier, especially in wet conditions.

Excellent instruction 💯👍

Ooooph - wouldn't want to try that with just a Leatherman tool. Hat's off to you for managing it. I do obviously get your key point that you only have what you have with you, and you have to make do.

I thought that the top might have broken off that first tree that you shook. Great tutorial including the what not to do.