Hello friends and Hivians. If you were stranded on deserted island what three things would you bring with you? The other day I got this idea to write this article from @thebighigg. He is running a contest where you have a chance of winning some prizes if you answer this question in his article's comments. I have just decided to elaborate a bit about it and make it into an article. If you want to participate in his contest just click here. Just be sure to get you comment submitted by 12:00 PST on 28 July.
I gave this question a lot of thought. First thought was it would probably be best to select things I could use for multiple purposes. As a bare minimal you need shelter, food and water to survive. My thought process went through many items and I'll also list three items I didn't choose before I reveal the three items. There was of course more than three but I'll show these because they were pretty close to making the cut. Everything I will show you I actually own.
One of the first things I thought of was bringing a tent. That would take care of the shelter requirement easily. The only drawback is what else can you really use it for other than that. Jumping ahead I have a plan to build my shelter with some of the items I choose. Also I like the challenge of making my own.
A shovel would be an excellent choice and this one above could serve for multiple purposes. This was in my top 3 a few times as I was contemplating. I could dig holes for two purposes. One for catching rain water and letting the soil purify it and the other to set a trap for a would be dinner critter by covering it with some palm tree leaves. If you look closely at the shovel you will notice one side has a serrated edge. This could easily be a weapon to defend against or kill pray. A disadvantage though even though it has a serrated edges it's not a great chopper. I need something to chop wood. It would take forever to chop or saw down a tree with it, haha.
Alright this might come to a surprise to some of you but I didn't select one of my favorite things, a fishing pole. It would be nice to catch fish with it but asides from that what other uses could it have? Sure I could use some of the fishing line to tie things together or even perhaps use it as a bow string. It hurts to leave behind and I'm sure if I was in this situation I would love to have it. Fishing will be done via made fish traps and spears. Think I can do it?
Here we are my three items I would take if I was sent away to a deserted island. Three items I could easily carry to where I want to set up camp at. What we have is a buck knife with a fire starter, a medium sized axe and #8 sized cast iron skillet.
The cast iron skillet I would use for both preparing food and boiling water. I would have a collection of coconut halves I would store water in. I'd prefer to use half of them to collect water in and the other half with the purified water. There is one more use for the pan I will describe in just a bit.
The axe I would use to chop down trees to start a shelter with. At first I would have a temporary shelter with some branches and palm leaves leaned up against a tree. Once permanent shelter is done imagine it being a small log cabin set up.
I chose a medium axe primarily for two reasons. It's small enough to be able to chop up small pieces of wood I would use for firewood. The other reason I would use it as a throwing weapon. I'm not to shabby at throwing this one too. Perhaps I would get lucky with some wild boar roaming the island or some other good sized mammal. The axe would definitely slow it down. I would than go in with my frying pan and knock it over the head. I'm pretty sure that would knock it out. The last step would be me going in for the kill by slitting it's throat with my last item.
The buck knife obviously is a weapon in its own right. I would use it to chop coconuts, cut up food, and use it to shape spears. The fire starter is a great addition as fire is needed for warmth, water preparation and of course cooked food.
How long would I plan to stay on the island? A few months would probably be the longest I would want to stay. It would all be dependent on how comfortable I was and how long it would take to get off the island. For my departure I would either build a raft or take my chances setting fire to a huge S.O.S out of trees and branches.
I would rather choose to stay a little bit and test my survivor skills. Of course the easy way out would be to bring a crew, a cruise ship, and unlimited food. It's more exciting to think like a minimalist and try to survive by living simple. What items would you choose if faced with such a situation? Would you go the easy way out or challenge yourself?
That's all I have for you at this time. Thanks for reading, take care and stay safe. Until next time!
