10 Must-Have Survival Items for History Channel’s Alone:
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Jason Salyer’s Field-Tested Picks
Envision that you’re dropped in the wilderness with nothing but your wits and a dead alligator staring you down. That was me on History Channel’s Alone: The Beast, surviving 25 days in Louisiana’s swamps with zero tools, just my clothes and a heap of grit. A viewer, Señor Fluff and Stuff (killer cat name, right?), asked what 10 items I’d bring to dominate Alone. With 30 years as an outdoorsman, 15 years prepping, and experience training college athletes to Navy Special Ops, I’ve got a field-tested list to keep you harder to kill, body, mind, and spirit. Let’s dive in, no excuses. What’s the worst that could happen? Let’s go on three!
Watch the full video below
1. Sleeping Bag: Your Ticket to Actual Rest
First up, a sleeping bag. Alone loves tossing you into cold climates where nights dip below freezing. In Louisiana’s swamps, 40-degree nights hit like a brick when you’re starving. A sleeping bag saves you from curling up by a fire, burning energy on firewood that disappears fast. Hauling wood when you’re low on calories? Pure misery. A solid sleeping bag, like ones in my Amazon Storefront, is your lifeline.
Reality Check: Think you can tough it out with just a fire? Firewood runs out, and exhaustion wins. What’s your plan to stay warm without a sleeping bag? Drop it in the comments!
2. Bivy Bag: Protect Your Lifeline
Next, a bivy bag. Your sleeping bag is gold, but it’s fragile. One tear or soak, and you’re freezing. In Louisiana, storms rolled through, and without a bivy, I’d have been done. This outer shell keeps your down-filled bag dry and hole-free. It’s the difference between waking up ready to fight or shivering all night.
What if a storm trashes your camp and soaks your only warmth? Stick with me to see how I’d avoid that mess.
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3. 12x12 Tarp: Instant Shelter, Zero Excuses
A 12x12 tarp is non-negotiable. Sure, I can build a lean-to or debris shelter, given time. But when you’re dropped with nothing, time’s not your buddy. A tarp sets up fast, keeps you dry, and lets you focus on food and fire. In Louisiana, we had no shelter, and every rain was torture. A tarp is lightweight and tough as nails.
Reality Check: Don’t buy the “I’ll just build a shelter” myth. Natural shelters leak, and you’ll burn calories you can’t spare. Tarp or no tarp, which camp are you in? Tell me below!
4. Ferro Rod: Fire You Can Count On
Number four: a ferro rod with striker. Fire is life, and I’m not gambling on bow drills. Some Alone contestants tried friction fires and crashed when wood was wet or materials were junk. In northern Maine for National Geographic’s Called to the Wild, I kept my ferro rod lashed to my belt with paracord, never lost it, always had fire. Get a reliable one, folks.
Starving and can’t start a fire? How long would you last? My next pick could save you.
5. Machete: The Do-Everything Blade
A machete is my cutting tool of choice. I’d bring my custom On3 machete from Bear Forest Knives. It’s a beast for chopping, butchering, digging, and crafting tools. In Louisiana, I butchered an alligator with a reed knife, pure misery. A machete handles fish, big game, roots, you name it. It’s rugged, sharpens with a river rock, and won’t quit.
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6. Two-Quart Pot: Your Kitchen in the Wild
A two-quart metal pot is a game-changer. Boil water, cook food, make soup, it’s your survival kitchen. In Louisiana, I spent days gathering edibles, fish, and squirrels, tossing them into a pot for a nutrient-packed stew. Bones, oils, everything, down it goes. Then I’d boil more water for the next day. Burn bowls? Hot rock boiling? Forget it. A pot is fast and reliable.
Reality Check: Primitive cooking when you’re starving is a losing game. A metal pot is your best bet. What’s your survival cooking go-to? Share in the comments!
7. Sewing Kit: The Overlooked Lifesaver
Don’t sleep on a sewing kit. Day two in Louisiana, I ripped my pants breaking a sapling. Without a spare pair, mosquitoes would’ve feasted. A needle and thread fix clothes, tarps, and gear. It’s lightweight but critical for long-term survival. Tears happen, you can’t lose gear to a rip.
Pants tear on day one, what’s your move? My next picks focus on winning Alone.
8. Bow and Arrow: Big Game, Big Win
Food’s the name of the game, so my eighth pick is a bow and arrow with nine arrows. I’ve shot traditional archery for years, even competed. A deer or moose means pounds of meat daily, enough to outlast everyone. Early Alone winners who bagged big game ate steak while others starved. It’s tough, but with patience, it’s a game-changer.
9. Fishing Kit: Renewable Calories
Number nine: fishing gear, 300 yards of up to 20-pound test line and 35 barbless hooks. Fish are a steady calorie source. With cane poles or hand lines, you’re eating consistently. I’d use some line for a gill net, crazy effective for fish, crawdads, even small animals. In Maine, fishing kept me and my dog Maggie going. Barbless hooks mean no multi-tool needed, saving an item slot.
Catching fish daily but still craving something critical? My final pick fixes that.
10. Salt: Your Body’s Secret Weapon
Last, three pounds of salt. In Louisiana, I craved salt so bad I dreamed of saltine crackers. Your body needs it, and you can’t find it in the wild. Salt preserves meat, seasons fish, and keeps you going. That first cracker after 25 days? Heaven. Don’t skip it.
Would I Do Alone? The Honest Truth
If Alone called today, I’d hesitate. It’s life-changing but brutal. Louisiana wrecked my body, weight loss, digestive chaos, weeks to recover. Missing family time? That’s the real kicker. You can’t get that time back. It’s type-two fun, miserable now, maybe rewarding later. I’d consider it, but I’m leaning no. Would you do Alone? Tell me below!
The Bottom Line: Be Ready, No Excuses
These 10 items, sleeping bag, bivy bag, tarp, ferro rod, machete, pot, sewing kit, bow and arrow, fishing kit, and salt, are my field-tested picks for Alone. They’re not theory; they’re proven in swamps and forests. Prepping isn’t about fantasies, it’s reality. Build your kit, test your gear, stay harder to kill.
P.S. Share this newsletter with someone who needs a survival reality check. The prepping world is full of myths. Let’s spread truth instead.
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