Another "Desert Island" scenario....

Lets say, for the sake of argument, that you were somehow dropped onto the proverbial tropical desert island, you are permitted to take one item in each category to assist in your survival, what would you choose, and why?

1; Firearm and 100 rounds of ammunition (whatever caliber you are most accurate with) OR a bow and 50 broadhead arrows

2; An extra-large plastic tarp with reflective mylar foil inner layer OR a 4-person dome tent

3; A small crate of MRE/C-Rations OR a small crate of various vegetable seeds

4; A high-end “tactical” folding knife (like a Chris Reeve Sebenza or Spyderco Manix) OR a Victorinox SwissChamp Swiss Army Knife

5; A high-end “tactical” flashlight (and bulk pack of non-rechargable batteries) OR a can of gasoline (5 gallons)

6; A dozen Bic lighters OR a magnesium brick firestarter

You will be picked up in one year, Make your choice!

1; Bow and arrows. I don’t know how to use either, but I figure with the latter I can practice.

2; Dome tent. Since it’s a tropical island I won’t worry about temperature, and the tent could help shelter stuff.

3; The MRE’s. If I would be on the island for an unknown time I’d go for the seeds. But I’d hopefully be able to kill stuff(see #1), forage, and supplement it with the packaged stuff.

4; I don’t know which knife. But I’d want something that could skin small animals.

5; The flashlight. The gasoline wouldn’t last long enough to keep fires going, and I could ration use of the flashlight better.

6; A dozen Bic lighters. I could use one a month for the times I let a fire go out.

1; Firearm and 100 rounds of ammunition (whatever caliber you are most accurate with) OR a bow and 50 broadhead arrows

The bow and arrow is re-useable, but I’d probably go with the gun. I can possibly fashion a bow and arrow myself if it comes down to it, or use traps for hunting. In the meantime I’ve got a weapon that can stop any aggressive animals where they are, so it also has a defensive advantage. It’s also smaller and easier to aim. With the bow I would be worried that I would miss or not be able to penetrate the most vital areas and subsequently have an angry feral animal attacking me.

2; An extra-large plastic tarp with reflective mylar foil inner layer OR a 4-person dome tent

Probably the tarp. I’d rather be able to build my own structure. The tarp could serve as a roof. It could also be used to catch fresh water. The reflective Mylar could also potentially help start a fire. (I presume that we’re on the island of our own accord and thus don’t need to try and signal for help.)

3; A small crate of MRE/C-Rations OR a small crate of various vegetable seeds

Since I’m only going to be here for one year, I’d go for the rations. I’d try to use them sparingly, for when I failed at catching/harvesting anything to eat. For a span of years, I’d probably rather the vegetables since they’ll come back anew regularly. But they would take time out from foraging, which I would still need to do.

*4; A high-end “tactical” folding knife (like a Chris Reeve Sebenza or Spyderco Manix) OR a Victorinox SwissChamp Swiss Army Knife
*
The full knife. Swiss army knives are useful in modern day situations. Having a mini-screwdriver, corkscrew, toothpick, etc. are all pointless. I’d really only want it for the blade, and anything I can do with a small blade I can do with a large one, and much more. This one seems like a no-brainer answer.

5; A high-end “tactical” flashlight (and bulk pack of non-rechargable batteries) OR a can of gasoline (5 gallons)

Gasoline. Far more useful. I can’t even think of why I would want a flashlight at all. If you’ve got to roam around the middle of the jungle in the middle of the night, you’re doing it wrong.

6; A dozen Bic lighters OR a magnesium brick firestarter

The firestarter. I’ve already got the can of gasoline so a bic lighter doesn’t really give me any advantage.

Does this island have fresh water? If not, can I trade the Mylar tarp for a clear one?

1; Firearm and 100 rounds of ammunition (whatever caliber you are most accurate with) OR a bow and 50 broadhead arrows

Bow and arrows. Like Baker said, I can practice.

2; An extra-large plastic tarp with reflective mylar foil inner layer OR a 4-person dome tent

Tarp. Can be used for many things.

3; A small crate of MRE/C-Rations OR a small crate of various vegetable seeds

MRE’s. I hate to cook. Plus I can’t grow crap.

4; A high-end “tactical” folding knife (like a Chris Reeve Sebenza or Spyderco Manix) OR a Victorinox SwissChamp Swiss Army Knife

Swiss Army Knife. You might have a use for the screwdrivers and toothpicks and tweezers and stuff. Besides - Shiny!

5; A high-end “tactical” flashlight (and bulk pack of non-rechargable batteries) OR a can of gasoline (5 gallons)

Gasoline. Just cause I love Mad Maxx. No other reason. Seriously.

6; A dozen Bic lighters OR a magnesium brick firestarter.

Lighters. Gotta light my cigarettes somehow!

Here’s my selections;
1; Firearm and 100 rounds of ammunition (whatever caliber you are most accurate with) OR a bow and 50 broadhead arrows
I’d choose the archery equipment, for a few reasons, first, it’s reusable, and you can create more ammunition from local sources (bamboo or other sturdy tropical plants, feathers from birds, arrowheads from sharp stones or shell fragments), plus, it’s quieter than a firearm, so you have less chance of spooking your quarry, or if you’re using the archery equipment defensively, you won’t give away your position like a gunshot would

2; An extra-large plastic tarp with reflective mylar foil inner layer OR a 4-person dome tent
The tarp, it can be used as a windbreak, a lean-to, a simple tent, a roof for a small hut or other small structure, you can wrap it around you for warmth, mylar side in and use it as a sleeping bag, you can use it to signal passing aircraft/ships, you can put it over your garden at night to prevent animals from raiding it, you can use the mylar side to reflect more light onto the garden during the day, I suppose you could also put it over your head in case this island happens to have a Ravenous Bugblatter Beast population, the tarp is almost as useful as a towel…

3; A small crate of MRE/C-Rations OR a small crate of various vegetable seeds
I’d take the seeds, not only could you plant a garden for your own use, you could also create a “trap garden” on your hunting path, lure in the tasty hebivorus animal population and take them down with the archery gear (see, there was a good reason to choose the simpler archery tools)

4; A high-end “tactical” folding knife (like a Chris Reeve Sebenza or Spyderco Manix) OR a Victorinox SwissChamp Swiss Army Knife
Tough decision, the “Tactical” would be better for hard use, batoning into dry wood to split it for firewood, and other chopping duties, the SAK has the saw, fish scaler, and dedicated (if not a bit small) prying tools in addition to a pair of easily-sharpened blades, using a knife as a prybar is not the best idea, it’s not as effective as a dedicated prybar, high-end steels (VG-10/S30V/CPM-154/D2/H-1/Etc…) are a little more difficult to sharpen on primitive sharpening supplies, and S30V and CPM-154 tend to chip when abused, SAK steel tends to deform and bend when abused, and it sharpens up quite well on a simple rock, the “tactical” does have the advantage of a longer blade though, either one can dress game just fine, I’d lean towards the SAK, mainly due to it’s versatility, truth be told, a simple fixed blade like the classic Ka-Bar USMC knife would be the perfect tool in this situation, but that wasn’t one of the choices

5; A high-end “tactical” flashlight (and bulk pack of non-rechargable batteries) OR a can of gasoline (5 gallons)
I love a good high-end tactical light as much as the next guy, but I’d have to go with the gasoline here, you can use it to start cooking fires, create torches (the flame kind), create signal fires, the flashlight would only be useful after dark, and that’s the time you need to stick by your campfire anyway

6; A dozen Bic lighters OR a magnesium brick firestarter
The magnesium brick, it’s not reliant upon a volatile liquid fuel, and it’s unaffected by moisture, magnesium shavings burn at around 3,000 degrees and are capable of igniting even wet tinder, plus it has an embedded ferrocinium rod that’s capable of starting a fire with dry tinder on it’s own

the island has fresh water (and waterfalls) fresh water is not an issue, but good call on the clear tarp, to make a solar still, you can use the packaging the tarp came in, which incidentally was a clear flexible plastic, relatively thick and durable (3-5 mil), it’d just be somewhat small, but you’d get two of them if you cut the packaging at the seams

  1. Can I have fishing gear instead? Both are rather useless on most desert islands. But arrows can be used for fishing, so I’d pick that.

  2. Dome tent- to keep bugs out while I am sleeping. Insects can be extremely annoying and worse. Tarps are great, mind you but they dont keep out the bugs. I’d pick a tropical bivvie and a tarp if I could.

  3. C-rats please, the steel cans are very useful, and there’s matches and TP in the accessories pack. And a p-38 canopener in every case.

  4. Tough call. I’d prefer a high qualify machete. I agree with MacTech here.

  5. Gas. We can start fires with it.

  6. A *full dozen *Bic lighters? Thats my choice. But the magnesium fire starter tool is a better choice than anything else in it’s size class, like a single lighter.