I agree with you mac, that its the knowledge and not the gear. That said, having a minimal amount of nice gear is something that most of us can expect to have around when we go into the wilds. Sure, there is a possibility of finding myself totally naked and lost in the middle of the woods, but its a rather small one. Chances are I'm likely to have at least a good set of cloths and possibly a knife. The only situation I can really imagine needing to start from scratch would be in a plane crash scenario, in which I would be wearing only my impractical civilian clothes and I wouldn't have a knife.

As for you request to "get educated before you post", I think its not quite what I had in mind for this thread. Sure, there are tons of people out there who know a lot. Maybe you're one of them, and maybe you're not, but I don't know you or your background so I won't pass judgment. One of the main points of this thread was to correct any misconceptions about BC, so I encourage even the "uneducated" to chip in. If they're wrong, they can learn the right way of doing things and could potentially learn life-saving info. If they're right, then the educate the less-experienced. Everybody wins <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

I'm hoping Horn Dog will add his two cents on BC in his tropical area, because we've all read his tests on bush-craft knives and seen his other comparisons.