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Sign in to chatEvery season restarts the same argument: what ten items would you take, and would you last a week with them?
Use this board for episode reactions, loadout debates, and honest assessments of which tactics translate to real bushcraft and which are television.
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20 threads in Alone Show
- NONorthwoodsNate· 8/13/2026
What items can people actually bring on Alone?
Every season somebody in a comment section swears a contestant "smuggled" something in, so here is the short version. Each contestant picks ten items from an approved list — cutting tools, cordage, a pot, a sleeping bag, a ferro rod, fishing line and hooks, a gillnet, a bow or slingshot, a multitool, a tarp and so on. On top of the ten they get standard-issue clothing, safety and camera gear, and a first aid kit. None of that counts against the ten. We keep the full breakdown here: /survival-tv/alone/rules and the item-by-item picks by season live at /alone-gear-list. If you want to try building your own set, the builder is at /alone-builder. What gets people is the clothing rules, not the ten. You cannot bring your own boots.
#alone#ten-items#rules2replies - DRDriftlessDan· 8/13/2026
Does anyone else think Jordan Jonas is by far the best contestant to date?
Not trying to start a war, but it is not close for me. Jordan trapped, fished, hunted big game, and stayed genuinely upbeat at day 70+. Most winners survive. He provisioned. The wolverine kill and the moose are the highlight reel, but the part that convinced me was how fast he read the country when he arrived. Compare that to the winners we break down at /alone/winner-loadouts — most of them won on caloric discipline, not on production. Who is your counter-argument? Roland? Sam Larson second run?
#alone#contestants#debate2replies - BOBoulderfieldBrock· 8/11/2026
Season 13 is just starting to get good after 5 episodes
First four episodes were shelter montage after shelter montage. Episode 5 finally had two contestants on real food and one clearly rationing wrong. The location does the show a favor this year — cold, wet, and fish are actually there if you work for them. Location notes: /alone-locations/season-13-location. Our running recaps are at /alone/season-13-recaps. Predictions for who is out next?
#alone#season-13#discussion2replies - ICIceOutIsaac· 8/10/2026
Ranking every Alone location by how survivable it actually is
Great Slave Lake and Labrador are on a different planet from Vancouver Island. Cold plus low protein density is the killer combination — not cold alone. I put together my own tier list against the season-by-season table at /alone-locations. Bottom tier for me is Labrador, top is Patagonia if you can fish. Curious where people put Mongolia now that we have had a full season there.
#alone#locations#discussion2replies - SPSpruceGooseSteve· 8/8/2026
The ten items debate: is the saw finally more valuable than the axe?
Watching the last three seasons, the saw people got shelters up faster and burned fewer calories doing it. The axe people got better firewood processing and better tent frames. My read: in dense conifer country take the saw, in mixed hardwood take the axe. The season split at /alone-gear-by-season backs it up more than I expected. Anyone who has done a real 30-day build, which one did you actually reach for?
#alone#ten-items#debate2replies - BOBoulderfieldBrock· 8/8/2026
Season 13 so far: the shelter builds are better than ever
Three participants had real long-term shelters up before the first storm and it changed the whole first act of the season. Standards keep climbing. Anyone else noticing this trend?
#alone#season-13#discussion2replies - JUJuniperJess· 8/6/2026
Gillnet or fishing kit — pick one and defend it
The gillnet gets picked almost every season now and I still think most people set it wrong. A net in the wrong channel is ten items minus one. Line and hooks let you fish structure, move, and troll from shore. A net works while you sleep — if you read the water right. Season picks are catalogued at /alone-gear-list. What is your call?
#alone#ten-items#fishing2replies - MEMesaMarisol· 8/4/2026
How much does clothing really decide who lasts past day 40?
Nobody taps out because of their knife. They tap out because they are wet, cold, and losing weight at the same time. We went through what the long-lasting contestants wore at /alone-clothes-that-win. Wool base, wool mid, real rain shell — same pattern every season. Curious if anyone thinks the clothing package is now more decisive than the ten items.
#alone#clothing#strategy2replies - IRIronRangeIvan· 8/2/2026
Calorie strategy: hunt hard early or nest and wait?
Two schools. Burn energy early to build a food surplus, or build a tight camp and drop your metabolic floor. Winners have come from both, but the ones who lasted longest at low body fat all secured protein in the first two weeks. After that the deficit compounds and you cannot hunt your way out of it. Related reading: /alone/winner-loadouts and the season data at /alone/dataset.
#alone#strategy#food2replies - DEDeepDrawDerek· 8/1/2026
Most underrated Alone contestant of all time
Not the winners — the ones who built well and got unlucky. My pick is anyone who nailed shelter in week one and got beaten by weight loss, not skill. Who is yours?
#alone#discussion#contestants0replies - CECedarSwampCarl· 7/31/2026
Which Alone skills actually transfer to a normal backcountry trip?
Bow drill? Honestly rarely. Fire in wet conditions with a ferro rod and prepared tinder? Every trip. The real transfers for me are shelter siting, water discipline, and processing fish quickly. The rest is television. If you want the practical version, our skills library is at /outdoor-skills.
#alone#bushcraft#skills2replies - DRDriftlessDan· 7/30/2026
Would you take a saw or an axe if you had to choose one?
Saw for efficiency and calories, axe for shelter joinery and splitting wet wood. In cold locations I lean axe, in temperate I lean saw. What is your rule?
#alone#ten-items#debate1replies - SPSpruceGooseSteve· 7/29/2026
Which tactics translate to real bushcraft and which are television?
Sustained trapping and fish processing translate. Ambitious log cabin builds mostly do not, at least not on your calorie budget. Curious where others draw the line.
#alone#bushcraft#discussion2replies - BLBlackSpruceBeth· 7/29/2026
Most underrated tap-out reason nobody talks about: sleep
Everyone tracks weight loss. Almost nobody tracks sleep debt, and I think it is what breaks people mentally around week four. A cold sleeper on a bad bed is running a deficit that food will not fix. Contestants who built a real raised bed and a reflector wall stayed level-headed a lot longer. Sleep systems for cold country: /top-ten
#alone#strategy#shelter2replies - POPortageParker· 7/27/2026
If you got the call tomorrow, what is your ten?
Mine: saw, ferro rod, pot, sleeping bag, gillnet, line and hooks, paracord, multitool, tarp, and a bow. No axe. I will take the calorie savings and split wood with a baton and a wedge. Build yours here and post it: /alone-builder. Loadouts by season for reference: /alone/loadout-index
#alone#ten-items#loadout2replies - TATamarackTess· 7/25/2026
Season 13 halftime awards — best build, worst decision, most likely to win
Best build: the sod-walled lean-to. Worst decision: moving camp on day 9 for a "better" bay. Most likely to win: whoever keeps eating. Full recap thread of each episode: /alone/season-13-recaps. Gear breakdown for this season: /alone-season-13-gear Post your three.
#alone#season-13#predictions2replies - IRIronRangeIvan· 7/13/2026
My ten for the current season's location — defend or destroy
Saw, axe, ferro rod, sleeping bag, two pot, gillnet, bow, paracord, multitool, tarp. No food items because the fishery there looks strong. Talk me out of the bow.
#alone#ten-items#loadout0replies - MEMesaMarisol· 4/19/2026
Tap-outs I saw coming from episode one
Anyone who spends day one exploring instead of building shelter is on a clock. The pattern repeats every season. What is your earliest reliable tell?
#alone#predictions#discussion0replies - JUJuniperJess· 4/12/2026
The gillnet is picked too often and it deserves it
Everyone complains about the gillnet but the calorie math is not close. The real debate is what you drop for it. I would give up the bow every time.
#alone#ten-items#debate0replies - ICIceOutIsaac· 3/29/2026
Calorie math: what a realistic 60-day plan actually looks like
Roughly 1,200 useful calories a day from a good fishery, less than half that from trapping alone in most locations. The winners are the ones who solve protein and fat, not just protein.
#alone#strategy#food0replies