This is the sort of thing that really puts a hair in my biscuit. Because it will get a trillion views and likes and follows, and none of it is based on reality.
Look at that shelter. How much work and energy went into that? How do you fuel hours of work and energy? With calories. Where is all of his supply of food in this picture? He has purposefully chosen to hide those supplies and not show them to you. Why? Because the truth ain’t as impressive as the lie.
So just to be clear:
1. Anybody building these sorts of shelters on the internet are doing so on their own property or on a friend’s property. (Can’t get away with it in a park, reserve, or state wilderness area. Too much trouble, time, and actual work to get far enough back into the woods where you won’t get caught.) This means that in ANY video you see like this, there’s a physical residence just up the hill that either belongs to the maker of the video or his friends.
2. Another reason any person who has the time and energy to build this shelter is not very far from home is the need for access to lots of food to fuel the work. This means that if anything goes wrong, he can simply go to his home. If he wants to warm his hands up, he can go home. If he forgot his pocket knife, he can go home. If the battery runs low on his phone, he can go home. Therefore, the situation the person in the video is dealing with IN NO WAY reflects the truth of what it’s going to be like for you if you’re dumb enough to take the video as inspiration to go out and actually try something similar BUT FOR REAL.
2. Anybody hiding SOME things off camera (food, lighter, spare power banks) so as to make you believe something that is not true is not above hiding OTHER things from you off camera in order to make you believe other things that are also not true.
3. Nobody who is carrying any gear at all is going to ALSO find themselves in the woods for real without sleeping bags and blankets. You think somebody going into -30° conditions in the middle of the actual wilderness takes care to load a pack full of food, power banks, flashlights and other supplies but then inexplicably fails to include a shelter and a sleeping bag or blankets??
I’m tellin’ you, the stupidity of the fake ‘bushcraft’ racket is enough to make those of us who aren’t living in LaLa Fantasy Land bang our heads against a tree.
Common folk often refer to these as “wild strawberries” which is incorrect. These are specifically “mock strawberries”. The reason this matters is because there is indeed another strawberry called “wild strawberry” that is sweeter and more pleasant than even store-bought strawberries. The “mock” strawberries have very little sweetness or flavor, though they are edible.
Baofeng K63… I forgot to mention in the video that the battery has a USB-C charge port, so it can be easily recharged in the backcountry with a power bank or a solar charger. Also, the battery allows for something like 12 hours straight usage, and 22 hours monitoring.
Get yer’s here: https://a.co/d/ci7hOcA
I’ve been using AI to answer all my questions and learn these radios. Here is some of my conversations with my good ol’ buddy ‘Chatty’ George P. Tooley (some call him ChatGPT) for your benefit and so you can see where I started and how I began to learn the ins and outs.
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On your Baofeng radio screen, the two sets of numbers you see represent two different frequency channels, and here’s how they function:
Top Frequency (Display A):
• In your photo: 155.725
• This is the active transmitting/receiving frequency when you’re on “A” (upper) channel.
• It is usually the main frequency you’re using to talk or listen unless you switch to the other.
Bottom Frequency (Display B):
• In your photo: 471.665
• This is a second frequency you can monitor or switch to quickly.
• It’s handy for dual watch or dual standby — the radio can listen to both frequencies and let you know when activity occurs on either.
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Key Differences in Purpose:
Function Top Frequency (A) Bottom Frequency (B)
Primary Use Active/Selected channel Secondary or standby channel
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