The Dollar Store Challenge

Here's an exercise to get your mind working: Go into a dollar store and see what they have that could be used for wilderness survival. If you want something more specific, say you are heading into the bush for a week with just your clothes and an empty pack, and you can spend $10 plus tax in a dollar store on whatever you think you might need. What would you buy?
Some dollar stores sell quite a selection of food, but I'm thinking of those that only have a limited amount of food. I think I would buy a can or two of canned peaches. It's a bit of energy in case I can't acquire any food in the wild. I can also drink the juice it's packed in, then I have a can for carrying & boiling water, etc. Aluminum foil might also be usefull to reflect body heat, to reflect heat from a fire, to rainproof a shelter, to collect rain in, etc.
Remember: whatever you select should have multiple uses.

I realy like that idea Very Happy

Les should do a show on it Very Happy

eric

I must say bush that is the best idea i've ever heard of a challenge. I just may have to do it, if anything we should all do it and docment and post here.

Great idea again, I love it!

_________________
"There dosen't look like there's much shelter over in those mountains, but that's the only choice I got right now, this is gonna be a long week" - Les Stroud Arctic

2 250 strike anywhere match packs = 1 doller
1 bag of 100 cotton balls = 1 doller
2 bottles of water = 2 dollers
3 candy bars = 3 dollers
steak knife = 1 doller
spool of twine (thin general use rope) = 1 doller
box of extra large garbage bags (probalby have 5 bags im guessing) = 1 doller.

10 dollers + tax = fire starting, food and water (not much but beggers can't be choosers), a knife (only has to last a week right?) and shelter building materials.

_________________
Never explain. Your friends don't need it and your enemies won't believe you anyway.

Ya ! im going to give it a try, see what i come home with. Good challenge Bushrat.

_________________
A Knifeless Man is a Lifeless Man
Canadian To The Core
Carry Less by Knowing More
Knowledge Weighs Nothing

I'll give this a try this weekend!!! Great idea!!!

_________________
The liver is evil, it must be punished!!!

ill do it. hopefully ill get out this weekend.

Ya i really want to get out this weekend to the larose, try some stuff out

_________________
"There dosen't look like there's much shelter over in those mountains, but that's the only choice I got right now, this is gonna be a long week" - Les Stroud Arctic

Daffy wrote:

2 250 strike anywhere match packs = 1 doller
1 bag of 100 cotton balls = 1 doller
2 bottles of water = 2 dollers
3 candy bars = 3 dollers
steak knife = 1 doller
spool of twine (thin general use rope) = 1 doller
box of extra large garbage bags (probalby have 5 bags im guessing) = 1 doller.

10 dollers + tax = fire starting, food and water (not much but beggers can't be choosers), a knife (only has to last a week right?) and shelter building materials.

Some good choices Daffy. I figured a pocket knife or multitool was a given, but anything in a dollar store would have a blade you would have to spend some time sharpening on a piece of sandstone if you could find some. But a steak knife might actually be able to cut something!
The twine could of course be used for lashing a shelter together, but I'm thinking if you seperate the strands you would have some fishing line.
Be sure to comparison shop within the store for the chocolate. Everything For A Dollar near me currently has 4 packs (44g. each) of Hershey Kisses for $2.00 Very Happy

I'll post soon but for now...

Daffy, instead of garbage bags I would get a painters drop cloth for a dollar. They're clear plastic and some crazy size like 9x12. You could use it for shelter, rain coat, solar still...

I'll try to think of a list and post later.

	SpotTheCamper wrote:
	I'll post soon but for now... Daffy, instead of garbage bags I would get a painters drop cloth for a dollar. They're clear plastic and some crazy size like 9x12. You could use it for shelter, rain coat, solar still... I'll try to think of a list and post later.

> good idea with the painters drop cloth.

_________________
A Knifeless Man is a Lifeless Man
Canadian To The Core
Carry Less by Knowing More
Knowledge Weighs Nothing

I might revise this after I've had a chance to take a better look around a dollar store, but here's the list I've come up with:

$1.00 - lighter
$1.00 - 48" x 72" tarp (shelter, solar still, rain poncho, etc.)
$1.00 - 1 litre bottle of apple juice (bottle can be used to carry water)
$1.00 - utility knife (larger type, with blades that snap off)
$1.00 - poly rope (1/4" x 33', working load 330 lbs.)
$2.00 - 540 ml cans of soup x4 (2 for $1, cans have several uses)
$1.95 - 3 Big Fudge bars w/chocolate & nuts ($.65 each Question

)
$1.00 - 25 sq. ft. roll of foil (blanket, fire reflector, box for tinder)

$9.95 total

I've never noticed a dollar store selling anything for 65 cents before, but there it was.
Now, can someone tell me a survival use for a nickel? Confused

This was a fun challenge. I spent about 30 minutes walking through the local dollar store writing down everything thing that could be useful. I then went through my list and narrowed it down to 10 items.

I didn't think about food. I was worried about survival and having to catch food if I could. After reading BushRats list I think I would trade in my mug for the 1 litre bottle of juice.

1) Painters drop cloth (Shelter, solar still, wind break)
2) 4 Pack steak knives ( I thought of a utlity knife but I figure that the seratted blade would cut wood)
3) 3 pack multi-purpose cloth (Drying, collecting dew or rain from plants, bandage, signaling as
they are bright colors)
4) Roll of tin-foil (heat reflector, cooking pot, signaling, martin brain-wave de-scrambling hat)
5) travel coffee mug (collecting water from solar still or other water source)
6) duct tape - 9 meters (what can't it be used for???)
7) 100' nylon cord
Cool

LCD key chain light
9) 3 full size bic type lighters
10) First-Aid Kit (I've already bought 2 of these things, they're great)
- 6 alcohol towelettes
- 2 gauze pads
- 1 bandage roll
- 1 roll tape
- 5 large band aids
- 5 small band aids

Free items:
firestarter - reciept, cardboar packaging
water collector - shopping bag (if you're lucky enough to get one without holes)

some other cool things worth mentioning:

150' of 20 gauge hardware wire (I had no way to cut it)
4 x 6 blue tarp (though the drop sheet was more versatile)

Excellent challenge!

bush, you could use the nickle as a way to keep your mind off your situation. See how many times you can get heads or tails in a row, then repeat! Could keep your mind off of yer situation! Or you could use it to buy a bazooka joe gum (if they still sell those) which you could then blow into a bubble to use as a floater fishing aid!

_________________
Never explain. Your friends don't need it and your enemies won't believe you anyway.

	SpotTheCamper wrote:
	water collector - shopping bag (if you're lucky enough to get one without holes)

Thats what the duct tape is for Very Happy

eric

Great thinking about the receipt, etc., Spot. And about patching the bag with duct tape, Turd!
Yeah, Daffy, I could amuse myself with the nickel. Flipping it could also help in making decisions. Rolling Eyes

And it could also be used as a field guide. I'd know a beaver if I saw one. Or the Queen.

Haha! New from Coghlan's: the backwoods beaver/queen disambiguation tool! Lightweight! Strong material! Only 6 cents! Collect the whole set to also distinguish carribou, loons, polar bears, and autumn foliage from Queen Elizabeth II.

I started thinking about Spot pointing out that you get a receipt and a bag when you buy something, and I thought of how you can get several receipts and bags: don't make all your purchases in one visit. Go several times and just buy a couple of items each time. You just have to figure out where the threshold is where they tell you to take off when you ask for a bag for something you can put in your pocket.

More uses for the nickel:
As a reflector to signal for help.
If you can find a suitable rock, you can file it down to make a spearhead. Though that may use up more energy than you get back.

BushRat wrote:

I started thinking about Spot pointing out that you get a receipt and a bag when you buy something, and I thought of how you can get several receipts and bags: don't make all your purchases in one visit. Go several times and just buy a couple of items each time. You just have to figure out where the threshold is where they tell you to take off when you ask for a bag for something you can put in your pocket.

More uses for the nickel:
As a reflector to signal for help.
If you can find a suitable rock, you can file it down to make a spearhead. Though that may use up more energy than you get back.

For the pocket thing say you walked, live far away and be wearing pants without pockets lol. or just yell at them and say the costomer is always right.

Doug wrote:

BushRat wrote:

I started thinking about Spot pointing out that you get a receipt and a bag when you buy something, and I thought of how you can get several receipts and bags: don't make all your purchases in one visit. Go several times and just buy a couple of items each time. You just have to figure out where the threshold is where they tell you to take off when you ask for a bag for something you can put in your pocket.

More uses for the nickel:
As a reflector to signal for help.
If you can find a suitable rock, you can file it down to make a spearhead. Though that may use up more energy than you get back.

For the pocket thing say you walked, live far away and be wearing pants without pockets lol. or just yell at them and say the costomer is always right.

I don't know if any of that would work in the $tore near me. I was in line once when a man asked the cashier to double bag his purchase. She declined (She was the manager, actually.), saying that bags cost money. He replied that he didn't have any more money on him, but offered to do some work in the store in exchange for the extra bag. She didn't take him up on his offer.
Actually, most of the odd incidents I see at that mall occur in the dollar store. Once a man got impatient because the cashier was basically ignoring him. As near as I could tell, he was standing to one side of the checkout, and the line went the other way. He just thought he was in line, but wasn't. He said "What, you don't want my money? It must be free if you don't want my money." Then he left without paying for the bag of candy he had. The cashier called the manager, who went out into the mall with another employee looking for the guy. This idiot's going to have a record over a $1 bag of candy. (Well, if he doesn't already have one, which I guess is kind of likely.)
On another occassion, the entire time I was in the store I could hear 2 women arguing about who was ahead of the other in line. It went on and on, with each of them telling the other to go back where she came from!
Maybe Les should do a show with this dollar store as the survival location.