annieb123
Written on May 6, 2019
Victorinox Swiss Army Knife Camping & Outdoor Survival Guide is an officially sanctioned Swiss Army Knife guide to the available models, their assorted multi-tools, and a useful collection of bushcraft tips and how they can be utilized with the multi-tools in the swiss army knives. Released 9th April 2019 by Fox Chapel, it's 224 pages and available in paperback format.
There's an introductory chapter (15% of the content) which includes a history of the development of Swiss Army knives along with some really handy tables which show the different styles of knives available and which accessories are standard with which models.
The next chapter (10%) includes a really good tutorial on maintenance and sharpening knives as well as cleaning and repairing of worn out or lost small accessories (toothpick, scissors, tweezers, etc). I was fascinated by the plastic divided replacement parts box with all the springs and bits. I never knew such a thing was available.
The bulk of the book (70%) is used on a really good, creative, and thoughtful guide to bushcraft. It includes good philosophy and crisis management along with many well photographed tutorials on gathering materials, assessing situations and making a plan, making fire, securing shelter, finding or filtering safe water, fishing, and foraging for food.
There -is- a sort of prepper vibe about some parts of the book, however, in crisis situations, being able to repair or make tools and source/repair transportation (bicycle repair for example, though not covered, has a sidebar with some interesting ideas for scavenging parts for further uses) can have profound effects on survival. It's much better to be prepared than not.
There aren't a lot of new books with sensible reproducible hints and survival tips which are realistic for the average person. This one is.
Five stars.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.