I haven't seen much of any of those shows, but I do hear about some of them and occasionally look up a scene on youtube to watch.

A few years ago I heard about the "Super Shelter" show on "Dual Survival" and that really interested me so I played around with that concept. Last winter I ended up making a "Baker's Tent" with "SOL Emergency Blankets" and I have to say that it works way better than I expected, in fact, it's pretty close to amazing.

As far as wild edibles go, years ago I bought a book called "Wild Edibles of Missouri" (it's out of print, but free to download now), and started scrounging around with it in hand. The truth is, just about no matter where you are the pickings are pretty slim even during a good year. To truly survive that way you'd spend most of all day gathering up enough to sustain yourself, and still end up hungry on many of them. Still, it's important knowledge to have.

I also bought a book called "Ozark Wildflowers". This book contains a ton of great info because it includes info on medicinal flowers and herbs and descriptions of Native Indian uses (which often coincide with modern uses).

Both of those books are relevant beyond the borders in their titles as many of those plants can be found in very broad ranges.

Some years ago I found an artifact here that's called a "Cupstone", and it sure looks to me like it was used to create fires (though I'm not educated enough to say for sure, I'm really tempted to use it to try and start one) .

Phat has actually started a fire using a bow drill, I still haven't given that a shot, but I think I'll play with it this winter (though I'll probably resist the urge to use the Cupstone).

I put a bit of practice to survival skills every time I go out. I used to go out with the intention of getting "Lost" and finding my way back. I'd just ramble for a few hours and then practice locating my position on a map. After a bit I found it difficult to get lost because you learn to think of it in the bigger picture, and you're just not really ever lost, even if you don't know exactly where you are. I'm sure it'd be easier out west to get lost than here, where at best you have maybe 30,000 acres to try.

I also practice finding specific spots, like springs and caves shown on Quad maps, and that's a bit of a different challenge because you have to hit the mark dead on, and sometimes springs stop flowing, or the water might start perking out somewhere else, and caves can be really tricky because the mouths can be small and covered with vegetation.

When I took my kids out I'd point out things along our way and when it was time to head back I'd ask them which way to go. It wasn't long before they figured that out and got good at it.

It's all fun when you're practicing. My skin's never been on the line yet, but it helps knowing your not clueless, and you're prepared to a reasonable degree.