Top 10 Videos for Bushcrafters, Nature Lovers, and People Who Love the Outdoors (2014)

Here is a list of videos for you or your favorite bushcrafter, nature lover, or person who loves the outdoors. The list is part of the NatureOutside Gift Guide for 2014.

This year’s list is dominated by videos from Ray Mears, one of the world’s foremost bushcraft experts. His videos inspire and educate as well as entertain. But they have a more relaxed pace that can be too slow for those who relish the high voltage action of “reality television.” But I like them very much.

His videos are sometimes hard to find in the United States, but I provide some links below. You can also search online to find small websites that sell his DVDs.

Bushcraft

1. Bushcraft Survival (series 1)

This is the first of two Ray Mears DVD collections about “bushcraft,” the practical knowledge of the natural world. Ray introduces the subject of “Bushcraft” and takes us on an adventure through the jungles of Venezuela and the savannah of northern Tanzania. We meet indigenous peoples and see a variety of bushcraft skills. The two-DVD set includes tutorials on knife skills, how to sharpen a knife, and how to make cordage.

In a scene from the first episode, Ray cooks a mouth watering meal in an underground oven beside a windswept beach. It is one of my favorite scenes from the series.

2. Bushcraft Survival (series 2)

This is Ray Mears’ sequel to the first series. In this two-DVD set, he visits a variety of locations. Ray builds a birch-bark canoe, paddles a river in Canada, visits Native Americans and learns about the lives of the “Mountain Men.” He then explores traditional bushcraft in Sweden and illustrates how bushcraft changes with the seasons.

In one sequence Ray teaches his friend to make fire-by-friction using a bow-drill. We get to share his friend’s elation at finally creating fire.

Wilderness Survival

3. Prepared to Survive

I like this two-DVD set a lot! It is a collection of no-nonsense instructional videos about modern wilderness survival. Through reenactment and tutorials, the videos cover preparation, priorities, survival stresses, and the will to survive in an emergency. The topics of shelter, fire, water, and signaling are covered in depth. A second disc contains tutorials on first aid, creating a survival kit, knots and lashings, and tips for selecting a knife. The video features well-respected authorities Buck Tilton and Doug Ritter.

4. Extreme Survival (series 1 & 2)

Ray Mears’ series, “Bushcraft,” makes you want to jump off your couch and head to the forest. His series, “Extreme Survival,” makes you want to cower under your couch in fear. Ray explores modern wilderness survival in the jungle, the mountains, in arctic Sweden, at sea, and in the desert. He explores the psychology of survival, and how just a little training can save a life. All stories are told with interviews and reenactments. Experts share information and, of course, Ray teaches skills. Two DVDs are included.

5. Extreme Survival (Series 3)

This two-DVD set is the follow up to “Extreme Survival 1 & 2.” However, the format of the presentation has changed. The first two series were shorter episodes organized by topic. This series features longer episodes, with more narrative, and they are organized by location. In this series Ray tells the story of the Bielski partisans in World War II, Rogers’ Rangers in the American Revolution, and a shipwreck and rescue in Namibia. He visits Thailand to tell the story of downed American airmen during the Vietnam War. Finally, he journeys to New Zealand and spends time with the Maori people.

Wild Food

6. Wild Food

Ray Mears and professor Gordon Hillman look at the plant-based diets of Neolithic man. Although the episodes deal primarily with Britain, the techniques they demonstrate are applicable throughout the world. The two-DVD set features a trip to Australia, coastal foraging, wetlands food, hunting, and fall harvesting.

Living in the Wilderness

7. Alone in the Wilderness

In 1968 Richard “Dick” Proenneke left civilization to enjoy a solitary retirement in the Alaskan Wilderness. Using only hand tools, he constructed a remarkable cabin where he would live for the next 35 years. He hunted, fished, and grew his own food.

His craftsmanship and ingenuity were remarkable. We know this because he filmed all aspects of life and kept a detailed journal. This material forms the basis of a fascinating documentary. I really enjoy watching him fit the logs as he constructs his cabin. The video brings us along on one man’s adventure in the wilderness.

Note that the feel of the video is like a 1960’s era home movie, because that is essentially what it is.

8. Alone in the Wilderness (Part II)

This video continues the story Dick Proenneke’s 35 year adventure in the Alaskan wilderness. In this film he builds a tower with a food cache on top. He also pans for gold and hikes and canoes to view the Alaskan wildlife. When his brother visits in a small airplane, they take to the air to explore his new home.

9. Northern Wilderness

Ray Mears is back, and his subject is Canada! Ray profiles the intrepid explorers who mapped and traveled through this immense land. He spends a great deal of time with the First Nations as he explains how bushcraft techniques literally created a country. This two disk set includes 6 episodes. My two favorites are his profile of the boreal forest and his exploration of Canada’s west coast.

Feature Films

10. Jeremiah Johnson

Sydney Pollak directs Robert Redford as mountain man Jeremiah Johnson. Many bushcrafters enjoy this film for its depiction of life as a trapper in the mid-1800’s. There is lots of action and some violence (not much by today’s standards).