Attitude.
In short....no! There are a lot of variables to consider. The question is ~way~ too vague. What time of year is it? What is the location of the 'survival'? Temp.? Surroundings? How long must I 'survive'?! What is the availabilty of shelter (~must~ stay dry)
I have trapped, and hunted for most all of my life. I have had 'various' types of other training, too. I farm and ranch for a living, and feel like I have a pretty good handle on myself. I can make simple snares from string/fishing line and limbs/brush....but then again, these things (string, etc.) were not part of your deal/question (ie street clothes %26amp; knife only--which brings up another question...what 'type' of knife are we talking about, here...probably just your 'ordinary average pocket knife', and ~not~ a mil. spec. survival knife). In summary, I would say that in 'ideal conditions' (ie fresh water available, small game around, wood/kinlin ~not~ soaking wet, etc) I would be able to survive. Anyone that has actually had to do it, though, knows that Mother Nature can be a ~brutal~ taskmaster! In less than ideal conditions, I would nearly always answer 'no' to your question, unless one has learned/practiced/experienced this-type of situation for real...again, not just a 'weekend survival'. For instance, if fresh water is not available....well....you're just about done (ie DEAD), right there! Another thing that few consider is morale. Again (don't mean to beat a dead horse, here), without better parameters of the initial question, 'we' don't know where, when, how long this 'survival' lasts ; but if one is ~totally~ alone, in harsh conditions, for extended periods of time, morale (or lack thereof) can do pretty serious damage (unless ~throughly~ trained...*sorry, refer to 'dead horse' analogy*)
I find it very interesting that 'everybody' in the question you pose answered 'yes'. Either everyone that answered the question has ~extensive~ survival training (not just a 'weekend course').....OR.....they are totally fooling themselves ; and not only blowing smoke up everyone's rear ; but their own, as well.What is the best key wilderness survival?
You have to keep the mind set that you're going to survive and get out of the situation okay. Stay calm and use your common sense. Most important thing if you're being stationary is to find a reliable water source, make shelter, search for food and make fire. If you are being nomadic or are traveling I would make sure you know first which way you are headed, keep yourself hidrated and shelter up at dark with a small fire. You need a good knife, some rope, magnesium striker to light the fires with, canteen, and whatever else you could carry to help. Google the word "Rubicon", not the jeep but the survivalist people. There's hundreds of sites devoted to roughing it to survive.Take care
If placed in a temperate zone woodland area, I could probably survive a few weeks. This depends on if I was able to find potable water while I was lost. I do know how to fashion snares and crude tools, I can make a fire by means of friction and with striking rocks against the knife blade...but it is a difficult thing to do. It also depends on the season...winter would be a bad time to find out if I could survive.
If placed in a desert or arctic situation, most people will die. Exposure and dehydration will kill you very fast. With no water in the desert, and no means to melt snow in the arctic, anyone caught in those environments, even with the proper training, would have a very slim chance of surviving for more than a few days.
I think most people really underestimate the need for water and how quickly hypothermia, heat exhaustion, heat stoke, and frostbite can set in if one is not properly outfitted or equipped to deal with the weather.
People with massive amounts of training and state-of-the-art gear have died in the backcountry from those very things, to believe one could survive with a knife and the clothes on their back is preposterous.
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