Finding Fire in the Desert | Ray Mears Extreme Survival | BBC Studios

Ray Mears shows you how-to start a fire in the desert.
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[@ezekiel316]

When the system colapses, Ray Mears will be a superstar. Honestly, the man knows everything about survival. He can make a fire about 10 different ways, all without using anything but rocks and sticks. He also knows what to eat, and what not to.

[@JelloJames16]

I find the information that they give in these survival videos more important than whether or not they are being followed by some crew.

[@thepurevandal]

Probably the most important video on youtube

[@gtccold]

He smiles every time he make fire.

[@chicago6584]

Never heard of this guy but I like him. Cool vids

[@tosgem]

Cool. I like the more efficient method of wrapping some string around the "drill bit" and having that string attached to a bow. You can move the "bow" back and forth and it turns the drill bit really fast, and it's easier to control

[@grey2fox]

Whoa!! that was friggin' awesome! Actually DID take less than a minute for the smoke to start out.

[@tobigforyou]

thanks allot mate for that advice.

[@stevewang2]

This is the best video I have ever seem on making fire using the drill method. But what is the name of the plant? Soto, Sota? Anyone who knows the name of the plant please post.

[@911aaron]

The type of wood used for a friction fire is very crucial to the success of an ember. Two reasons why Ray had an easier time starting the fire was because he was working with a wood that had a lower ignition temperature then Les (I think Les was using Cedar in that instance) and Ray's wood has been dried in the desert sun for many years with very little precipitation. Les on the other hand was in the Canadian wilderness, which receives rainfall quite often.

[@rinkz1208]

the thing is ray tell you tips of when ure traveling thats why your gonna have your kit with u while as bear he teaches you how to survive if you get standard, they both teach the same thing but in different situations there both ace and interesting to watch

[@mypurplesneakers]

@mw2pro79 this show isn't about what to do if you get parachuted into the wilderness with nothing, it's about being prepared, which btw is how you survive in these places. but mostly it's about the art of bushcraft

[@pitatapiu]

great video!

[@mixindave1]

legend, i wanna go cmping with ray mears

[@cool2thetouch]

wow thats pretty cool

[@gamecollect101]

SaaaWeeeet...do it again!!!

[@emel60]

that's a nice beat

[@OnRappel]

@phrankus2009 Ray is in Southern AZ near the Dragoon Mts - Cochise Stronghold (near where I live). This is an excerpt from the video series Arizona Desert, which can be found on RitchiePowell's page. The Sotol plant is similar to an agave or yucca plant, but I don't believe it is classified in either family.

[@Lex60]

The plant [called "desert spoon", "sotol" or "sereque"] can be used to make a spirit similar to the mezcal and tequila. =) pretty usefull!

[@scarz1951]

@Catalyst2 Depends on what you know and what you have to work with. A knife for cutting meat and veggies can be made from Elm or White Oak bark. Shape it with stones, soak it in water, rub it against a smooth rock to compress the fibers and dry it and give it another rub. For cutting wood a simple dischoidal flake of flint or chert works. I admit it's not as good as a steel knife but beats heck out of nothing.

[@jordanrivers1]

good video thanks for other great tip ..

[@superlaugher]

omg... that was awesome

[@ichbinzehn]

Wow! No more to say!

[@pignutbushcraft]

so can i its a neet an ingenoius method of making a magnifying lens out of ice. one of the most amazing things iv ever found out lol

[@DocGreen15]

lol, that is a good point! But again, Ray wouldn't only have "gloves" on his list when going into the desert! Point being, he's saying almost all plants you touch may hurt you so protect them!

[@GuruJamz]

aren't there any other types of plants which you can use to make fire or is that the only one?

[@R0KURU]

One of my life goals: start a fire with only wood.

[@joakim2407]

now thats useful!

[@JulieJackson1]

Does anyone know which video shows him with a Dekota fire? It disperses smoke discreetly.

[@1callservice]

Embrace the technique and hope you are never in a dire situation where it is needed. Like others said dry wood is better but still a lot of work. For me I would think the gloves are going to help not get blisters. Thanks for the post!

[@wescobts]

If I was to try that, and I'm in the Northeast of America, would I need to use "dead standing" wood ?

[@busapraful]

finaly, he did it.... but how many minuts it tool to fire?

[@MrMenestrello]

@Catalyst2 I think it's easy to do in the desert .... with the dry air! in the forest after a rain, with wood you can find around, mmm ..... I want to see ... Nice video anyway ....

[@scarz1951]

Flame on!

[@DreamsCatcher101]

Which are the best woods to use in the uk?

[@Electrozonelectronic]

Ray can make fire out of ice.

[@katanaburner]

You said it.

[@unphazed123]

beast mode

[@alex39k]

how is he making it spin, simply with his hands?

[@Gutek313]

@phrankus2009 this plant is called Sotol and it grows in Mexico and Texas

[@Catalyst2]

Never noticed before! Thanks for the info! Btw! I'm just messing around on here! Bye!

[@mukhaa0aa]

Ray Mears you are th man

[@abbreviateTome]

EPIC

[@aldankuul]

He may not need to carry matches in the desert, but it'd be a good idea to. I've made fire by rubbing sticks together, and what he did wasn't easy, it will never be easy, and if anyone thinks it's that easy, you're gonna be in trouble when the situation arises

[@Theralas]

About the gloves thing, he said it was a tip due to them having thorns. If you were lost in the desert, you could do it without gloves, you would just get cut, or you could just use some fabric on you like you clothes, n well if you do not have clothes... I do not want to know why you got lost!

[@Catalyst2]

Under all these other circumstances you would be allowed to take a knife and matches and usually do. But there are controlled environments like getting on a plane. I was just curious. I like the idea of surviving in the wild, but lets just recognise that if we get lost hiking and have not taken a knife and flint, what is the solution....if there is one.

[@KevinBrauer_]

you should have more tiner to start

[@tubebellator]

what knife is that?

[@silentsniper441]

@mw2pro79 actually, alot of peoplke carry knives especially if camping or soemthing

[@spazzsquirrel]

it's called a Sotol plant mate :)

[@phrankus2009]

It would help if ... We were told how the plant-name is spelled, as Ray's accent leaves me clueless. ... It would also help if ... We were told WHICH desert and the range/locations where this (mystery) plant grows ... hmmm ? ... As it stands, All I know is that there is a plant that looks like an Agave or a century plant or like a Yucca or any of several other (American) desert plants. So glad that Ray has a clue but ... his little "show-and-tell" really showed me little and told me ?

[@isaacincabo]

0:49 youre right! lol

[@nelsitorocks]

cody lundin nuff said

[@edwining]

thats rule number 1

[@glen432003]

i like bear grylls better but you gotta admit this guys good !

[@ftorresgamez]

Don't forget to gather kindling and fuel before you start a fire, or you will look very silly making a fire and not having anything to build it up! A cord of kindling and as many dry logs as you can drag will suffice. THEN you can prepare your fire.

[@DeadlyVeggie]

really any deadwood mate. But some work a lot better than others.

[@Brady2k10]

you heard of Bear Grylls? Well Ray Mears was around before Bear was, Ray Mears is very popular on British TV, unlike Bear Ray talks about the place hes in and the tribes and culture etc... where as Bear is extreme and just wants to get out, so quite opposite both of them, i used to watch Ray Mears a lot but since Bear Grylls came out i was hooked on his show, still Ray is just as good, but not as extreme as Bear. Check out Bear if you aint heard of him, hes great.

[@bunnystew]

None of the wood around where i live is dry enough to do this D:

[@pignutbushcraft]

the funnyest thing tho i seen a vid of him making fire in the sahara using dead wood an he claimd he had an ember but you could clearly see the wood wasnt even chard lol it was the same colour as it was when he started

[@spasblad]

that plant probably makes an eccelent atlatl dart

[@Catalyst2]

Well Dakatt, I wish he would show us what you are telling me, because if it is illegal to carry a knife in public and the only time a person would get caught in the WILD is if their plane crashed - and it is illegal to carry or store a knife and Machete on a plane - then flint and other stone is the only stuff we would have. Real survival is knowing this and finding that first. Everyone on here slates me, but they probably believe in the tooth fairy also. Ray is okay, but he has a knife.

[@ItzOZZA]

A good tip would be to carry a magnifying glass.

[@wechnivag]

incredible, smoke from the 3rd set of spins, 10 spins and his coal is ready...

[@Jofph]

Ray Mears is such a hunk...so damn attractive...I wouldn't mind travelling with him.

[@jshohio]

yup

[@MrMenestrello]

secondo me è facile farlo nel deserto.... con l'aria asciutta!!! nel bosco dopo una pioggia, con il legno che puoi trovare in giro, mmm..... voglio vederti... Bel video comunque....

[@XPRTTT]

it's he's own knife

[@neilkrupa]

But when teaching others you should tell them how to be prepared, so what equipment to bring and whats best to use.

[@archerrobinhood]

he'll just knap some flint

[@zxcvbnmjfjf]

really? i dont see how it would, guess that shows how much i know about deserts :P

[@galenwolf]

@Catalyst2 He'd use flint.

[@lfAlloy]

These comments are so old and polite.

[@kasonyaj1]

lol thats boss!

[@6NightStalker9]

I just noticed that Ray Mears has some pretty vampire lookin teeth :/

[@samduffield]

i no right i mean he would just sit down on his chair in his motel and switch the fire on lol

[@ArtisanTony]

@nighterjay all I can say is LOL to that nonsense. It is our language now :)

[@I3R0K3N7FEET]

you obviously havent seen him make his own knife..

[@BSlegt]

he is

[@dukcaboose]

the animals he catch are caught by his crew...lol but he eats it for real

[@globe255]

@ArtisanTony Thats the way english is- thats why.

[@mrzwerus]

try this at night, and it takes hours

[@911aaron]

What if you were hiking many miles away from your car? Or the car battery is dead to produce that cigarette lighter heat? And remember not everyone owns a vehicle...

[@DuoBanditBTW]

0:49 i´d say we found dracula , or he´s a wild rodent himself look at his teeth call discovery we found the missing link

[@nebulae87]

If only it was as easy as it looks in this video. :(

[@cliftut]

@hempheadfor20 Sounds like we'd better carry gloves even if we don't think an unexpected survival situation might occur! I know it's inane to say this, but Micheal Jackson had this aspect of wilderness survival DOWN! ;D

[@Catalyst2]

People with knives are girls!! You're not Rambo440! You're a Bimbo000! :op

[@Danny7930]

wind can blow matches out then your screwed, bring a lighter

[@Catalyst2]

Flint is a rare stone and does not exist everywhere. Hmmm!! Ray Buddy! You are a little scuppered if thoust doth loose thy blade. Anyway! I'm sure Mr Mears could pick up any ole item and squeeze it so hard in his manly hands it would become as hard and tense as flint. Then he will pop the squeezed material between his well-toned bum-cheeks and pinch it into a razor-sharp edge. Ray is Lord of all! All praise Ray!! Aouuuuuuuuu!!! Aouuuuuuuuuuu!!!

[@RWW124]

@Dakatt1 Wells said

[@suhib1990]

this is not desert this is florest

[@Rick2Max]

Rule number 9: Always carry a knife!

[@FREAK1145]

Les Stroud is a survivor not this Ray Mears or Bear Grylls! check it out on youtube!

[@limerick92]

hahah saw that too

[@ofir54321]

there are bad people in this world - they called dislikers

[@tercielo]

bear grills suck ray mears rules!

[@ArtisanTony]

Why do english guy always say resources like rezources :)

[@John031989]

You mean kinda like Bear Grylls?

[@Naishell1]

@cafcwebbluke yea

[@revgal1]

Well said Sianymalerney, You should all learn from this stuff rather than put shit on it, i know if thing ever go bad i am ready. Can you all say that.