PK Podcast 54: Dave Holder, Wilderness Living Skills Instructor and TV Survival Consultant
Dave Holder is a wilderness living skills instructor and wilderness guide, based in Canada. He is also in demand as a TV survival consultant, being the lead survival and safety consultant on the TV show Alone, on The History Channel.
I’d known of Dave by reputation for a good number of years before I first met him, which was at the 2019 Global Bushcraft Symposium, in Alberta, Canada. Dave, originally from the UK, is a Canadian resident, having lived there for over 20 years. He was in the British Army for 27 years until the early 2000s and since then has worked as a civilian Wilderness Skills Instructor and Wilderness Guide in Canada. Dave works alongside his wife Brenda at their Mahikan Trails, which is an Indigenous based company specializing in traditional programs including bushcraft, hide tanning and plant lore.
We get into the more granular details of Dave’s background and work in the recorded conversation in the podcast, which was wide-ranging. In particular, you’ll gain insights into long-term survival situations, psychological factors for success, skillsets required, equipment, nutrition and more.
Our conversation forms Episode 54 of the Paul Kirtley Podcast, which I invite you to enjoy…
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Transcript Of The Conversation With Dave Holder
Click here to read or download the transcript of Paul Kirtley Podcast 54.
Connect with Dave Holder
Mahikan TrailsDave Holder on FacebookDave Holder on LinkedInDave and Brenda’s Survival Crafts YouTube Channel
Links Mentioned In This Podcast
Karamat Wilderness WaysAlone show (History Channel link which may or may not work depending on your location)Alone show Wikipedia entry2019 Global Bushcraft SymposiumPlas Y BreninMinnesota Starvation ExperimentAlberta Trappers AssociationEFT TappingFrontier Bushcraft Tracking & Nature Awareness Course
People Mentioned In This Podcast
Jim BairdRoss HinterMors KochanskiMike PullenJoe RobinetRobert Dale RogersJon Young
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10 thoughts on “PK Podcast 54: Dave Holder, Wilderness Living Skills Instructor and TV Survival Consultant”
Thank you very much for sharing this great podcast. I bought your book last year and still read it again before going in the wild. Hope to see you in France one day for a meeting or a symposium …
Merry Christmas Paul and your team
Thank you very much Francois.
Warm regards,
Paul
A fantastic podcast – Dave is a really fascinating guy and this was a great interview.
The only question, is when is his book due to be released? It sounds like a treasure trove of information and different to much that has been published previously. I haven’t found it online?
Very fun episode. The Alone series is a whole nother kettle of fish, but Dave has been around the block (or the bushes?) a few times, and it’s refreshing to hear him. I do look forward to reading his book, whatever it was called.
A thought on all this. It seems that one of the best attitudes to have is open spontaneity, being able to think out of the box. Also proving the accepted dogma on survival by actually trying stuff out is invaluable, because it provides an informed opinion. I have been caught at times just accepting the norm, simply because I did not bother testing it out, for lack of need or want. The more we get out there, just doing small things one at a time, getting out there often, and being adventurous about it, exploring, being curious, awestruck, doing it another way for the heck of it, to see where the sparks fly (safely of course, ) it seems to me to be the best long-term course anyone can take. I don’t know if I agree nature may be your Grandmother’s face; but she ought to be respected. We eat a bird, who ate a bug, who ate a leaf, watered by rain, which fed on the soil, which recycled a dead animal; in short, they have become part of us, our human body depends on all these to grow and be healthy. And when we die, we resort to the earth where we came from. Respect all of Nature.
Great interview, really looking forward to Dave’s book.
Hi Paul,
Great podcast with a great guy, and a book to look forward to ☕️
HI Paul, second time listening to this podcast, it was a good one, I have been trying to find Daves Book, I am assuming it’s not out yet?
This probably isn’t that helpful, but I saw online that Dave will be giving a presentation called Counting on Calories… in January of 2024. So maybe his book will be released around the same time? It’s called the Frostbite Symposium.
Great interview with Dave! This unique couple is not only very knowledgeable, they are lovely too. So I hope Dave has finished his book, then I can buy it!!
Hi PK,
Awesome Podcast and this episode is a cracker!
Did Dave Holder publish the book he mentions – I can’t find it.
Cheers,
Will from Australia