Greg Ovens
Canal Flats, British Columbia · Alone Season 3: Patagonia
- Age on show
- 53
- Gear sourced
- 10/10
How far did Greg get? (tap to reveal)
- Days lasted
- 51
- Placement
- 6th
A closer look at the loadout
Greg Ovens brought tools older than most of his cast mates. The German steel axe was roughly 60 years old, the crosscut saw older still, and the pairing amounts to a philosophy: steel that has already survived six decades of work has nothing left to prove. In a field increasingly stocked with new production bushcraft gear, his kit came out of a different century on purpose.
The made for him items carry the same weight. A custom high carbon knife with a giraffe bone handle, and a 62 inch laminated maple recurve at a 55 pound draw, which is a serious hunting instrument, not a prop; among recorded Season 3 lists it is one of the heaviest draws in the field. A down filled bag rated to minus 40 answered the Andean cold with margin to spare.
Fill in fishing line in two test weights, a two quart pot, ferro rod, and paracord, and you have a British Columbia mountain man's complete system, notable for containing not one item of convenience: no multitool, no rations, no shortcuts. Every object asks its user to already be good.
Every item Greg brought
Fully sourced selection. Photos marked “category example” show a typical product for that slot, not the exact unit carried. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Custom knife, high-carbon steel with giraffe-bone handle
category example
category example
category exampleLaminated maple recurve bow (62-inch, 55 lb pull) with 6 carbon arrows
Pictured: unspecified 40-lb takedown recurve bow
category example-40°F down-filled waterproof sleeping bag
Pictured: Wiggy's Antarctic mummy-style bag (-60F synthetic, long/wide)
category example2-quart stainless steel pot with lid
Pictured: Solo Stove Pot 1800 (60 oz stainless)
category example
category exampleFishing line (60 lb and 15 lb test) and 25 hooks
Pictured: unspecified assorted hooks + monofilament line
category exampleEmergency food rations
How far Greg pushed it (reveals the result)
Why the run ended: Tapped out - developed hypothermia after prolonged wading in the lake
Our take on the run
Ovens lasted 51 days and left sixth, tapping after prolonged wading in the lake left him hypothermic. That ending has a particular sting, a man thoroughly at home in the bush undone not by scarcity or solitude but by one extended misjudgment of cold water, the kind of error he would be the first to name.
The middle of his run looked as comfortable as Patagonia allowed anyone to be, which is why we rate the kit and the woodsman above the placement. Fifty one days on antique steel is its own kind of proof.
Compare with the rest of the Season 3 cast or see what every winner carried.