Survival School: A Look at The Pathfinder School

 
The Pathfinder School is a survival school headed by Dave Canterbury, star of Discovery Channel’s “Dual Survival” with co-star Cody Lundin. Dave has more than 20 years experience and personal training in both a civilian and military environment. After joining the U.S. Army at age 17, he eventually became part of the U.S. Special Forces.

Since leaving the army, Dave has trained and now teaches wilderness survival at his Pathfinder Training School in Southeast Ohio. Canterbury is a professional hunting guide and tracker that has posted over 300 survival-themed instructional videos online. He’s also the author of The Pathfinder System: A Common Man’s Guide to Survivability.

The Pathfinder School offers both hands on and online training. The Virtual Classroom on their site is described as “an opportunity to either jump start the learning process or give additional research for the Phase 1 E-Course. It is a membership area of our site and offers many videos not available on YouTube as well as many downloadable PDF files to help with your research. New Videos are added as we have the available time to film them, and addition files are added as well. There are many practice exercises and deliverables there as well to help those who just wish to participate in informal training but are not interested in a certification for later use.” The Pathfinder Virtual Classroom 1 year subscription is $75.00.

Pathfinder also offers a 3 phase E-Course for anyone from beginner to instructor. They are a self paced learning systems that provide you with outlines and lessons to guide you through research and practical exercises at the pace you choose. There is no time limit to these courses and typical students take between 6 months and 1 year to complete Phase 1. Completing the phase 3 certification gives you the opportunity to become a paid Pathfinder Instructor at the Pathfinder School.

The hands on classes can be taken in conjunction with the online courses putting your practical skills to the test. The basic survival class is taught at their Jackson Ohio school location. It can teach you the concepts of self reliance and basic survival skills. The advanced course will test the limits of your current knowledge, forcing you to undergo water and food deprivation until you can accomplish true to life tasks that may be needed in an emergency. Pathfinder group hands on courses range from $250 to $400 per course and usually take about 3 days to complete.

Pathfinder School has a strong online community in which you can discuss survival skills and interact with the instructors and other survival enthusiast on the forums on their website. They also have an online store that carries all types of survival gear that is personally chosen by Dave Canterbury for its usability and quality. These are the same products Dave carries in his very own survival kit.

Whether you are looking to casually learn some survival skills at your own pace or want to dive right in and get your hands dirty, the Pathfinder School has something for everybody at all levels. The Virtual Classroom, E-courses and hands on training, gives you the flexibility to learn what you, when you want, at the price you want!