Sam Larson
Lincoln, Nebraska, USA · Alone Season 5: Redemption
- Age on show
- 25
- Gear sourced
- 10/10
How far did Sam get? (tap to reveal)
- Days lasted
- 60
- Placement
- 1st
How Sam's season ended (reveals the result)
Winner; returning contestant from Season 1, where he finished runner-up after tapping out at 55 days; wilderness skills instructor and writer.
Our take on the run
The reversal won. Larson took the all-returnee Redemption season at 60 days, outlasting Britt Ahart's 56 and Larry Roberts's 41, both of whom left missing their families. His first run had ended at day 55 as runner-up, a voluntary tap after he hit his personal goal of 50 days, so the two kits bracket a genuinely rare data point: the same person, four years apart, solving the same game with nearly disjoint item sets. Our reading of the lesson: a second attempt should be built from what actually hurt the first time, not from what looked weak on paper. Larson knew his enemies were cold nights and calorie math, and he packed against those instead of against the fish.
The loadout, examined
Sam Larson's second gear list is best read as a critique of his first. Gone were the self-made axe, the 45 pound recurve, the slingshot, and the 300 yard fishing kit from his debut season; in their place came a Hults Bruk felling axe, 2 pounds of flour, 2 pounds of trail mix, and a Wiggy's Antarctic bag rated to minus 60 Fahrenheit. He dropped three separate food acquisition tools and replaced them with calories he could eat on day one and warmth he could sleep in every night.
What survived the rewrite is telling: snare wire stayed, a Bob Dustrude 21 inch Quick Buck saw stayed in the same role, roughly 80 meters of paracord, a GSI 2 quart enamel pot, a Leatherman whose exact model the sources split on. The new list bets that in a Mongolian valley, foraging plus snares plus pre-packed rations beat active hunting and fishing on net calories, and that sleep quality is a food group. It is the most complete strategic reversal by a returning contestant in our records.
Sam's loadout, item by item
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.
Axe (Hults Bruk felling axe)
category example
Multi-tool (Leatherman; sources disagree on exact model, Surge vs. Super Tool)
category exampleParacord (~80 meters, assorted colors)
Pictured: generic 550 paracord (various colors)
Pot (GSI enamel cook pot, 2 quart)
Rations (2 lbs flour)
Rations (2 lbs trail mix / GORP)
Saw (Bob Dustrude 21" Quick Buck folding saw)
Sleeping bag (Wiggy's Antarctic, -60°F rated)
Snare wire (20 gauge)
Compare with the rest of the Season 5 cast or see what every winner carried.