Wilderness Survival Tips
The first and foremost wilderness
survival tips and tools you have are:
- Your Brains
- Tools
- Shelter
- Food
- Signalling
You need the first two. The others can be made. Those are
my wilderness survival tips in a nutshell.
Don't panic, and don't despair. Giving up hope will kill you
if you're in a real survival situation. So your brain is very
much part of it. If your thinking isn't helping you, you're in
deep doo-doo.
The most basic tools you need are for Fire Making and
Cutting. So we're looking at a good blade (or two) and a fire
making kit.
Consider a heavy-bladed Bowie-type sheath knife, because
this can chop small timber, to give you shelter. It can also be
used to skin game, gut fish etc. My second knife choice is a
smaller, all-purpose job, like a Leatherman or a genuine,
quality, Swiss Army Knife. One brand is Victorianox,
and I forget the other for the moment. I think its
Wenger or Soligen. (These three brands are
all top quality knives.)
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Don't you ever buy some $2 made-in-China
cheap pocket knife. This is your life and safety
we're talking about here. Your camping knife
should be top-quality. Your life has got to be
worth more than two bucks. |
Your fire making kit will at the very least include some
matches in a waterproof container. Non-safety matches will need
the black strip of chemical they can be struck against. And
non-safety matches may need a small piece of sand-paper they
can be struck against. Then pack a small butane gas cigarette
lighter as well. Some people are happy with a flint and steel
kit, but remember you've got to have dry punk (fluff) and
tinder to catch a spark, and it takes a lot of skill
and practise before you need it for an emergency. A
small birthday-cake candle or two will also help get your fire
started faster.
Fire gives warmth and comfort, cooks food, can keep wild
animals away from you and can be used as a signal.
My other wilderness survival tips are to carry suitable
clothing and waterproof protection, a large plastic garbage bag
(works as a bivy bag), drinking water and means to carry it
(condom in a sock?), food or energy bars for a couple of days,
wire for snares, fish hooks weights and line, a small metal
mirror and whistle for signalling. That's assuming there's
anyone looking for you. There might not be.
So remember to leave word with reliable friends, or with the
police or park rangers, so the authorities know where to begin
looking if they think you're in trouble.
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