Each tip is a little piece of advice that has been discovered through personal experience by not only myself, but other contributors to Survival Camping Store, our customers, and befriended survival experts and outdoor/preparedness enthusiasts. If you'd like to contribute to these lists in the future, sign up for our newsletter and join our social media forums! Let's begin!
1. When hunting or fishing for live food, particularly something that you must cook before eating, make sure you already have a fire going or at least make sure you have the materials and resources to easily start a fire within minutes. The last thing you want to do is catch some small game and fail to cook it in a timely manner.
2. Before pitching your tent, remove as many rocks, twigs, branches and sticks as possible. This is obvious, but here's the secret... Once the ground is clear for you to set up a tent, use a tool, preferably a shovel or large blade to loosen up the dirt. This will soften the ground and make it much more comfortable to sleep on.
3. Stress, nervousness and adrenaline all use up valuable energy. When in a true survival situation, it is best to remain as calm and relaxed as possible. Panicking will not only cause you to not think clearly, but will burn precious calories and expend energy.
4. When traveling in unfamiliar territory, pay close attention to surrounding landmarks and look backwards from time to time to take mental notes about the paths you have traveled. This will be surprisingly useful if you ever need to backtrack or retrace your steps.
5. Fire smoke and soot is a great bug repellent. Allow your clothes to absorb the camp smoke smell, use the soot to cleanse areas of your body.
6. Never underestimate the difficulty of a particular survival skill or task such as starting a fire with limited resources, building a shelter, or setting traps for food procurement. Every scenario can present different variables that you have not dealt with before. Even if you understand how to do something in theory, a real life situation can be much different. Practice your skills at home before having to use them in a real scenario, and challenge yourself to accomplish these tasks with increasingly difficult restrictions.
7. Sometimes you can get away with cheap supplies, sometimes it's best to spend a little more. Do the research before stocking up on gear! Consider what your specific uses will be for that item and determine if it meets the requirements or if you should go beyond the minimum and invest in a little more quality.
8. Don't go to bed unless your'e tired. If you feel like you should be sleeping but your'e just not tired and know that you might be laying there for hours before actually falling asleep then don't waste your time laying there. Get up, expend a little energy, do something useful and productive until you know your body is ready for sleep.
9. When backpacking with other people, assign tasks before heading out to make sure you come up with the most efficient plan. You should all know your own strengths and weaknesses, but it is best to discuss them and perhaps give each other time to hone up or prepare better when you know which tasks you'll be specifically responsible for.
10. Wild edibles are much more prevalent than you might expect. It can take days, weeks, or months to fully develop an understanding of viable wild edibles even just within the vicinity of your location, so invest in a comprehensive manual you can take with you and learn as much as you can so you can enjoy food along the way and save space and weight by not having to pack as much food.
Thanks for reading our first edition of 'Random Survival Tips'. A collection of short pieces of advice from people all over the community with different levels of skills and experiences. Join us to have your thoughts published in future articles and contribute to the unlimited knowledge of the emergency preparedness and outdoor community.
NO SHIT SHERLOCK. WHY DONT U WRITE SOMETHING ORGINIAL DUMB ASS>
DustinDate 1/6/2013
Good tips - a couple adds:
When you're in the woods/camp get a stick... can dig, track, reach, whack, baton, hammer, etc. with it.
Try to be disciplined with your gear - keep it in the same place as often as possible in the event you need to to an inventory or gear check or relay to someone where a key piece of equipment is stored.
Have a primary and secondary egress plan that you can execute in pitch blackness. Know where your handrails are (hardball roads, firebreaks, water, etc.).
paul bonnerDate 1/6/2013
Duct tape: i always bring some wrapped around a small film canister which holds aspirin. Duct tape has save me dozens of times. I use it for blisters when hiking and repair tents when marmots decide to chew threw to steal granola bars. I am sure that it has a dozen more uses, but those are the only two i have used Duct tape for....thus far.
JimDate 1/8/2013
I've used the 2nd tip before. Dig up the ground and makes it nice and soft and cozy!!! Not exactly a 'survival priority' but maybe it helps get better sleep which is very important!
David Jansze Jr.Date 2/21/2013
All the above survival tips are very useful and helpful. It's always good to know as much as possible.
Thank you.
David Jansze Jr.Date 2/21/2013
All the above survival tips are very useful and helpful. It's always good to know as much as possible.
Thank you.
eating, make sure you already have a fire going or at least make sure you have the materials and resources to easily start a fire within minutes. The last thing you want to do is catch some small game and fail to cook it in a timely manner.
smoke smell, use the soot to cleanse areas of your body.
or months to fully develop an understanding of viable wild edibles even just within the vicinity of your location, so invest in a comprehensive manual you can take with you and learn as much as you can so you can enjoy food along the way and save space and weight by not having to pack as much food. 