While I ask people to keep in mind that this is not a "The World Is Ending" thread, I feel it is important to recognise that pending disaster can strike at any time and any place. Be it regional like hurricane katrina, or national like the Japanese earthquake last year. Or for many reasons; natural (hurricanes and the like), economical (Greece is a good example), or man-made (terrorism and war). My question is are there any survivalists here, and if so what preparations have you made? How long can you last in a disaster without government help? Also why? What do you think may happen to inspire you taking these steps to protect yourself and family? My intention here is to inspire an educational discussion between experienced survivalists and those interested in learning more about equipment, long term food storage and other related topics.
Every adult should know first aid, and have a first aid manual and kit readily available in their house and car. They should also have a flashlight charged and readily available and some supply of non-perishable food and water in case they are stuck at home when the power goes out. Every adult should know how to tie knots, make basic structures, start a fire, and all the other sorts of stuff you'd learn in the boy scouts. Basically, they should be able to go camping without any issues. Every adult should be aware of the potential disasters/hazards that have a CONSIDERABLE chance of occurring in their area, and should have a plan on what they will do should one of these disasters occur, shared with their family or housemates or whatever. However, that being said, there is a fine line between being pragmatic and prepared, and being paranoid and overcautious.
I can name maybe 2-3 people I know who can actually do those things. Which is sad really, because I 100% agree with you. I think the amount of adults in this country who have absolutely no skills whatsoever is staggering. I would be willing to bet 90% of people I know could not support themselves if put into a survival situation. I keep food/water/and a first aid kid, thats about it. Also emergency savings, but I definitely lack camping gear.
I am a hobby outdoorsman and luckily in a good region for outdoor survival. I have the knowledge to start a fire with two sticks, build proper shelter in the form of lean toos, fish, know the edible vegetation here, how to purify water , natural health aids and a few other things... I actually can do half those things, the rest I've studied BUT knowing first hand that watching, studying and taking notes is not a replacement for real world application I want to go through the list and see what I can do. Though I may invest in a flint for the fire stuff. Heard rubbing two pieces of wood together takes a lot out of you just for a small ember.
Flint and Steel ain't much easier, trust me. A good zippo or even one of those barbeque lighters is much easier.
Everyone should also watch The Walking Dead, and hopefully even learn from the characters mistakes on the show.
True but long term those would run out. I have a couple zippos. Not that I want to run a doomsday scenario just that I do a lot of risky hiking into unknown places to me (I always inform people where I am going) and as a just in case it's always good to have a small survival/first aid pack. I would guess with zippos if they sat too long they'd have to be refilled.
True, but they last long enough that you'd have other, more pressing concerns. Could always carry waterproof / strike anywhere matches instead, they won't have those problems and they'd still be easier to use than flint, though they'd run out faster than the zippo, I'd think.
While I have some rudimentary supplies like rope, hatchet, first aid kit, some long term food stuffs and winterwear. I am starting a 6-month pantry soon. Also being raised in the bush survival skills such as hunting, snaring, shelter building were a part of my play time. Along with being a carpenter/scaffolder I have a lot of experience with rope work and structural knowledge. My friends and I have two evac plans and meeting points. While I am unclear about what type of disasters could strike my area other than economic collapse, I would also be interested what type of disasters might hit your areas.
i try to teach my nieces first aid skills. and i try to teach them how to cope with stressful situations. it's one thing for their dad to pack a first aid kit and jumper cables, but if they don't know how to make use of the stuff, what good is it? actually, i encourage them to build their own first aid kit so they are familiar with EVERYTHING in it. it's not much, but it is a start to learning how to be independent and surviving.
Actually I should look into those. If you split them you get double the strikes. As for running out I've learned about something called char cloth. With that and Birch around here I think I could stretch a fire out for a while. It's a smart idea to have a lighter, flint, matches and fire making know how which I still need practice on.
How would you make water if none were availible? (ie no rain or standing water?) Spoiler Dig a hole, put a cup in the bottom. Loosely stretch a cloth over the top and weigh down the middle with a stone or something. Condensation in the mornings will collect and drip into the cup. Drawback, not much water will be collected, and it depends on how humid the air is.
Pee in a container or even in a hole in the ground. put another container directly in the middle or low spot of the hole. Heat will cause a distilling process by where the water drips into the cup in the middle. This is the proper way to do that. In an arid region, without a moisture source such as urine , you'll waste more energy and body fluids setting up then you could ever get. In none arid regions I would imagine boiling water would take less energy and be more efficient and where ever there is abundant plant life there is water. Still, urine will work as a water source if none can be found.
Ha, I didn't know about the pee bit of that. We should put survival tips in this thread. How do I? Light a fire? Find shelter from a storm? Kill a bear?
I actually learned that bit from a survival book I swiped from school in the 8th grade. It was made in the 60s. Later confirmed by Dual survival (which is by far the most accurate show on survival I have seen). Also learned a quick and illegal way to catch fish with minimal work. It's fine in some places and for survival but it is illegal as it encourages over fishing an area. I used a similar method I learned in the scouts to catch minnows. In a lightning storm a cave is the save bet but I have no clue what if there are none. I may have to look that up. A 45 works wonders for a bear but the best thing you can do, at least in this region, is talk loudly while walking. They tend to want to avoid people here. Also if you see one just talk calmly and back away slowly. Oddly animals in Sweden are a lot less aggressive then in America. Björn anfaller (bear attack) - YouTube Still wouldn't stop me from crapping my pants.
How to start a fire: Fire's pretty easy, depending on what you have available. Got wood, gas, and a lighter? Pile wood in a pit, pour some gas over it, light some paper, toss the burning paper on the gas-soaked wood, or stuff it inside the pile. Fire. Don't have all those things? Then you'll have to do things the hard way. For fire, you need four things: -ingnition source -tinder -kindling -wood For an ignition source, you can use a lighter, matches, flint and steel, ember, magnifying glass/lens (if there's sun) or an electrical ignition source (take a large battery and run wires from the two terminals to something small and flammable) or anything else that'll create a spark or small flame. If you don't have any of that you can rub two dry sticks together to create an ember, but that's a method that really requires some training and practice. For tinder, you need something that'll burn really, REALLY easily. Dryer lint, dry leaves, dry pine needles, bark, paper, cotton, etc. Birchbark works well because it's thin like paper, naturally waterproof, and burns for a good amount of time. The role of the tinder is to make the fire spread quickly from the ignition source and get large enough to ignite the kindling. For kindling, you need small pieces of DRY wood, no longer than a foot and no thicker than your thumb. The smaller the better, but it's best to have a range of sizes, as the smaller pieces will help the larger pieces catch fire, and the larger pieces will burn for longer, helping your logs catch fire. Place your kindling around your tinder, either as a box like a log cabin, or as a teepee, which I prefer. Be sure to leave enough room between pieces and between the kindling and the tinder for air to flow so the fire can get oxygen. For wood, start with smaller pieces and work your way up. Make sure its dry, and hack vanes in it like a feather if you want it to catch faster. Don't add too much at once, only add pieces once they're needed and once the fire is going strong. That's pretty much the basics. You should also put a ring of rocks around your fire because they'll keep the wind away from it when it's small, and will absorb and slowly radiate the heat from the fire after it goes out. Also keep in mind that you can use whatever embers remain once the fire goes out to start a new one, and embers can be transported in a tin can or something, provided they have ongoing access to fuel and air.
Birchbark is good for another reason, it has flammable oils within the bark. You actually have to get a good thick piece. There's another tree like that but I'd forgotten. I'm going to test the birchbark out this summer (all we have is birch and firs). Here's an add to the above quote: How To Start A Fire using only what you can find in the wild - YouTube
If you're using it as tinder, a thinner piece is better, because its easier to tear up and use to start the fire. The oils are what make it waterproof, as well as what make it burn easily, and longer than paper, and allow it to give off more heat as well. Thick pieces will burn longer, but they're more effective as kindling than tinder. If there's little tears and peeling areas, you can try to use those to start the chunk, but it doesn't always catch. It's also better if you can strip the bark off a fallen birch tree, as it does dry out a bit and catch more easily off a dead tree. The best is if you can find a birch that's basically rotted, you can just shake the rotted chunks out of the bark, cut the ring of bark so that you can roll it up, and take it with you.
