In my country some things like tarp, fixed knife, fire sarting equipments like a blast match even paracords are hard to find or do not even exist. I been to a group of army surplus store and they only sell a few stuff. I even tried asking for a tarp and they do not even know what it was. laely i manage to find a blastmatch and bought it. Flares and firearms are not allowed.
For knife laws, we need to be above 18 to buy one. From what I know, the shopkeepers ask for our age and give us a licences on the spot or send us to a licenceing centre to register. Knife flying in from other country get confiscated at the airport till we get our licences.
Camping at the beach requires us to get a permit on weekdays. Hiking is free but there are a few places to hike in Singapore unless we walk from one place to another. As for fire, we require a permit if we want to barbecue, only on their pits only as for open fire i got no idea. Traping is not allow so I do not have much pratice with those.
I think that is all if I think of mre i will let you guys know.
thanks
OK. I thought it might be something like that. Here are a few of my ideas. I am sure others in this forum have even more and better ideas.
I am glad to see that you got a blast match. You can practice emergency fires, with a permit, in a pit. Practice is what is important. Use cotton, toilet paper, drier lint, and similar materials in place of natural tinders, but practicing with natural tinder is preferred. A blast match can be used as a signal at night as well as a way to start a fire.
As for flares, there are lots of alternative signalling devices, i.e. mirrors, whistles, air horns, a fire with green vegetation to make smoke, flashing LED lights, brightly colored cloth flags, etc..
Fixed blade knives can be kitchen knives in a leather sheath. And cardboard and tape will do in place of leather until you find a good piece of leather. Or try plastic from a school notebook or a large plastic bottle. Wrap it with many layers of tape so that some can be removed and used a cordage without the sheath coming apart. Also sandpaper can be used to "grind" a humble table knife (or any piece of metal) into a decent tool.
A dark color shower curtain can be a small tarp. So can a painter's drop cloth, and so can a piece of waterproof canvas or a rain poncho. Small pieces of plastic can be melted at the edges to make a single large sheet.
Fire arms can be made from metal parts and pieces of pipe, if you can get the ammunition. Use your imagination. But since you are slightly under age, maybe I should suggest that you investigate less "criminal" forms of weaponry such as bow and arrow, slingshot, spear, etc.. In an emergency, these will take game, and all of them can be made without taking a walk down to the licensing center.
Trapping isn't allowed, but you can set up traps without bait in places that are safe from animals, just for practice. Set them up. Test them with a stick a few times. Then take them down. Nothing gets hurt from just practice and experimenting. That is educational. That is like anthropology or archeology.
My suggestion is to think unconventionally conventional. You know your environment better than I do, and a city can be a more dangerous jungle than a real jungle. Challenge yourself to find ways to do what you need to do and still look respectable. Do something for educational value, as a scientific/engineering experiment, or for investigating historical things. For camouflage, bring a notebook, a library book about archeology, and maybe a calculator. Get friends to help you. Make it half fun and half serious. The less devious you appear, and the more like a normal curious kid you seem to be, the less trouble you will have.
