Survival v. Bushcraft - What is the difference?

Brian Jones

Brian Jones

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Fellow forum members,

There was a discussion in the general discussion here about the difference between survival and bushcraft knives. I posted my personal short definition of the difference between survival and bushcraft. There has been much discussion pretty much everywhere about the differences between the two. So, in this thread, I'd like to ignore actual knives, and get everyone's contributions or ideas here so I can form a "sticky" that new members can read. So, here is what I wrote in the other thread. Please feel free to add, take away, adjust, or tell me I have it all completely wrong. My goal here is to come to a succinct but complete comparison in only three or four sentences. From the other thread:

<<In all my years of practicing and discussing surival and bushcraft, to use the common terms, I've boiled the definitions down this way, at least for when I am using the terms:

Survival = short term, improvising and doing whatever you have to do to stay alive until you are rescued. The primary objective is getting out, and/or getting rescued. Signaling is a key to this, to give an example of a skill you need to know.

Bushcraft = wilderness living. Its long term. It's a way of life. The goal is to stay in the wilderness, not try to get out.

Either one of these could turn into the other, depending on many external and/or internal factors.

So, even more simply, the goal of survival is to get out of the wilderness, the goal of bushcraft is to stay in the wilderness.>>

Thoughts? And go!
 
I am absolutely not an expert outdoorsman or bushcrafter but, to me, bushcraft is for enjoyment. It may be about relaxing in the woods, honing skills, pitting yourself against nature, or whatever aspect you do enjoy, but the enjoyment is there. Survival implies that something has gone terribly wrong and you are now using whatever skills and equipment you have to not die.
 
I agree with your definition Brian . and IMO the better you are at bushcraft the less likely your going to be in n a survival situation in the wilderness . but that's not the only scenario where you would need to survive . sea -urban and natural disasters . bushcraft won't help you much in these situations:)
 
Carving a spoon might not help you survive a fire, plane crash, etc. but mindset used in bushcraft applied to a survival situation would be a definite plus.
 
R.c.s., yes, I am all for expanding the survival definition into urban natural/man made disasters, and seafaring areas. :thumbup:
 
Danke42 said:
Carving a spoon might not help you survive a fire, plane crash, etc. but mindset used in bushcraft applied to a survival situation would be a definite plus.
Click to expand...

Do you need a survival mind set in bushcraft ?
 
One high level difference I think that needs to be touched on.

Bushcraft - woods/outdoors/nature specific skills that can aid in camping, survival, or even day to day life.

Survival - a scenario where you need to depend on yourself or a small close group of people vs the infrastructure of modern society. This concept is not tightly coupled to the woods like Bushcraft is.

In my opinion the idea of a survival knife is a little silly, first you need to know what you are surviving. A plane crash, ship wreak, hurricane flooding, tornado, zombie apocalypse? Then you can begin to determine what attributes would be useful in a knife for that given scenario.

YMMV

Just Noticed RCS touched on most of the same points. That's what I get for skimming.

So I'll add some more of my opinion if its all the same.

Bushcraft is just the current popular name for tips, tricks, and skills used by most woodsmen. If you plan to spend time in the woods its a good skillset to study. Land navigation, shelter making, fire craft, water purification, vessel and tool making from natural resources and so on. Most of these skills can cross over to a "survival" senaro especially if it takes place in the outdoors.

Survival is location specific and unintentional. I think some folks overprepare for a possibile survival situation, while the vast majority are completely unprepared. I by no means carry a go bag on me but I at least always have a Knife, a few basic tools and a flashlight on my person. My bag has a very small very lightweight kit in it with some basic supplies. I think the number one thing a person could have in a survival senaro is knowledge. Know your area, know basic first aid, know some basic skills most of which are covered in Bushcraft.
 
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Bushcraft
Bush: the wilderness
Craft: (as defined by Merriam-Webster): an activity that involves making something in a skillful way by using your hands
: a job or activity that requires special skill
: objects made by skillful use of the hands
Full Definition
1 : skill in planning, making, or executing : dexterity
2 a : an occupation or trade requiring manual dexterity or artistic skill <the carpenter's craft> <the craft of writing plays> <crafts such as pottery, carpentry, and sewing>
b plural : articles made by craftspeople <a store selling crafts> <a crafts fair>
3 : skill in deceiving to gain an end <used craft and guile to close the deal>
4 : the members of a trade or trade association
5 plural usually craft
a : a boat especially of small size
b : aircraft
c : spacecraft

Bushcraft has several variations of how to use the word craft. I would suggest defining it accordingly. You don't have to live in the wilderness to do many of the items shown in Mors Kochanski's book. Although wilderness living can be implied the implication is not necessitated by it's use.

Survival emphasizes surviving. Your definition is good, but I would again add that it isn't limited to that.
 
bushcraft:camping :: surivival:stranded on an island

bushcraft is a choice/want
survival is forced/needed
 
Drawing from some of what has been said here, other threads and other sources, how about :

"Bushcraft" refers to the combined skills and knowledge required to live in or live from the bush for a time, without reliance on modern technology or outside involvement.

"Survivalism" (?) Refers to the preparation and acquisition of skills with the aim of living through a short-term or ongoing situation in which, as a result of a disaster or misadventure, outside help and modern technology may not be available.

Bushcraft may be useful in a survival situation however is not limited to such.
 
"Survival is location specific and unintentional."

That is superbly worded and right to the point. I'll definitely include that. Well done, Hacked!

Everyone is making great points here - keep it coming!
 
R.c.s said:
Do you need a survival mind set in bushcraft ?
Click to expand...

Think of survival skills as a pyramid, built on the foundation of the will to survive.
The next layer of the pyramid is knowledge. It breeds confidence and dispels fears.
The third layer is training: mastering skills and maintaining them.
To cap the pyramid, add your kit. Combine the instinct for survival with knowledge, training and kit and you will be ready for anything. ​

Same pyramid to me.
 
I personally define survival as a situation that you were placed in . And could potentially lead to death . for me if you have the the knowledge and the equipment you are not surviving you are leaving.
 
Ron Hood had the rule "Nuff." Good Nuff, strong Nuff, etc. when talking about survival. His early videos emphasized just being able to do things "good enough to get by and get home."

When you get into Wilderness Living Skills (which has been my term - for decades - for what others now call "bushcraft"), you get into more refined skills that take longer to do and are geared towards setting you up for a longer term stay in the wilderness.
 
Survival is the skills and mindset to overcome a unplanned emergency situation in any environment. Be it medical, lost person incident, natural or man made disaster.
 
Bushcrafters set voluntary limits on their wilderness stay. They play in the woods for fun or practice.

Those in survival situations have the limitations set for them by Murphy or Mother Nature.
 
Wilderness survival seems to be mainly understood as in your OP + unintentional.

"Wilderness Survival" was not always thus. When Larry Dean Olsen wrote Outdoor Survival Skills (1st Ed. late 1960s) and Wilderness Survival (1974) for the Boy Scouts, we was very much writing about long-term survival in the wilderness with very little gear - mainly gear you made from the environment. I think of his topic as "primitive living."
 
From my understanding of the words being used and their respective meanings:

Bushcraft seems to refer more to a skillset or knowledge of a wilderness environment and how to utilize or manipulate it. It is more a group of methods rather than a methodology.

Survival is an all encompassing strategic drive. To illustrate, bushcraft can be considered as a motorcycle and survival as a large amount of space which you must transverse. Of course, a motorcycle will help you more or less in negotiating that space; but is it useful should you arrive at the edge of land and the rest is ocean between you and your destination?

From that perspective, bushcraft knowledge does not help in an environment where there is no natural resource to use. It is limited to a specified wilderness scenario.

As for survival, it can include having to evade hostile beings in an abandoned building or any urbanized setting (not in a wilderness setting, mind you). It might also include having to survive at sea.

In any case, I view bushcraft as a discipline using set parameters. I view survival as a base, biological drive.
 
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XxFULLPOWERxX said:
From my understanding of the words being used and their respective meanings:

Bushcraft seems to refer more to a skillset or knowledge of a wilderness environment and how to utilize or manipulate it. It is more a group of methods rather than a methodology.

Survival is an all encompassing strategic drive. To illustrate, bushcraft can be considered as a motorcycle and survival as a large amount of space which you must transverse. Of course, a motorcycle will help you more or less in negotiating that space; but is it useful should you arrive at the edge of land and the rest is ocean between you and your destination?

From that perspective, bushcraft knowledge does not help in an environment where there is no natural resource to use. It is limited to a specified wilderness scenario.

As for survival, it can include having to evade hostile beings in an abandoned building or any urbanized setting (not in a wilderness setting, mind you). It might also include having to survive at sea.

In any case, I view bushcraft as a discipline using set parameters. I view survival as a base, biological drive.
Click to expand...

I agree bushcraft is In the way . Where survival is in the will :thumbup:
 
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