what survival skills do I need to know?

T

taylordedge

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Dec 13, 2010
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Hey guys, been out in the woods to try and learn different skills, but I have no clue where to begin. For fire feather sticks, got that, but if something ever happen where I have to live out there in the woods for awhile I need to know the basic skills to get started, can you help me!
 
Get a couple of books on edible and medicinal wild plants specific to your area.--KV
 
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create/find shelter/protection from the elements
make fire
hydrate
calories

watch the movie "The Egde" and see how the film maker portrayed the above challenges.
 
Honestly, this is a very open-ended question. Where are you located, what access do you have to the bush? I'd say making a fire is a pretty basic skill to learn. You have to be able to recognize potential tinder and fuel, how a fire is constructed, differant types of fire layouts etc. Then, learn methods of starting a fire. With a lighter, then a match, then a firesteel, then friction etc etc. Saying something like "if something happens" and "what do I need to know to live in the bush" are pretty vague. How do you live in your home? What is your heat source? What is your water source? What keeps rain off your head? What do you eat? Living in the bush requires all of those skills. Think about what you need to know to live at home (heat, water, shelter, food) and then think how you would aquire those things in the absence of walls, roof, water taps, electricity and fridges. Posting here is a great start. Keep reading and then get out and try stuff. You will fail at first, believe me I know, but you keep working at it and it'll get better. Your first mug of hot tea, boiled over a fire you have built and maintained yourself is a great feeling:thumbup:
 
1. Highly recommend taking an outdoor course if you can. Suggest BOSS 14 day field course.

2. Do not forget about the psychology of survival. Recommend reading Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why by Laurence Gonzales.
 
kvaughn said:
Get a couple of books on edible and medicinal wild plants specific to your area.--KV
Click to expand...

I have to disagree with this advice a little. Books are usually total crap at ID'ing edible plants. You're better off going out with an instructor from your area.
 
I'd worry about trip planning and preparation, first aid, orienteering, things like that, before what roots you can safely nibble on.
IMO, the most important survival skill is not getting into a survival situation to begin with.
A real survival scenario also has a precipitating event-which means that your situation abruptly changes. That is usually going to be an injury, or becoming lost, but could be anything that puts you out beyond your planned time or in unforeseen conditions, like drastic changes in the weather, for instance. A dayhike where someone sets out with plans to be back the same day(and is thinking short-term, with minimal preparation) is probably how the vast majority of these survival stories begin. Then they get stuck out overnight, hurt or in bad weather, without adequate clothing, shelter, or water.
We need to think in terms of what can change, how to avoid it, and how to cope with it if it happens. Think injury, exposure, and dehydration.

If you want to see someone who spends a lot of time outdoors and is practically prepared without carrying a bunch of useless stuff, search for posts by "mtwarden" and look at his replies and pics in threads asking what people carry. For example, this post in a thread about what people carry on dayhikes:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=9299039&postcount=2
Just remember to tailor what you carry to your own environment...
 
Step 1: spend hundreds of dollars on the very best gear.

Step 2: learn not to use any of them.

I'm still somewhere along step 1. :D
 
HandofCod said:
Step 1: spend hundreds of dollars on the very best gear.

Step 2: learn not to use any of them.

I'm still somewhere along step 1. :D
Click to expand...


More like thousands..............................................................:rolleyes:
 
THis is one WHOPPER of a question to ask around these parts. You will get lots of different answers...try to read through them, and take what you want out of the answers you get.

From myself,
get a couple of good books on living in the outdoors..and start practicing changing your perception of "the woods". When you start "Being" in the woods, and stop "surviving" ...your getting places.
A course is a good start..it will cover the basics, and get you motivated to practice some more.
You never know, you might want to go to advanced courses, and end up a woodsbum. This is one way to approach it, I am sure you will get better advice, forthcoming.
 
When I sid earlier to watch the movie "The Edge" I did not mean to watch it for "instructional" purposes.
I just think it showed the troubles they had to deal with when thrust into the outdoors unexpectedly.
Shelter, fire, water, food.
A big grizzly bear trying to eat you.
 
Consider your physiological priorities:

1) need maintain body warmth
2) need to stay hydrated
3) need for sustenance

Now consider the skills relating to these needs

1) Shelter
2) Fire
3) Navigation to safety
4) Locate, gather, purify water
5) Locate, gather, consume food
6) Avoid biological threats (poisons plants, snakes, predators)

Pick a need, pick a skill figure out the methodologies and practice. Start with something you are a bit familiar with and something you enjoy. Take it a step at a time and not all at once.
 
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