The Five Skills You Must Know To Survive

 

When you’re forced into survival mode, your first reaction will more often than not be, PANIC. You’ll look around frantically trying to find something or someone that can help you. Or maybe, you just sit there do nothing rocking in a corner and hope for the best (not the best option).

 

Now sometimes you get lucky, and there are people, or items close by that help you. But being able to survive and hold out till help is available is a little easier than you might think.

 

TIP: Always have bugout bags ready so you are prepared for any emergency. I keep one in my house with some food stock and a 72-hour bag in my car.

 

But, what about when you’ve hiked out and are 100 miles from the closest town? Or what can you do if you get into a car wreck on the countryside, break your leg and your phone is broken? Even worse our whole economy collapses, people are going crazy, and we are dealing with a Shit Hits The Fan moment?

 

The five skills will help you to do more than just survive they can help you focus on what’s at hand your LIFE.

 

Although these five skills will not directly relate to every scenario; they will without a doubt, help you be more cognizant of what’s around you.

 

1.WATER

 

 

Water is the lifeblood of us all without it; we will die. At the same time if we drink dirty or polluted water we can also die. So, finding potable water as soon as possible is critical to keeping yourself in the right state of mind.

 

TIP: Vast majority of us will not live past three days without water; this does not include all the water you would sweat out when exposed to various weather patterns. So if you’re in a hot or cold environment it, you will die even faster.

 

So how can I look for water and know it’s safe?

 

When you are searching for water, you have a few good ways to go about doing it.

 

Look for valleys or slopes in the land:

 

If you check out the lay of the land, it will not only help you be more aware of your surroundings. But, can show you where water or animals may be lurking around. If you find a fairly obvious downward slope, you are much more likely to find water at the bottom over the top.

 

Search for puddles of water that have collected rain or ground water:

 

If you find a puddle of water, rather than drinking right from it. Take a moment to dig a hole close to it and drink from that. Doing this can help to prevent any bacteria or pathogens from getting into the water your drinking.

 

TIP: Often these are filled with dangerous bacteria and pathogens that can harm us. So, it’s important (if possible) to have some type of water filter handy.

Listen for sounds of flowing water:

 

Often in a survival situation, we get so focused on what we see versus what we hear. Because of that, we end up missing out on opportunities to increase our survivability. Many times I’ve found fresh water to fill my water bottles up by just taking a moment to listen for sounds of water flowing nearby.

 

TIP: Bring a gravity based water filter with you on any hike. It makes drinking unclean water easy. All I have to do is fill up my water reservoir and start drinking.

 

If you do not feel comfortable drinking from a random stream or water source, get a pump based water filter. Pump based water filters are usually metal cased, so they will be very durable and last a very long time. My favorite brand of filter to use on my long hiking trips is Katadyn Pocket Water Filter.

 

2.WOOD

 

 

Wood it seems humanity uses it in almost every task. Well, surviving for long term finding wood and getting a fire going can help a ton. Not only will it raise your psychological state but you’re physical mood from the warmth you get; and the accomplishment of making the fire.

 

What I do, is look for dry wood as I am moving. This method keeps me aware of what’s able to be used in the area. This simple act of observation will prove to be especially useful when dealing with severe weather conditions or darkness. Neglecting the act of observation will often put you in a worse position than before.

 

 

 

One of the worst and most common examples of this is not collecting enough firewood. What happens is you’ll find a good spot to camp for the night and build a fire then search for wood. Then, once you’ve gathered a decent pile, you think that ought to be good enough. Little did you know you needed a stack 5x that amount. Now you are out looking around for wood in the dark and even worse severe weather.

Pros and Cons of the bad collection of firewood:

 

CONS:

 

• Having to look for wood in the dark (fall, trip, or get injured)

 

• Might be dealing with worse weather than you had before where you end up falling off a cliff, slipping and breaking something.

 

• Could get attacked by snakes, mountain lions, or bears, or the mischevious mosquitos

 

• You could get lost and not be able to find your way back to your campsite.

 

PROS:

 

• NONE worth dealing with

 

TIP: Always bring various ways to start a fire. I like to bring a few lighters and a flint striker. So that if my lighters get wet, I can still make fires in the rain.

 

Since we are talking about wood to make a fire, it’s imperative that you know how to make one. If you are not sure how to make fires now, check out how to build a fire in any situation.

 

3.WEATHER

 

 

One of the BIGGEST challenges we experience each day is weather and the problems it can make reducing your survivability.

 

TIP: Keep multiple strong flashlights in your car at all times. You never know when you’ll need it. 

 

An example is, a complete white out when you’re on your way to work. This hellacious blizzard could cause you or many other people around you to get into a wreck. If this happens, that can quickly turn into an extreme survival situation.

 

Thankfully the majority of the time, we just experience bouts of severe weather. But, as mother nature always tells us we never will know until it’s over.

 

How do we prepare for inclement weather and handle it when it hits?

 

Depending on your situation you could just bunker down but were focused on unexpected survival.

 

 Going back to the white out example:

 

You can do a few things, either stay in the car where you might have heat and protection from the cold and snowy environment. But, your car might get hit by oncoming traffic that can’t see you.You can also try to get away from the car to prevent getting hit and maybe find a building that can protect you from the weather.

 

On the other hand, you can try your luck and get away from the road. From there you can either look for a place to hold up in until the weather passes or build a shelter that can protect you from the storm.

 

 

Either one of these reactions to the scenario are ok choices but what would have helped is properly preparing. By just looking at the weather forecast on the tv, phone, or radio. That alone would have made any of us stay inside and wait out the storm.

 

4.WIDOWMAKERS

 

 

When we’re concentrating on our own survival and building shelter. We get so focused on only what we can see at eye level and below. Because of that, we don’t notice the massive dead tree we built our shelter under.

 

So taking some time to do a thorough search in the possible camp area for fallen and dead trees will save your life and prevent many possible injuries.

 

The best thing to look for is lots of greenery or clusters of evergreens. Trees without leaves (besides in the fall) are often dead and are a possible hazard. Making sure you’re not around when that boy when he falls could be the best decision you make.

 

5.WILLIES

 

 

Creepy crawlies and everything else you don’t want to be squirming around with at night. Being knowledgeable of what types of animals and insects that are in the state or location.

 

Make sure the location you choose to build is clear of any insect clusters (serious webs or ant hills).

 

After all, I’m sure you don’t want to build that perfect shelter over what you thought was a great spot. Just to find hundreds of pissed off fire ants all over you biting you in God knows where.

 

Check out the deadliest creatures on the planet

 

My best recommendation is to jump on google and look up the most common animals and insects in the area. This way you have a solid understanding of what is going to be around you and you can adjust how and where you set-up camp.

 

RECAP ON INFO

 

Having the knowledge of where to find water, how to build fires, to know when bad weather is on its way, and how to build the right shelter, will without a doubt help you survive any situation you might find yourself in. I hope that these five points are able to help you in any situation you may find yourself in.

 

TELL US YOUR STORY

 

If you have any stories where any of these 5 W’s may have changed the outcome of you survival please post it below. We would love to hear from you and read your stories.

 

Also if there are any questions or comments about the post, or would like to learn more please comment below or message us on Facebook.