1420 sats \ 17 replies \ @Turnspit_Dog 7 Jan \ parent \ on: What's the most extreme thing you've done outdoors, or tried to? Ask_SN
Dammnit... I took the bait huh?
I have taught wilderness survival starting back before it was cool to do so on social media. But it is typically split between people wanting to be more secure in their daily lives, whether that is in their homes or in other environments. I have also worked with training various emergency services, training their trainers on building emergency preparedness plans. (I know, not that specific.) And yes, I take small groups of people out to do wilderness survival since they watch that on TV.
As for me specifically, I used to live on the coast, and have been through a few disasterous hurricanes. I can tell you this, cigarettes and alcohol are superb bartering items. I cannot tell you how good these things are to have.
Some tips to get anyone started in their own emergency plans:
- Prepare for what you see on the first 5 minutes of your local news. This is the situation you will most likely find yourself in. Not a plane crash, not stranded on some island, and not naked with the member of the opposite sex for 21 days.
- Since you spend the majority of your time at home or near it, take one Friday night before dark and turn off all your power and water. See what works for you or not until the sun comes up the next morning. Then try this again the next month for 48 hours. Rinse and repeat until you feel comfortable going 72 hours hunkered down in your home with everything you need.
- Have 3 different ways to make coffee without power. Super important.
- Understand that there is broadcast TV and radio still available. Do you have anyway to get news without the internet.
- Practice being bored. In today's society where dopamine hits are the norm, practice doing nothing. It's amazing when I take people's phones away from them when starting a class. Some folks cannot do without them and it really puts additional stressors on their learning.
- Make sure you are in shape.
- Lastly, read One Second After by William R. Forstchen. That is probably the most ac curate situation of a true survival scenario.
Just some random rambling to get you thinking.
Cool, thanks for sharing!
How are people during classes?
Do they see the course as a "fun experience", or are they serious about upping their skills?
I've been thinking about booking a survival / bushcraft class, too.
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Good question.
It used to be art imitates life, but now life imitates art. And what I mean by that, is most people today want to do what they see on TV, versus learn skills that could potentially save their lives or those around them.
Secondly, it used to be knowledge based survival skills, but today it is more gear based survival skills. Just remember, you can carry knowledge with you everywhere, and gear will supplement your knowledge. That way if you lose your gear, you are still in good shape. But with gear based survival, no gear in the world will supplant knowledge should you lose your gear. I think it is from our consumer based society today and social media influences.
So if you are thinking of taking a class, just know that there isn't an official survival association of accredited instructors. It can be hit or miss. Research the classes you are taking, trying to see how much "stuff" they are trying to sell you versus if they truly have an interest in education. And remember, these are skills to save your life. Treat it as such.
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Yeah, well put. I also see them (the classes) issue "packing lists" often times, is that a yay or a nay in your eyes?
Of course, people wanna imitate "Naked Survival", Ed Stafford's adventures or "Dual Survival"- which I get, it's cool, and thus are looking for those "skills" while booking a course.
What are the main things you're teaching, what gear is "necessary", how has the above changed your way of teaching and is a knife really the survival tool?
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"My good reason to carry a knife is that God gave me rather weak teeth and rudimentary claws in an evolutionary trade-off. The hairy-armed person who figured out how to put an edge on a suitable rock made it possible for us to be recognizably human in the first place. I wear a wristwatch whether or not I have an appointment to keep, and I carry a pen and/or pencil because I am a literate person whether or not I have a specific writing task ahead of me, and I carry a knife because I am a human and not an ape.
A knife comes in handy for all sorts of random tasks that involve separating matter. Like cutting a string, or making a sandwich, or opening a package. It can also come in handy in an emergency, which need not involve a human assailant, and emergencies are by their nature unforseen, so one should carry a knife all the time.
And in a perfect world where nobody needed a weapon, I'd probably carry a slightly larger knife, because it wouldn't scare people." - James Mattis
A knife and a Bic lighter are the bare minimum pieces of gear I consider one should have. We could get into the ferro rod argument about what is the best way to make a fire, but if you were to look at any office building by the entry door, when it is freezing cold with winds blowing at 40 MPH, you will see a group of people smoking. If there were a better way to light a cigarette, these folks would use it. Just carry a Bic lighter. Plus if you are incapacitated someone else in your party will know how to use a Bic lighter, hell, even a child. They will not know how to use the latest and greatest fire making doo-dad.
But you should know how to make a fire and a suitable edged cutting tool in the event that you are separated form your gear, or know how to get by without. Knowledge based survival.
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Just carry a Bic lighter. Plus if you are incapacitated someone else in your party will know how to use a Bic lighter,
Couldn't agree more. Multiple lighters aswell. Whenever I was in the field I'd have two on my person, and 1 in each pocket of my bag, so I'm never (or someone else) searching hard for a lighter.
Tampons aswell. Carry tampons and condoms. Condom can hold about a litre of water. And tampons make great kindling when you shred it. Small lightweight items can be such huge difference makers.
If you're out with someone, ensure they know exactly where your first aid kit is. (Make sure you know where there's is too), if it's needed use there's on them and they use yours on you. I'm not saying something like yeah they know it's in my bag, or in the top pocket of my bag, I want their hands to go straight to it when they need to, I want them to know by touch that it's in the top on the right in a waterproof sealed plastic wallet.
Got a touch carried away... But yeah... Multiple lighters, tampons and condoms, some on your person and some in your bag.
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For the price of one ferro rod, you can buy a dozen lighters. :)
ensure they know exactly where your first aid kit is
100%
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Feel like I'm talking to a mirror 😂😂 everything you've said above I would have said myself. I'm sure it'd be great fun to do a wild weekend in the woods with you.
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Honestly, the knife that you have on you when you need it is the best survival knife.
But I have used my Victorinox Hiker, and my Mora Classic for 90% of my tasks over the past years. Granted I have some super steeled sharpened pry bars, and know a lot of custom makers. But my SAK is my best knife ever. I've used it for so much.
Lastly, read One Second After by William R. Forstchen. That is probably the most ac curate situation of a true survival scenario.
Thanks for this recommendation, I got this book yesterday after seeing your comment, and stayed up until 3 a.m. last night reading it. Finished almost half the book on one sitting - really cool book on many levels! Thanks 🙏
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