Survival skills

Survival skills are skills that may help one to survive dangerous situations such as storms or earthquakes, or in dangerous areas such as the desert, the Australian outback, the Arctic, and the jungle. Some useful skills are the ability to light a fire, find shelter, make water safe to drink, find and identify food, treat injuries, and to climb, swim, and use specific or makeshift tools. There are several books that teach one how to survive in dangerous situations and schools usually tell children what to do in the event of an earthquake or fire. Some cities also have contingency plans in case of a major disaster.

Several organizations offer survival skills courses which range from introductory courses lasting only a day, to field courses lasting as long as a month. In addition to teaching survival techniques for conditions of limited food, water, and shelter, many such courses seek to engender appreciation and understanding of the lifestyles of pre-industrialized cultures.

Environment

Each type of environment challenges a person with a different range of dangers. An environment may be dry, wet, hot, cold, high altitude, low altitude, Outer space, desert, rural, urban, wilderness, subterranean, or an island. Nevertheless, there are four basic necessities of life which apply in all of these cases; shelter, water, fire, and food (also oxygen for high altitudes and outer space).

Where survival skills are used on a more permanent basis, or as a component of daily life beyond the mundane basic necessities, they are often referred to as Bushcraft.

Survival Priorities

In most survival situations, there are four priorities which must be addressed before all other needs are met:
*Shelter
*Water
*Fire
*Food

Shelter

Finding shelter is the most important survival priority because it allows a person to stay protected from the elements, and thus hopefully warm and dry. It is important in all survival situations because even if the current weather conditions are fine, it is not always possible to know when and how the weather conditions may evolve. Therefore, in all normal survival situations, a shelter should be built before all other needs are met. A shelter will also serve as an important boost to morale as it will become base or home. When selecting a spot for a shelter, make sure that it will be possible to sleep mildly comfortably. This includes avoiding things like immovable rocks and animal nests, and attempting to be in the sun or shade (depending on the situation- ex. at night, shade makes little difference). A simple shelter can be constructed using a lattice of branches propped up at an angle against the wind. Fern can then be added to create cover for rain and hail. Try propping branches against a fallen tree log for a simple yet effective shelter. Always make sure the shelter is angled such that the sun will be visible in the morning from where you plan to sleep. This will aid you in waking up. If you are making the shelter and finishing it later in the day, you will be able to set up the opening away from the where the sun is setting.

Water

Humans can live for several weeks without food, but only about three days without water. The average person will lose 2-3 liters of water per day. A lack of water causes dehydration, resulting in lethargy, headaches, dizziness, confusion, and eventually death. Mild dehydration reduces the ability to concentrate, which is dangerous in a survival situation where clear thinking is essential. It is therefore necessary that a safe supply of drinking water is located as soon as a shelter is built. Depending on the situation, some people place this need before shelter. To identify dehydration a good way is to examine your urine. It should appear light yellow or clear if you are hydrated but it will appear dark yellow or even brownish if you are dehydrated.

In a survival situation, it should be assumed that all water supplies are contaminated. Although little can be done to remove chemical contaminants, particles and microorganisms can be removed and/or killed. Water should be filtered to remove large organic and mineral matter and should always be boiled to kill bacteria and other microorganisms. It can also be treated with disinfectant chemicals such as iodine or chlorine if they are available. Obviously, it will do little good to go through surviving and possibly being rescued, only to die of contamination.

Since water travels downhill the best places to look for water are in valleys, crevices, and other areas of low elevation. Animals are generally more abundant near water sources as well.

Water can be gathered in numerous different ways. In areas of abundant moisture, water can be scooped out of a creek or pond. Rainwater can be caught in makeshift containers (rainwater everywhere is drinkable, other than acid rain). In more arid regions, a bit more ingenuity will be necessary. Some less obvious ways to collect water include condensation traps, gathering dew (by tying t-shirts to your legs and walking through wet grass), or solar stills. Animal blood is not suitable for rehydration, as it may be diseased, and is also considered a food, so it takes more energy to digest. Urine on the other hand contains salt, which makes it unsuitable to drink. You can, however, make drinkable water from urine by distilling it.

In extremely dry environments it is necessary to take extra care to prevent water loss by:
*Breathing through the nose to prevent water vapour escaping through the mouth
*Not smoking
*Avoiding strenuous labor during sunny, hot periods
*Traveling at night and resting in shade during the day
*Not eating too much (the human body uses a lot of water to digest food - especially fats and proteins)

Fire

Fire is as important as a safe water supply. Without it, water cannot be boiled, and food cannot be cooked. Fire is also used as a source of heat and a means of scaring off dangerous animals, as well as for signalling purposes and self-defense. The most crucial and difficult stage in the absence of matches is lighting the fire, as follows, but a sustainable chain-reaction must be established if any benefit is to be gained from the fire (see Campfire).

Friction:There are numerous methods, building up the heat created by friction until glowing embers or even flames are produced::* Fire Drill (Hand Drill, Fire Thong, Bow Drill, Pump Drill, etc.):* Fire Plough:* Fire Saw:In these methods, two different varieties of wood are vigorously rubbed together, creating heat, smoke and then fire. A spark hot enough to light tinder is all that is strictly necessary. It is essential to use suitable woods for the rubbing parts: drier and softer are better. Blowing encourages progress and powdered wood at the interface also helps. What cannot be overstated is the value of patience, practice and experience.

Percussion:Stone and stone, or metal and stone are struck together to produce hot sparks. This is possible with many types of stone, but having to find them by trial and error in a survival situation is undesirable. Flint is easy to identify and is great for producing sparks, but clearly only of value where it is abundant:* Pyrite (and other Iron Sulphides):* Fire-steel, strike-a-light:* Modern Ferrocerium 'flint and steel':* Any Carbon Steel (such as a knife)

Light from the Sun:One of the easiest methods of creating fire is to use a lens or condensing reflector (such as a torch/flashlight reflector) to focus the energy from the sun onto tinder. It is most effective on dark coloured tinder which absorbs heat and light energy better (light coloured tinder reflects heat and light energy). A makeshift lens can be made by fashioning a piece of ice.

Electricity:Electricity can be used to create fire either by using sparks to light tinder, or using the heat generated from electrical resistance. An ordinary lithium battery can produce enough heat to start a fire if a wire, piece of aluminum, or other suitable metal is used to short-circuit it.

Compression:Here, heat generated by compressing air is used to create an ember. Due to the difficulties of making a fire piston, this technique is also likely to be impractical in most survival situations.:*Fire Piston

Chemistry:There are thousands of combinations of chemicals which will ignite when mixed together (some explosively). Probably the most well known for survival situations is Potassium Permanganate and Glycerine/Sugar. Chemical methods are likely to produce poisonous or toxic waste which should be contained until safe disposal is possible.

Food

Food is last on the list because a human can survive for several weeks without it. It is still important that a reliable source of food is located since, like dehydration, hunger can cause confusion and lack of judgement. Prolonged starvation will result in loss of energy, loss of mental clarity, increased susceptibility to disease, difficulty maintaining body temperature, and eventually death. Humans need food to supply energy, as well as to build and repair tissues. Aside from the practical necessity for food, a balanced and varied diet will also improve morale in a survival situation.

It is actually rather easy to find food in the wild, provided one knows where to look. A basic knowledge of trapping, hunting, and fishing will provide the survivor with meat. Equally important is a knowledge of edible plants, fungi, and lichens. One cannot always rely on the most abundant or most easily accessible type of food. To survive for long periods of time, one must maintain a balanced diet. In order to do this, one must consume a balanced variety of foods.

Although the "Universal Edibility Test" has appeared in many survival books, many experts (including Ray Mears) recommend against testing unknown plants for their edibility/poisonousness.

Other Survival Skills

For long-term survival some other skills are necessary:
*Knife or cutting tool - usage and sharpening (a knife or cutting tool is important and useful for many aspects of bushcraft)
*First aid (also Wilderness first aid)
**Stopping bleeding
**Preventing and dealing with infection
**Knowledge of medicinal plants
**Treating animal bites
**Healing broken bones
**Healing burns, rashes, and other skin afflictions
**Constructing transportation for the wounded
*Navigation
**Using the sun and other stars to determine direction
**Map reading skills
**Using a compass
**GPS satellite navigation
*Climbing and Mountaineering techniques
**Making rope or cordage (One can make their own rope or cordage with such materials as the inner bark of trees, other plant fibers, or animal sinews)
**Knowledge of knots and their applications
*Making a raft or boat

See also

*Outdoor education
*Survival
*Maslow's hierarchy of needs

External links

*Practical And Theoretical Advice On Survival
*Wilderness Articles, Survival Techniques, Edible Plants
*The Survival Monkey
*Wilderness Survival Handbook
*Wilderness Survival Skills