Hot answers tagged survival
22
The conclusion is not correct. Some bacteria produce toxins which are not destroyed by heat, for example Staphylococcus. See this link for more information.
Note that this is not strictly an outdoors issue. Even at home, you should not keep fresh meat in your fridge too long before cooking it, as it gives time for bacteria to produce toxins. The ...
11
Sandstorms (or, here in the southwestern part of the US, dust storms) impair the ability to see and breath. The winds also carry heavier debris. Because the storms often occur when it is hot, the wind can contribute to dehydration. The reverse is also true--cold, winter dust storms occur in some places, and hypothermia can become an issue.
Fortunately, ...
8
This is a great example of technically true statistics being misleading. I'll take their word for it that more people get injured by moose than any other animal except hippos. However, I strongly suspect that most moose injuries are due to automobile collisions with moose.
Moose have evolved to be big enough so that predators aren't a threat to a healthy ...
8
When a car hts a moose, because their legs are so long, generally the moose's body slides across the hood and collides with the windshield and people. Combined with the larger weight of a moose compared to a deer or other wildlife, people are much less likely to survive an accident when their car hits a moose.
That said, it is possible to have an ...
8
The key is to always have a trash bag. Your most reliable backwoods method for clean water is condensation, either through natural action, or via a still of some kind. The primary component of this is having large enough suitable material to make said still. If you are depending on natural action, then surface area is still key. Assuming you left your ...
8
Boiling eliminates only a certain class of contaminants that can make you ill. Specifically living bacteria and other microorganisms (protozoa, amoeba). It does not purify, or decontaminate the water completely.
Certain bacterial and algal toxins can survive boiling and make you sick, and as Russell pointed out, there are also inorganic contaminants that ...
8
Once you open it up to toxins, the answer is clearly no, boiling is not enough. There are many examples:
Alkali
Salt
Heavy Metals
Blue-green algal toxins, which appear to be present in your photo
If you are trying to clear up truly noxious water, try this method: http://outdoors.stackexchange.com/a/351/127
7
This sounds like an "escape fire" (Wikipedia); see also the Mann Gulch Fire for a real life example.
One of the The Gods Must Be Crazy movies had this technique used in a wildfire in the African savannah.
7
One method I've found to be particularly reliable is the finger method - hold your arm straight out in front of you, facing towards the setting sun like so:
Place your hand so your little finger is level with the horizon, and your fingers are stacked on top of each other. Each finger represents around 15 minutes of sunlight before the sun sets behind the ...
7
Most of the uses can be also accomplished with a heavy gauze pad in the same size. If you need them or carry them for their original use then it is good to have an idea of what else you can use them for.
I grew up with older sisters, both parents and no brothers. We were a very active family and I have seen them used for a great number of things. Most of ...
6
I have heard of a wide range of stories where people were saved using some string, a piece of flint etc. (A related example from earlier this month is reported in the Hamilton Advertiser where a boy used the laces from his trousers to save a dog.)
and if they had had a survival kit they would have used that, but the problem is that most people do not carry ...
6
Sunscreen and lip balm, saw a show where the people were burned badly. But that is something that you either have or don't.
Your pants can usually be tied at the legs to create a short term Floatation Device.
The "Deadman's Float" allows you to conserve a lot of energy. Basically you hang like a jellyfish in between breaths.
As you breathe, kick and ...
5
From About.com's US Parks safety info:
If a Grizzly Bear Attacks…
Play dead! Lie face down on the ground with your hands around the back
of your neck.
Stay silent and try not to move. Keep your legs spread
apart and if you can, leave your pack on to protect your back.
Once the bear backs off, stay quiet and still for as long as you ...
5
Building an igloo requires:
the right snow
training to know what the right snow is
a snow knife
some practice building the walls so that they taper in yet are supported as you go
In the absence of training and practice, which I would posit is very rare, go with a quinzy instead.
You dig snow and throw it into a big pile. You let that sit for a bit to ...
5
To avoid starting fire inside your shelter, you can do it outside and use a screen (sorry for my drawing):
This is view from aside. On the upper picture there is a widely used method for sleeping under a screen (a piece of fabric). Screen is set above your sleeping place at 45 degrees and the heat is reflected from the screen towards you, so you are warm ...
5
If you are in extremely cold climes, setting a fire inside your shelter may be essential. Key issues are around getting enough oxygen in to it, and getting the smoke out.
Taking these in reverse order:
You can keep smoke levels low by using dry wood or smokeless fuels, but if using a survival shelter these may not be an option, so you may be collecting ...
5
I would since a tampon has more than one use example this link shows 10 different ways to use one (http://artofmanliness.com/2012/06/05/survival-tampon/). Persoanlly I rather have something that has more than one use or something that can be used as a tool than stuff that only has one use and one use only.
4
A neat little (recursive) acronym i learned in my survival education in the army is STOP (freely translated from Swedish):
Stop - Don't panic,
Think - Consider your situation, and do not deny the fact that you are lost,
Orientate - Look at and get familiar with your surroundings,
Plan - Make a plan on how to solve your problem.
This is, of course, not a ...
4
As with any relatively unscientific field, there is a lot of lore out there that may have originally had a good scientific foundation, but the restrictions or specific conditions have long been forgotten and the answer takes on a life of its own out of context. The myth about eating snow seems to me to be one of these things.
The main point is that it ...
4
I've gone winter camping several times, usually staying in a tent, and I prefer to avoid candles in a tent so have no data about that. However, on one long-weekend trip I stayed in an igloo built from blocks of snow, north of Grand Rapids MN. After the four of us on the trip skied far enough into Suomi Hills (see map) to be well away from roads and trails, ...
3
Depending on the terrain, a map is often very usable even without a compass or a GPS. If the terrain is anything-but-flat you can generally use the contours of the terrain to orient the map correctly. "Walk down this valley until it branches, then head for the mountain aproximately 30 degrees west." doesn't require a compass.
Learn to read contour-lines on ...
2
Whatever the books say, cooking to extinction still works!
Initially, boil and change the water many times.
Then cook the meat until it falls into the water. This way, you will get more protein from the meat, because you have exposed more surface area.
If you break the bones first, you will get the much higher calorie marrow into the soup.
Cooked meat ...
2
Yes, first stop to not make things worse, take a deep breath, and collect your thoughts. After that it depends a lot on the situation. I don't like most of the other answers because they assumed certain situations without stating their assumptions.
What you should do next depends on a lot of things, so much so that giving any simple answer is impossible. ...
2
The other answers focus on general survival kits, but don't give much coverage to first aid kits.
Here's what you need in a first aid kit, in order of importance:
Training. It takes up no space, weighs nothing, and is more critical than anything else.
A cell phone. In a serious medical emergency, there's no piece of equipment you'll want more. Take it ...
2
I wouldn't say it's necessarily better for the things you outline than the other common options. I've certainly never used one for anything!
However, after reading that article I am somewhat swayed to the fact that it may well be a good addition in an emergency situation due to its versatility - if you lose any one of the things you list, or need a spare, ...
2
I never tried, but one option I read about is to tie a transparent plastic bag around a branch of a large leaf tree, and let water condensation from the plant to stick to the inner wall of the bag. Cut a small hole in the bag and let the liquid drip out.
An alternative is to dig a hole, put anything having a water content in it, add a cup at the bottom of ...
2
Getting 10°F temperature rise from a candle in even the smallest of tents is clearly nonsense. Do the math.
Figure a candle puts out about 80 W. Of course there is large variation from candle to candle, but this is in the reasonable range for a typical modern paraffin candle. Let's say 100 W to be generous.
Next we need to come up with the surface ...
1
I have to ask, are you planning on eating rotten animals you find on your next backpacking trip. :) (I mean that as a light hearted question, I hope it doesn't come off otherwise).
If you want to be able to survive in the woods, you should:
research the area you'll be hiking in so you can plan appropraitley
exercise regularly
carry enough food
tell ...
1
As chd mentioned 98.6 Degrees is an excellent book. It is mainly focused on practical things you can do to survive and like chd on the physiological aspect of it.
If you are looking to read about the psychology of survival and the mental attitude that promotes it I highly recommend Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why.
And of course, as always ...
1
I really liked this book, mainly because it's on real experiment, but it's in french:
http://www.amazon.ca/Surviethon-Vingt-cinq-ans-plus-tard/dp/2894314345
It's base on two person who decided to test their ability to survive for 30 days with almost nothing.
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