Questions tagged [survival]
Questions relating to staying alive in the wilderness and learning survival techniques.
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Locations of origin for castaway on Papua New Guinea
I'm sketching a scene in a story involving a castaway washing up on the shore of Papua New Guinea. It would work best if he made an involuntary ocean voyage from a long way away, perhaps having been ...
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How do I make cordage from tree bark?
I'm trying to make rope from tree bark, but I couldn't succeed. Sometimes the cordage is too stiff, sometimes it is too fragile. I tried from a lot of trees available near me. I tried first with 2 ...
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(How long) Is swimming pool water potable?
Assuming a major blackout and collapse of infrastructure, swimming pool water should be (fairly) potable. Given that volume-wise even a small pool could supply a family for years, are there any ...
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Pros for fermenting fish vs. smoking or drying
Surströmming is a hero of many short videos showing people going delirious over its smell. Leaving behind those reactions are purposely exaggerated to get clicks, the smell is certainly not delicious.
...
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Whats the most efficient food one could forage in the Taiga in a survival situation?
I have been watching the German YouTube series "7 vs Wild" (YouTube here, German Wiki link here). The premise is that 7 participants have to survive for 7 days after being marooned in the ...
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What first aid steps should you take for someone who faints after being injured in the cold rain?
So let's say a friend has been outside exercising pretty intensely (eg. running) and they are caught in the rain. They have slipped and got impact trauma to their body and head but no broken bones. ...
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Is it true that drinking calcium carbonate or potash can help with stomach acidity? [closed]
Is it true that drinking calcium carbonate or potash extracted from wood ash can help with stomach acidity ?
one of my friends told me this but i cant swallow it 😂
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Tricks for dealing with fingers numb from cold
Recently I was running in the hills, and although the air was quite chilly, it was warm enough when going uphill, that I've pulled my sleeves up to the elbow.
However, when I wanted to get a ...
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Improvised shoes in coniferous forest (winter conditions)
My question is inspired by 'Naked and Afraid' where the participants have made their shoes from the bison fur they've received (and their toes were numb up to that point).
Assuming I get in the stupid ...
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Diving without modern equipment (mask)
In case you're on the shore, but you have no diving equipment (mask) how can you manage to dive for fish or sea fruits? You don't see any details without a mask and sea water is very irritating to the ...
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Water in Tour du Mont Blanc
My friend and I intend to do part of the Tour de Mont Blanc this summer. While we are aware of the refuges and huts, we would prefer to stay in bivouacs for the night (at least one night, but probably ...
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What to look for in learning resources
I've been looking around for good survival/bushcraft books and guides (for general and fundamental knowledge and techniques, I'm quite a newbie with this stuff) and I've seen a lot of conflicting ...
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How do people who don't have a driver's license yet live remotely solve their food/survival needs? [closed]
I never leave the apartment anymore, because the outdoors have become a frightening dystopia. My childhood quarters have been utterly ruined with tasteless buildings and soulless (and dangerous) ...
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Best places in Europe to practice wilderness camping skills without much tourism?
What would be the most suitable places in Europe where I could venture with some friends on a backpacking trip where we could sleep in tents for about a week and practice camping skills, without much ...
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Any forests in Europe where a group of people could survive as hunter-gatherers?
Are there any larger "wild" forested areas left in continental Europe, where a group of people could (in theory) sustainably live as hunter-gatherers?
Looking at maps of forested areas, I ...
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How long can one starve before refeeding syndrome becomes an issue?
Refeeding syndrome is a potentially fatal condition caused by eating too much or too fast after a period of starvation.
My question is, how long of a period are we talking about?
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How am I supposed to remember if I'm supposed to "play dead" or "make myself appear big" for various dangerous wild animals?
I've countless times heard things like this when they give tips for how to act when encountering a bear in the wild:
Play dead! Lie down and don't move an inch!
And (for all animals):
Don't run! It ...
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How to Maximize Survival Stranded on a Snowy Mountain
I'm looking for survival information similar to what happened to the rugby team in Miracle in the Andes. If a plane crashed on a similar rural mountain range during the winter, what are the important ...
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What do I do if I see a murder hornet outside?
I heard about a nasty stinging invasive insect. I originally searched for "murder wasp" and found an exotic insect that was frightening but mostly harmless and then started reading up on "murder ...
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I am torn between axe or hatchet, what would you recommend?
I was reading this article on axe or hatchet for camping and I am thinking on bringing a hatchet in my next trip.
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Jumping off of a cliff into water - survival tips
Another scary scenario:
Let's say you're in a situation where you have to jump off of a cliff into the water to survive.
The cliff is at least 100 feet high.
What would be the best way to survive ...
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Nails in an emergency/survival kit
After reading this question about emergency kits, I noticed that no one mentioned nails. Why shouldn't we include 10 or 12, common 6d (2", 6 penny) nails in the kit? Ten 6d nails weigh about an ...
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Surfacing out of a sunken ship/submarine - Survival Tips
Here is a scary scenario:
Let's say you were in a ship or submarine that sunk to the bottom of the ocean.
No scuba gear, no oxygen tank, nothing.
The depth of the ocean is such that nitrogen ...
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What signs can I use to navigate a cave if lost?
I'm working on a story where a character gets trapped in a cave but use his knowledge as a weatherman to navigate and escape! Are the any weather-related clues you could use to escape a cave ...
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Water preparation on desert hiking
I have heard that if you drink a lot of water as a habit, the body doesn't do much retention.
Therefore, if you are preparing for a hiking in the desert where not much water will be available, is ...
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What materials from nature can you use to build a pair of skis on a mountain?
I'm working on a survival story and want to make it authentic. If you were stranded on a mountain trying to get down as fast as possible, what would you do?
EDIT:
What if this was after a plane crash ...
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Is "survival" paracord with fire starter strand dangerous
There are a number of "survival" products on the market that integrate "extra" strands into the standard paracord (US MIL spec, ~4mm accessory cord, usually 7 strand nylon or cotton)
Most of them ...
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Transition to "Starvation Mode" in Survival Situations
The textbook "Fundamentals of Search and Rescue" in Chapter 6 describes the priorities of needs in survival situations. The priorities listed are
Air
Shelter
Rest
Signals/Communication
Water
Food
...
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How to escape a cave in an emergency situation?
I have been doing a lot of cave climbing recently. So I am not talking about your average tourist cave, I talk about real miles deep labyrinth like caves, where nature never thought of humans getting ...
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Can you shoot and eat animals such as deer and stuff on England or is that specified as poaching? [duplicate]
I don’t know if shooting animals and eating them such as catch and cook in England is specified as poaching these days so anyone who gets what I’m actually trying to say I would appreciate if u do ...
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Uses of a rabbit in a survival situation? [closed]
Let's say your plane crashes and you end up in a forest in a cold Russian winter miles away from civilization. You have lost all your clothing; completely butt naked.
You manage to get fire and make ...
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Mimosa Pudica (touch-me-not) medicinal uses and edibility
I started reading about an interesting plant that is common around here called Mimosa Pudica, known as "touch-me-not" because of its leaves that close upon touching.
It seems to be a plant with ...
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Is it possible to 'live off the sea'
I've recently become aware of the american 'survivalist' or 'prepper' phenomenon.
The general idea seems to be that 'something bad' (exactly what seems to vary) is going to happen, civilization will ...
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How much land would one family need for sustainable food production?
Help me settle an argument.
How big a patch of temperate wilderness terrain would you need to produce enough food to feed a family of four (two adults, two teens) indefinitely in an off the grid or ...
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Is it possible to make a slingshot from "Natural" resources?
According to Wikipedia, slingshots did not exist prior to the invention of vulcanized rubber.
Slingshots depend on strong elastic materials, typically vulcanized natural rubber or the equivalent, ...
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What woods have been used to build primitive shelters in northern climates, especially around the Adirondacks Mountains?
I'm exploring primitive shelter building in northern cool temperate climates. I mean primitive as a compliment: the prime, first, original, indigenous, low-tech/base-tech. Things like the ...
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How can I identify wild edible plants of southern and eastern China?
What wild edible plants can be found in southern and eastern China?
I have combed through various search queries but keep finding information on North American flora.
Are there any good resources ...
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How to find natural salt licks?
There are a number of places where salt can easily be found at or near the surface. Notably Salt Lake Utah, but there are also other Salt lick places of note.
How would I recognize a natural salt ...
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Salt Vs Smoke as a preservative
A recent question about travelling with dried food where the recipe did not include salt caused the OP some concern. As far as I know salt just dries out food. So if you get the food completely dry ...
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Why is traditional marine advice to stay still, rather than swim vigorously, if fallen in cold water?
Traditional marine advice says that, if one falls into cold water, it is better to stay still rather than try to swim (unless the shore is so close that you are absolutely able to make it) to extend ...
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What is the best way to cross a wide river in winter?
Conditions:
I live near a wide (~1000ft or 300m) and fairly deep river across from the area where I work.
This area is slightly earthquake prone -- near a fault line that has had multiple magnitude 7+...
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How real is the danger of suffocation in an Igloo?
Last weekend I spent a night in an igloo. The event was organised by professionals (it was a company retreat) and during the night there was always one of the guides awake making rounds and checking ...
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What is an efficient and effective way to test an emergency day-hike kit?
Questions like these two have made me wonder about my own answer in the first linked question. I have to admit, I haven't 'tested' the kits I put together. I have some wilderness survival training (...
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Do emergency space blankets actually work?
Inspired by a space blanket being included in emergency winter kits, I wonder if there's any rigorous study about whether these things actually work and in what ways to best use them.
In my own ...
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What gear should I carry along for winter emergencies?
This question is prompted by a real accident, in which a young, healthy and experienced hiker I knew was found dead from hypothermia ridiculously close to civilization.
The assumptions behind it: a ...
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Different woods and how they burn/what if we are unsure of the wood?
I'm keen on learning more about different woods and how they burn in particular in the context of bushcraft. There is a lot of existing literature on all the different woods out there. I started to ...
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Best practices for physical and inventory management of a ready pack/bug out bag
Hopefully this is acceptable. I figure this could be relevant as my bug out bag is essentially what I would bring on a camping trip (first aid, fire starters, some food, shelter materials, mess kit, ...
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Best way to use “space” blanket to boost heat when bivy camping
A thin, heat-reflective sheet (aka “space” blanket) is a popular outdoors emergency item, having a number of uses. See
adventure.howstuffworks.com/survival/gear/space-blanket and
gotimegear.com/blogs/...
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What is the longest dead end road on US public land?
In this answer at; I am lost, I found a trail, which way do I go? It claims
...logging roads These may extend many miles into the forest, with multiple branches, all ending in dead ends. There can ...
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I am lost, I found a trail, which way do I go?
If I am lost in the woods, and I find a trail or a road, how do I decide which way to go?
Autumn Veatch was 16 years old in 2015, when her grandparents small plane crashed in the North Cascade ...
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