Wilderness Survival Tips and Outdoor Skills

Tools and Food Utensils for Wilderness Survival

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Contents

Wilderness Survival Tools You Should Always Have

Fire Starter

Knife

Topographic Map

Compass

First Aid Kit

Emergency Survival Whistle

Paracord

Water Filtration

Flashlight / Head Lamp

Tarp

Signal Mirror

Space Blanket

Spot Locator

A Dry Bag or Ursack

Cooking and Eating Utensils

Bowls

Forks, Knives, and Spoons

Pots

Water Bottles

Primitive Cooking Methods

Cooking Over Coals (Ash Cooking)

Broiling Rack / Tennis Racket

Plank Cooking

Hot Rock and Steam Pit

Survival Skills

Attitude

Finding & Purifying Water

Starting & Tending to A Fire

Building A Temporary Shelter

Navigating & Reading A Compass

Hunting & Foraging for Food

Camp Cooking

Dressing A Wound

Tying A Knot

Wilderness Survival Tools You Should Always Have

One of the biggest challenges in buying survival gear and tools is deciding what exactly you need. There are a lot of really great tools out there, some of which have been developed specifically for the survival market. But to be honest with you, there’s lots of gear around which has been designed more to impress the buyer than for any practical purpose. It’s easy to get off track as you search out what you need and end up with things that seemed nifty at the time, but aren’t really the kind of tools that will aid you in genuine survival situations.

I have a fairly extensive bug out bag, more than most people do, because it’s intended to help me survive for the long-term in the wild. While not everything I’m going to talk about in this list is in my bag, just about all of it is.

One key thing about any tool is that it won’t do you the least bit of good, if you don’t know how to use it. Make sure that you invest the time needed to learn how to use your tools effectively, preferably to the point where you can use them in the dark.

Fire Starter

According to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, there’s nothing more important than food, water, warmth, and rest. A fire starter is perhaps the single most important survival tool you can have in your kit, because it will help you cook food, boil water, stay warm, and sleep safely without worrying about predators.

There are many different types of fire starters you can choose from, but one of our favorites for sheer utility is the Firebiner, a carabiner equipped with a small blade and a farro sparking fire starter.

Knife

I don’t care who you are, what your level of survival training is or what survival situation you find yourself in, the most important tool to have is a good knife. Not only is a knife useful for all the things we normally do with knives, but it can also be used as a substitute for many of the tools below. In addition, you can use a knife to make other tools. You can make a fishing spear or survival bow if you have a knife. There aren’t too many other tools which will help you do that.

We usually recommend the Ka-Bar Marine Corp Knife as a reliable, tried-and-tested survival knife. It was used by the marines in World War 2 and has stood the test of time. It’s also reasonably affordable for a high quality outdoors knife. No bells and whistles on this one, but we don’t really think that a knife should have any additional features anyways.

A good survival knife will be made of high-quality steel, so that it can hold an edge. Ideally, it should be a sheathe knife, rather than a folding one, for safety and strength. The blade should be “full tang,” meaning that the metal of the blade goes back through the handle, so it can’t break easily. Other than that, everything else is up to personal preference. Avoid a sharply pointed knife, as the tip of that knife might break off easily.

Topographic Map

Even if you’re going on a flat, short day hike in a familiar area, you should always have a topographic map on hand. It’s easy to get turned around and lost if you step off trail, even in your most frequented stomping grounds.

While it’s still very unlikely for you to get lost on a hike or backpacking trip, it’s smart to learn how to read a topographic map. It’ll be a fun way to learn more about the area, and could be one of the survival tools that helps save your life.

Compass

Much like your topographic map, a compass is an absolute necessity. It’s lightweight, analog, and easy to use alone or with other tools— if you know how to read one correctly. Take an orienteering class with your local outfitter or hiking/mountaineering organization so that you will know precisely how to use this classic survival tool in a pinch.

In case you don’t have a compass, Suunto makes a great one.

First Aid Kit

A medical kit can be invaluable in the backcountry, especially if you’ve found yourself in a survival scenario because of illness or an accident. Think beyond Band-Aids and antibiotic ointment for cuts and scrapes, and include other items that can double as survival tools. ACE bandages can serve a variety of purposes, gauze pads for larger wounds, splints for supporting fractures, steri-strips to help close wounds with uneven edges, and alcohol prep pads that can be used for a variety of purposes.

You can save a lot of the guesswork by purchasing a first aid kit designed specifically for outdoor survival. Keep one in your pack at all times (the last thing you want is for it to be in your car at the trailhead or your campsite a few miles away when disaster strikes). It can also be a good idea to purchase a separate first aid kit and keep it in your vehicle, especially if you’re frequently car camping or rocking the vanlife.

Emergency Survival Whistle

A good, loud whistle comes in handy for all sorts of wilderness applications. It’s one of the most essential survival tools when you are frequently going into the backcountry where people are few and far between and wildlife is abundant.

A whistle of at least 100 decibels will cut through ambient noise and travel great distances, plus alert animals like bears to your presence. Keep it attached not just to your pack, if possible, but to your person, in case you get separated from your gear.

Paracord

Everyone from serious hikers to the hobbits in Lord of the Rings will expound on the importance of traveling with rope. But for the modern survivalist paracord, which was invented in 1935 for military use, is the way to go.

Because it’s made of lightweight, sturdy nylon and multiple strands of fiber, paracord is incredibly useful as a survival tool. It can be used to rig tarps and repair gear (or even the Hubble Space Telescope), taken apart for sewing thread or fishing line, or braided together to create a broader, stronger rope. A wearable survival rope bracelet, like Outdoor Element’s that uses high-strength paracord, gives you access to rope on your person at all times.

Water Filtration

The average human can only survive about three days without water. Not only should you always carry more than you think you’ll need for your hike in case of delays, but it’s also smart to have some type of water filter on hand, too.

In a survival scenario, you may need to collect and treat water to stay hydrated while you wait for help or hike out. You might also need to treat water so you’ll have it on hand for cleaning wounds, repairing gear, or cooking food.

Flashlight / Head Lamp

The only thing harder than being lost, stuck in a backcountry emergency, or trying to survive the unexpected is having to manage in the dark. Even if you’re only planning a day hike, it’s always wise to have your headlamp on hand, or at least a small pocket-size flashlight.

Tarp

You can’t always count on being able to build a survival igloo, and sometimes you want to save your space blanket for wrapping around your body, not hanging over your head. That’s why a tarp is such a key survival tool.

You can use the tarp as a ground pad for your tent, as a cover for your campsite, to protect gear from the elements, as a prep surface for food, or even to collect drinking water. There are few items in any survival kit as versatile as a good, sturdy tarp.

Signal Mirror

Sometimes called a rescue mirror, these unbreakable reflectors are designed specifically for outdoor applications and as survival tools. On any regular day, you can use the mirror to help you apply sunscreen without missing a spot. If your trek goes sideways, however, you can use the mirror to signal for help. The reflected glimmer can reach up to seven miles depending on weather conditions, alerting pilots to your location and distress.

Space Blanket

Staying warm can be a big challenge in survival scenarios, even in conditions you might not expect. Temperatures can drop quickly after the sun goes down, especially in alpine or desert environments.

Moisture or humidity can have a big impact on the body’s ability to retain heat, too, even if the daytime temperature was warm. If your clothes or body are wet, you’re going to have to work that much harder to stay at a safe temperature. These lightweight blankets aren’t an alternative to a sleeping bag but are perfect in a bind. They reflect your body heat back at you very effectively, making it easier to stay warm and dry.

That’s not the only way you can use a space blanket as a survival tool, however. You can use the power of the sun or a candle to cook food using the space blanket as a reflector. You can use it to signal for help or show which way you went. You can even use it to supplement a tarp or ground pad as part of your shelter construction.

Spot Locator

While a topo map and compass are important, it’s even better to have modern technology.  Instantly summon emergency responders to your exact location with a Spot.

A personal locator beacon doesn’t need a cell phone signal to send up your SOS signal, and will transmit your GPS coordinates no matter how far-flung. Some are also capable of messaging beyond a generic SOS so you can let friends or family know more details, like if you’re running late, but aren’t in immediate peril.

A Dry Bag or Ursack

Last but certainly not least, a dry bag or smell-proof Ursack is a great way to keep important survival tools like your matches, firestarter, phone, map, etc. safe and dry. If you go the Ursack route, you can also keep your food (or cannabis stash) from attracting unwanted attention while you try to get back to safety.

Cooking and Eating Utensils

Many materials may be used to make equipment for the cooking, eating, and storing of food.

Bowls

Use wood, bone, horn, bark, or other similar material to make bowls. To make wooden bowls, use a hollowed out piece of wood that will hold your food and enough water to cook it in. Hang the wooden container over the fire and add hot rocks to the water and food. Remove the rocks as they cool and add more hot rocks until your food is cooked.

Caution

Do not use rocks with air pockets, such as limestone and sandstone. They may explode while heating in the fire.

You can also use this method with containers made of bark or leaves. However, these containers will burn above the waterline unless you keep them moist or keep the fire low.

A section of bamboo works very well, if you cut out a section between two sealed joints.

Caution

A sealed section of bamboo will explode if heated because of trapped air and water in the section.

Forks, Knives, and Spoons

Carve forks, knives, and spoons from nonresinous woods so that you do not get a wood resin aftertaste or do not taint the food. Nonresinous woods include oak, birch, and other hardwood trees.

Note: Do not use those trees that secrete a syrup or resinlike liquid on the bark or when cut.

Carve a piece of wood into the basic shape of the utensil (we’ll use a spoon for our example).  Next shape the back of the spoon bowl.  When shaping the spoon bowl, begin at the middle of the “bowl” and carve outward leaving enough on the rim to provide strength to the utensil.  Once the spoon is carved out, use sandpaper (or sand) to smooth the surface.

Choose a branch that is relatively straight and about the thickness of a pencil to make chopsticks.

Pots

You can make pots from turtle shells or wood. As described with bowls, using hot rocks in a hollowed out piece of wood is very effective. Bamboo is the best wood for making cooking containers.

To use turtle shells, first thoroughly boil the upper portion of the shell. Then use it to heat food and water over a flame.

Water Bottles

Make water bottles from the stomachs of larger animals.

Thoroughly flush the stomach out with water, then tie off the bottom. Leave the top open, with some means of fastening it closed.

If you have time to prepare the stomach material

1. Boil a pot of water.  Take the water off the heat and place the stomach in it.  Allow it to sit for 2 hours.

2. Empty the water, boil another batch of water, and place the stomach in it again to soak for 2 hours.  Continue this until the water is clear after soaking.

3. Turn the stomach inside out and scrape away the lining with a dull knife while holding the stomach under warm water.  When the water becomes cloudy, replace it with fresh warm water.  Continue until the inner lining of the stomach is clean.  Be careful to not puncture the stomach.

4. Boil a pot of water.  Take the water off the heat and place the stomach in it.  Soak for 30 minutes.

5. Sew one end of the stomach to close it.  Roll the end over the seam and sew it again.

Primitive Cooking Methods

Whether we are backpacking or in a survival situation, having a knowledge of wilderness cooking techniques is important. We may not always have cooking equipment so lets go over some alternate methods.

Primitive Cooking methods we will cover include:

- Cooking over coals (ash cooking)

- Broiling rack / Tennis Racket

- Plank Cooking

- Hot rock cooking / Steam Pit

- Flat stone cooking

- Spit cooking or spit roast

- Clay cooking

Outdoor cooking without proper equipment can be a challenge. After practicing several methods, it can actually be fun. There are many ways to cook you food in the outdoors. Most people think of outdoor or survival cooking as simply using direct heat. Often we think about using skewers or simply hanging the food on a log.

Possible ways to cook the food are:

- Radiative heat - Grilling, roasting

- Steam/li>

- Baking

Cooking Over Coals (Ash Cooking)

We are using fish (white Perch) for this method. We prepare the fish and use Kudzu leaves to wrap the fish. We always make sure to use non-poisonous leaves to protect the food.

The great thing about Kudzu is, we can use the Kudzu vine to wrap the leaves. We like to use multiple layers of leaves since they will be in a bed of hot coals. Note: The kudzu leaves are edible.

Once the fish is wrapped properly, we want to create a bed of coals. We spread the coals and make an indentation in the coals to lay the wrapped fish into. Use another stick to cover the fish with the coals.

Cook time would depend on the size of the fish. We cooked the perch for fifteen minutes and it was ready to eat.

Broiling Rack / Tennis Racket

One day while trying to find leaves to wrap my fish without much luck, it became evident that broiling was going to be our next choice. Since we were near a body of water, river birch and willow was plentiful in the area. We used a small river birch sappling making sure it was flexible enough to bend into a oval shape and the smaller branches are pliable enough to use as cordage.

Using some of the left over branches we added crossbars and the flexible cordage allows them to slide up and down the racket to fit the fish. We only used one bar to tie the fish down, we would recommend using more to keep the fish from ending up in a pile of coals. The idea is to either keep the fish at a distance from the flame, or build a bed of coals and slow roast it.

Plank Cooking

Plank cooking is another option for cooking out in the bush without pots or pans. We use a non-poisonous wood of course and stick to woods without strong tasting resin like conifers. Woods that work great are poplar, cedar, and oak.

We split the wood using an axe or baton it using a knife. We used a piece of poplar about 9 inches in diameter. We split the small log in half, cut a nice plank to position behind our plank while cooking and lastly cut a piece out to use for our pegs. The pegs will hold the fish or meat to the wood. Another option is to tie the food to the board. Once the pegs have been shaped, we can use the knife to initiate the slot for the wooden pegs. We then place the fish on the wood and lightly tap the pegs into place.

Once we have the fish properly secured to the plank, we want to place it near the coals (but not too close). We want to ensure the fish has plenty of time to cook all the way through without burning the outside. You can place your hand closer to the coals slowly. If you can hold your hand for a few seconds before it starts to feel uncomfortable, you are at a good distance. The wooden plank can be held horizontally by placing another piece of wood behind it. Remember the plank we cut at the beginning? Otherwise if using a fire wall, we can place the wood vertically and lean it against the firewall while it cooks.

Slowly the fish will begin to brown and our food is ready to eat. Fresh fish is one of nature's delicious gifts. Great meal even without any spices added. A little wild garlic would have been great as well.

Hot Rock and Steam Pit

On the following pictures we dig a hole and line it with rocks. We then build a fire inside of the hole heating up the rocks. The fish is wrapped with non poisonous leafy plants. There is a lot of kudzu in the area so we wrapped it in kudzu leaves. We used some of the hot coals to start a fire next to our poncho shelter and place the fish at the bottom of the hot rock pit. Cover it up with some of the soil we pulled out during digging and let it sit for a few hours. The fish comes out nicely cooked and moist. This same method can be used for other types of food, the only things that change are the size of the hole and the cooking time.

Survival Skills

Attitude

More than any other skill, your attitude determines how successful you are in a survival situation. This first of the basic survival skills might even determine whether you live or die!

To start, consider "The Rule of Threes." A human can survive for:

- 3 minutes without air

- 3 hours without a regulated body temperature (shelter)

- 3 days without water

- 3 weeks without food

The "Rule of Threes" provides a guideline of how to prioritize basic survival skills: first shelter, then water, and lastly food.

Surviving a difficult wilderness situation also requires meeting many challenges while avoiding panic. When faced with a potential survival situation, remember to use a "SPEAR":

- Stop

- Plan

- Execute

- Assess &

- Re-evaluate

By systematically assessing, planning, and executing your basic survival skills, you will help keep your mind and body actively engaged in addressing your situation. This will greatly aid in avoiding panic and other negative states of mind. By upholding an upright attitude, your chances of survival are greatly improved!

Finding & Purifying Water

Nothing is more important in a survival situation than having suitable drinking water. Humans can survive weeks without food and can live entire healthy lives in temporary shelters, but without water we can die in just a matter of hours – minutes, even, if the heat is bad enough.

you’re trapped without power by a snowstorm or you’ve taken a bad spill off the trails and into a ravine, one of your top priorities should be seeking out and, potentially, purifying water for drinking. There’s no guaranteed way to make that happen in every circumstance, but there are a few tips and tricks that will go a long way toward getting the job done. They are as follows:

Gravity, Greenery, & Ground: If you find yourself in hilly terrain, remember that the flow of water is always going to be downhill. You can count on seeking out streams and creeks in the crevasses where hills meet. If you can’t see the flow of water, it doesn’t mean it’s not there. Take a quiet moment and try to listen for the sound of water cascading over rocks – then just follow the sound. If you can’t see or hear the life-giving liquid, look for signs of life. Animals frequent areas with suitable drinking water, as do insects. As a final resort, digging a hole in damp soil will sometimes reveal some groundwater. Just remember to use groundwater as a last resort, as it can be very filthy and riddled with germs and parasites.

Beware Of Stagnant H20: Always beware of standing water, as it is likely chalk full of every manner of parasites and bacteria. The same goes for pooling water in streams. Your best bet for finding suitable drinking water is always going to be in places with a strong flow, as all the stuff that will almost certainly make you ill propagates wherever water doesn’t move. For reference, both malaria and dengue fever – two extremely dangerous diseases – are amongst the dangers of standing water, as is anything else a mosquito might be carrying because the bloodsucking insects breed in stagnant pools. If you have a choice, avoid standing water at all cost.

Boil It If You Can: Even if you find a flowing stream with what looks like crisp and clean water, you’ll still want to try and purify it. Yes, it will take more time and you might be thirsty, but the alternative is potentially getting a parasite or an infectious disease that could lead to a far worse situation. If you have the means to build a fire and a vessel in which you can place water, bringing that water to a boil is probably the safest and most reliable way to get any sickness-inducing impurities out of the liquid. Barring that, you can bring with you a personal water filter or purification tablets (which you can find at most outdoor retailers) or, if you are absolutely desperate, drinking questionable water might be your only option. Again, this is an absolute last resort. If you have the means, take the time to try and purify any and all naturally gathered water – even snow or ice. The risk just isn’t worth it, if you have a choice.

Starting & Tending to A Fire

Second only to finding suitable water, the ability to make fire is one of the absolute most important and useful skills. Not only will it give you life-saving warmth in the cold of night, but you can use it to purify water, cook food, ward off predators, cauterize wounds, and even signal for help. Ideally, you’ll have a lighter or matches on your person in the case of an emergency, but you should also be able to start a fire from scratch, just in case. Because unless you carry an ignition source on you at all times, you could easily be caught in a survival situation without one. Here are some tips to get you started:

The Drier The Better: It doesn’t matter how skillful you are with a bow drill, magnifying glass, or flint and steel if your fuel (e.g. wood, brush, twigs, sticks, etc.) is too wet/hydrated. Rather than pulling branches off of living trees or grabbing anything that looks even remotely green, seek out dry, cracked, dead branches off the ground. Same goes for your kindling – dry dead grass works 10x better than freshly plucked greenery and will save you both time and energy. The only time you want to use any kind of green vegetation on a fire is if you are trying to create smoke signals. And even then, you want to get a good fire going with dry wood first and then “cook” the greenery above it.

Start Small: The smaller the fibers of whatever it is you are trying to burn, the easier it will be to get them lit. You can start a raging bonfire with just a few smoky sparks in a handful of dead grass if you coax the flames properly. Don’t bother trying to light even medium-sized branches, as it will likely be a waste of time, fuel, and precious energy. In fact, you’re probably better off lighting your kindling outside of your main stack of wood and then gently moving it beneath your larger branches once you’ve got a small flame going. Remember, even a single spark can make all the difference. Be patient, be gentle, and you’ll have a flame in no time.

Be Creative: Matches, lighters, and friction aren’t the only way to start a fire. Sure, they’re probably the easiest, but if you’ve got creativity you can pull a MacGyver and figure out other ways to make a flame. Burning ants with a magnifying glass is a cruel childhood trick, but it’s also a useful skill later on in life. If you’ve got glasses, you can focus light from the sun into a concentrated beam and easily ignite your tinder. That same tactic can be applied to clear ice, if you’re in a cold climate. And those are just two ways to use your environment and put the gear around you to good use.

Building A Temporary Shelter

Hopefully, if you get lost in the woods, you can find your way back to civilization in less than a day or so. If not, however, you’ll probably want to know how to build a shelter to protect yourself from the elements.

After all, the danger and risk in an emergency can be compounded by cold, rain, snow, or even a thick fog if you don’t have a shelter to protect yourself from your surroundings. Now, the way that you can build one is going to depend heavily on your surroundings and the environment in which you are, but the following are two common shelter types and the easiest ways to build them:

Lean-To: One of the easiest survival structures to build, the lean-to is called such for the fact that it generally consists of leaning building materials up against a pre-existing structure or natural formation, such as a wall, rock face, fallen tree, etc. It can also be built free-standing if you can construct a 3-piece standalone frame onto which you can lean your building materials. The downside to this type of shelter is that it does not generally offer 360 degrees of protection and, unless you are quite diligent in your build or have some kind of tarp or trash bags, it will likely not be very resistant to water. That being said, it’s an excellent structure in a pinch.

Round Lodge: Commonly known as a teepee, wickiup, or wigwam, this type of survival structure is kind of like the natural evolution of a lean-to. It is built in a similar fashion, with a large number of branches leaning together to create the larger structure, but it offers a bit more protection because it can encircle the user almost entirely when built well. It will certainly take more time and materials to make, but it also offers a greater return in a survival situation as it can protect you, your gear, and any potential food you gather from the elements and, to a degree, any scavenging animals or predators.

Other structures, which are environmentally and materialistically dependent, include the Igloo/Quinzhee snow huts, a snow cave, Ramada, and various tarp shelters. But the ideas are all the same: get a roof over your head to protect you from whatever environmental follies might be coming your way. They also have their own risks. For example, a snow shelter has the potential to collapse and either suffocate or freeze you to death. Dry shelters can easily catch fire if you have your campfire too close or a bad gust of wind blows burning ash into your structure.

While there are some unforeseen circumstances you’ll have to deal with as they come about, there are a couple things you can do to make things easier: do not ever build a structure too close to water or in damp or muddy basins – you don’t want to get washed away in a flash flood. Seek out high and dry land. It’s also a very good idea to stay away from any areas that look too frequented by wildlife – watch out for footprints and droppings. Sure, it might be a good spot to catch dinner, but you might not be the only one looking for a meal. Lastly, it’s a good idea to build a base frame to keep you and your shelter up off the ground. This will help protect you from bugs, dirt, and minor flooding.

Navigating & Reading A Compass

Let’s say for the sake of argument that you are hiking at your favorite national park and, through some unfortunate accident, you’ve lost your way and there are no trails in sight. Well, what do you do, then?

Scream for help until someone comes along? Pick a direction and just start walking? Curl up in a ball and cry? No. Your best bet for survival is to know how to navigate the world that surrounds you. And there are a couple simple way to do that which will come in handy in just such a situation.

Find The High Ground: While not always practical or necessary, finding a high point in the surrounding land is probably the simplest way to see where you need to go. Or at least where not to wander. If you can meander your way to the top of the nearest hill or even climb a small tree, it will help orient you in a much better way. It might seem pretty obvious when said aloud, but if you are lost and panicking, finding a vista to gauge your location is, at the very least, a good starting point.

Use The Sun: Barring the extreme North and South Poles, no matter where you are on planet Earth, the sun moves from relative east to relative west. It’s not a perfect system, but it is certainly better than nothing. There’s also a simple trick to make this easier: take a long stick and push it into the ground so that it stands up on its own. Then, make a marking in the dirt where the tip of the stick’s shadow is. Wait a few minutes and check to see in which direction the shadow has moved – that general direction is east.

Follow Water Civilization and life itself hinges on the availability of water. If you can find a river – follow the flow. Chances are you will come across other people at some point, so long as you aren’t completely off the grid. Even if you don’t immediately find your way back, you’ll at least have a decent source of drinkable liquid in the case that you remain lost. If you’re lucky enough to carry a water bottle with you, you can also fill it up before venturing off.

Bring A Compass: We aren’t going to profess to be expert navigators by any stretch, but you don’t really need to be in order to read and use a compass. Even the most basic understanding of the device (one side of the needle always points north) can help in a survival situation. Of course, reading a compass also helps if you’ve got a map to reference, but it’s still entirely useful if you don’t. The greatest benefit of a compass is that it will continue to work when your other technology doesn’t – and that makes it more reliable.

Hunting & Foraging for Food

In the case that your emergency survival situation stretches into days and/or weeks, you’re going to need to know how to find and catch food to keep yourself alive.

There are a number of different ways to do this, all of which have both benefits and drawbacks. The following are a few methods you can use to catch food in the wild, so long as you have or can make the proper tools in order to do so:

Hunting Game: If you have the ability to fashion a weapon by sharpening a long sturdy stick, you can use that tool to spear small game or fish. The benefit to this method is that it takes very little craftsmanship to make a stick pointy enough to pierce the body of a small creature, but you can waste a lot of precious energy in your pursuit, as you burn a lot of calories chasing after and trying to spear small critters for food. And that’s compounded the larger the animal is, as is the risk of injury.

Trapping: There are a number of different small survival traps you can make out in the wild using just the materials you have on you and stuff from your surroundings. In fact, the Art of Manliness has this handy guide on how to build a small game survival snare. While it takes patience and some skill to build a trap and use it to catch a meal, it will also cost you far fewer calories than actively hunting for food.

Fishing: If you have something you can use as a fishing line and hook, you’re near a body of water, and you’ve got some time, this is probably your best option for finding high-protein safe-to-eat food. All you really have to do is set up your fishing line – with bait, if you can manage it – and wait until you catch something. Just be aware that places with an abundance of fish are also going to be frequented by other larger predators.

Foraging: You aren’t going to get the same physical returns from eating local flora, but you also probably won’t be expelling the same amount of energy collecting it. You’ll probably also be shocked by the wide variety and number of available plants there are to eat in some places. As a general rule, however, you’ll want to stay away from anything that looks or has a reputation for being even remotely poisonous – like mushrooms, for example. Whenever you go off on a long-form outing, you should familiarize yourself with the local plant life beforehand.

Camp Cooking

Even if you do catch some wild game, you can’t just eat it raw, unless you want to risk getting parasites or other diseases carried by those animals.

As such, it’s important that you know both how to cook in the wild and what’s safe to eat. While the rules are going to vary from locale to locale, there are – of course – some general guidelines that can get you started. They are as follows:

Get Out The Guts: In a 5-star restaurant, goose liver can be considered a delicacy. In the wilderness, it can kill you. Whenever you are dressing your meat for cooking, you should dispose entirely of any and all of the guts – especially with regards to the digestive tract. Yes, we know that Bear Grylls and Les Stroud have eaten raw hearts and livers, but they are long-time professionals. And unless you are too, you don’t want to mistake something safe to eat with something that will, at the very least, give you diarrhea. Stick with muscles and limbs.

Overcook Rather Than Undercook: Burning your meat might make it a little bit tougher to eat and perhaps a mite less savory, but it is far far better than the alternative. A part of the reason you want to cook your food through entirely is to help kill off any potentially harmful bacteria or pathogens that might be in the meat. These are wild animals we’re talking about here, not factory-grown meats or steak cuts you can pick up in a store. So, you never know what might be lurking. As a general rule, you’re better off with tough jerky than anything even remotely rare.

Dispose Of All Waste: This is not so much a tip about camp cooking as it is an important note on keeping yourself safe in the wilderness. Any time you finish cooking, you’ll want to dispose of any and all waste away from wherever you have your shelter set up. And it’s for the same reason you would at a regular campsite: wild animals will smell the food and want to have a bit for themselves. And while some of those animals could be relatively harmless, you wouldn’t want to come face to face with a bear, mountain lion, or otherwise. If you can, bury your garbage. If you can’t, make sure you ditch it far from wherever you sleep.

Dressing A Wound

Being injured in an emergency situation is arguably the worst worst-case scenario, because it just compounds everything that’s already bad about the situation.

And while you may be able to avoid any kinds of serious injuries, it’s always better to be ready to deal with them head-on if you or someone you are with suffers a gash, break, or otherwise. Here are some ways you can take care of common types of injuries, as well as other tips and tricks for first aid:

Close The Wound: It might seem obvious, but its importance cannot be overstated: an open wound is a gateway for bacteria and, subsequently, infection – which can lead to even greater complications. If you suffer a cut, even a small one, you’re going to want to do your best to clean the injury (alcohol can do the trick) and seal it shut. There are a few different methods you can use, including bandaging with cloth, using a first-aid kit (band-aids and such), or – in a dire emergency – you can even burn closed a wound that wont stop bleeding.

Bandage Reasonably: Tourniquets should only be used as an absolute last resort. And that’s because the tight binding of a limb can result in that limb’s loss. So unless it’s a life or death situation, using a tourniquet shouldn’t be a consideration. That being said, you still want to be sure that your bandage closed any fresh wounds with sterile cloth, if its available. And change those bandages often, because a dirty bandage can lead to a festering wound. For reference, check out Backpacker’s guide to treating deep wounds.

Brace A Break: In the unfortunate circumstance of a broken limb, you’re going to want to bind the injury in a way that keeps you from making it worse. Luckily, that’s as easy as finding a sturdy relatively straight tree branch and tying it to the limb with some rope, cloth, or – if you’re lucky enough to have some – a bit of 550 paracord. Unless you are a medical professional, do not try to reset a broken bone, as you could potentially make the fracture even more severe.

Tying A Knot

This is an absolutely underrated skill set, not just for survival, but for a number of different leisurely or sporting activities, including sailing (or, more generally, boating), camping, rock climbing, and more. And the applications can be incredibly helpful in a survival situation. Knots aren’t just for shoes and hastily tied together packages; when properly learned and executed they can help with securing hunting traps, fishing line, bandages, survival shelters, and will play a part in pretty much every other skill on this list.

If you think you know how to tie a proper knot, but you’ve never actually looked into types and instructions as to how they work, you’re probably not doing it right. Sure, with enough experimenting, you might be able to come up with something that’s relatively satisfactory, but you could also end up with a shelter that falls apart, a trap that doesn’t work, or you’ll waste much of your precious paracord, rope, twine, or otherwise. At the very least, you’ll want to know how to tie a clove-hitch, square, and bowline. There are dozens of different types of knots, but the basics should do you right in an emergency.

Table of Contents

Wilderness Survival Tools You Should Always Have

Fire Starter

Knife

Topographic Map

Compass

First Aid Kit

Emergency Survival Whistle

Paracord

Water Filtration

Flashlight / Head Lamp

Tarp

Signal Mirror

Space Blanket

Spot Locator

A Dry Bag or Ursack

Cooking and Eating Utensils

Bowls

Forks, Knives, and Spoons

Pots

Water Bottles

Primitive Cooking Methods

Cooking Over Coals (Ash Cooking)

Broiling Rack / Tennis Racket

Plank Cooking

Hot Rock and Steam Pit

Survival Skills

Attitude

Finding & Purifying Water

Starting & Tending to A Fire

Building A Temporary Shelter

Navigating & Reading A Compass

Hunting & Foraging for Food

Camp Cooking

Dressing A Wound

Tying A Knot