Basic Survival Skills

There are four basic survival skills that everyone should be endeavor to learn. Once you have mastered these few skills, you can begin to add others. The most important tool for surviving any disaster, whether manmade or natural, is your brain.

When an emergency strikes, you must use your ability to think, set priorities and take action. Stay calm, your ability to do so will help others remain calm.

Blankets & Shelter - The first basic survival priority is to provide shelter. A lean-to is the easiest to construct and can be made from sticks, tarps, a sleeping bag and blankets. A rope tied between two trees with the edge of a tarp or blanket hung over the rope will provide a quick shelter. Sticks lined up against a wall or hill and covered with leaves, brush or a tarp is another method.

A snow cave made by digging a hole in snow or built using packed snow is another alternative. Wigwam style huts made from limbs and covered with a space blanket or leaves will allow you to have a small pit fire inside provided you leave a center top opening.

Any shelter that will provide a break from the wind and other elements will work. Naturally occurring land formations, caves, and a shallow ditch covered with a tarp will all provide warmth. Being able to stay as dry as possible and warm is the first step to survival.

Fire Starting - Fire is the second most important priority and the skill to build a fire is an absolute necessity. You should know at least two ways to make fire. The easiest alternative method is a magnifying glass. This is a good method provided the sun is shining.

Another method is the fire bow, and you can construct one using a shoestring and a stick. The spinning stick should be a hard wood such as oak, hickory or walnut. The bottom piece of wood that will produce the coal needs to be a soft wood like sugar maple or cottonwood.

Magnesium fire starters like those available through Nitro Pak will start a fire even if the wood is wet. Accelerants that help start a fire require matches or a lighter to ignite them. Waterproof matches are available through Nitro Pak. Solar lighters are available but do require the sun.

Water & Purification - Providing safe drinking water is a more difficult skill to master. Boiling water will remove bacterial agents. Using a filtration device like the Katadyne, water filter will produce safe drinking water in a short amount of time. Water purification tablets are another alternative. You may need to remove debris from the water before adding purification tablets. You can use a bandana or your shirt as a filter.

Food For Emergencies - Providing food in a survival situation may be the most difficult skill to master. Recognizing the edible berries, nuts and plants in your area will help. Keeping protein bars, emergency survival tablets and dried foods on your person or in your survival kit at all time will also help.

Learning to set snares using string or twine will improve your ability to secure food. You should also learn the basics of how to set traps that will provide fresh meat for you and your family.

PreParedness Books - You should also have a few books in your home preparedness library on edible plants, preferably with pictures.

Remember that you already have the most important survival tool, your brain. Now is the time to fill your brain with the basic survival skills that could prove vital to your survival.