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How To Plant a Calorie-Conscious Survival Garden

Alex Robinson — Fri, 10 May 2013 13:07:19 -0400

The strategy behind growing a survival garden differs from that of growing a standard vegetable garden. Sure, tomatoes, peppers, and herbs taste great, but they are all low in calories. A savvy survival gardener will grow a diverse assortment of high-calorie food crops.

There is a quick and easy way to get your survival garden started—purchase a “survival garden” seed assortment. But before you buy that prepackaged bucket of seeds, you’ll need to check if there are there enough high-calorie plants included. Those buckets always seem to lack some of the easy growing, high-value crops that are grown from live material, such as potatoes and sweet potatoes. Rather than buying a turnkey bucket of seeds, you might be better off selecting your own seed, supplemented each spring with slips and seedlings for each plant type. This way, you can take into account the soil, weather, pests, and rainfall where you live.

Some high-calorie veggies to consider for a survival garden are peanuts (a massive calorie payout of 1,200 calories per cup); sunflowers (the seeds yield 800 calories per cup); soy, navy, kidney, lima, and fava beans; chickpeas; black-eyed peas; and parsnips and other root crops like carrots, turnips, and rutabaga.

The work of tilling, digging, and weeding can be a big deterrent for many people who would otherwise get a lot from the experience of gardening. But there is an easy solution for that, too—you can grow in containers. I like the big pots that trees come in, but a garbage can with a few holes in the bottom will work fine, too. Fill these containers with potting soil and/or mulch, compost, aged manure, or some dirt you dig up.

Once the work is done, the waiting begins. But once the plant parts start to turn edible, you’ll have to control the inevitable pests. Little things like bugs can wreak havoc. Bigger things like deer, raccoons, groundhogs, and thieving neighbors can erase all your hard work in a flash. Blockades, netting, fencing, and vigilance are just another element of growing your own self-sufficient garden.

Do you have a survival garden? Tell us what you grow and why in the comments.

Wilderness Survival: Visiting a Modern-Day Medicine Man

Alex Robinson — Wed, 08 May 2013 12:31:12 -0400

Last week, I had the pleasure of being a guest in the home of a truly fascinating person and a master at his craft. Rod Morey is a locally renowned herbalist and knife maker in the Virginia panhandle, and he was gracious enough to spend a day with me to share some of his wild medicinal plant secrets.

I have long been a dabbler in medicinal plants, curing bee stings with plantain leaf and mending scratches with yarrow. But my focus has always been plants that can be used to make a friction fire and good-tasting wild plants. I had always steered away from deeper studies in medicinal plants because there was so much bothersome stuff associated with the trade.

As long as I have known about using herbs for medicine, I have been uncomfortable with the rituals, incantations, and hokum that seemed inseparable from the art form of wild medicine. Any concern I had about Rod or his methods melted away when I was promptly served homemade cornbread and an outstanding wild herbal tea upon arrival at his home.

Then it was time to get to work. We spent the morning in a room of Rod’s home dedicated to his medicines, which he referred to as “the apothecary.” Rod then began sharing his story with me, and some of his tried and true remedy recipes. He had been an EMT for more than two decades, until a fast moving case of cancer very nearly ended his life. Much of this throat was removed to save his life, but not long after, his cancer returned. He told me that the medical system he had served for so long had failed him, and that he was instructed to prepare for the end.

“I was diagnosed with terminal, stage IV cancer of the larynx and trachea. My physician told me I had a one-percent chance to live more than a year,” says Rod. “I knew I would only survive if I took charge of my own wellness, so I did.”

Rod’s death sentence was pronounced more than 25 years ago. Thanks to his teas, tonics, and medicines, Rod is healthy today. He doesn’t even take a single daily pill or prescription. If his blood pressure goes up, he’s got a tea for that. If he gets sick (which is rare), he’s got some other medicinals to use. No wizardry here, just the science of medicinal compounds naturally occurring in plants.

Since his early successes, Rod has become a sought-after herbalist. During my day with Rod, he showed me how to make colloidal silver (the right way, so your skin won’t turn blue) and gave me recipes for several of his most popular salves and teas. We took a walk across his property where he grows many of his medicines, and he explained uses for plants that I’ve been familiar with for years, yet never fully realize the potential of. I left Rod’s home with a bag of medicines and am very much looking forward to my next visit to the apothecary.

Survival Skills: How to Use Birch for Fire Starters, Containers, Tea, and More

Alex Robinson — Mon, 06 May 2013 16:07:13 -0400

If you are fortunate enough to live within the native range of birch trees, then you have a lot of interesting survival options at your disposal. Birch can provide you with firewood and containers, and the right species of birch can even be turned into a tea and sweetener.

Fire
For friction fire building with birch, you can use the dead and dry branches for your drill and fire board. These materials are effective, but not quite as easy to use as willow or cedar. By far, the best fire related use of birch comes when you burn the papery curls as your fire starter. This birch paper is like a stepping stone between tinder and kindling. Whether wet or dry, these birch bark curls will burn strong, creating a black oily smoke. Any birch species that produces papery bark will be useable, but the white birch (aka paper birch) is the most effective. You’ll need an open flame like a match or lighter for best results in lighting the bark. Spark-based fire starting methods are not particularly effective for lighting the bark strips.

Containers
A great variety of containers can be made from birch. Little things like bowls and dishes are easily made. Bigger stuff like canoes are a lot more work to build; but are light weight and rot resistant. The bark can be peeled from rotten logs, or cut from live branches and trunks during the spring peeling season.

Tea
Another one of my favorite uses for birch is to make black birch tea. This birch is also called the sweet birch (betula lenta). The twigs and young bark have the rich, mouthwatering aroma of sweet wintergreen. Shave off a few strips of this bark from a young branch, or break up some twigs into small sticks. About a tablespoon of material will be plenty for an 8-ounce cup of tea (though you’ll probably want to drink more than just one cup). If you make this tea in early spring when the sap is running, the tea will be naturally sweetened by the sugar in the sap. Let the bark shavings or twigs sit in the water for a few hours for the full sweetening effect. This was the original source for birch beer, too.

And speaking of sweet sap, any birch can be tapped for syrup just like maple. See our maple blog from February for all the details.

Graphic Image Warning: Bear Grylls' Producer Suffers Gruesome Snake Bite Wound

Alex Robinson — Wed, 01 May 2013 13:59:47 -0400

Celebrity survivalist Bear Grylls tweeted yesterday: "Our man vs wild producer suffering from a brutal snake bite -- fighting the injury with courage,” with the gut-wrenching photo shown below.

Since then, the photo (which shows the skin rotting away from producer Steve Rankin's foot) has gone viral and is creating quite a stir in the social media world.

A Discovery Channel source told the Huffington Post that: "The photo was taken three weeks ago, when Grylls and Rankin were shooting a new series for the network called 'Naked & Afraid' Since then, Rankin has undergone surgery for the wound, and his prognosis is very good."

It's unclear where the team was filming and what species of venomous snake bit Rankin (see our list of the world's deadliest snakes).

Original tweet.

Survival Skills: How to Make a Bow Reel

Alex Robinson — Wed, 01 May 2013 10:06:53 -0400

When you think about bow fishing, you might naturally jump to the idea of shooting harpoon-tipped arrows attached to a reel of line. Sure, that’s how most folks do it, but there’s another fish bow out there. This one isn’t for arrows, but in fact, it’s an improvised spool to store your fishing line.

To make a fish bow, you’ll need several dozen yards of monofilament. This mono could be backed with something “uglier,” such as a single strand from some gutted 550 cord, if you need to extend your fishing line supplies. You’ll also need a bow shaped stick about 2 feet long. A curve to the bow is best. If there is a natural fork at one end, then half of your work will already be done. Carve or break out a notch from the other end of the bow, or both ends if there is no fork. Carve a slice in the wood or create a split in one end of the bow to insert your line when the bow is not in use. Tie the fishing line securely to either end of the bow; and wind the mono back and forth onto the bow. This is a great gizmo to straighten out your fishing line if it was all kinked up from being in a survival kit.

Now to join the ranks of survival fishermen, you just need some hooks and bait. With field-made bow like this, and bait caught on site, you’ll only have to carry the monofilament and some hooks in your emergency kit to give yourself the building blocks to catch fish in a variety of waters.

Ever use a fish bow? How about a Hobo fishing reel? Tell us about it in the comments section.

Siblings Swim for Half a Day After Boat Sinks in Caribbean

Alex Robinson — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 12:06:50 -0400

Dan and Kate Suski, along with an unnamed captain and first mate, are counting themselves lucky after they were forced to swim for their lives for more than half a day in the Caribbean waters off St. Lucia.

The brother and sister from San Francisco had chartered a boat to do some fishing last Sunday. When the 31-foot fishing vessel began to take on water, the siblings and crew had no choice but to abandon the boat. They put on their life jackets and jumped into the open water.

“It was completely surreal watching the boat stern go down, go subsurface underwater,” Dan said.

In the rough seas, the Suskis were soon separated from the crew by the huge waves. After some time, the siblings spotted land in the distance and swam toward it.

“It would disappear intermittently as we swam but we felt the wind behind us and used that as a gauge for direction,” Kate said.

After swimming for an unbelievable 14 hours, the Suskis made it to shore. They spent the night shivering with hypothermia, eating bananas and mangoes from an island orchard. The next day they encountered a farm worker who called for help.

“We were very lucky we found a small sliver of beach and we were able to get to safety that way,” Kate said.

The Suskis were hospitalized in St. Lucia and treated for dehydration and various injuries. The captain and his first mate were rescued on Monday, when a boat saw them and brought them to safety, according to reports.

In addition to the obvious threat of sharks, spring water temperatures in the Caribbean can be cool, making hypothermia as much a hazard as drowning. Hypothermia can set in quickly in water, leaving the victim dizzy, disoriented and weak. If the hypothermia continues, hallucinations and other mental issues can arise. The effect of cold water can vary from person to person, as body weight, body type and mental conditioning all play a role in one’s ability to survive in the water.

We’re thrilled all four people made it through this shipwrecked scenario safely.

Have you been marooned or had to swim for your life? Tell us your tale in the comments.

Oklahoma Teenager Lost In Remote Oregon Wilderness

Alex Robinson — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 14:34:43 -0400

Oregon authorities, along with search-and-rescue crews, have been looking for an Oklahoma teenager who is believed to be in trouble in a remote area of southeastern Oregon.

Dustin Self, 19, decided that he wanted to live off the land after watching the movie Into the Wild. A dedicated vegetarian, Self reportedly wanted to see if he could live in a wilderness area subsisting only on wild foods, other than meat. The teen had also mentioned that he wanted to investigate some “churches” that practice a South American religion that uses a hallucinogenic tea as part of their religious practices, one of these groups being in Oregon.

The Harney County Sheriff's Office in Oregon began to search for Self on Tuesday, after the teen’s truck was found stuck in a ditch on a backcountry track. Searchers on ATVs found no sign of Self, and were forced to delay their search with heavy snow and high winds approaching, according to media reports.

Authorities are waiting for the weather to clear, so they can search by aircraft as well as on the ground.

"We did everything we could to try to talk him out of it," said his mother, Tammy Self. "He was leaving, no matter what. He thought he was going to eat berries," she said. "We tried to tell him, berries don't grow in wintertime."

"He is not a survivalist," said his father, Victor Self, a manager at a box plant in Oklahoma City. "He is a very urban child. We're worried sick. I just hope he's alive."

His parents last heard from Self on March 15, when he called from northern Nevada. His father called the Harney County Sheriff's Office on March 17, which initiated a search of local roadways. A missing person report was filed with the local police. When Self’s truck was found this past Monday, the teen’s backpack and camping gear were gone, but the truck keys, a computer, his GPS, and some of his food had been left behind.

Of course we are all hoping for the boy’s safe return, and hopefully wiser for the wear. But I cannot help but think about another copycat who got into trouble in 2011. A 68-year-old man from North Carolina decided to hike alone into Utah’s Little Blue John Canyon by himself (Link to 9/28/2011 Utah survivor story), after watching the movie 127 Hours. The man barely survived an injury he received there, similar to that of the protagonist in the film. You would think that people would pick up on the theme from these movies—that bad things happen when venture into rugged, inhospitable places by yourself. But I guess a lot of people don’t think about the harshness that wild places actually contain.

Or they just don’t think at all.

What’s your take on stories like these? And by all means, call it like you see it.

Survival Skills: How to Know Whether a Wound Needs Stitches

Alex Robinson — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 09:20:03 -0400

When you get cut out in the field, it can be hard to tell just how bad the injury is until the bleeding subsides. After applying pressure for a few minutes, and once you can actually see the nature of the wound, you’ll probably be wondering if the wound needs stitches or not? It’s a simple question, but it opens up a big gray area in field medical care.

The first advice I would give is the obvious advice, find a medical practitioner to make the call about either using stitches or simply bandaging up the wound. But if you are hell and gone from any normal medical care, or you are away from your group’s medic, you may have to make your own assessment. Just don’t “Rambo” your way through the wound’s care, trying to use fishhooks and foolishness to stitch yourself up. Make sure you have a proper suture kit and the knowledge to use it correctly.

Here are a few tips to help you make the right call if you cannot get to a doctor or medic. Stitch up your wound if any of the following apply:

The cut is more than an inch long and the edges of the cut will not fall back together.

There is heavy bleeding, especially if you are having trouble getting it to stop.

The cut gapes widely and you can see muscle, bone, or a joint.

It’s a head wound—they often require stitches because the scalp bleeds easily.

Looking for some pre-emergency suture practice? Try cutting a banana peel or fresh pig’s feet, then stitching the cut back together. A very intelligent heart surgeon friend of mine recommends these two methods of training, and the use of the same suture materials you currently stock in your medical kit. And don’t stitch too deep! The beginner is always stitching like they’re trying to mend a sail. Stitch through the first layer of skin, let the curved needle come out in the second layer, but don’t dig down deeper into that third, nerve-rich layer of skin. The additional pain will let you know you went too deep with the needle.

Ever needed to stitch up yourself or somebody else? We hope you’ll share your story in the comments.

Maine Hermit: How Did He Do It?

Alex Robinson — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 15:33:10 -0400

How long could you live in the woods? A year? 10? 30? If you have a large tax bill to pay today, disappearing into the wilderness and living off the grid may seem a little more appealing than it ever has before, but would you ever choose that kind of life? One man did make that choice and had been at it for the past 27 years, until he was arrested for stealing supplies from a Maine camp last week.

Christopher Knight, 47, is currently being held on $5,000 bail on charges of burglary and theft after tripping a surveillance sensor set up by a local game warden. Knight was detected while stealing supplies from a camp for people with special needs, but that was far from his first offense. For more than a decade, locals have told stories of thefts and cabin break-ins, giving rise to the local legend of the "North Pond Hermit."

After leaving the Pine Tree Camp last Thursday with $280 worth of food, authorities found the campsite where they say Knight lived. The camp consisted of a tent covered by tarps for additional waterproofing. His camp also contained a bed, propane cooking stoves, a rudimentary shower and a battery-powered radio with a 30-foot antenna.

Knight’s many years of hermitage were all thanks to his methods of avoiding detection. He never had a campfire, as he knew that the light and smoke would draw unwanted attention. He only made his scavenging forays at night, returning to his camp with only a small flashlight. And he rarely left his camp during the winter months to prevent people from tracking him through the snow. Knight claims that he spent his vast amount of free time reading, meditating, and watching eagles.

Knight took to the woods in 1986, and moved around periodically until he made a permanent camp in rural Rome, Maine, in the early 1990s. He only entered civilization when he needed to steal supplies, which was always done at night.

"The first concern is he might be a flight risk," said District Attorney Maeghan Maloney. "The second concern is the group of people who are interested in posting bail for Mr. Knight who are not from our state and not members of his family.” Knight has several local relatives, including his mother Joyce, who still lives on Pond Road where Knight grew up.

"I will remain concerned for Mr. Knight until he has an attorney helping him to navigate what is a new world to him," Maloney said.

Since this story broke, Knight is getting more attention than he has probably had in his whole life. Someone called the jail where he's being held with a marriage proposal this past weekend. And a man Knight didn't know showed up Saturday night offering to pay his $5,000 bail, the Kennebec Journal reported.

What do you make of Knight? Is he a sympathetic and misunderstood character? Or is he a backwoods weirdo who should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law for his years of theft? Sound off in the comments.

Survival Gear Review: The AMK Dentalmedic Kit

Alex Robinson — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 09:44:33 -0400

When you are a long way from a dentist, and your teeth start giving you trouble, you’ll need a very specific set of medical items to bring yourself relief. With that very specific need in mind, the forward thinking folks at Adventure Medical Kits created the Dentalmedic kit.

This ultralight zip-top bag contains the essentials for treating dental ailments and injuries when no dentist is near. It could even be handy over a weekend trip, or anytime a qualified dentist isn't available. This 3.5-ounce kit contains:

Dental first aid instructions:
1 tea bag for pain relief (moisten the bag and place it on your tooth and gum to reduce swelling, bleeding, and pain)

2 packages of Benzocaine 20% for pain relief

1 dental wax temporary filling

1 tube of temporary cavity filling mixture

5 cotton pellets and 5 cotton rolls to give you cottonmouth like you are really at the dentist

1 box of dental floss and 3 toothpicks

Having grown up with (and still maintaining) a raging sweet tooth with all the cavities to prove it, this kit is my new “must have item” for any trip. I never know when a filling or crown might fall out, or if I’ll crack a tooth tooth, but I feel a lot more secure with this tiny package stowed in my gear. The Dentalmedic bag measures 5 x 5.25 x 1 inches, and is packed in a waterproof bag. All this can be yours for a mere $15.

How to Sharpen and Repair Axes and Hatchets

Alex Robinson — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 09:00:18 -0400

A good axe or hatchet is a major part of camp life. This tool provides us with split firewood and can help with specialized tasks like bow making, bowl carving and making camp furniture. However, a dull axe edge or a wobbly hatchet handle can be a dangerous liability.

Axe sharpening is not much different than knife sharpening; in fact it’s much easier. Axe and hatchet blades don’t require such a delicate touch as knife blades do. You can use a variety of sharpening tools as well. I have sharpened hatchets with files, whet stones, and even rounded stones from the creek.

You can start sharpening nicked or seriously dull axes with a bastard file (no, I don’t know why they call it that). You don’t want to sharpen “into” the blade (from sharp edge toward the handle), as this causes you to risk pushing the file too far and cutting yourself. File from the back of the axe head, toward the edge and out. This does create more of a bur than filing the other way, but it’s faster to remove a bur than regrow a fingertip. Work both sides of the axe equally, counting strokes if you want to get it perfect. File until the blade edge is beginning to feel sharp again, and any chips or nicks in the edge have been eliminated.

When you’re done filing, move your axe to the whet stone. Some folks like to scrape the stone on the blade. I prefer to move the blade against a stationary stone. Lube with oil or water as you normally would with that stone. Go with water if you’re not sure what your stone likes to drink. I grind axes with little circles, going from one side of the edge to the other, counting strokes and matching that on the other side. If the blade has a bur, whet stone the side with the bur until it is gone, then sharpen each side with equal strokes.

There are a few problems that can happen with axes which are repairable in the field. To repair axes with slightly loose wooden handles, soak the axe head in antifreeze overnight. Just use enough to cover the axe head and an inch up the wood handle. This will cause the wood to swell, fitting the handle to head better. The antifreeze will keep it swollen for a few weeks or longer. If the head is seriously loose, you’ll need to drive a wedge or two into the wooden handle end which is visible from the top of the axe head. These wedges can be field cut from hardwood, but are much better if they are store bought metal wedges. You may need to remove existing wedges and replace them with bigger ones.

For rust removal, try a wire brush or steel wool. For major rust removing chores, use a cup brush on a grinder. For rust proofing, consider oiling the axe head periodically. Any oil will work.

Good luck sharpening and fixing, and let us know if you have a trick or two by leaving a comment.

Fire Starting: Teepee vs Log Cabin

Alex Robinson — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 10:58:18 -0400

When you start a campfire, how do you do it? Do you use a log cabin fire lay? A teepee fire lay? Or is there a pile of wet logs and a can of diesel involved? I hope it’s not that last one.

For years, I have been a big fan of the teepee fire lay. It just seemed like the natural shape to allow the fire to climb at a steady pace. But I wanted to see if there was any solid evidence that one fire lay did something that another style did not, so I set out with equal amounts of the same fire building materials to determine if there were any major differences between a log cabin fire and a teepee fire. Using two pounds of sticks and a quarter-pound of twigs for each fire lay, I built a cone-shaped teepee and a square log cabin with a small cone core. With a handful of dry oak leaf tinder in the center of the fire lays, I lit each one with a quick kiss from a Bic lighter.

The dry conditions and breeze during my test were a great help in the ignition of both fires. The four ounces of dry small twigs in each lay lit very quickly and immediately began to burn both structures. As I had suspected would happen, the teepee produced a larger volume of flames within the first five minutes of testing, and the teepee flames reached a taller height than those of the log cabin. The teepee flames hit two feet in height, while the log cabin flames were a few inches shorter than that.

As the structures became fully engulfed in fire, they both collapsed inward on themselves. You won’t always get that effect in a teepee lay—sometimes it falls to one side. The log cabin-style fire offers more structural support. Thankfully, both of our test lays fell inward, giving us a fair comparison.

After ten minutes of burning, a few small flames flickered in both fire lays, going out at the same time. The remaining beds of coals, however, were quite different. The teepee coal bed was a nice, round pile, while the cabin lay was a spread-out square of thinner coals. Two thumb thick sticks on the cabin’s upwind perimeter did not burn; all of the teepee sticks were consumed. The coals continued burning for many minutes afterward in both fire lays, but 30 minutes after starting this test, the log cabin coals were dead. At 32 minutes, I still had enough coals in the teepee pile to rekindle the fire, which I did.

My hunch was confirmed: When all factors are equal and the same amount of materials are used, the teepee burns with a bigger, taller flame and produces a more concentrated, long-lived coal bed. What I thought was most revealing in this test is that a mere 2.25 pounds of twigs and sticks can produce a half-hour’s worth of fire and coals. Maybe I’ll try stretching my firewood supply a little more the next time I have a campfire.

Got any experiments you’d like us to try? Done any yourself? Let’s hear about them in the comments.

Survival Gear: Exotac 30 Hour Survival Candle

Alex Robinson — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 17:06:43 -0400

Lighting sources may not be at the top of your list of survival necessities, but they shouldn’t be ignored as much as they are. Having seen more and more Exotac gear being used by my friends and survival students lately, I couldn’t pass up the little Exotac candleTIN when I saw it at a recent gun show. Especially since it boasts a 30-hour burn time. But would it measure up?

There are actually four versions of the Exotac candleTIN: small and large sizes with either slow-burn or hot-burn wick choices. The slow burn will provide long candle life, while the hot burn will generate enough heat to boil water. I bought the large, slow-burn option. The weight of the large-size candle turned out to be a little heavier than the manufacturer’s info stated. I measured the candle with lid at 6.5 ounces (versus an advertised weight of 4.2 ounces).

The American-made 100-percent beeswax candle is dense and the tin-plated steel canister is reusable—it’s the perfect size for a tinder can or char cloth burn box. One of the three wicks burned nine and a half hours for me, so the three combined burns ought to get you pretty close to the 30 hours promised. You can light all three wicks for maximum heat and light, or burn just one or two at a time to regulate your cooking, warmth, and light.

The large-size candleTIN that I tested has an MSRP of just $9, which makes this handy candle a great deal, too. The only drawback, if you can call it that, is that the candle actually smells good. Being pure beeswax, it smells an awful lot like honey, which isn’t going to help matters if you’re starving and without anything to eat. I should point out now that the beeswax candle is not intended for human consumption.

Boot Review: Rocky S2V Substratum

Alex Robinson — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 10:04:09 -0400

After purchasing several pairs of allegedly waterproof boots (yeah, they all leaked), and teaching survival classes in wet, swampy environments, I was thrilled to have a chance to test out Rocky’s new S2V Substratum boots.

Touted as the survival boot that won’t quit, and bred from the boots that many of our armed forces rely upon, my expectations were high. I’m pleased to say that I now own a pair of waterproof boots, which are fully tricked out for the survivalist. Yes, the boots may look a little space-age at first glance, and they're a touch heavy. But, that weight comes from all the protection built into the boot. The upper is waterproof Nubuck leather and ripstop nylon. The fully gusseted tongue and high top helps to keep rocks, dirt, snow, and water from getting down into your boot as well.

550 paracord bootlaces are a nice touch, but that’s not the best survival concept built into the boot design. They come with a compact, one-hand operated fire starter (Sparkie) and Wetfire cubes from Ultimate Survival Technologies, with a comfortable secret storage space to make sure you never get caught without fire making materials. The insoles of either boot can be pulled free and a small foam spacer can be removed to create a caddy in the heel of each boot for the spark rod, fire cubes, and other survival kit items that you may want to stuff in there. This could also be a great little hiding spot for extra cash when you are traveling (or a spare set of keys).

The Hydro IQ (waterproof/air circulation) technology of the boots have a moisture-wicking lining to keep the interior dry, and a molded antimicrobial insole. The insole is bright pink in color so you can even signal for help with it. The bottom of this footwear is crampon and snowshoe compatible.. Also, the wave underlay proves excellent element traction. Each boot weighs 2 pounds 2 ounces, making 4.25 pounds for the pair of them. The Substratum boots retail for $280.

Specs:
• Molded foam padded with high abrasion Lycra and antimicrobial space mesh
• Tri-density molded antimicrobial insole, pink colored for signaling
• Open cell foam forefoot with polyurethane top layer
• Polyurethane enhanced toe wrap and extended back guard
• Polyurethane, direct attached for superior longevity and a permanent outsole bond
• Proprietary wave underlay texture for element traction and shedding
• Moisture Wicking Lining
• Fully gusseted tongue
• UST essentials located within outsole: firesparker and wetcubes (x2)
• 550 military grade paracord boot laces

Bottom line: They felt great to hike in and they don’t look too over-the-top to walk around town in either. Find out more about the S2V Substratum here.

How to Start a Fire With a Gum Wrapper and Battery

Alex Robinson — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 13:43:51 -0400

If I had a specialty, it would be fire building. I absolutely love it. Not in the creepy way a pyromaniac loves it. But in the way you appreciate something that can sustain your life.

So my knee-jerk reaction when someone on television starts a fire with dubious materials or in less-than-hospitable conditions is usually skepticism or flat-out disbelief. When I saw Dual Survival’s new military survival expert, Joe Teti, light a fire with apparent ease using a gum wrapper and a single battery, I had to try it out for myself.

According to the show, I would need a single D-cell battery, a paper-lined foil gum wrapper, and some dry tinder. The use of a single battery is probably the most surprising element of this technique, as all other electrical fire starting methods involve higher voltage. A single AA, C, or D cell will only provide 1.5 volts. For fire starting you 3 volts or more, so you should need two 1.5-volt batteries in a circuit to light, say, steel wool.

The tinder is easy enough to come by, as is the gum wrapper thanks to litter bugs around the globe. The wrapper should be torn or cut to create a thin bridge of foil in the center of the battery. The easiest way to do this is to fold the wrapper in half lengthwise, and use scissors to snip out a triangle from it. Let the triangle point come within a 1/16th of an inch of snipping the wrapper in two. If you do manage to accidentally clip it in two, it can still be used by manipulating the two sides of the wrapper to touch. Your tinder should be positioned at the bridge, to catch a spark or a tiny, short-lived flame—or so they said on tv.

So does it work? Yes, and with a very short learning curve. Within 30 seconds of connecting the gum wrapper to the positive and negative terminals of the D cell, there was an orange glow at the thinnest part of the foil bridge, and I actually got the little puff of flame as seen on TV. As the thin part of the wrapper melted and burned, I did get subsequent sparks of glowing orange, but no more flame. A Wrigley's gum wrapper and a single D battery really makes fire! And they said TV would rot our brains.
Do you have a way to make fire that no one has seen before? Why not launch it here? Let us hear about it in the comments.

How to Use Salt in a Survival Situation

Alex Robinson — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 09:45:15 -0400

Salt is one of those common, everyday items that doesn’t draw much attention … until you run out of it. Unless you live near a salt mine or a salt flat, you probably won’t have much of a way to replenish any salt stores in your household food storage or bug out bag.

That’s a shame too, because a simple container of salt does so many different things.

I’m not suggesting that everyone hoard a mountain full of salt. But since it’s so cheap and so useful, salt shouldn’t be overlooked when preparing for survival situations.

What’s so great about salt?

Salt makes many food preservation techniques more effective, it helps keep our electrolytes balanced in hot climates, and it even has medicinal applications.

Whether storing vegetables at your homestead, or making jerky at a campsite, salt will make a less hospitable environment for bacteria. This allows food to last longer than it would otherwise. A saline brine of vinegar, water and salt can make your fresh vegetables last much longer too. And you cannot ferment homemade sauerkraut, smoke fish or salt a ham without salt. Next time you make jerky, put a light sprinkle of salt across fresh cut meat to draw out moisture and diminish bacteria in your food stores.

A tiny pinch of salt in your water will be worth its weight in gold in hot, humid conditions. If you’ve ever been debilitated by cramps in the heat, you know just how vital salt can be. Don’t forget about potassium and other minerals, if you have them.

For medicinal remedies, a warm water gargle of salt water can bring quick relief to sore throats, and ease cough and cold symptoms.

Salt has a ridiculously long shelf life. Metal cans or waterproof plastic containers will work fine for storing salt. Add a few food-safe desiccant packs in very humid or damp conditions to prevent clumping. Mason jars are also pretty handy for storing your salt at the homestead or cabin.

Tell us your food storage strategies, and what items you stock, in the comments below.

Survival Gear: The Frontier Pro Water Filter

Alex Robinson — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 08:56:30 -0400

Water is one of the most critical necessities of life, whether you’re in an emergency or not. If you’re backpacking or bugging out, you’ll always need to have the ability to turn raw, contaminated water into clean, safe water.

Owning a lightweight, dependable device for water filtration is a key part to any respectable survival strategy; and one of the best filters to hit the market lately is the Aquamira Frontier Pro. This tough little water filter is a serious upgrade over those cheaper survival straws that people have been stuffing into survival kits for years.

The $25 Frontier Pro can be used as a drinking straw-type of water filter, but it is also designed to be an inline filter for hydration bladders and a gravity-fed drip filter to produce clean water in a basecamp setting. The good news is that the device is certified to remove up to 99.9% of giardia and cryptosporidium. But here’s the bad news: It is not certified to remove bacteria and viruses. This means that you would still need to boil the water or use a chemical disinfection method for completely clean water after running it through the filter.

To give it a fair shake, though, here’s what this filter will do. It will remove silt and sediment that would interfere with the action of chemical water disinfectants. It also contains an activated carbon filter element to clean up flavors and odors from the water. The Frontier Pro can also connect to the drain valve of a water heater to clean up the water you might find in a there after a disaster. It also fits a garden hose to filter the water running through it. But don’t expect it to filter out every single virus or bacteria that could be growing in there. Especially a warm garden hose full of water that’s been lying in the sun, or a warm water heater full of tepid water after a prolonged power outage.

At the end of the day, it’s similar to other straw filters on the market. It cannot guarantee 100-percent clean water by itself, but it sure makes mud puddles and ditch water look a lot more appetizing.

Do you have a go-to filter or water purification system? Let us know what works for you in the comments.

Survival Gear: Make a Sling For Throwing Stones

Alex Robinson — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 13:59:18 -0400

One of smallest and most portable hunting tools that we still have from ancient times is the sling. A bit of string, a patch of cloth or leather, and some round stones are all the equipment required for slaying rabbits or the odd Goliath. The sling is easy to make, and ammo is literally everywhere.

But note that I said didn’t say using a sling is easy. If you grew up with this weapon as a plaything, you probably have thrown thousands of stones and have an instinctive feel for targeting with this weapon. If you are new to throwing a sling stone, you ought to consider wearing goggles and a helmet until you get the hang of it.

To make your sling, cut two lengths of cord, each 2½-feet long. Paracord is fine, but you could use almost anything. Tie a bowline knot in the end of one line, with a loop big enough to slip over your thumb. Tie three or four knots at the end of the other line. Figure eights or overhand knots will suffice. Cut a football-shaped piece of cloth or leather about six inches long and three inches wide. This will be your sling pad. Pierce a hole at either end of you sling pad, where you will attach the unknotted ends of your two lines. Use good, tight knots so your sling doesn’t fly apart while in use. Two half hitches with a stopper knot is a good choice, or at least an overhand with a stopper knot as pictured.

If the sling pad is leather, dampen it with water, place a round stone in the pad, and squeeze the stone in the pad for a few minutes to shape the pad for better results.

The sling is complete at this point, so now comes the hard part: hitting your target.

Place the bowline loop over the thumb on your throwing hand. Hold the knotted line end between your thumb and palm. Load a rock into the sling pad. Make sure you’re holding the knotted line in your palm so that the sling pad is cradling the stone level and even, like a hammock. Now you’re ready to throw. Try some easy overhand throws first, releasing the knotted line at just the right time to allow the rock go sailing. Once you have a feel for the proper release of the knotted line (which is essentially your trigger on this weapon), you can try a few overhead circles with the sling to add more energy to your throw.

Using a sling can take years to master, as you try to instinctively calculate the zenith and azimuth of your target, how much strength to use, the trajectory of the projectile, and the wind each time you throw a stone. It’s a lot to actively think about, but with enough practice you can do it.

Ever made or used a traditional sling like this? Did you accidentally bean the guy standing behind you? Give us the dirty details in the comments.

Winter Survival Skills: How to Prevent Snow Blindness

Alex Robinson — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 17:13:17 -0400

Snow blindness can be a painful and debilitating injury in the winter season, leaving you temporarily blind for up to a day and helpless in a winter emergency.

This temporary form of blindness can be caused by the reflected glare of sunlight from snow, ice, water, or even sand. Most commonly, snow is the culprit, as the intense glare reflected from white snow on sunny days can actually cause your eyes to become sunburned. Snow blindness can happen even when it’s overcast, if the right amount of reflected light is magnified. The symptoms of snow blindness can include:

- Redness, puffiness around the eyes

- A burning sensation in the eyes that has been described as feeling like sand or even broken glass sprinkled in your eyes

- Watering eyes with a sensitivity to light

- Full closing of the eyes

- Painful headaches similar to migraines

Treating Snow Blindness
You can treat snow blindness in the field, but it requires time. The treatment is to rest for 18 to 24 hours with one’s eyes closed. Bandage the patient’s eyes to keep them from looking around, and administer pain medicine as needed. In the end, the eyes will heal themselves.

Preventing Snow Blindness
Snow blindness is easily prevented by wearing UV-protective sunglasses. It’s not a bad idea to stock your winter survival kit with a pair of polarized sunglasses, as well as sun block for the other exposed areas of your face. If you find yourself in a situation without UV-protective sunglasses, you can make snow goggles as the native folks of the arctic have done for centuries by cutting slits into a rectangular strip of cloth, leather, or plastic. Some traditional Inuit snow goggles were made from walrus tusk ivory or animal bones such as wide rib bones. You can also craft the slotted eyewear from wood or bark, and use cord to keep it on your face. Whichever material you choose to fashion your goggles from, cut a ⅛- or 3/16-inch-wide slit about 5 inches in length. This slit will greatly reduce the amount of glare that strikes your eyes and limit the amount of damage your eyes sustain.

Have you ever been snow blind? Tell us your story in the comments.

How to Build a Trap: 15 Best Survival Traps

Alex Robinson — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 17:25:12 -0500

There are seemingly as many different traps as there are creatures to catch, but we’ve selected the 15 best snare and deadfall traps for you to master.

Survival Skills: How to Make Your Own Game Calls

Alex Robinson — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 13:37:35 -0500

There are many ways to call wild game. But how can you call those critters if you brought no calls with you? What if it’s an emergency and you need to lure animals in for your food?

The answer: build your own calls with things you find in the field. Check out these three time-tested calls.

Hare and Fawn Cry
If you can’t produce an animal-in-distress sound with a blade of grass held between your thumbs, you can try whittling a wooden fawn bleat or hare cry call. You’ll need a finger-thick stick 5 to 6 inches long, and a strip of bark for a reed. Birch bark is best, but you can use other bark strips or blades of grass in areas without birch.

Split the stick in two with a knife and carve out a trapezoid-shaped channel on each side, making sure the channels line up. Sandwich the bark strip in between either side of the split stick and tie one end of the stick together tightly, leaving a few inches of bark hanging out the untied end of the stick. Pull the bark strip taught, and blow through the carved area of the stick. Play with the reed tension and your volume until you can make the call cry.

Squirrel Nuts
Rub together two rough-skinned hickory nuts to draw the attention of squirrels or their predators. I once sat on a log, scratching two hickory nuts together for 10 minutes or so, only to find that a curious squirrel had crept up behind me on the same log, barely 5 yards away. I guess he thought I had gotten into his stash.

Elk and Moose Horn
Birch bark comes to the rescue again for this field-built call. For those who know the various sounds made by elk and moose (and have a gift for mimicry), a cone of rolled bark can act as a megaphone to amplify your best impressions of these animals. If you have enough bark, make the cone about a foot and a half long, with a large opening of six inches at one end and a smaller opening of one and a half inches. “Eee”s, “oooo”s and “yuh”s can be projected through the horn.

Have you made your own calls in the field? Tell us your methods in the comments.

Survival Skills: Avoid Winter’s Poisonous Plants

Alex Robinson — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 16:55:15 -0500

Hunger can make anything look like food. As winter wears on, the wild foods tend to become scarce. Squirrels finish off the last of the tree nuts, and other animals put a dent in the remaining wild forage. After awhile, the only stuff left out there is the stuff that nobody eats – neither man nor beast.

So if you get stranded out in the wild this winter, you’ll want to skip the following list of plants.

Holly Berries
The pretty red berries of the American Holly can certainly look inviting. You might be tempted to taste them, especially after you see the birds gobbling them down. But remember that birds can tolerate poisons that would kill a human. Holly berries contain the toxin theobromine, and while fatalities are rare from holly consumption, there have been some documented deaths.

Horsenettle
Horse Nettle plants are dead and dried during the winter, but their fruits can remain plump and juicy. The yellow colored, cherry tomato shaped fruits of Horsenettle could look like a meal to the uneducated forager. Their tomato looks should be a warning, though. The tomato’s family (nightshade) is full of wild relatives that are harmful to humans. The Horsenettle fruits and most other parts of the plant are poisonous to varying degrees from the toxic alkaloid solanine. Eating fruits can cause abdominal pain, and possibly lead to circulatory and respiratory depression. Just remember that there are no edible wild tomatoes in the lower 48.

Mistletoe Berries
The classic holiday decoration of mistletoe can be found growing wild in oak treetops throughout the East. One popular way to harvest it is with a shotgun. The appealing looking white berries should be your first warning. Generally speaking, almost all white berries on earth are toxic to humans. The berries and the leaves of this poisonous parasitic plant can cause gastrointestinal problems including stomach pain and diarrhea. Mistletoe can also cause a dangerously low pulse. Kiss under it, fine - but don’t eat it.

Tell us about your favorite wild plants to eat in winter; or if you have ever gotten a bad one, by leaving us a comment below.

Survival Gear: More $2 Items that Could Save Your Life

Alex Robinson — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 08:08:52 -0500

Last May, we did a post on emergency preps for two dollars or less. Since many would say that we are in worse economic territory now than we were a year ago, it seemed only fitting to consider “Cheap Preps, Part 2.”

When checking the cost of survival equipment, pricey gear seems to be the new normal. But the frugal shopper can still find real bargains that could prove to be lifesavers at the right time and place.

Here are some more preparedness items hovering around the $2 mark:

Bread In A Can
Yes, it’s a weird product. No, you may not find it in every store. But a rodent-proof, bug-proof, waterproof metal can of bread with a three-year shelf life might just be worth looking for. Plus, it packs 1,040 calories per loaf (full can). This can of rich, heavy brown bread costs about $2.50, so scrounge the couch cushions for that extra loose change. This is often a surprise favorite when I have a survival food sampler during my classes. And it’s not that bad…I just hope none of us ever have to live off the stuff.

A Case Of Stick Matches
While windproof lighters may be the ultimate fire starter, I will always have a use for stick matches. A case of 10 or a dozen boxes of stick match will usually run you less than $2, and provide you with 300 or more matches. Sure, we all want to light a “one-match” fire, but I’m not too proud to say that I have lit fires in wet weather by using a little pile of match sticks like kindling. And once it’s empty, the little cardboard matchbox can be used as tinder.

Hand Sanitizer
A pint of sanitizer could be the difference between a really nasty skin infection and getting out of a jam relatively unscathed. It can also mean the difference between you catching some pathogen from processing game or treating somebody’s wounds. Gross, but true. Consider the sportier bottles instead of the pump option, which has a tendency to leak everywhere, especially in fluctuating temperatures. Two dollars worth of sanitizer can really cut the crud you are exposed to, and can also be used as a flame accelerant thanks to its high alcohol content.

Sports Tape
This first-aid box staple is great at keeping your dressings and bandages in place. It’s also strong and sticky enough to be used to hold things together, or to make improvised butterfly sutures.

Got some other $2 survival gear ideas? Share your bargains in the comments.

Survival Skills: Home Water Storage For Emergencies

Alex Robinson — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 17:33:18 -0500

While teaching an Urban Survival class this past weekend, the topic of storing your own drinkable water came up in conversation many times. How much water you should have on hand, how you bottle it, and where you store it are the three most common concerns.

So let us suppose for a moment that your town’s or region’s normal water supply has been cut off. You’ll be on your own for drinking, cooking, and some basic hygiene. In the realm of water, being prepared for emergencies means keeping water on hand, and also being ready to disinfect more water as needed.

How much water do you need on hand? One gallon per person per day is a good minimum for drinking water, but the wildcard is the number of days you are planning to be on your own without replenishing your supply. The 72-hour standard seems a little short if you are talking true preparedness. Enough water for a few weeks or months becomes unreasonable quickly, when you consider how much of your home would be filled with jugs or barrels of water. Five gallons per person will get you going, and if you are frugal with your water, five gallons could last one person for more than a week.

How do you store it? While not the cheapest solution, one option is to purchase several five-gallon water cooler jugs that are factory packed. These are prepared to be safe to drink after a year’s worth of storage time. For even longer turn-key water storage, you could invest in pouched or canned water. Most pouches are rated for 5-year storage and the canned water boasts a 30-year shelf life.

Or you could fill your own containers. This is surprisingly more sanitary if you are using a municipal water source, as the water is already treated with disinfectants. If you are using well water or spring water, you’ll need a little more disinfection at the time you are packaging.

Make sure you use food-grade water containers. Reliance Aqua-Tainers are storage jugs that hold 7 gallons, are BPA free, stack neatly and have a built-in spigot. You could also refill water cooler jugs or any other clean water-friendly containers. Avoid the use of milk jugs and other containers that could invite bacteria. If you’re pouring well water or spring water into your own containers, drip in two drops of bleach for each quart of water. This will disinfect the water and give you several months of safe storage, especially in cooler temps. Tap water that has already been treated could use a bit of disinfectant, so add just 1 drop of bleach per quart.

Store your water in a cool, dark, secure location and don’t forget about it. Use it for something practical every few months and refill your containers, just as you did originally. Over time, your water may “go bad” by growing bacteria and other organisms, but it never stops being water. You can simply treat stored water that is questionable by boiling for ten minutes; treating it with 2 drops of bleach per quart and waiting 1 hour before consuming it; or running it through a proper, store-bought water filter.

Got some good water storage tips? Let’s hear them in the comments.

Fire Starting Tips: How Carve A Fuzz Stick

Alex Robinson — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 07:44:45 -0500

Working with rain-soaked fire materials and without any fire starters or accelerants from home on hand can be a very challenging scenario. Enter the “fuzz stick.”

Whittling fuzz sticks is a classic wilderness technique that seems to have been unseated by modern fire starting cubes, drier lint, and fire packets. But despite being slighted in many of today’s survival books, the fuzz stick holds a valuable place in fire building, especially in wet conditions.

To create a fuzz stick, find the driest stick you can. It can be any size or shape, but something thumb-thick, straight, and a foot long is ideal. Hardwood sticks are more difficult to carve, yet they burn for a long time. Softwoods are easy to carve, but short lived. After you have made your selection, start carving long thin curls near one end of the stick. Work your way backward while spiraling your cuts to create a shaggy-looking stick. Any shavings at all will improve the stick’s flammability, but the best fuzz sticks are loaded with many curly pieces. You could also dribble some oil, wax, pitch, or other flammable on your fuzz stick for an added burning value.

Carve several of these sticks if the fire building conditions are really bad, place them throughout your fire lay of kindling and twigs, and light them up.