Outdoor Life — The Source for Hunting and Fishing Adventure

Aluminum foil is one of those classic camping supplies that can morph into hundreds of useful things. I have made foil oil lamps and foil cooking pots, added flash to fishing lures, and performed many other camp tasks with this versatile product.

Some commercially available survival kits even include a square of foil to shape into a container for boiling water, among other tasks. It’s never a bad idea for us to fold up a few feet of this modern marvel and store the little square in our own survival kits. So how can we use aluminum foil for survival cooking? [ Read Full Post ]

Acorns and other tree nuts are the most valuable food we can get from any wild plant. There are many different types of tree nuts that offer a great back-up food supply at home and in the wild. Black walnut, butternut walnut, pecan, hickory, beechnut, hazelnut and even Pine nuts can be eaten after picking the meat from shattered shells

The common and abundant acorn requires only a nut cracker. But these high calorie nuts were a staple crop to many of our ancestors around the Northern Hemisphere. Coming in at 2,000 calories per pound, this abundant food crop is too valuable to ignore. Just make sure you know an acorn from a buckeye, as buckeyes (and the very similar looking horse chestnut) are poisonous for people to eat. [ Read Full Post ]

The tactical knife market is one of the fastest growing segments of knife retail today. Many folks select one of these knives as a multi-purpose survival blade; or as a backup method of self-defense. And some folks will admit to the fact that they just bought one because it looked cool. I have many of these knives, but not because they seem to be a fad. I use mine often, if not daily. So how do my three favorite tactical knives stack up? Check out our knife showdown and find out. [ Read Full Post ]

Staying hydrated plays second fiddle only to shelter as a critical survival priority. Yet outdoorsmen often walk around at some level of dehydration, especially on long trips and hunts. That little headache, that extra tiredness, the clumsy thing you did—it could very well be a result of dehydration.

Cold, dry, or windy weather usually aggravates this situation. Who wants to drink cold water or take the time to make a hot drink when you’re busy outside in cool temperatures? And dry or windy conditions will steal extra water from your skin, and therefore from your body.

So here are some time-tested ways to both ensure you are drinking enough, and to remind you to stay hydrated no matter what you are doing or where you are. [ Read Full Post ]

Bamboo is just one of those things, like rope or duct tape, that can be adapted to create an infinite number of material items. From survival gear to homesteader equipment, bamboo’s uses seem to only be limited by the imagination of the user.

So what are the 10 best ways to use bamboo for survival?  

1. First, you’ll want to get a survival shelter built in the event of an emergency. Bamboo poles are both strong and lightweight, which makes them a great choice for building shelter elements. [ Read Full Post ]

When most folks think of signaling for help, a giant “SOS” sign on a deserted beach is usually the first thing that comes to mind. But what if your best chance for rescue might come from a ground-based search team? While ground-to-ground search signals are smaller and less showy than ground-to-air signals, they can still be valuable lifesavers. Here are some of the top signals that you could build at ground level so that a search party can find you.

Sticks and Stones
Rock cairns and stick structures are great examples of ground signals. Place rocks or small logs to form arrows that point the way to your camp, or in the direction you are headed in the event of a “self-rescue.” Signals like these were common in centuries past to blaze trails and create paths. Techniques like chopping shapes into tree trunks were also used to communicate information and allow people to find their way. You can chop arrows into tree bark to point searchers toward your camp so they can find you. Use a hatchet or even a rock with a sharp edge.... [ Read Full Post ]

There are a lot of options when it comes to transporting arrows, but few are in keeping with primitive archery like making your own quiver. If you read our posts on quick survival bows and making your own arrows, then this will help you to round out your traditional archery tackle.

Bark Tube Quivers
Cut a section of tree branch or a sapling trunk a little over 2 feet long and a little under 6 inches in diameter, then chisel the bark off this wood billet in one continuous sheet. You’ll need to keep the bark in a tube shape as it dries. Wrap it around a dead, dry stick or a bundle of sticks that is the same diameter as the log that the bark was growing on. [ Read Full Post ]