Trending Now
No one wants to think that they’ll be caught in a situation that turns out to be life or death, but the truth is, some of us will – and we won’t be prepared.
It’s definitely better to have your ducks in a row, or to have thought through how to handle something, and never need it than get caught unawares, though, and these 14 tips could help you survive to tell the story.
14. Stay in one place.
If you are lost in the wilderness – if you have shelter and a source of water, and if you have reason to believe people will be looking for you, you are usually better to stay put than to try to find your way out. Wandering around lost you expend a lot of energy, you could easily get into a far worse situation and anyone looking for you will likely start at your last known or expected location – which, if you are lost, you might be wandering farther from.
This is not always the case. It depends on if you are injured or not, and the nature of the injuries, on your relative safety where you are at, how far you are relative to your expected or last known location, how visible you are and a number of other situational factors. It is often worth a low risk climb to a better vantage point if possible. People have died a few hundred metres from a road which could have led them to safety.
13. Put it in your emergency kit.
Pack a whistle. There’s no chance your voice will hold out yelling at the top of your lungs, and whistles carry long distances. Especially handy if you’ve injured yourself, and need to rely on others finding you.
SOS in Morse code is … – – – …
So three short blasts, three longer ones, three short, pause….and repeat.
This is an especially handy and harmless device to give kids that are along for a hike (along with, “if you get separated, stop walking and blow the whistle lots, and we’ll come to you”).
12. Definitely good knowledge for your bank.
You can squeeze relatively safe water out of moss.
Obviously you should still boil it and and it’s going to have some dirt but it way better than drinking out of a steam or puddle.
11. Stay in your car.
if you get stuck in your car in the snow, STAY WITH YOUR VEHICLE!!! Hypothermia makes you delirious and you can wander the wrong direction and freeze to death. Your vehicle is also a LOT easier to locate than YOU are.
10. This sh*t is terrifying as a parent.
If you or your child almost drowns, go see a doctor even though you feel/seem fine. If water has been able to enter your lungs, you can be secondary drowning.
9. Make sure you eat salt.
Just because you’re drinking water doesn’t mean you’re safe. You need to take in salt as well. I’ve seen this kick people’s asses big time. They drink and drink and drink water but still overheat/throw up/pass out because they didn’t take in any salt or electrolytes.
8. Just like Lieutenant Dan said.
Exposure and dehydration will fuck you up much faster than hunger.
Bring spare socks, your feet will rot if you don’t
7. Listen to your subconscious.
If you want to prevent being the victim of a crime it is your subconscious that is going to tell you that you are in danger. You will think “something isn’t quite right”. If you ever have a FEELING that something is wrong get out of there immediately
6. Listen up, city folks.
Most subway platforms have a space for a person to crawl under in case they fall on the subways tracks. So if you fall off the edge of the platform and onto the tracks.
Instead of trying to climb back up, if you see a train coming there’s a crawl area underneath. It might be tight, and you’ll certainly get dirty, but better than dying
5. Know the difference.
Barrel cactus in the Sonoran desert are not full of water as is commonly portrayed. Instead they are full of acidic solutions that induce vomiting and diarrhea if consumed. These can easily be fatal for a dehydrated person in the desert.
The Barrel cactus fruit by contrast, is one of the most agreeable edibles in the cactus world. They are easy to pick, thornless, and tasty.
4. Learn a new skill!
The ability to weave. Looked at as more of a craft than a survival skill. But my grandma taught me that if you can weave you can make clothing, shoes, traps, shelter, etc. with nothing more than the vegatation on hand.
This was hammered home later when watching that show with naked survival people. The guy harassed the girl because she spent most of the first 2 days weaving but in the end he had to be taken out because he was sick yet there she was having crab for dinner.
3. Any tips?
Very rarely are people mentally prepared to fight a naked man.
2. This is my worst nightmare.
If you accidentally disturb a bee hive or wasp nest and are being swarmed, DO NOT run for water. It seems intuitive that jumping in water will keep the bees off you, but actually they will wait for you to resurface and resume stinging you.
Instead, run as fast and as far away as you can. Bees/wasps are territorial and will not easily leave their home range. So once you leave their comfort zone, you’re pretty much safe.
1. My toddler has this move down pat.
Biting is an underrated technique in a life or death fight. How many times in an apocalyptic style world does a character get pushed on the ground and literally just submits to being punched out? Seriously, when someone means to kill you or advance on your sexuality, BITE THEM.
Definitely putting these in my back pocket but hoping to never use them!
What survival tip would you share? If it’s not on the list, please leave it in the comments!
