45 Survival/SHTF Tips

Welcome back, here’s some pretty handy survival tips that may just save your buttocks in a survival / SHTF situation. All of the below tips are what I have picked up along my preparedness journey. I am open to people adding to the list or getting criticism on the tips because a little criticism helps people bloom and learn more. Without further ado here are AlfieAesthetics 45 survival / SHTF quick tips.

• If you have a Zippo lighter and it has run out of fuel, don’t worry about it. You can still make a fire with it. Take out the cotton that’s inside the lighter and use the flint to ignite the cotton with a spark.
• Carry some Aluminium foil in your bug out bag. The reason for this is if the ground is damp or wet and you can’t get a fire going lay out the foil and you will have an instant dry platform to build your fire.
• Placing some masking tape over your flashlight reduces your profile yet giving you enough light to get things done. This is a handy tip from an SAS Friend.
• If you carry a functioning analogue wrist watch then you can use it to find the north and south line. A little known trick but very handy. Hold your watch horizontal and point the hour hand towards the sun by set the angle between the hour hand and the 12 o’clock mark to get the north / south line. North will be the direction furthest from the sun.
• Navigating terrain at night is simple. The stars will guide you. If you are in the northern hemisphere then the north star aka Polaris will guide you to true north. If you have a basic understanding of Stella constellations it is very easy to find. First of all find the big dipper aka ursa major or the plough and follow this line. This line leads straight to the north star.
• Having a guitar case for a bug out bag is very unconventional but very effective in its own right. You have the opportunity to pack a lot of gear without sticking out like a sore thumb. No one’s going to pester a guy for supplies if they think he is a loser carrying a guitar.
• If you can’t afford stab resistant vests homemade protection can be made with carbon steel tenon saws. Several saws combined with duct tape can create a stab proof, fragmentation and arrow proof plate to put in a plate carrier.
• Household bleach can be used to purify water. The ratio of bleach to water is 2 drops of bleach to purify 1 liter of water.(unscented bleach only)
• Toothpaste can be used to treat bug bites and insect stings.
• Tent pegs laid across 2 logs can be used as a make shift grill.
• A can a thorn and some string can be used as a hobo fishing kit.
• In wet conditions tinder can easily be acquired by shaving off strips of the inner bark of twigs and logs.
• Large rocks placed around a camp fire will absorb heat and even when the fire dies down they will still radiate enough heat to keep you warm. Also the hot rocks can be placed in a cup of water and the heat from the rocks will begin to boil and purify the water.
• If you are purifying water say from a swamp but it smells absolutely dreadful add some charcoal to the water while you are boiling it and it will remove the unpleasant smell and slightly improve the smell.
• The inner stands of 550 paracord are strong enough so you can tie equipment to your bag and make shelter without using up all of your paracord.
• A foil blanket duct taped to the inside of a tarp shelter can massively increase the heat potential of your shelter.
• Glow sticks should always be carried just in case you need to be rescued. Tie 3 feet of paracord to a glow stick and swirl it around to create a 6ft disk of light which will make it easy for rescue to spot you.
• A disposable rain coat or poncho is a very useful multipurpose survival tool. 1. It can be used as a rain coat. 2. It can be manipulated as a make shift shelter. 3. It can be made to create a solar still to gather and purify sea water. 4. It can collect rain water for drinking.
• Don’t rely on boiling water alone as your method for purifying water as you may not always have the luxury of a fire. Pack water purification tablets.
• Barbed wire can be made into make shift fishing hooks. If you happen to carry pliers with wire cutters in your kit then simply snip of some wire and fashion it into a hook and attach it to paracord.
• NEVER under any circumstances use untreated water to clean wounds. It’s common sense but I have seen many people wash their wounds in a river. Also, don’t submerge your hands in water if you have cuts or grazes.
• Animal entrails that you would usually throw away should be kept and used for bait for fishing, traps and snares. Always process your game far away from your camp. You do not want wild animals like bears other predatory animals picking up the scent and sniffing around your camp looking for a carcass.
• If you are stung by stinging nettles, remember the stinging sensation is caused by the needles injecting an acid into you. Combat this by spitting on the area immediately and scrubbing it hard with some clothing to get the acid off and out.
• Don’t waste time and valuable energy by chopping up logs with an axe or machete. Just give them a swift kick and snap them by force. You are not making furniture. They don’t have to be perfect.
• Pack a first aid kit.
• Don’t forget to pack copies of important documents in your bug out bag, birth certificates, medical records, insurance details etc.
• Pack a modest amount of cash in your bug out bag. Contrary to belief, cash will still be accepted even if all hell breaks loose. At least for a short while.
• When setting up shelter you need to keep off the ground. Laying on the ground is going to suck all of the heat out of you and you will end up being close to hypothermia before you know it. Laying on a ground sheet or a poncho isn’t going to cut it. Make a platform out of logs or gather up a bunch of leaves and weeds and create yourself a soft padded raised bed.
• When packing your bag put all of the light equipment at the bottom and the heavy stuff on top to maintain your center of gravity.
• If you are planning to move around a lot you should wear less clothing than you need. As long as you keep in continuous motion and keep your head, hands and feet covered and dry you can drop nearly all of your extra layers and still be comfortable. The key is to avoid sweating in cold weather as your clothes will get damp and your clothing will lose its insulating qualities and you risk getting hypothermia.
• Carry a pack of cigarettes. Even if you don’t smoke. Offering someone a cigarette can help you make friends or calm people down if they are suffering from stress or suffering from nicotine withdrawal.
• Smoke is a natural insect repellent. If you have a fire going then wave your jacket, trousers, sleeping bag or your poncho etc around in the smoke to keep the mosquitoes and ants from eating you alive. A fire is also a natural predator repellent.
• Carry spare socks in your bug out bag. At least 2 pairs. Socks can be used to filter the dirt and crap out of water, keep animal guts suspended in a tree and of course prevent you from getting trench foot and blisters.
• If you do get a blister thread a needle and thread through the blister to drain it and the thread will keep the holes made open and soak up any left over moisture. With this method your blisters will heal faster. If you feel you are getting a blister take a big piece of duct tape and place directly over the area, the tape will eliminate the friction and stop blisters from forming.
• The chewing gum in MRE’s contain xylitol which has a mild laxative effect. Chances are you will need that after eating an MRE.
• Don’t drink to much water on an empty stomach. This will mess up your body chemistry due to the imbalance of electrolytes which may cause you to go into shock. Balance your water intake with your water intake to cut the risk of this.
• Learn how to make the S.O.S Signal both in sound and in light. It looks like this  … —… the dots represent fast signals and the dashes represent slow signals.
• It may seem tempting to set your camp up next to a body of water but it’s a bad idea. Bugs that hover over the water will eat you alive in the night especially if you are set up next to stagnant, non moving water. Set up camp on elevated ground a modest distance away from the water.
• Raising both arms up into the Y position and back down erratically is the internationally recognized distress signal. Remember this.
• Depending on your global position it can be confusing to calculate KM into miles on the top of your head. The very simple way to make this calculation is to divide the amount of KM in half then add the first digit of the KM… – KM / 2 + (K) this will give you a close estimation . For example.. 50 KM / 2 = 25 + 5 = 30 miles… The actual conversion is 50 KM = 31.06 miles. So with this calculation you won’t be far off.
• Tobacco decreases stamina by limiting blood and oxygen to the brain. It also interferes with healing and blood clotting by destroying the platelets in your blood. It also reduces night vision because it causes restriction of the blood vessels in the eye.  So the tip here is stop smoking
• If you see an animal drinking from a water source.. That does not mean the water is safe for you to drink. Most animals have the ability to eat and drink things that are harmful to humans.
• If you happen to come across coconuts only drink the milk from green coconuts. The milk from an old / ripe coconut contains an oil that acts like a laxative and could cause you to have sever dehydration from diarrhea.
• Carry tin foil in your kit. If you loose your canteen you can fashion a cup from this and lay it by a fire and let it boil. Or you can drop some water purification tablets in it.
• If you lose your knife or machete you can make a sharp edge by smashing 2 rocks together. This has been done for thousands of years and works great.

  If you have any other survival / SHTF tips or you want to criticize these tips please send me a message and I will get back to you.

 

Source:

https://www.survivehive.com/general-preparedness/45-survivalshtf-tips/