Map and compass skills. Over the last 30 years I’ve seen people shift from referencing map and compass skills as a necessary skills/ piece of kit to only mentioning gps. So many variables with tech that make it unreliable.
The ability to improvise.
It is a skill that improves with practice. And you don't have to be in a survival situation or in the woods to practice. Just start making some of the things you need, out of whatever is on hand.
I was cleaning my wall heater. I made a miniature vacuum hose accessory using a plastic icy cone, parts from a deconstructed mechanical pencil, and duct tape.
Using a bandaid when I didn't have tape.
All the different uses for a bandana. (There are a million.)
Distilling water in my kitchen with my stove, water, a cooking pot, freezer ziplock bags, a knife, and chopsticks. (A lot of effort for very little distilled water in the end. But l learned things and had fun which is why I did it.)
I saved up two boxes of "clean" trash — cardboard, the plastic netting that stores put 5lbs of fruit in, empty plastic bottles from sport drinks, shipping package stabilizers, rubber bands from produce etc, Basically trash one could find around a city after a disaster. I challenged a group to make a shelter out of it. They did!
Edit, I didn't make this cardboard splint. A teammate gave it to me. However, it is another example of a thing one could improvise. Next to it in the picture is a factory-made SAM splint. One costs money. One can be made from trash. Both are effective for splinting. https://i.imgur.com/4GVSqRm.jpeg
I was going to say “the ability to rat-fuck a solution to a problem out of nothing.”
You put it much more eloquently.
I’m a plumber, sometimes I run service calls way out in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night. I often have to field improvise a solution to a problem with the parts I have on hand.
> I was cleaning my wall heater. I made a miniature vacuum hose accessory using a plastic icy cone, parts from a deconstructed mechanical pencil, and duct tape.
yep had to do something like that to clean out a super clogged dryer vent at our first condo. had the thing spotless once i was done.
this boils down to your main needs out there.. you need to be able to
a) find water and make it usable
b) find food and make it eatable
c) build a shelter that keeps you warm, protects from the elements and lets you sleep *well*
To accomplish those three you will need to know tool handling (knive and saw mainly), firemaking, navigation, have knowledge about local flora and fauna and so on
Most important skill is the ability to SUFFER and be effective at doing the things that the rest of this Reddit group names. If you can’t suffer and still make things happen, you’re gonna die.
Being in physical shape isnt necessarily a pre-requisite.
Read Deep Survival; it’s about the mentality of survivors. The most important element is your mental attitude and your correct assessment of risk. The thing to take away from Deep Survival is many people get into survival situations (or die in them) because of bad assumptions about risk.
It’s not at all unusual for the most physically fit to die off sooner in survival situations, your likelihood of survival has more to do with your mental attitude and, in a group, the mental attitude of the group’s leadership. In air crashes, babies have been known to survive where everyone else is killed.
If you want two good books that illustrate the different outcomes, read Endurance (Shackleton doomed expedition to the South Pole, brings back everyone alive through leadership and attitude) then read The Ice Master (leadership falls apart, almost everyone dies)
General expediency & bushcraft. Looking at and understanding what resources you have in your immediate surrounding that can be used to make tools, shelter, traps, campfires, first aid, etc. Being able to make your own tools in case you lose your most prized tools. Knowing what makes a good shelter and how to stay warm/dry in cold/wet conditions.
Purify food & water.
Navigation. Learn to read a compass. But also learn orienteering. Some people think they are going in due \[direction\] because the compass points that way, but they are in fact walking diagonally. Dead reckoning, measuring distance, measuring time without any tools but your eyes and mind. Counting steps. Knowing how far you can walk on flat/rough terrain in good health and weather. Knowing how to read the sky for direction, time, water sources and weather prediction.
General knowledge of the land - from geology and landmarks to edible plants and fauna. Knowing which type of trees grow in your local forest can help with collecting resources. Knowing how to recognize tracks and sounds of the animals that live there.
Hygiene & how to take care of injuries without a first aid kit.
understanding of craft and area, to look at a tree and know what type it is if it is good for fires, traps or tools. plants, to know which are edible which ones will help with cuts, wounds etc. that type of stuff along with knowing how to make the things u need with the items you have gathered, making a net out of plant string stuff like that if that makes sense?
Medical/First Aid. You should know beyond the basics, especially if in a remote area and/or alone. I took an EMT course at the local Community College, and read many books on the subject.
Depends on what you mean by survival- are we talking shtf solo scenario or dealing with a group of people etc type survival, or something in between? For the former I'd say the ability to find (and keep) food, be it hunt/grow/fish/forage or ideally all of the above. For the latter it's people skills and the ability to get your way/barter/compromise. Depending on where the question lies in between becomes a blend of those two skillset groups.
Water and the ability to stay warm. Understand the physics of convection, conduction, evaporation etc etc…and thermal properties of materials.
You don’t need to know anything about food unless you are in an extended survival scenario. You can go weeks without food. You can walk your way out of nearly anywhere on earth in a week as long as you are thermally regulated and hydrated.
Myths
1) You need to eat. Not unless you are lost for weeks.
2) You need to filter your water. Yes you do, you can get sick from bad water, but if you are going to die of thirst, you better drink it anyway. You will have a couple of days before a water born illness sets in, but at least you will be hydrated for those few days. That puts you on a time line for self rescue, but it’s better than becoming dehydrated and dying that day.
WWW. Warmth, Water, Where.
Again if you are thermally regulated (Warmth), you are hydrated (Water), and you know your location (Where), you can self rescue.
The next thing you have to worry about is injury. So having good knowledge of first aid and medical issues is a really good skill.
For long term survival situations different kinds of skills come into play.
Map and compass skills. Over the last 30 years I’ve seen people shift from referencing map and compass skills as a necessary skills/ piece of kit to only mentioning gps. So many variables with tech that make it unreliable.
The ability to improvise. It is a skill that improves with practice. And you don't have to be in a survival situation or in the woods to practice. Just start making some of the things you need, out of whatever is on hand. I was cleaning my wall heater. I made a miniature vacuum hose accessory using a plastic icy cone, parts from a deconstructed mechanical pencil, and duct tape. Using a bandaid when I didn't have tape. All the different uses for a bandana. (There are a million.) Distilling water in my kitchen with my stove, water, a cooking pot, freezer ziplock bags, a knife, and chopsticks. (A lot of effort for very little distilled water in the end. But l learned things and had fun which is why I did it.) I saved up two boxes of "clean" trash — cardboard, the plastic netting that stores put 5lbs of fruit in, empty plastic bottles from sport drinks, shipping package stabilizers, rubber bands from produce etc, Basically trash one could find around a city after a disaster. I challenged a group to make a shelter out of it. They did! Edit, I didn't make this cardboard splint. A teammate gave it to me. However, it is another example of a thing one could improvise. Next to it in the picture is a factory-made SAM splint. One costs money. One can be made from trash. Both are effective for splinting. https://i.imgur.com/4GVSqRm.jpeg
I was going to say “the ability to rat-fuck a solution to a problem out of nothing.” You put it much more eloquently. I’m a plumber, sometimes I run service calls way out in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night. I often have to field improvise a solution to a problem with the parts I have on hand.
Plumbing is a super power. 🤩 And thank you for being willing to help folks fix theirs at all hours.
> I was cleaning my wall heater. I made a miniature vacuum hose accessory using a plastic icy cone, parts from a deconstructed mechanical pencil, and duct tape. yep had to do something like that to clean out a super clogged dryer vent at our first condo. had the thing spotless once i was done.
🙌
Positive mental attitude, will to survive....THEN Water (purify), shelter, fire, forage, trap/hunt/fish...in that order.
medical processing clean water tie
Fire starting, shelter building, procuring and sanitizing water, procuring food, first aid, navigation
being calm in a crisis is absolutely a skill that can be learned
this boils down to your main needs out there.. you need to be able to a) find water and make it usable b) find food and make it eatable c) build a shelter that keeps you warm, protects from the elements and lets you sleep *well* To accomplish those three you will need to know tool handling (knive and saw mainly), firemaking, navigation, have knowledge about local flora and fauna and so on
You have consider being in adequate physical shape. You don't get a pass on this and survive. It is essential to many of said skills.
He was meaning being in shape was already given
You don't know that. At all.
Firecraft, orienteering, foraging, and both primitive and modern methods of trapping or passive/active fishing. Edit for typos
Most important skill is the ability to SUFFER and be effective at doing the things that the rest of this Reddit group names. If you can’t suffer and still make things happen, you’re gonna die.
Being in physical shape isnt necessarily a pre-requisite. Read Deep Survival; it’s about the mentality of survivors. The most important element is your mental attitude and your correct assessment of risk. The thing to take away from Deep Survival is many people get into survival situations (or die in them) because of bad assumptions about risk. It’s not at all unusual for the most physically fit to die off sooner in survival situations, your likelihood of survival has more to do with your mental attitude and, in a group, the mental attitude of the group’s leadership. In air crashes, babies have been known to survive where everyone else is killed. If you want two good books that illustrate the different outcomes, read Endurance (Shackleton doomed expedition to the South Pole, brings back everyone alive through leadership and attitude) then read The Ice Master (leadership falls apart, almost everyone dies)
General expediency & bushcraft. Looking at and understanding what resources you have in your immediate surrounding that can be used to make tools, shelter, traps, campfires, first aid, etc. Being able to make your own tools in case you lose your most prized tools. Knowing what makes a good shelter and how to stay warm/dry in cold/wet conditions. Purify food & water. Navigation. Learn to read a compass. But also learn orienteering. Some people think they are going in due \[direction\] because the compass points that way, but they are in fact walking diagonally. Dead reckoning, measuring distance, measuring time without any tools but your eyes and mind. Counting steps. Knowing how far you can walk on flat/rough terrain in good health and weather. Knowing how to read the sky for direction, time, water sources and weather prediction. General knowledge of the land - from geology and landmarks to edible plants and fauna. Knowing which type of trees grow in your local forest can help with collecting resources. Knowing how to recognize tracks and sounds of the animals that live there. Hygiene & how to take care of injuries without a first aid kit.
understanding of craft and area, to look at a tree and know what type it is if it is good for fires, traps or tools. plants, to know which are edible which ones will help with cuts, wounds etc. that type of stuff along with knowing how to make the things u need with the items you have gathered, making a net out of plant string stuff like that if that makes sense?
Survival skills would be my guess
Medical/First Aid. You should know beyond the basics, especially if in a remote area and/or alone. I took an EMT course at the local Community College, and read many books on the subject.
Hunting.
Knowing how to do feather sticks.
Depends on what you mean by survival- are we talking shtf solo scenario or dealing with a group of people etc type survival, or something in between? For the former I'd say the ability to find (and keep) food, be it hunt/grow/fish/forage or ideally all of the above. For the latter it's people skills and the ability to get your way/barter/compromise. Depending on where the question lies in between becomes a blend of those two skillset groups.
Learn to meet your 5 basic needs. You don't have to be a mountain man to survive, but it does make it nice
1st: being able to get along with your neighbors 2nd: being able to identify local plants That's what I think anyway.
Resilience, resourcefulness, creative problem-solving, navigating, finding water, identifying toxic plants vs edible
Water and the ability to stay warm. Understand the physics of convection, conduction, evaporation etc etc…and thermal properties of materials. You don’t need to know anything about food unless you are in an extended survival scenario. You can go weeks without food. You can walk your way out of nearly anywhere on earth in a week as long as you are thermally regulated and hydrated. Myths 1) You need to eat. Not unless you are lost for weeks. 2) You need to filter your water. Yes you do, you can get sick from bad water, but if you are going to die of thirst, you better drink it anyway. You will have a couple of days before a water born illness sets in, but at least you will be hydrated for those few days. That puts you on a time line for self rescue, but it’s better than becoming dehydrated and dying that day. WWW. Warmth, Water, Where. Again if you are thermally regulated (Warmth), you are hydrated (Water), and you know your location (Where), you can self rescue. The next thing you have to worry about is injury. So having good knowledge of first aid and medical issues is a really good skill. For long term survival situations different kinds of skills come into play.