A Survival Tips and Techniques Blog | UrbanWoodsman.com

Having the right camping equipment will make your outdoor experience safer and more fun. The more often you camp, the more you may want to invest in nicer equipment and supplies. Some of these items will make your camping trip more convenient and more comfortable. Shop on the Internet and at local sporting goods stores to research prices and available pieces.

Shelter
Tents are the traditional means of sheltering from the environment when camping. There are many styles available with various features. Your budget and needs will determine which one is right for you. Tents can range from $100 to more than $500. Use of tarps and padding can help with waterproofing and comfort.

Sleeping
Sleeping bags are a minimum requirement for keeping warm and comfortable while sleeping. However there are other sleeping options and accessories that can make sleeping more comfortable. Quality sleeping bags start at approximately $50.00 and can go up depending on features. Adding a sleeping mat and sleeping pillow that are waterproof can also enhance comfort.

Cooking
Campfire cooking can be a fun way to eat meals but if you want a bit more flexibility there are many tools available. Hibachi style portable grills can give you a means of grilling meats, heating sauces, and vegetables without having to build a fire on the ground. Gas powered portable stoves are also available and can range from $50 to $200. These are affordable ways to make cooking more convenient and give you more options. Coolers are useful to keep perishable items from spoiling. There are also mini refrigerators available.

Safety
Survival and first aid kits are essential supplies for every camper. They can help save lives and tend to minor ailments. Ensure you always have a fully stocked survival and first aid kit available. These should include items for bandaging, pain relief, insect bites and topical antibiotics. Survival kits should include items for warmth, light, food and water. You can purchase pre-made kits or make a checklist and purchase individual items.

Fun
Camping guides and books are useful to bring to help identify wildlife and to give tips while outdoors. They can also include recipes and ideas for fun. Kayaks can be a fun way to enjoy the water and many are available in inflatable models, making them lightweight. Binoculars can help look for wildlife and nature. Toys like Frisbees and footballs can provide entertainment while outdoors.

After deciding where you will camp, make a list of activities you want to engage in. Then, compile a checklist of all supplies and gear needed to ensure you will have a safe and fun trip. Make sure to go through the list so nothing is missed. This will ensure you have everything needed for an enjoyable camping vacation.

While buying camping equipment, don’t squeeze on costs. You might land up with a nasty surprise during your camp. Some of the things that can happen, is that there might not be enough space, or if it is raining, rain is coming in, or at night the moisture on the floors seeps in and makes every one uncomfortable. The pleasure of camping out erased by such small things. Therefore focus on getting a relatively more expensive one, and instead of planning for just 4, plan for a 5 seater. Always buy one with more room than is necessary at the moment.

One of the worst parts of returning from a trip is to clean the equipment that was used. Clothes, shoes, cutlery, kitchen aids, camping tarpaulins, pegs, zips, the air sleeping bags, the boots, the stores you took with you and so on.

It is tough on everyone, but there is no other way, except to take care: remember always that the equipment you have bought is expensive, and even more expensive to buy a substitute.

So get to it, and start putting things back in order.

After you return from your camping trip, make sure that you layout the camping out in the sun for some time; if there are some dirty areas, clean them with a good soft detergent, and put them out to dry. Otherwise, the equipment will stink, and rot will set in. And that would put paid to your expensive equipment.

Check the sleeping bags, and after them inside out, leave them out in the sun for them to dry quickly. Check the holding ropes of the tent. Replace those require replacement. Don’t scringe on small expenses in replacing them.

If the floor sheet is not in good shape, clean it properly and lay it out to dry completely.

Check out all the equiment: portable stove, grill, cutlery and crockery. Even your sleeping bags. Clean each one of them thoroughly and then pack them in proper cartons.

Wash clean and after drying them, put away those extra equipment such as hiking boots and other survival equipment.

By following the above steps you would be able to maintain your expensive camping equipment in good condition for a long time. Otherwise, your investment will go down the drain.

The next time you go out again you will thank yourself that you did the maintenance that was required by cleaning, drying, and keeping your camping equipment in good order. No seepages, no wet grounds, stoves in good working order, clean and good looking hiking boots that don’t require attention will be the bonuses for you.

The better look after the equipment, the more it will last.

When hunting it is imperative that one carries the basic survival equipment. Whether the hunt takes place in the backyard property or on a hunt in familiar land basic survival equipment should be carried as if the hunter were in unfamiliar territory. The amount of equipment used for a bigger expedition of course would be greatly increased, but the main focus is on basic survival equipment. These are everyday items that should always be included.

1.     Compass and Map- Many outdoorsman become disoriented.  No matter what the reason for this disorientation inability is rarely the cause. A quick glance of the terrain and a compass can quickly solve this problem.  If on unfamiliar territory a compass can be used with a map to triangulate your location from land features. This is a very important tool in survival.

2.     Water bottle-The old saying goes “without food you can live for three weeks, without water you can only live three days”.  Food grows in the woods, much of which can sustain us. Water that is usually found in the woods has the potential to hurt us more than help, and should only be drank if in dire circumstances.

3.     Waterproof Matches and or a Butane Lighter (or two)- Fire has many uses as man has found through the centuries. It can keep you warm if lost, wounded or disoriented. Fire can signal to others a location with the use of the smoke.  Fire can also be very comforting psychologically in adverse conditions. It is very important to be able to create a fire.  Butane lighters are handy, can be dried if wet and have a flint built into them in worst-case scenarios, and they are light.

4.     Flashlight with Extra Batteries- A hunter never knows when the shot is going to be made available. Sometimes this is near last light. Without the use of a good flashlight, the hunt could end in the loss of a downed animal, not only is this bad for the name of hunting it can easily be avoided with a flashlight.  Some of which are specifically designed to show the blood trail. There are also the more likely uses such as getting out of the woods after last light or getting into stand before first light.

5.      Ground cloth of plastic or Mylar- In the event of injury or disorientation, sometimes it becomes necessary to stay in the wild overnight.  Fire can be a great advantage, add to this a place to sit that’s dry or a way to cover up from elements and survival can be greatly improved.

6.     Bandage, Tape and Band-Aids- A person can never know when they are going to become injured, and in the hunting fields and woods there are plenty of ways to become injured. Bow hunters carry sharp arrows and most all hunters carry knives. Having a few small items to repair or temporarily treat an injury can greatly improve comfort as well as survival.

7.     Whistle- mainly used for signaling in the event of injury or disorientation. The whistle can be heard for great distances and through thicker vegetation. The human voice can be loud but is easily broken up by forest cover and is no competition for the loudness of a good whistle. Whistles are also very handy in the event of predators, and they can be scared off by the shrill of a whistle. This can be very important if injured and in an area with Bears and Mountain Lions, that prey upon injured animals regularly.

Hopefully all of your hunting days will be safe and only result in a bountiful harvest. In the unfortunate event that things don’t go as we hope as hunters, be like the Boy Scouts and “Always Be Prepared”. Having a Basic Survival Kit put together in your hunting pack could make the difference between Survival and Disaster.

Getting lost or disoriented in a survival situation can be very frightening. Put navigation equipment in survival kits with tips from an experienced outdoorsman in this free video on wilderness survival. Expert: kevin Barrett Bio: Kevin Barrett is an experienced outdoors man who has been honing his survival skills for many years. Filmmaker: Nili Nathan

When you are planning to go trekking or hiking, you have to make sure that you are equipped with the right supplies and clothing. If you are just doing a simple day or half-day trip on easy terrain you’ll probably don’t need any special gear. Just make sure not to wear classy leather shoes and other noble clothes, because when you leave the asphaltic streets they will become dirty by any means. So put on some old stuff and you’re ready. If you are heading to more complicated and remote terrains or to longer treks you will need more advanced gear to “survive”. The first important thing are the right boots. If you don’t have the right footwear you will end up with blisters and pain very fast. You should at least wear hiking boots with a half high shaft. But when you are on longer trekking tours and on higher mountains you need sturdy trekking boots with a high cut to protect your knuckles and to prevent yourself from spraining your foot. You really shouldn’t be stingy when looking for the right boots because surefootedness is very important in the high mountains. Another thing to look for is, if they are waterproof because you don’t want your feet to get wet. You should make sure that the boots use a Gore-Tex or a similar membrane. These are watertight and in the same run breathable, what is also very nice because your feet will not sweat that much. If you are moving on icy terrain you should consider to buy spurs for more grip. And if you have bought the right boots you have to make sure to tie them right because your feet shouldn’t slide around in your boots. Another important thing is to have is the right backpack. It’s the same again here. With longer tours and harder terrain the required professionalism rises. On longer trails you will need much more space to pack your stuff in, such as clothes, provisions, a sleeping bag, a tent, a stove and many things more. So when you are buying your backpack you should consider if it is big enough, and if you can bear it. To make rucksacks easier to carry, the bigger ones come with an hip belt. So you don’t have to bear all the weight with your shoulders, it gets divided between them and your hips. The backpack seems to be much lighter like this. When moving in the higher mountains and on snow telescopic sticks can be nice to give yourself more stability. When going uphill or downhill they can support the legs and especially the knee joints. Also your jacket shouldn’t be a cheap one when going on a longer tour. It’s very important to have a good jacket which is impermeable to water and also breathable to give you the best comfort. Again the Gore-Tex membrane is a good choice here. When hiking on higher mountains it is essential to have a good jacket to keep you warm. To make your winter outfit complete you should get gloves and a warm headpiece. I hope that i could help you a step further with your considerations about outdoor clothing.

When I was teen camping equipment consisted mainly of a backpack to carry supplies, a sleeping bag, and a tent. Of course we always camped at the same old spots most of the time. Today people have more diverse interest than just building a campfire and doing a little fishing. People now hike, backpack, and climb rocks, just to name a few activities. As they have ventured out and away from the campsite, the risk of getting lost or hurt away from civilization has greatly increased. Survival gear and equipment are now an absolute must for anyone’s camping equipment. The following are some of the most important items that should be a part of every survival kit. These are just a few recommendations from the good folks at 4 Seasons Survival.com.

1. Spark Lite fire starter. The spark-lite is the official US military fire starter because it’s so easy to use, even when injured.
2. First Need water purifier. Although there are many filters on the market, there are only a handful that they would use in an emergency. First Need, because it is EPA approved, and so easy to use gets the nod.
3. Don’t Bite Me Patch. Each patch offers protection from biting insects for up to 36 hours.
4. QuickClot Silver. Stops moderate to severe bleeding until further medical help is available.

Once again, these are just some suggestions for your survival kit.

In this day and age however, people should be thinking more about a rescue than survival. So your preparedness should absolutely include some type of signaling device. Most people think in terms of electronic beacons or GPS systems, when looking into signaling. For most of us they are still cost prohibitive. The second and perhaps most relevant issue is that with a beacon or GPS unit, if you get separated from the party that has it, the device does you no good. So if dad has control of the device, and his teenage son wanders off and gets lost, searchers can locate dad but what about his son?

I have come up with a very simple and cost-effective answer to all these concerns. The LifeTracker is a device that in case of an emergency will, with the pull of a cord, jettisons a heavy gauge red balloon attached to a 1000 ft fishing line up high enough for searchers or a rescue plane to see. The LifeTracker makes it possible for people to be found before panic ever sets in. It not only will save lives, but millions of dollars in search and rescue man hours. The LifeTracker is a series of 3 different products designed to locate anyone lost or in distress, in hours rather than days. The LifeTracker Belt, The LifeTracker Vest, and The LifeTracker flare Gun, can be offered inexpensively enough to allow an entire family to outfit themselves with The LifeTracker for what it might cost to purchase one GPS unit. It even has a 12″ solar light rope for night rescues. In this day and age of electronics, it’s refreshing to find something that is completely mechanical. There are no batteries or bad reception to worry about.

Anyone venturing into the wilderness; campers, hikers, backpackers, and rock climbers, will want either the “Belt” or “Vest” as part of their everyday gear.

The LifeTracker Belt … 4″ wide with pockets on the outside to store a thermal blanket and other survival supplies.

The LifeTracker Vest… Using the same concept as the “Belt” the vests inner side unzips to release a folded lean-to tent complete with telescopic 3 ft. poles. Some people will prefer a vest and are willing to pay extra for the complete survival package. This offers a great option, and like the “Belt”, is very marketable.

The LifeTracker Flare Gun…Flare guns are very expensive and, of course, the flare only has a short life. With a small adjustment to the LifeTracker Device, it can easily be kept in a lightweight pistol, that can be stored in any backpack, vehicle, boat or plane.  It might even have military use.

If you would like more information, please go to: The LifeTracker
While you are there, please click on CONTACT and let me know what you think about my concept.