A Survival Tips and Techniques Blog | UrbanWoodsman.com

From time to time we hear of catastrophic events and disasters in far away places, but the news gets more and more unsettling the closer these tragedies get in proximity to where we live, as well as their increasing frequency. We operate on a daily basis mostly without worry of any major changes in our living quarters or environment. It would in fact be counterproductive to become unnecessarily preoccupied with a pessimistic view of the future possibilities of disaster. By the same token, it is a big risk not making any advance preparation.

In this modern era our survival is weighted most heavily toward how we fare in the workplace and our propensity to bring home an adequate paycheck. We rely on society’s highly interdependent, evolved system of specialization. Drawing upon each of the various components as needed brings us enhanced utility with added convenience to boot.

As opposed to earlier civilizations, we exchange for and gather from an ever-increasing base of available goods and services that have the deceptive appearance of being infinite in supply. The modern term for participation and pursuit of the self-production and construction of necessities for life (food, clothing, and shelter) is “hobby.”

When disaster strikes, you have nobody to rely on but yourself, and your survival is no longer considered to be a “hobby.” Your forethought, preparation, and careful planning will dramatically increase your chances for survival. You will be thankful for your own advance consideration of a variety of possible future disasters. This may even include things such as unemployment or underemployment.

Would you know what food products to buy to put into your survival food kits? Would you simply go to the grocery store and purchase ordinary canned products? What are the differences between emergency food rations and an MRE, for instance? When would an emergency become survival and how would you have to consider different strategies? Basically, if an emergency situation extends beyond the two-week period, the need for survival takes over. If the emergency services have not managed to right themselves within two weeks, you are in a situation of survival and need to draw on your own resources for as long as it might take to get the infrastructure back up and running. Another thing to consider is where you are when the disaster occurs – in the home, travelling, running away from the area. Each situation is distinct and needs adapting according to circumstances.

Food, water and keeping warm are always going to be the three most important criteria. Keeping warm and staying dry, with adequate food and liquid will keep you alive. You might be bored and fed up, upset or angry – but, you will be alive. What type of food would you need to ensure adequate survival, especially when you consider the needs extend to your family as well as yourself? Any food that contains liquid to preserve it is going to be quite heavy and, if you need to transport sufficient food for a survival situation on foot that is going to be fairly prohibitive.

Cookie bars, or food bars which also prevent you becoming thirsty are one of the prime means available for suitable nutrition, high in protein which is particularly necessary in times of enhanced stress. These food bars contain additional vitamins and minerals to those considered the minimum adult daily requirement and they come in different calorie sizes, from 1200, 2400 to 3600 calories. Food bars have been designed with a minimum five year shelf life and manufactured to withstand temperatures from -40 degrees to 300 degrees, making them quite useful food items to have around. Typically, food rations are provided in packs lasting 72 hours, usually containing 9 food bars at 400 calories each.

These have been approved by the US Coast Guard and, apart from their nutritive content, are easily packed, being small and light enough to include within a simple backpack. They are recommended to be kept in your vehicle in case of emergencies and actually taste quite good. MREs are the military style food packs and are not quite so pleasant to eat, despite the fact that nutritionally, they contain everything needed to maintain adequate nutrition indefinitely.

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When packing a survival kit, it’s always advisable to bring dehydrated food and a knife for hunting or cleaning fish. Get food for survival and cook it 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

I visit a bakery to acquire 5 gallon buckets for food storage. I focus on my rice and oatmeal.

A 3rd part to our food storage result movies. You’ll see that even food stored indoors is at risk for damage! So make sure you pack your food storage right That way no matter what event happens from peak oil, collapse, shtf,2012,reddawn, zombies or hillary becoming our new president youll be ready for anything!

In the wilderness, healthy people can survive without food for as long as eight weeks, assuming they have plenty of drinkable water at hand. Understand what the body goes through during starvation mode with life-saving tips from an experienced wilderness expert in this free video on surviving outdoors. Expert: Matt Preye Contact: www.weu.com Bio: Matt Preye has been kayaking for 15 years in both whitewater and recreational kayaks. Filmmaker: Christian Munoz-Donoso

I dont believe in fairy tales. My bunker is the most ‘spiritual’ place to me

Surviving an emergency has nothing to do with luck.  In fact, if luck plays any part at all, it’s probably too small for most people to actually benefit from.  The best way to survive an emergency â?? any emergency â?? is to be prepared, aware and know what to do.  Having the right resources is also advantageous, particularly if these are exactly what you need to survive.  If you’re planning on buying a survival kit or putting one together yourself, here are the types of emergency food you should consider:

Dehydrated food
Dehydrated food is excellent as emergency food for your survival kit because they come in small, compact portions.  They are convenient to pack and easy to prepare.  You will need to heat them up with water, though.  They are a good choice as part of your survival kit if you are ever in an emergency situation where you need warm food.

Dehydrated food includes meat, vegetables, fruits and flavored meals.  Information on the number of calories included in a serving is usually included, so pack enough to meet your most basic calorie needs on a per day basis.

Canned food
Do not use raw food that still needs to be cooked for your survival kit.  Emergency food has to be convenient to store, prepare and eat.  Besides, raw food will rot.  Canned food is a better choice for emergency food because they can keep for several months to a few years.  

Canned food also provides plenty of choices â?? meat, fish, fruits and vegetables.  They can also be eaten straight out of the container.  Probably the only preparation you might have to do is to heat them for more comfort and flavor.

Consider packed meals as well.  Not only do they keep well, they are also very flavorful.  They come in single serves which make it easy to keep track of the number of meals you have.  Make sure to choose those that can be stored outside the freezer.  If the emergency food requires freezing, make sure you have the facility to do this.

Drink
Water is the best choice for all emergency situations and as such, should be a major component of your survival kit.  Regardless of the season or location, the ideal amount of water you should pack should be 1 gallon for each person per day.  If you’re storing emergency food at home, consider keeping enough to supply your need for fluids for at least 10 to 14 days.

Other excellent choices for emergency food for your survival kit are drink mixes, particularly the ready-to-drink or pre-mixed varieties.  Drink mixes not only contain pleasant flavoring (quite helpful in stressful situations such as emergencies), there are many made available in the market that are formulated with vitamins and minerals.  These drink mixes are especially helpful in combating the first signs of dehydration and can replenish important nutrients that may be lost due to the lack of proper food.

A disadvantage to drink mixes is that they cannot be used to cook food.  Your priority should be pure water and then simply supplement what you have with drink mixes.  If you’re unsure about the purity of the water you’ve stored in quite a while, keep a bottle of water purification tablets.  You can treat the water with these to ensure its safety.

If you find yourself stranded outdoors, the key to your survival is finding three specific things: shelter, food, and water. Now, in some outdoor situations where the elements are not too severe, you can survive without shelter. But it is impossible to survive without food and water. Knowing what to do in the case of an emergency situation can go a long way towards making sure you get home in the best health possible.

A normal person can go three full days without water, and three weeks without food. So if you find yourself stranded, the first thing you need to find is water. Keep in mind that water in stagnant sources is often contaminated. In order to protect yourself, always travel with water purification options, such as halazone tablets or iodine drops. If you find moving water it is less likely to be contaminated. You can still add purification measures to the water to stay safe.

Always carry a container that you can fill with water. When you find a water source, fill your container. You will be more mobile if you have a water source you can carry with you. If you cannot find naturally occurring water, there are other ways to find water. Try collecting the dew off of plants. You can also collect rainwater. The juices of fish are a source of hydration, although not an appealing one. The thing to keep in mind, however, is that your ultimate goal is simply survival. Also, avoid doing too much physical activity if you are limited on water availability. The more exercise your body does, the more water it will need.

Finding food is less crucial, because you can live three weeks without food. There are places that you can find food in the wilderness fairly easily. If you brought emergency rations with you, save those until all of the natural sources of food have been exhausted.

What you eat will depend a lot on the amount of water available to you. Remember that it takes more water to digest protein than it does to digest carbohydrates. Also, naturally occurring carbohydrates, such as fruit, have water in them. So if you are in a limited water situation, fill up on carbohydrates, avoiding meat and other protein sources.

Make use of whatever fruits and berries you can find. If you are not familiar with the fruit you find, a good rule of thumb is to avoid any berries that are red or white. Most of the poisonous berries are either red or white in color. All grass seeds are edible. If you find a plant with an edible root, remember that there is tremendous nutritional value in eating the roots of plants.

Avoid eating wild mushrooms, unless you can clearly identify them. Most wild mushrooms are perfectly safe to eat, but there are several varieties that are poisonous, and if you do not know how to identify the safe ones it is best to stay away. Remember that insects such as grasshoppers and locusts are edible. You can eat them live or roast them. Frogs, lizards, and turtles are other sources of protein that are fairly easy to catch. While these foods might not be your first choice for Sunday brunch, remember your goal is survival!