20 Wilderness Survival & Camping Tips!

Can you spare a zipper? If so, then you can make yourself an improvised fish hook. Just break off the zip and bust open the loop. Pull out the loose end to a 90 degree angle and then use a rough stone to grind that exposed tip down into a sharp point. And there you go, an easy to make improvised fish hook. Alternatively, you can turn the ring tabs of any discarded soda cans into fish hooks too. Spent bullet casings can be repurposed into makeshift arrowheads. Just grab a large rock and pound the casing flat. Remove the uncrushable rim by bending the metal back and forth until it breaks off. And once that's all done and dusted, grab a coarse stone and begin grinding down and sculpting that metal into your desired arrowhead shape. And after a little bit of elbow grease, you'll have a sharp and strong metal arrowhead. If your boots are dripping wet and you need to dry them out, then you'll probably place them next to your campfire. Well, that's good, but we can do better. Gather up a few large dry non-porous rocks and place them on the edge of your campfire. Wait until those rocks are piping hot and then carefully place them inside your boot. This way, your boots will dry out much quicker and much more thoroughly, as they're drying from both the outside and the inside. If you've left the house, then chances are you've brought along your house keys. Well, the jagged teeth of these keys can be used as a small impromptu saw to saw the small notches required for primitive traps and various other tools. If you're struggling to find tinders or natural fire starting materials, then have a look down at your socks. Cotton and wool are flammable natural materials, so if you are wearing cotton or wool socks, then you can pluck off any loose strands and fibres for a neat little flammable tinder pile. Throw a few sparks at them and those sock fibres will combust into flames. Mosquitoes and other insects are repelled by the scent of pine, so if mosquitoes are a concern, then grab a bunch of pine needles, crush them up in your hands, and then rub the oils they release onto your clothes, and that should keep the mosquitoes away. You can also burn pine needles over your fire for an ambient insect repellent for your entire camp. If you have no knife, but you're in need of a sharp cutting tool, then try looking around for flint rocks. These typically beige rocks with a shiny black interior can be cracked open and smashed together, to chip off small flakes and fragments that have a razor sharp edge. Consider replacing your ordinary boot laces with 7 strand 550 paracord, so if you're ever in need of emergency cordage, then you can just pull out a few of those incredibly strong inner strands. Alternatively, you can just take off the whole boot lace for the strong string required for bow drill friction fires. Consider adding a small birthday candle into your survival kit. That way, if your lighter is running out of fuel, or you're down to your last match, then you can simply transfer the flame to the candle, which gives you a lot more time to work with it. Also, those party trick relighting candles work well as a windproof flame carrier. Many backpacks will have a soft foam padding, and in most cases, this foam padding is flammable. So, for an emergency tinder, just cut out a few pieces of the foam, and then vigorously drive your sparks into them to eventually produce fire. Try not to breathe in the fumes though, as they will be toxic. If your plastic water bottle has convex curvature, then if you angle it just right in front of the sun, then you can focus down the sun's rays like a magnifying glass, for a Hail Mary fire making method. If you're on the brink of dehydration and in need of some clean, safe drinking water, but all you have on you is a mere plastic bottle, then worry not, because you can still boil and purify water over the fire in just a mere plastic bottle. The plastic can withstand the intense heat of the fire, without melting or deforming, so long as there is water inside to keep the bottle firm. Plastic bottles can not only boil water, but they can also filter your water too. So, if the only water you have available to you is the filthy dirty putrid pond water, then the usual trick is to cut the bottle in half. The bottom will be your boiling cup, and the top will be your water filter. To make the filter, simply pierce a few holes into the lid, and then gather up some moss, some grass and some small stones, and place them all into the top half. You can now pour your filthy water through this makeshift filter, and it will come out a lot cleaner. Not perfect, but certainly cleaner. Now take your boiling cup full of filtered water and place it into the fire. Keep the fire small and under control, and watch as the water begins to boil. The end result is a cup of clean, drinkable water, and a reusable, intact cup and filter. A word of caution though, this method does indeed release toxic carcinogenic plastic chemicals into the water, so only use as a last resort. Drinking that stuff is not good for your long-term health, but it will keep you alive for now. Hands can get pretty filthy. Eating with them carries the risk of getting ill. Well, avoid potential illness by eating with makeshift chopsticks. Just split a stick down the middle and place a twig or stone in between the cut. Now, you can grab and eat your food without having to worry about bacteria, as you can just dunk the tips in boiling water to completely sterilize them. If you need to get going, but you're worried about how you'll get your next fire lit, then before you go, grab a large piece of leftover charcoal and take that with you. Because as long as you have a spark thrower, then you can reignite that charcoal back into a glowing ember. If you happen to stumble across any discarded soda cans, then you can make a portable windproof stove. One that you can cook upon or just have as a little warm fire by the entrance of your shelter, if torrential downpour prevents you from having a fire on the outside. To make it, simply cut into the side of the can from the top down. Slice across the top and bottom until you have a capital I shaped cut. And this is your window. Simply peel them open and you're good to go. Place your tinders and kindling inside the can and light it up for a portable cooking stove. Small pre-drilled ferrocerium spark throwing rods can be worked into jacket zipper pulls. With this, you'll always have an incognito fire making device on you at all times. If your cell phone has run out of battery or is no longer working, then you can take it apart to unlock a multitude of handy survival tools. Firstly, remove the screen and all of the back screen elements. Beneath a few layers, you will find a pristine mirror. You can use this as a signal mirror to reflect and flash sunlight signals into the cockpits of planes or helicopters to get their attention. Dive deeper into the phone to reveal the circuit boards. With these boards, you can do two things. Firstly, you can make arrowheads. Either carefully snap the board or vigorously grind them down against a rock into that desired arrowhead shape. These circuit boards are quite soft, so grinding them down isn't too much trouble. Secondly, you can create a sharp cutting tool. Use a rough stone to grind an angle into the edge, and you'll have a bootleg knife that you can use to cut cloth or shave wood. Also, if you carry headphones with your phone, then they can be used as wire snares for small game. They probably won't be very effective, but it's worth a shot. Behind the speaker element, you will find a magnet. With this magnet, you can make an improvised compass. All you'll need in addition to the magnet is a small metal strip made either of iron or stainless steel. This could be a needle from your first aid kit, a hairpin, a piece of hair clip, or just a metal pin out of a watch strap. To make your compass, simply rub the magnet down the length of the metal pin for several minutes. Afterwards, your metal pin will now be magnetized with both an attracting and repelling magnetic pole. Now, if this pin is given something to float upon, then it will align itself with the Earth's north and south magnetic poles, giving you a north to south directional line. This is exactly how ordinary compasses work. So grab a leaf and find a perfectly still puddle. Put your leaf onto the puddle, and then delicately place your magnetized metal pin onto the leaf. It will immediately begin to rotate and eventually settle once it has aligned with the Earth's magnetic field, giving you that north to south directional line. Generally, the end of the pin that's pointing the furthest away from the Sun will be north, and the end of the pin that's pointing closest towards the Sun will be south. This is only true for the Northern Hemisphere. For the Southern Hemisphere, those directions are reversed. That's all for now. Thank you for watching, and PEACE!