Keeping an Edge on Survival

The other day I got to thinking about what you could do to give yourself the best possible chance of making it through a serious survival situation should you ever find yourself in that kind of predicament. I came up with a few ideas.



The Basic Skills



Having a little knowledge of basic survival skills can mean the difference between life and death. It's important to keep these skills coming in. A good discipline I have built in to my daily life is to always be reading some sort of survival manual or book on bushcraft. There are also several good survival TV shows out there that you can learn some valuable skills from. (I would not recommend using these as your only source of information. I know some of these shows are a huge controversy in the survival/bushcraft world. Someday I might do a post on this subject.) YouTube is also a rich source of information. The idea is just to keep soaking the skills in and practice them so you might have them should you need them.



Physical Fitness



It's also a good idea to be in good shape physically, which can help you preform the sometimes drastic tasks you might have to do in a survival scenario. I try every day to do some form of exercise. You would be surprised when you can fit it in, I do it on my break at work.

Survival Kit

Your kit may vary depending on the type of terrain you're in.

You should always have some kind of sharp with you, a knife is ideal but I know some people would prefer an axe or machete. In the end it's whatever you are most comfortable with and can use the best.

Something to carry water in is recommended too. I like the military surplus canteens with the metal mug along with it. This way you can boil water as long as you can get a fire going.

Speaking of fire, you should always have something to start a fire with. The firesteel is my favorite. It's reliable and small to carry.

This could go on and on. What do you carry in your kit?

Knowing the Terrain

Knowing the terrain you are going to be in can be a big help as well. Get an idea of what the local wildlife is and know what should be avoided and what should be sought after.


These are just a few things I thought of that could really give you the edge to make it through a survival situation. It is by no means a complete list. What else can you think of?