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Thread: How Do You Practice Survival and Use You Survival Kits?

  1. #1
    Junior Member Tokwan's Avatar
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    Default How Do You Practice Survival and Use You Survival Kits?

    I always think that there is no point in one having survival kits when he/she does not know how to use the survival kit, let alone know if he has the correct tools in the kits. Some people think that the survival kit is a trendy item, makes you look cool having one in your pocket. That is something good because at least, you are carrying one. But it would be best and a life saver if you know how to use one,. You may look cool if you show one around, but you look like a fool, if you do not actually know how to use one in a real survival situation with eyes looking at you.

    Now...how do you practice using your survival kits?

    You can practice them anywhere. At home, on your lawn, in your backyard. Initially, when I was a teenager, I would spend nights in the back yard, learning how to put up shelters, imagining that Malaysia is at war, some foreign country had bombarded Malaysia with lots of 2000 tons bombs, or under attack by some foreign power. I remember those old army "take apart" beds...hehe..

    When I came to age, (and that is not so long ago), I realized that the best place and where to practice survival, is at the actual site. So I decided to go camping. I do bring all the necessity, comfort, food that a modern day camper would bring. But I would not use most of the item. I would put my hammock up but then, practice on making shelters, sleeping in them, learn to be comfortable in them. I would look for water and food ( I have enough supply, but only use them when I could not any). I would practice making shelters in the trees, between the trees. I would tie one of arms or legs, and learn to do things with just one arm or leg (to get used to a situation where I would be hurt).

    I would try to make fire with bamboo or bow drill, usually resulting in sore arms...I would test which product works best.

    Doing this, allows me to know what are needed, what items do I need in a survival kit, what possible dangers that I might face, and what kind of injuries that I might be prone to.

    So, in other words, practice makes perfect. Its practice today, practice tomorrow and practice when you can. Practice at the worst place you can imagine. Practice in the rain, practice when you are soaking wet and when you are tired. Practice in a storm if you can. Make fire in the rain. Learn how to protect the fire as the fire will protect you too. You need each other.

    Check out are all you items necessary, do you need all of them? This is how I reduce some of the heavier and useless items. Sometimes, I do not carry any cooking utensils or any water carrying utensils, as I want to practice using what nature have, being bamboo.

    Utilize the sacred 4 letter word in survival, being S>T>O>P. Then carry out your Plan (P).

    So why don't you share how do you practice and use the survival kit?
    I'm a Gramp who is not computer savvy, give me a slab and the rock ages tablet..I will do fine!


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    Senior Member hunter63's Avatar
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    Speaking for myself only....Practice with anything make it second nature when needed.

    I don't practice surviving, if I can help it....I do practice with different gear, techniques, methods......mostly low key these days.

    When one starts as a very young man finding all the stuff that doesn't work, and learns enough not to do "That whatever, again" if it was a fail....the chances are much better to get by comfortably.
    ....and will help temper those time when everything goes to crap.....as it does from time to time.
    Last edited by hunter63; 06-15-2014 at 09:51 PM. Reason: splin'
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    I try to learn something new every trip. We camp year round in the everglades region. Different camp types and ecosystems through out the year.

    I am lucky that even during the wet season, I can acquire dry material to start my fires. We get rains at various times. It might be a rainy morning. Then get into the 90's for a few hours and then let the storms roll for a couple of hours in the afternoon.

    I'll take palm fronds and lay them on the ground and then after a morning hunt or before our first ride I gather dry tinder. I use the dander or fluff in cabbage palms or saw palmetto. I gather dry grasses from tufts. I just lightly run my fingers through and that way you get some real combustive stuff. If you have these dry and with enough grass you will get a good base that will even dry wet kindling.

    But, kindling from from live trees is always available even in busy camps. I prefer oak. But there are plenty of others and small oaks provide as well as large oaks. The large oaks in some areas have the bad habit of co-existing with lime prickle ash. Which also gives good kindling just with thorns. LOL

    The dander off of our pines can always be found dry in some parts of the tree. What type of wild palms do you have there? Palm dander is a little courser than jute twine and that is pretty good tinder.

    I practice wild edibles, navigating by nature, tracking and anything else that he woods provide. Most of all, I don't take it too serious. We have fun.

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    Junior Member Tokwan's Avatar
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    Wild palms? We have a few. The utility coconut and Bertam tree. The Coconut and Bertam and also the acrea plam allows us to make roofs for walls for shelters once you thatched them. Of coconuts has water and flesh for food. We also have another utility plant such as rattan. You will have to remove the thorns though. Rattan twines make good bindings and the rattan trunk is very very tough. I attache my spear head to the rattan trunks. If you get to marsh or swamp, we have more palms that bears fedible fruit such as Nipah. The fruit is quite abundance, juicy and fleshy. Google up Buah Nipah.
    Unfortunately we do not have oak or pine in our forests.
    I'm a Gramp who is not computer savvy, give me a slab and the rock ages tablet..I will do fine!

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    Senior Member RandyRhoads's Avatar
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    My survival trips are usually very limited and more practicing the psychological aspect of learning to be filthy,hungry, thirst, and miserable. I may take a kit but only ever use it if necessary, such as freezing to death at night and no luck starting a fire without a lighter.

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    Woodsman Adventure Wolf's Avatar
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    I never really "practiced" survival growing up, more learned it through my outdoor activities. I went to summer camps during middle school, and spent a lot of time outdoors with my dad and my best friend's family. I've been camping at least 30 times, I've hiked tens of thousands of times, climbed a half dozen tall mountains, fished at least three times a week from spring to fall since I was old enough to walk to the lake (1.5 miles) alone, and have hunted the past six(?) hunting seasons.

    Time and experience has been an ally when it comes to the wilderness.

    I read a lot of books and try stuff out if that's what you mean by practice. I live on a few acres north of Raleigh. Not a bad spread, so I have a lot of room. I like to read books and watch YouTube videos. I found an old Boy Scout manual when I was in elementary. After that I have Everyone's Outdoor Survival Guide (Christmas present from my Brother). Followed that up with Everyone's Outdoor Survival Guide, and then got hooked on a few books by Don Paul (Everyone's Outdoor Survival Guide, Knife Bible, Great Living In Grubby Times and Green Beret's Compass Course), later I realized that the Don Paul series of books, while has some good material, is commercial written crap compared to Outdoor Survival Skills by Larry Olsen, Naked Into the Wilderness by the McPersons, or Colin Tolwell's The Survival Handbook.

    ...Have I ever mentioned how much I love being outdoors? Love it, love it, love it!
    Last edited by Adventure Wolf; 06-16-2014 at 03:33 AM.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Batch View Post
    I try to learn something new every trip. We camp year round in the everglades region. Different camp types and ecosystems through out the year.

    I am lucky that even during the wet season, I can acquire dry material to start my fires. We get rains at various times. It might be a rainy morning. Then get into the 90's for a few hours and then let the storms roll for a couple of hours in the afternoon.

    I'll take palm fronds and lay them on the ground and then after a morning hunt or before our first ride I gather dry tinder. I use the dander or fluff in cabbage palms or saw palmetto. I gather dry grasses from tufts. I just lightly run my fingers through and that way you get some real combustive stuff. If you have these dry and with enough grass you will get a good base that will even dry wet kindling.

    But, kindling from from live trees is always available even in busy camps. I prefer oak. But there are plenty of others and small oaks provide as well as large oaks. The large oaks in some areas have the bad habit of co-existing with lime prickle ash. Which also gives good kindling just with thorns. LOL

    The dander off of our pines can always be found dry in some parts of the tree. What type of wild palms do you have there? Palm dander is a little courser than jute twine and that is pretty good tinder.

    I practice wild edibles, navigating by nature, tracking and anything else that he woods provide. Most of all, I don't take it too serious. We have fun.
    That should have read the dander off of our palms... Sorry

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    Senior Member hunter63's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by RandyRhoads View Post
    My survival trips are usually very limited and more practicing the psychological aspect of learning to be filthy,hungry, thirst, and miserable. I may take a kit but only ever use it if necessary, such as freezing to death at night and no luck starting a fire without a lighter.
    That's why I don't try to "survive".....I try to rather "thrive"......all that stuff happens to you when things are going badly, ...so hopefully things improve with experience and practice.

    Suffering is good for you and a motional tool.
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    Senior Member RandyRhoads's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by hunter63 View Post
    That's why I don't try to "survive".....I try to rather "thrive"......all that stuff happens to you when things are going badly, ...so hopefully things improve with experience and practice.

    Suffering is good for you and a motional tool.


    Indeed. A big turning point for me was learning the difference between "wilderness survival" and "wilderness thrive-ival(?)"

    Wilderness survival is not fun. At all.

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    Senior Member MrFixIt's Avatar
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    I'll practice in the back yard or when camping, but mainly to test new gear in the back yard.
    I've only been in one actual "survival" incident which I will not speak of, but during my military service we often found ourselves "out in the bush" for extended periods. Of course we were equipped to succeed...
    When all else fails, read the directions, and beware the Chihuahuacabra!

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    Senior Member hunter63's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by MrFixIt View Post
    ..............Of course we were equipped to succeed...
    Key words............
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    Junior Member Tokwan's Avatar
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    Wouldn't it be better if "we are equipped and trained to succeed"?
    I'm a Gramp who is not computer savvy, give me a slab and the rock ages tablet..I will do fine!

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    Senior Member MrFixIt's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tokwan View Post
    Wouldn't it be better if "we are equipped and trained to succeed"?
    My entire unit were all successful SERE candidates, might have been prudent to mention that...
    When all else fails, read the directions, and beware the Chihuahuacabra!

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    Junior Member Tokwan's Avatar
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    SERE? I am not from USA...so please bear with me..
    I'm a Gramp who is not computer savvy, give me a slab and the rock ages tablet..I will do fine!

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    Super Moderator crashdive123's Avatar
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    SERE is training provided to some in the military (depending on their job). It stands for survival, resistance, evasion and escape. Other countries that have similar training may call it something a little different.
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    Quote Originally Posted by crashdive123 View Post
    SERE is training provided to some in the military (depending on their job). It stands for Survival, Resistance, Evasion and Escape. Other countries that have similar training may call it something a little different.

    Though not necessarily in that order...

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    Senior Member hunter63's Avatar
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    "Survive, Evade, Resist, Extract"
    Geezer Squad....Charter Member #1
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    First 50 years...worried about the small stuff...second 50 years....Not so much
    Member Wahoo Killer knives club....#27

  19. #19
    Junior Member Tokwan's Avatar
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    Thanks guys....hmmmmm...nice!
    I'm a Gramp who is not computer savvy, give me a slab and the rock ages tablet..I will do fine!

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    Senior Member MrFixIt's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by crashdive123 View Post
    SERE is training provided to some in the military (depending on their job). It stands for survival, resistance, evasion and escape. Other countries that have similar training may call it something a little different.
    Thanks crash for answering Tokwan's question.
    This type of training is prevalent in Bear Grylls show. I do not advocate this style of survival unless you are in a hostile environment.
    When all else fails, read the directions, and beware the Chihuahuacabra!

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