There are seven essential skills for survival. If you have these 7 skills down and practice it on a regular basis, you will be able to survive for a very long time. That being said, you need to practice often like more than once a year. I recommend camping in a remote location (not glamping or car camping) and test these skills 4 times a year at minimum.
I love this question. All of this can be packed, nested in different items, or worn and it doesn’t take as much space as you would think. It weighs less than 20 lbs. In the event I get injured or lost (I have never been lost yet), this provides enough items to survive until I am evacuated by a medical helicopter or found by search and rescue.
I had a problem with water bottles as I kept getting free bottles from different manufacturers, employers or events for free for many years. I have discarded most of the water bottles except the ones I tend to use on a regular basis. Nalgene water bottles have been my go-to water storage to start my hike and to use for processing water for decades.
It’s amazing how many people I know go on hikes and only have water, wallet, cell phone, car keys, and maybe a snack. I usually carry a full pack of items, enough to survive for a few days while I am signaling or attempt to make contact to be exfiltrated out if I am injured. I don’t get lost, but even if that happens, what I have in my pack will get me back out.
Yes. Most phones have mapping apps that can support offline downloading of a map of an area. Make sure to do that before you go on a hike or a hike through camping trip. Here are two native apps that can be used for GPS navigation using offline maps.
Download the area you are hiking by doing the following
Globally, there are many places you can go. If you are going camping to test your skills, start easy and progressively go to tougher areas. Challenging areas will be where there is inclement weather, very humid or dry environments, locations where clean water is not readily available, and fishing and hunting will be difficult.
Hands down a recurve bow. Even better would be a takedown recurve bow as they can be taken down (usually in 3 pieces and the bow string), and easily packed or attached to your pack when traveling. A recurve bow can easily be strung, and making string with natural items isn’t too difficult.
People ask me, “Why do you carry a magnifying glass in your wallet? Are you that old you can’t read the menu or the phone?” Funny. I carry it for only one reason, starting a fire in an emergency when I have nothing else like a lighter or ferro rod (this is super rare as I carry a tiny ferro rod in my wallet).
This one is a loaded question. A good ham radio is one that works when you need it. Here are my favorite ham radios, in no particular order, for survival.
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