Wilderness Survival Books, Part II
Welcome to Part II of my favorite wilderness survival books. In Part I I covered a mindset book, a how-to, and a survival story. This post will follow that same format. Unlike Part I this post will not have a bad example to share…but I will share a bonus book at the end and it’s one of the most fun books in this genre.
Food Preparedness on $20 a Paycheck
For a long time I’ve been telling friends, family, and readers how easy and inexpensive preparedness can be. I recently got curious about what a reasonable dollar amount – say $20 a paycheck – could actually do for one’s preparedness. I decided to find out, first-hand, and report the results to you. I’m pretty excited and consider this little experiment a success!
Helikon Essentials Kitbag and My Minimal Survival Kit
I recently wrote about the contents of a theoretical minimalist survival kit. I love the concept of such a kit: the bare minimum stuff you’d want to survive in the wilderness, so I decided to put one together. I’ve walked with it several times now and here’s what I have to report.
Wilderness Survival Books, Part I
I have recently been down a rabbit hole of reading survival-related books. The wilderness survival class I taught a couple weeks ago prompted this reading track and I’m so glad it did. It got me back into a couple books that I have long loved, and introduced me to a few new ones. Here are my favorite wilderness survival books.
The Bare Minimum Survival Kit
Survival kits come in all shapes and sizes, from the junk contained in the handles of those 80s “survival knives” (if you’re old enough to remember them definitely check out that video…or even if you’re not) to Altoids-tin kits to backpacks full of stuff. My last article on wilderness survival covered a very strong survival kit. Today I am going to discuss the bare minimum “stuff” I would want in the woods.
Wilderness Survival Basics
I was recently asked to teach a wilderness survival class. Though not specifically in my lane of expertise, I jumped at the chance. No guidance was provided other than “wilderness survival basics” and I was given a three-hour block. This article is what I decided to teach. I am making the full content available here to my readers, and to serve as a resource for my students afterward.
Beyond the IFAK: Home Medical Gear
The IFAK (individual first aid kit) has become extremely popular. A number of companies sell purpose-built, military-style IFAKs for civilian use. Many more sell IFAK components. Numerous methods of carry, including wallet kits and ankle rigs have proliferated. I think that’s fantastic. Unfortunately I think the twin Gospels of the Tourniquet and the IFAK aren’t the end of the story as far as first aid for the well-prepared is concerned.
BSR Accident Avoidance Training AAR
This article is a guest post from Frank. Frank contacted me a few weeks ago and told me he had attended a defensive driving class at Bill Scott Racing (BSR). Having attended some training at BSR myself I was interested to hear his take. I was also extremely gratified that my writing nudged someone to get vehicle training! Frank was gracious enough to write this after-action review of his experience. Hopefully it encourages a few more of you to seek driving training. Enjoy!
Know a Knot: Bowline on a Bight
This weekend I was considering what knot to run this week. I dug back through the previous knots and was a little surprised I hadn’t mentioned the Bowline-on-a-Bight. It’s an interesting knot, and a really easy one to tie.
Know a Knot! The Scaffold Knot
Welcome back to Know a Knot! I know it has been a few weeks since I’ve posted a knot article and for that I apologize. This week I’m back with a reader request: could you demonstrate a knot that slips? Yes (based on some other text in his email I believe he mean “slip”as the ability to loosen or tighten the loop) I can! There are a lot of knots that slip but I really like this one because it is a very strong knot and you already know how to tie it. It’s called the scaffold knot.