Survival tip of the day (Ongoing Participation Thread)

Discussion in 'General Survival and Preparedness' started by melbo, Sep 20, 2015.


  1. melbo

    melbo Hunter Gatherer Administrator Founding Member

    An old backpacker's trick for melting snow into drinking water when hiking at altitude is to set out a pan of snow in the morning and put a black stone on top of the snow. Leave it in the sunlight all day and you have a pan of water that evening. Omit the stone, and you still have a pan of snow at the end of the day.

    Reference Using dark tiles to heat a pool via absorption of solar energy
     
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  2. stg58

    stg58 Monkey+++ Founding Member

    Survival tip of the day (Ongoing Participation Thread)
    @melbo
    Nice on going thread for an ever changing world.
     
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  3. Dont

    Dont Just another old gray Jarhead Monkey

    That is good.. I had never heard of that.. Always knew that something dark on snow would melt into the snow..
     
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  4. BTPost

    BTPost Stumpy Old Fart,Deadman Walking, Snow Monkey Moderator

    When I was a Professonal Ski Patrolman, in my youth, we would walk under the Lift Lines, in the spring, looking for "Ice Worm" holes in the Spring Snow. At the bottom of each hole was a Coin, that had fallen, from a Skiers Pocket..... We called it " Nickle Noseing"...... And it was very profitable for Lunch Money.....
     
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  5. Brokor

    Brokor Live Free or Cry Moderator Site Supporter+++ Founding Member

    Hardening a wooden spear tip by fire can be accomplished by holding your intended spear end over flames until it begins to blacken, then pulling it out frequently to rub it on a nearby stone. The goal is to work out any remaining moisture from the stave and to char the end, making it harder. The process can easily be done incorrectly, by toasting your stick far too long and not rubbing the end on rocks. You want to rub the end on various stones, from coarse to finer surfaces until you attain a smooth, glass-like surface on the charred tip. If you wish to fashion a spear point, you will first carve the stave end into a subtle round shape and gradually burn and shape the sharpened tip with fire and rubbing. If you get to the stage of having the tip blackened and smooth from rubbing on stones (sometimes rigorously) and wish to finalize the tip, you may gradually begin to add some melted tree resin in thin layers while finishing your rubbing with leather or a very smooth stone until the tip turns out to be much like a metallic finish.

    woodhardeningbyfire.

    The final result can prove to be most beneficial when no other steel implements may be obtained.

    Tips for making this successful:
    • Char the stave more at the beginning, and lessening the time in fire as you progress in each stage.
    • Rub the end against stones with pressure and using speed, much like burnishing.
    • You can work each side of the point flatly until you get four sides along the tip, and then work every peak afterward.
    • A green stave will take more work than a dried piece of wood. Both can serve to be hardened.
     
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  6. kellory

    kellory An unemployed Jester, is nobody's fool. Banned

    This works with arrows as well.
     
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  7. Motomom34

    Motomom34 Monkey+++

    If you’re suffering from hypothermia, bubble wrap can save your life. Who would have guessed? Apparently, the air bubbles in the packing material create an insulating shield that bounces back body heat to keep a person warm. In one study, it was found that a sheet of bubble wrap was about seventy percent as effective as three cotton blankets for insulating a person—and since it’s made out of plastic, it was even more effective in the wind and rain.

    10 Off-The-Wall Survival Tricks And Tools - Listverse
     
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  8. chimo

    chimo the few, the proud, the jarhead monkey crowd

    I tested and verified this in a tent in Korea in the middle of the freakin winter about 35 years ago. If you make yourself into a burrito with a wool blanket and bubble wrap, you're good to go down to at least 0f.
     
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  9. Motomom34

    Motomom34 Monkey+++

    1 WHISTLE BLAST is International Whistle Code for “Where are you?”
    2 WHISTLE BLASTS is International Whistle Code for “Come to me.”
    3 WHISTLE BLASTS is International Whistle Code for “I need help.”
     
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  10. ghrit

    ghrit Bad company Administrator Founding Member

    If you don't have a whistle, horns work the same way. (My whistle is left from Boy Scout days, and the scouting stores still have them if your local sporting goods shop doesn't.)
     
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  11. BTPost

    BTPost Stumpy Old Fart,Deadman Walking, Snow Monkey Moderator

    and Five Whistle Blasts, means "Get the Hell out of my way. I can't stop, and we are on a Collision Course......"
     
  12. kellory

    kellory An unemployed Jester, is nobody's fool. Banned

    Three spaced gunshots is a distress call.
     
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  13. Motomom34

    Motomom34 Monkey+++

    Don’t Assume Your Stockpile Of Guns And Ammo Will Keep You Safe – I’m not saying you shouldn’t have guns for self-defense, but you want to do your best to avoid confrontation. Learn how to be stealthy and avoid drawing attention to yourself. Your guns cannot protect you from being shot by others who have guns.
     
  14. NotSoSneaky

    NotSoSneaky former supporter

    My son got burned at work last night (He's OK) and he told me vinegar will relieve the pain of a burn faster and longer than cold water.
     
  15. AxesAreBetter

    AxesAreBetter Monkey+++

    But cold water is bad for a burn, and so is vinegar, no?
     
  16. VisuTrac

    VisuTrac Ваша мать носит военные ботинки Site Supporter+++

    In the dead of winter, live bait for fishing is available.
    Find a patch of golden rod and look for the round galls on the stalk.
    Cut it it open. There you will find a grub.
     
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  17. VisuTrac

    VisuTrac Ваша мать носит военные ботинки Site Supporter+++

    You can make a fishing bobber or float from a straw by crimping over the ends and melting them shut with a heat source, thus trapping air inside of the straw.
     
  18. NotSoSneaky

    NotSoSneaky former supporter

    My son got bumped into a hot oven rack and had about a 3" long by 1/2" first degree burn (no blistering).
    The head chef stopped him from running water over it (don't know if it was cold) and poured some white vinegar on a folded over paper towel and applied it as a compress. I was told it took the pain away immediately and only needed to re applied a couple of times before it stopped hurting completely.
    This was a new one for me as I'd never heard of it before.

    As always YMMV. [tongue]
     
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  19. ghrit

    ghrit Bad company Administrator Founding Member

    No, cold water is best initially. Dunno 'bout vinegar, but I'd guess not, it is acidic.
     
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  20. Clyde

    Clyde Jet Set Tourer Administrator Founding Member

    My son was boiling water with his JetBoil stove and neglected to turn off the burner when he removed the pot and burned his wrist. He was in severe pain (1st degree that eventually blistered the next day). We were on a backpacking trip that crossed over many streams.

    He soaked a bandanna in water and wrapped it around his wrist. The evaporative effect of the water kept the skin cool and by the time we returned home the pain had subsided (12 hours later).
     
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