What r the top 10 survival skills?

[taws6]

Hi,

Sounds a dumb question, and I guess it depends on the situation, where you are and what you have.
I'm sure even Ray would struggle with no kit, plane crashed in the artic sea!

Things I can think of:

1. Knowledge / experience
2. Fire
3. Purifying / collecting water
4. Cooking / collecting food
5. Improvising shelter
6. 1st aid / health
7. Navigation
8.
9.
10.


I guess there are more, and each of the above have it's subsections, and methods of improvising.

Just trying to get a grip on what more I should try to learn.

Also related is, what are the 10 things to never leave home without?
Ideally these should be small light things you can put in something small like a pocket.
Mabey lightweight alternatives could be added, like tin foil instead of a pan, or a binbag instead of a poncho.

1. Lighter
2. Pan for boiling
3. Poncho
4. 1st aid kit
5. Knife
6.

Interested in your thoughts...........

 

[Big Geordie]

2 from the top of my head :

Forethought.. what are the potential risks?
Planning to deal with them and others ( either with kit you bring or stuff you fabricate whilst there.)

Mrs BG wants me to add: Take only kit which has more than one use.
ATB
G

 

[Steve M]

In my opinion ...

1. Research
2. Risk Analysis
3. Planning
4. Training
5. Experience
6..Packing
7. Caution
8. Versatility
9. Contentment
10. Humility

However, I think you were after ...

(in no particular order, nor separating practical from fun)

1. Knife Handling
2. Fire
3. First Aid
4. Navigation
5. Cordage and Knots
6. Cooking
7. Edible Plants
8. Animal Tracks and Signs
9. Shelter
10. Hunting/Fishing

Kit ..

1. Clothes (warm and dry)
2. Water Carriage (you need more than you think)
2. Bag (comfy)
3. Knife (personal choice)
4. First Aid Kit
5. Fire Making kit (from a lighter to all sorts)
6. Sleepy Stuff
7. Cooking Kit (billy can and KFS)
8. Navi Kit (if you're going anywhere distant)
9. Brew Kit (v. important)
10. Loo Roll

I know it's broad, but there's a lot of person choice going on.

 

[sirex]

1) not by shy to call for help.

 

[Boatswain]

Without any doubt my number one requirement is Determination, number two would be resourcefullness.

Everything else is just the icing on the cake.

Cheers

 

[JohnL]

I do not think there is a set skill set, they are all interlinked.

You use your knife to make tinder to light your fire which you then use to steralise water which you then use to clean wounds, so you can get your strength up to go & find food. etc.

As for kit, if I am going out but in a town, I take my keys, which have a small torch, SAK, compass & a bit of paracord attached. If I am going elsewhere I take whatever is appropriate, but I never go anywhere without a blade & a torch.

 

[Quark]

The best skill I can think of is the skill to spot and prevent a situation BEFORE it becomes a matter of survival... after this everything else becomes "engels dacing on a pinhead" (I hope I spelled that right?!)

 

[xylaria]

Don't forget your sense of humour.

 

[Greg]

In my opinion the most important thing is to keep calm and think things through before you do anything else.

 

[wanderingblade]

Although alluded to here, noones specifically mentioned Positive Mental Attitude.

All the kit in the world is useless if your group are bickering or locked in power struggles etc. If your on your own you'll fare better if you believe in your abilities and resourcesfulness and have confidence.

 

[VirusKiller]

Positive Mental Attitude.

Or, alternatively, the will to survive. Without this, you're sunk.

 

[Steve M]

1) not by shy to call for help.

Yeah, that's what I was getting at with Humility. Also useful for going home early

 

[He' s left the building]

How about an Armchair Bushcrafter like me?!!

1. Creation and use of amazon account (for DVD and book purchase).
2. Concurrent (multi-task) ability use of credit card in conjunction with Key Skill 1.
3. Ability to conduct burning trials of alcohol burners on kitchen surface without leaving sign for Chief of General Staff (Domestic Affairs) to find.
4. Manufacture of Hobo stove and making it look used, for effect when hosting visitors (for the 'here's one I made earlier, haven't used it much yet obviously...' moment)
5. Development of 'patina' and minor scratches on otherwise unused blade edges to make them look well used.
6. Application of organic material (i.e. mud) to boots (skill development concurrently with Key Skill 5)
7.
8.
9.
10.

 

[monkey boy]

survival needs
1. water
2.hygen
3.warmth
4.shelter/ comfort
5.food
6.skills
7.knowledge
8.tools
9. practice
10. the will to survive

you should be able to do all this without any kit

1. the ability to find and make water safe

2.to be able to stay clean and stop any infections or deseasses getting to you

3. the ability to make a fire, knowing where to make it, and how to control it, and how you could stay warm without one

4.knowing how to build or find a shelter that will make you feel safe.

5.knowing where to find food or catch food, and what food is safe to eat.

6.SKILLS) cookng, tracking, building, navigation, 1st aid, hunting, fire starting and on and on and on

7. knowledge) use the things you know, learn the things you dont know

8. have the tools to use, or being able to make some tools for your needs

9.the more you practice everything and learn new things, the longer you will survive.

10. the will to survive (well it says it all)

 

[wanderingblade]

Or, alternatively, the will to survive.

Thanks for putting it in a less 'middle management' way.

 

[Native Nathan]

Knowledge is the key to everything.

Priorities for survival are:
1) Fire
2) Shelter
3) Water
4) Food
5) Signalling
6) A will to live and a never quit attitude.

Skills worth learning in order to help you achieve the above;

1) Finding suitable tinder’s (silver birch bark, honey suckle bark, bulrushes/cattails, making feather sticks etc..)
2) Obtaining dry fire wood in wet weather. (splitting wet wood to find the dry inner)
3) Building at least 2 different types of survival shelter, I would recommend the debris shelter and a basic open front lean-to with a fire reflector.
4) Obtaining water (collecting rain water, solar stills, and vegetation stills etc..)
5) A few basic traps, Snare, Fig 4 Deadfall and the best places to put them.
5a) Learn how to prepare any animals you have caught, e.g. (how to gut a fish, how to skin and gut a rabbit etc..)
6) Identify 10 wild edibles common to your area (dandelions, Sheppard’s purse, gooses grass, bull rushes, seaweeds etc..)
7) Building a signal fire, using a heliograph (Mirror).

These are just some basics they will give you a great start and they could save your life.

Just to reiterate, this list is by no means complete it is meant to give you a start in right direction and give you a basic knowledge to keep you a live in a survival situation.

 

[ZDP-189]

I dunno, but a making decent brew has to be in the top 10 somewhere.

 

[aarya]

If i were to make a list, of what i think are the top 10 survival skills.. They`d go something like this:

1: Don`t get into a survival situation.
2: Have the mental acuity to do what needs be done, when it needs to be done, if one gets into a survival situation.
3: A calm demeanor. Hurried and rash actions and decisions in a survival situation, may make the situation worse.
4: Practice what you preach. Practicing different things when not in a survival situation, may, or even will, make things easier to do once in a situation.
5: Have a good sense of humour. A smile and a laugh goes a long way, when things are dire. It`s not for nothing, that the saying goes: (In Norway atleast.) "A good laugh lengthens your life."
6: Imagination. With a healthy imagination, and the ability to think outside the box, can and will solve alot of problems. Think... Macgyver.
7: The KISS principle. Keep It Simple Stupid! This can also refer to technical gizmos and doodads. A compass, when understood, is better than a GPS, since the compass cannot run out of batteries. That said, if you cannot invest the time needed to learn how to use a compass, a GPS is better than being lost.

And i don`t really have any more points.

That`s my thoughts on the matter anyway. ^_^

 

[Barney]

A) Determination
B) Knowledge of particular environment

With BOTH of those skills you have a chance of surviving long enough to be rescued

 

[taws6]

Thanks for all the input, not really too much there I hadn't thought of.

So how can I make water safe to drink without some form of kit?

I guess it would be good practice for me to skin / gut a (road kill) rabit too.........

I should also learn how to use the local edible food

Thanks for all the input.