Surviving outdoors

iodine tablets for purifying water....nothing worse than the cha-cha's when you're in the bush...

i dont agree with purification tablets. The best thing for purifing water is simply...boiling it.

shdybrady19 said:

i dont agree with purification tablets. The best thing for purifing water is simply...boiling it.

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Yes, but sometimes that isn't an option.

If you know what you are doin`, all you need is a knife.


If you really know what you are doin`, you don`t even need a knife. You can make your own, once you`re out there.

I always carry a couple of straight pins. Great for blisters and splinters and are easy to carry.

shdybrady19 said:

i dont agree with purification tablets. The best thing for purifing water is simply...boiling it.

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if conditions permit a fire to boil then i totally agree...if not, i won't become dehydrated....

TP is staple in my opinion.

cardfan said:

if conditions permit a fire to boil then i totally agree...if not, i won't become dehydrated....

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You can boil water in a plastic bag or even a styrofoam cup. It's done by using heated rocks. As far as the conditions being conducive to permit a fire.... I always carry a liitle package of waterproof matches, a few slivers of fat lighter wood, and a wad of lint out of the clothes dryer filter screen secured inside a ziplock freezer bag. I haven't ever had to do it to save my life, but I feel like with these few items I could build a fire under about any conditions? I carry these items in one of them small jfg coffee cans, which might come in handy also. Throw in some primitive fishing supplies and a couple of locking snares you got a good start on a basic survival kit.

One question, I saw on one of the survivor shows where they filtered some water thru several layers of cotton tee-shirts rather than boiling it. I don't think any of them got sick? Anybody know whether or not this is a pratical solution in an emergency situation? I also saw that Bear Gryllis guy drink his urine once....... I'd have to be mighty thirsty?

Filtering water thru cloth will only get some of the particulate out, not the bacteria. Iodine tablets or boiling it are the most economical means to filter the water.

A 35mm film canister filled with Vaseline soaked cotton balls makes excellent fire starter and is small/easy to pack.

slacker said:

Filtering water thru cloth will only get some of the particulate out, not the bacteria. Iodine tablets or boiling it are the most economical means to filter the water.

A 35mm film canister filled with Vaseline soaked cotton balls makes excellent fire starter and is small/easy to pack.

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Will vasoline ignite on it's own? We used to mix it with gasoline when we were kids in order to make some home made napalm. What possessed us to do such a dangerous thing is beyond me, other than the fact that we "weren't quite right" as some of our elders suggested.

It would start a fire but a feller wouldn't want to tote it around in his pocket. I didn't think the tee shirt thing was effective, but like I said none of the 'Survivors' showed up sick. Which brings up another point... I bet the behind the scenes footage would be an interesting video. Reckon how many of them city folks get 'scoured up' or just start going too nutty to show on regular tv. I'd like to see some of the not for tv scenes they got laying around?

its not real flammable on its own but when mixed with something it will ignite. Its kinda of like oil. Hard to ignite with a match. Soak a log in the diesel and it will burn for a long long time

All camping/backpacking suppliers have very small and efficient water purifiers.

What was the intent you started out with? ....

given all the the above..your back to regular camping, albeit backpacking if you ask me...

read Tom Brown's "the tracker" and then start your list again....

Survival and "camping/backpacking" are very different,fer sure!

Survival,to me,is the bare necessities: Food,water,and shelter.