How Is Preparing For An Emergency Any Different For Women?

You may be wondering why women should prepare any differently than men for an emergency. 

The truth is that there are very few differences.

Man or woman, your preparation for survival in an emergency will be extremely similar. Everything on this website and any other resources providing information on survival, is applicable, regardless of gender.

That being said, if you are a single mother, a widow, or your husband doesn’t feel like it’s important to prepare, this will be the perfect guide for you to get started. 

What Are The Most Important Survival Tips For Females?

In our society, being female generally (and unfortunately) may make you more vulnerable to being passed over, attacked, or taken advantage of, especially in emergencies. Because of this, you will want to be equipped and empowered with knowledge on how to survive and complete basic survival tasks.

One of the most important things you need for survival is knowledge. That being said, being able to use that knowledge is second to none. It’s important to learn but even more important to practice. 

Every woman should know what every man should know, plus some. 

How Do I Defend Myself In An Emergency Situation?

Depending on the type of survival situation, another basic survival skill as a woman is self-defense. Even in times of non-emergency, women can be victims of violent crime. In your preparation, consider taking a self-defense class, staying physically active, and purchasing pepper spray or other similar protective items.

First, when you feel you may be in danger, verbalize exactly what you want. Don’t beat around the bush. Say exactly what you need firmly and directly, such as “step away from me now,” or “do not touch me.”

Next, seek help by making noise and using anything around you to get attention from either cars or people near you. If you have pepper spray, immediately spray this directly in your attacker’s eyes. 

If your attacker is still making advances, prepare to defend yourself. The most effective moves are the straight punch, front kick to the groin, the knee kick, the bear hug defense, and the choke defense.

Your best and first option should be to get away from the attackers.

 

How To Defend Yourself

If you can’t get away, like the video demonstrates, here are 5 additional moves that will help you take it to the next level. Don’t be afraid to protect yourself if it comes to it.

Straight Punch

For the straight punch, plant your feet firmly, thrust your hips and fist forward at the same time, and aim for the attacker’s nose or throat.

Front Kick To The Groin

With your knee bent and heel back, extend and recoil your kick suddenly for maximum force. Kick with the top of your foot to the groin area, where your shoelaces are or would be.

Knee Kick

If your attacker is too close for a punch, knee your attacker powerfully in the groin. Grab his shoulders or clothing for the most leverage and knee the attacker with the bony part of your knee.

Bear Hug Defense

If your attacker tries to grab you in a bear hug from the front or back, you will probably be inclined to grab his arms to escape. Instead, drop as low as you can to the ground and squirm out of his clasp. Turn around quickly and punch or kick your attacker.

Choke Defense

If you are being choked, Meghan Rabbitt from prevention.com has great insight: “Instead of trying to pull the attacker’s hands off of your neck—a feat you’re unlikely to succeed at, especially if you’re smaller than your attacker—use your hands like hooks (with your thumbs against your pointer fingers and hands in a ‘C’ shape) and ‘pluck’ at your attacker’s thumbs. (If possible, kick at the same time.) If you’re able to pluck your attacker’s thumbs away, it’ll be harder for him or her to maintain a choke, giving you time to strike back and get away.”

Other Types Of Survival Preparation 

Another important survival tip, especially if you are a single mother, widow, or alone in your preparedness journey, is to familiarize yourself with your area. Get to know your neighbors and seek community. This will create a better support system in times of emergency.

After you feel good about your self-defense preparation, you should start preparing in other survival areas.

A great place to start, if the information on survival is new, is how to purify water in the wild. Typically, you must boil water for 1-3 minutes to ensure that it is purified. From here, you will want to filter the water to make it safe to drink and/or cook with.

Fire starting skills are necessary for survival, as well as navigating, using a first aid kit, finding food and water, and creating shelter. All of these are explained more thoroughly if you are a beginner in the article here.

Taking it to the next level. You should prepare a survival kit and purchase a few items that could help you in most survival situations. We’ll breakdown each one of these below.

What Are The Top 10 Survival Items For Women?

When building your survival kit as mentioned below, think through what you would take if you were going out to camping without running water or electricity for a few days or weeks.

What are the things that you would take? What are things that would help you find food, water, and shelter? What are your specific necessities?

As a simple starting list, make sure to include these 10 items. From here, build your survival kit based on your specific area and most likely emergency situations:

• A change of clothes/underwear
• A blanket
• A pocketknife
• Rope
• A water filter
• A first aid kit
• Feminine hygiene products
• Pepper spray
• A flashlight
• A fire starter, such as matches

How Do I Begin Building My Survival Kit As A Woman?

If you are new to survival preparation, the following tips will help you know where to start:

• To begin your survival kit, consider adding a first aid kit. This is absolutely the most important item in your kit. Add basic bandages, prescription medication, disinfectant, and anything else you use commonly. 
• Next, add a flashlight to your survival kit, as well as a fire starter such as a lighter, or matches.
• Consider adding rope, as it can (and will) be used for a wide variety of activities in an emergency situation.
• Water filtration is critical in any emergency, which makes packing some kind of water purifying mechanism absolutely critical.
• Add any toiletry items that you couldn’t do without, such as feminine hygiene products, toilet paper, and soap. Feminine hygiene products could be especially hard to find in times of emergency and should be stored generously.
• Last, add some kind of self-protection item into your kit, such as pepper spray.
• Next, add the rest of the items mentioned above along with any personal items that you might use on an extended vacation. 

The trick to backing a survival kit is to pack needed items only. The more you pack the heavier it will become. It’s good to think through a scenario of when you would use this survival kit. Most likely you’ll be packing it around on your back for an extended period of time. If it’s too heavy, you’ll regret it. If you miss out on adding a few things you need, you’ll regret it. 

There’s a fine line to packing what you need versus what you want. You can figure it out though. It’s recommended that you build your kit and then practice. If it’s not too heavy for you, add more. If it’s too heavy, take some out. At least you’ll know and be prepared for when the time comes to use it. 

What Do You Mean By Survival Skills?

Survival skills are a basic set of skills that could keep you alive in times of crisis. Survival skills require the knowledge of how to execute certain tasks as well as the practice to actually do them. What if the stores were to run out of groceries? Or if a massive storm were to hit and your house was out of power for months? Or you got lost in the woods? Or the cleanliness of drinking water was compromised? What if there was a massive political uprising and your stable access to resources was lost? What if you had to survive off of the land? Within the answers to these questions lie the skills necessary for survival. If anyone of these things happened–could you stay alive?

Where Can I Learn Survival Skills?

Survival skills can be learned in any number of places. The first step is to gather the actual knowledge of survival skills. There are many ways to do this. Reading articles online about basic skills is an excellent place to begin. YouTube is helpful for visual learners. You can search nearly anything and visually see how to complete a task. One way to begin building your “knowledge” toolset for survival skills is to watch YouTube videos demonstrating specific survival skills you want to learn.

My Favorite Emergency Preparedness YouTube Channels

Practice Makes Perfect

Reading articles and watching YouTube videos is only part of the equation. In order to get proficient in these outdoor skills, You will need to practice them. This leads me to the second step in learning survival skills. Practice, practice, and practice some more. This might be uncomfortable at first, but can be life-saving when you find yourself actually in a situation where they are needed. You can also look for local survival training near you or sign up for some online courses that will help educate you on all possibilities in your specific area.

Here are some recommendations:

• https://www.ready.gov/training
• https://training.fema.gov/
• https://www.redcross.org/take-a-class/disaster-training
• https://emergency.cdc.gov/coca/trainingresources.asp
• https://rtcil.org/emergencypreparedness/onlinetrainings

What Are The Five Basic Survival Skills?

Trying to tackle all survival skills at once can lead to feelings of being overwhelmed and discouraged. Work first on mastering these five basic skills. Practice them in different conditions and with different tools until you feel confident that you could execute them if necessary in emergency situations. After you finish these five, continue to build.

• Water: Understanding how to purify and filter water for drinking and cooking is essential for any type of survival, as the human body shuts down after only a few days without hydration. You can practice this skill by purchasing a water filtration system of some kind. Find muddy water and pre-filter it by removing any large chunks. Filter the water through your water filtration device (or with water purification tablets). To purify the water, boil it for 3 minutes. This combination of skills should allow you to drink and cook with water from any number of sources and in any number of situations.
• Shelter: Staying warm, dry, and away from predators is also essential to survival. Begin by becoming well-practiced in putting up a variety of different tents. From here, begin to plan for real survival situations. This can be done easily in your backyard. Create a lean-to shelter by gathering a large, sturdy branch. Nestle it firmly between two trees with rope or by carving out holding divots for this branch to rest 5 or so feet above the ground between the two larger trees. From here, on one side, diagonally stack medium-sized sticks across the length of the branch (or at least a few feet of it.) This should create a triangle under which you can find shelter. Insulate with leaves and additional sticks.
• Food: Learning which plants in your area are edible is a great place to start. Gather knowledge about which insects and arthropods in nature will give you the most nutritional value. Practice fishing and gardening. Practice preparing simple food outdoors with very little preparation. Learn to be resourceful.
• Fire: In survival skills, fire is king. You need fire to purify water, keep warm and dry, and cook food. Begin by learning simple ways of starting a fire using dry debris for kindling, fanning the flames lightly, and catching larger pieces of wood–stacked either in a “teepee” or “crisscrossed” form–on fire. From here, practice the  “bow-drill” fire method for when you don’t have matches or a lighter.
• First Aid: Having the knowledge of how to do simple first-aid tasks will be life-saving in survival situations. Owning a first-aid kit is great, but not having the skills to actually use it makes it lose much of its value in emergencies. Taking a first-aid class as well as CPR training are a few ways to begin building up this survival skill.

How Do You Practice Wilderness Survival Skills?

The easiest way to practice survival skills is in your own backyard. Everything we discussed above can be done in many backyards. After you have mastered the skills in a safe environment close to home, go camping and practice them in the woods. From here, continue to try out different environments that are less and less familiar.

What Are The Top 10 Survival Items?

Consider putting together a “survival skills” emergency kit with these 10 items. Even with all of the knowledge and practice in the world, these 10 items could make a survival situation significantly easier than it needs to be:

1. Small first aid kit
2. Water filter
3. Flashlight
4. Waterproof matches
5. Compass
6. Map of area
7. Knife
8. Personal locator beacon or cell phone
9. Nylon braided line
10. Mylar survival blanket

These items are helpful for executing the 5 basic survival skills outlined above. The compass and personal locator beacon would specifically help you if lost, and the survival blanket could keep you warm either as a personal blanket or as shelter insulation. The knife could be used for whittling sticks to better create a shelter, hunting or fishing, and protecting yourself. Gathering these items and putting them in a small waterproof bag somewhere accessible could give you the peace of mind that you are well-prepared. Even more importantly, it could make survival situations significantly more manageable.

Did you know that 5 million people die annually from diseases caused by unsafe drinking water? That’s crazy to think about. How do we have such good filtering technologies and we still can’t find a way to scale that across the globe? Whether you are out in the wilderness or unfortunate enough to not have automated filtering processes at hand, it is important to know the how to’s around filtration and purification. There is no surefire way to visually inspect water and know if it is safe to drink in the wild. Unless you are 100% sure it doesn’t have any bacteria or viruses, I would avoid drinking it without putting it through a proper filtration and purification process.

How Long Do You Have to Boil Water to Kill Bacteria?

You need to bring your water to a rolling boil for a minimum of 1 minute to kill all the bacteria and pathogens. This is for elevations under 6,562 feet (2000 meters) altitude. If you live at a higher elevation, you should increase your boil time to 3 minutes.

US Center for Disease Control

“Boiling can be used as a pathogen reduction method that should kill all pathogens. Water should be brought to a rolling boil for 1 minute. At altitudes greater than 6,562 feet (greater than 2000 meters), you should boil water for 3 minutes.”

Is Boiling Water Enough to Kill Bacteria?

  Boiling water is one of the best methods to clean water, making it safe to drink.

According to Health.gov

“Boiling water kills or inactivates viruses, bacteria, protozoa, and other pathogens by using heat to damage structural components and disrupt essential life processes (e.g. denature proteins).”

The Bottom Line to Purifying Water

Let your water come to a good rolling boil for at least 1-3 minutes to kill all of the bacteria and pathogens. If you don’t know your altitude, it’s best to keep it boiling a little longer just to be safe. Here is a good guide to follow based on boiling water at certain altitudes:

1. Water temperatures at 160° F (70° C) kills all pathogens within 30 minutes.
2. Water temperatures above 185° F (85° C) kills all pathogens within a few minutes.
3. In the time it takes for water to reach the boiling point of 212° F (100° C) all pathogens should be killed, even at high altitudes. To be safe, it’s recommended to let it boil for another 1-3 minutes.

Purified vs Filtered 

In my article about how to identify venomous snakes, we learned that there is a difference between a venomous snake and a poisonous snake. Just like I used the words venomous and poisonous interchangeably, I’ve also been using the words purified and filtered interchangeably. Am I wrong for doing that? Let’s find out.

Is Purified and Filtered Water the Same Thing?

Purified water and filtered water are often confused with each other. Most even use the two terms synonymously. While both types of water go through some sort of filtration process, purified water is cleansed and purified through an additional process. This is typically boiling water, reverse osmosis, distillation, or deionization. Water Filtration: It is important to remember that water filtration only focuses on removing impurities such as sand, dirt, and living organisms such as bacteria.

Microbiology Online

“Bacteria are single-celled microbes. The cell structure is simpler than that of other organisms as there is no nucleus or membrane-bound organelles.”

When putting water through a water filter, you need to understand that the water might come out looking cleaner, but there could still be a lot of chemicals and potential viruses left behind. If this is the case, it is still unsafe to drink the water until it is put through proper purification. Water Purification: Water purification focuses more on removing the deeper impurities from the water. Impurities such as biological contaminants, viruses, chemicals, and other unseen materials.

How to Ensure Your Water Is Safe to Drink

If you are in the wilderness and want to make sure you’re 100% safe to drink the water, you should both filter and purify your water. Put it through your filter (I recommend the Sawyer Water Filter) and then boil it for 1-3 minutes. Unless there has been a nuclear attack and there is a risk of radiation exposure, this should take care of cleaning the water and making you safe to drink.

BE AWARE: Boiled Water Might Smell Funny 

If you boil the water directly from the lake without filtering it first it might still smell like lake water. It will for sure smell different than the water from your house. Boiling the water purifies it to drink, but it won’t remove the sediment and some of the outdoor odor naturally found in the water. 

How to Know If You’re Sick from Drinking Dirty Water

Most people see symptoms related to unsafe water from stomach cramping and diarrhea to serious illnesses and diseases like typhoid and malaria. As 60% of the human body is made from water, having access to safe, clean water is imperative. Most of us have heard the myth that you need to drink eight glasses of water daily. While this is a good rule of thumb, it’s not entirely accurate as you need to calculate the amount of food you eat, and what your body needs for proper digestion. Some people need more, others need less. However, one thing I’ve learned while hiking through southern Utah in 100-degree weather is that your body will tell you when you need more water. If you don’t have room to pack enough water for your outdoor journey, you should at least pack the tools to enable you to purify and filter your water. Pro Tip: If you’re thirsty, you’re already partially dehydrated. To be safe, you should drink enough water to never feel thirsty.

ARTICLE RECAP

How long do you need to boil water to make sure it’s safe for drinking?

• 1 to 3 minutes at a roaring boil

Is boiling water enough to kill bacteria?

• Yes

Is Purified and Filtered Water the Same Thing?

• No

How to Ensure Your Water Is Safe to Drink

• Filter it and then purify it

How do you know if you’re sick from drinking dirty water?

• Stomach cramps and diarrhea

CONCLUSION

The last thing you want to do in a survival situation is getting sick from drinking bad water. Especially if you’re alone without anyone to help you. Water is the one thing that keeps us alive, but if we don’t respect the fact that clear water is not always clean water, it could very well take our lives. Take the water you need when going on a planned outing, but always have a backup way to filter and purify the water just in case your planned outing turns into something unplanned.

The other day my daughter and I caught a cute little garter snake in our front yard. When I was trying to get her to hold it, she asked me if it was poisonous.  I told her it wasn’t poisonous, and that if it did bite her it wouldn’t hurt. That’s what I was taught growing up, so it had to be true, right? That night I found myself fact checking what I had told her. I wanted to make sure I was telling her the truth. I also wanted to be able to teach her how to identify venomous snakes so there was no doubt about it in the future. *Pro Tip: If you’re wanting to pick up a snake but are questioning if it’s venomous, it’s best to just leave it alone.

How to tell if a snake is venomous

According to SnakeRemoval.com, there are 3 common traits most venomous snakes have:

1. It is a big, fat snake (quite common to see these types of snakes in the United States versus other regions of the world)
2. The snake has a rattle at the end of the tail
3. It has elliptical pupils (Please don’t get close enough to figure this one out)

Can you tell if a snake is poisonous by its color?

When it comes to identifying snakes, it is important to know the snakes native to the area you are in. There are over 600 species of venomous snakes in the world, but only 200 of them are deemed deadly to humans. That being said, there are only four types of venomous snakes in the U.S. Each type contains many subspecies with size and color variations. This is to help them blend into their environment and become camouflage for their own protection. Trying to identify a snake using color alone would be very difficult to do with any amount of accuracy. For example, venomous coral snakes and non-venomous scarlet king snakes both have a banded pattern of yellow, brown and black. The difference between the two types is that the red bands touch the yellow bands on a coral snake whereas red bands touch the black bands on scarlet king snakes. Aside from this example, there is really no way to be absolutely positive if a snake is venomous by color alone.

Common venomous snakes in the United States

Poisonous snakes in the United States are classified as pit vipers, which include most species of rattlesnakes. All snakes have heads that appear to be somewhat triangular, so it’s best to not try and tell if a snake is poisonous just by looking at its head. Pit vipers are the most common snake in North America. A pit viper classification means the snake has heat-sensing pits under their eyes. The head will have a triangular shape and their eyes look like slits. Vipers will have fangs, which have venom sacks attached to them.

What to do if you see a snake

Encountering a snake in the wild is something you do need to be aware of as some are very dangerous. Always do research before a trip to know what snakes are native to the area, and which ones you need to watch for.

• What to do if you encounter a snake

• • If you see a snake, DO NOT pick it up. DO NOT poke at it with a stick. Freeze and slowly start backing away from the snake. Certain species of snakes will play dead but will strike when you are close. Don’t take the risk. Just leave it alone.
  • A snake is less likely to strike if they do not view you as a threat. Make sure you are not cornering the snake. Always give the snake a way out.
  • If a snake is coiled up, or you hear a rattle or puffing noise, proceed with caution. This usually means it’s ready to strike. Slowly back up until you are a safe distance away from the snake. This should settle it down and if you are lucky, it will slither away.

*Pro Tip: Do not step over fallen logs if you cannot see the other side. Snakes tend to hide in fallen logs, or near the log. Wear thick boots when you are in the wild as they can protect you in the event you encounter a deadly snake and get bitten.  

What to do if you’re bitten by a venomous snake

The good news for those in North America is that most of the snakes you see aren’t poisonous. The main snakes to watch out for are the coral snake, water moccasin, copperhead, and rattlesnake. If you encounter one, and you are on the unfortunate end of their bite, use these tips as soon as possible.

• Handling a snake bite
  1. Before you do anything else, call 911.
  2. Move a safe distance away from the snake and remain calm! Remind yourself that the chances of dying from a snake bite are close to none. Thanks to modern medicine in the United States, only one in 50 million people die from snake bites every year.
  3. DO NOT run or get your heart rate up. The faster your heart beats, the faster the venom will travel through your body.
  4. Remove tight clothing around the bite before your body starts to swell as it fights the venom.
  5. Position yourself to have the bite below the level of your heart so the venom doesn’t travel to your heart faster than it needs to.
  6. Clean the wound with fresh water, but do not flush it. Cover the wound and get medical attention immediately.

*Pro Tip: Do NOT use a tourniquet, apply ice, cut the wound, or attempt to suck out the poison. DO NOT try to capture the snake, focus on remembering the color, shape, and size so you can tell your doctor.

What is the difference between a poisonous snake and a venomous snake?

The common vernacular for a snake that has venom is a “poisonous snake”. After doing this research I’ve found that we’ve been saying it wrong this whole time.

• A poisonous snake is a snake that will hurt you only if you eat it.
• A venomous snake is a snake that has venom and can hurt you through a bite.

Can you eat snakes?

The simple answer is yes. The vast majority of snake species are edible, regardless of whether they are venomous or not. A word of caution, snakes can eat rodents that could be poisoned with a toxic substance and that can pass to humans.  Most snakes taste like chicken, right? I’ve had snake a few times in my life and from what I can tell, they all taste like chicken. I don’t think it’s a bad thing to eat snake. Especially if you’re in a survival situation. Before you jump in and just start killing yourself some snakes for dinner, please be aware of your local and state laws. If you’re interested in cooking up some snake for your next family party, I’d recommend checking out this article called “How to Cook A Snake in 8 Easy Steps“. What is the most venomous snake in the world?

• The Fierce Snake or Inland Taipan is the most venomous of any snake in the world. A single bite could kill 100 people!
• Here’s a comprehensive, visual list of the most venomous snakes.

What is the most venomous snake in North America?

• To find which snakes are in your area of North America, use this interactive North American snakes.
• The cottonmouth, commonly known as the water moccasin, is the most dangerous snake in North America.

What venomous snakes are in my state?

• Here is a venomous snake list for each state to help you know what snakes are native in your region.

Snakes are often portrayed in popular culture as one of the scariest, most dangerous reptiles. There is a lot of misinformation about snakes, so it is important to know what type of snake you are dealing with. I cannot stress enough the importance of knowing the native snakes in your area so you are aware of what types of snakes you could encounter. Conclusion So, is the garter snake venomous? After doing all of this research we find that the garter snake is indeed NOT venomous. Garter snakes are one of the most common snakes in Northern America. Many people love having garter snakes in the neighborhood as they do a great job ridding homes of other pests like mice. Still, use caution when handling any snake, but now you know that these little guys won’t kill you.

It seems like every day we hear about another hiker getting lost in the wilderness, and I can’t help but wonder, if I were in that situation, what things I would need to survive in the wild?

After thinking about this question for a while, I believe there are 4 basic things you need to survive in almost any wilderness situation.

In order of importance, they are water, food, shelter, and fire. Depending on the situation, you might also need a few additional items that we’ll address in this blog post.

Did you know that an average person is likely to survive 3 weeks without food but only 3 days without water and a mere 3 hours outside of their main body temperature? Knowing this means the constituents of a survival kit should not be assumed based on your perception of priority but based on the knowledge of the situation you’ll be exposed to. The items in your survival kit can literally mean the difference between life and death within a few critical minutes or hours.

In this article, we’ll explore 12 of the most important things we need to survive in the wilderness. Please note that the priority for survival is not comfort or convenience, but staying alive and healthy for as long as you can.

 

What Is The Most Important Nutrient (Food Source) For Survival?

1. Water and Water Filters

The average person can only survive 72 hours without drinking water. In addition to that, experts suggest that you should store about 1 gallon of water per person per day.

In critical cases, a few sips of clean water can be the difference between life and death. However, since in this scenario you’re probably in the wilderness on an adventure, the last thing you want is frail health, which is why you should make provision for the proper amount of drinkable water.

The reality is that it will be difficult for you to take enough water with you to the wilderness even if you’re just spending a few days. Knowing that it may be unhealthy to drink straight from the source in the wild, you need to be prepared with some kind of water filter.

There are many good water filters to choose from. A water filter, like the Sawyer Water Filter, will clean up to 100,000 gallons of water. This will help when you travel with friends and need to drink large amounts of water.

RELATED: How Do You Know If Water Is Safe To Drink In The Wild?

2. Food Storage

You also need food to survive in the wild. Without the energy from food, your body will get tired and you won’t be able to explore for other necessities. If you will be in the wild for long, you need to plan out and know exactly what food you will eat while you’re there.

You also need to carry out basic research about your location to know the edible plants and flowers just in case you need them for an emergency. It’s helpful to create a list (with pictures) based on your research with a detailed description of the wild edible foods in your area.

Regardless of the length of time, you will be in the wild, it is advisable to pack an ample supply of superfoods such as wheatgrass, maca powder, and spirulina in your survival kit. Another cool option is to include a sprouting kit in case it turns out that you have to sustain yourself more long-term.

Another good option is to take along some high-calorie, prepackaged, meals and bars like these Greenbelly Backpacking Meals.

RELATED: How Many Calories A Day Do You Need To Survive?

What Are the Most Important Survival Items?

3. Shelter

A shelter can be anything from a 4-season tent to a simple tarp or large garbage bag. Finding appropriate shelter is crucial for survival in the wild due to the fact that you’re sharing the environment with potential hostiles (Animals and bugs).

If you happen to be in a survival situation, find a safe place to sleep for the night that can keep you warm and dry. You can choose to build a simple lean-to with some branches, a rope, and a tarp.

Avoid going overboard while setting up a shelter so you don’t waste important energy which could be spent on more important things like hunting for food or building a fire.

4. Extra Clothing

Hypothermia is the leading cause of death in the wild. When you head to the wild, even if it is a hot and sunny day, you need to prepare to dress for the worst. If your only aim is to counter the night cold with fire alone, it will most likely be insufficient.

Layer your clothes and remember to wear clothing that is preferably made with wool as your base layer. Avoid clothes made from cotton as it retains more moisture and is less insulating.

RELATED: What Are The Different Types Of Outdoor Survival Jackets

5. Sanitation/Toilet Paper/Soap

While comfort is not a pursuit when you’re in the wild, you still have to maintain basic hygiene. You need to brush your teeth, wash your hands, and leave behind your body waste.

If it comes down to it, you can make a toothbrush by chewing the soft ends of a small tree to create bristles. If you’re lucky, you can wash in a nearby river or stream. If not, having baby wipes on hand can help clean those important areas of your body that need a little extra attention.

If you need to use the bathroom, you should dig a hole or go very far downstream from your shelter. To avoid most of these uncomfortable situations, your survival kit should include soap, toilet paper, body cleaning wipes, and a toothbrush.

RELATED: What To Do If You Run Out Of Toilet Paper

 6. First Aid Kit

No matter how impromptu your trip to the wild is, never go without including a first aid kit in your survival kit. Even if you’re familiar with the terrain and been there countless times, you just never know when you’re going to need something from your first aid kit. It’s better to have it and not use it than to have a need for it and not have it.

Moreover, emergencies don’t give us any notice. It’s better to be prepared. A general first aid kit will do, but you are safer supplementing it with items that will benefit you for your specific situation and location.

What Is The Most Important Tool For Survival?

7. Multi-Purpose Tool/Knife

If you’re ever in a survival situation, there is a high probability that you will need to do a lot of different tasks that will require more than just your hands.

To perform these chores, you’ll need a good and reliable multipurpose tool. With your multipurpose tool, you should be able to accomplish most of the difficult tasks you have tackled.

8. Axe/Hachette

As simple as it might sound, having an axe can simplify a survival situation and ease you through the adjustment process. Choose a durable and sturdy axe that you can swing without losing balance. Having an axe or Hachette is sort of one step up from having a multi-purpose tool.

You can probably get the job done with the tool or a simple saw, but you’ll be able to save hours of time and countless amounts of energy by using the axe vs a multi-purpose tool.

9. Light Source

No matter how much experience you have as an adventurer, being shrouded in complete darkness can completely disorient even the best outdoorsmen. Even if you’re in a familiar area, an adventure in the wild usually means you plan to be active at night.

Having a light source could make your adventure that much more comfortable. Fortunately, flashlights these days are becoming more lightweight and smaller with stronger and more piercing beams.

What Is The Most Important Skill For Survival?

10. Compass Skills

Most people know how to use the basic functions of a compass, but very few have mastered the skillfully. If you combine your compass skills with a map of the camping area, there is very little chance you’ll get lost in the wilderness.

You can navigate your compass to locate your camp, a major roadway, a river, or any other major point to help you get to your desired location.

11. Map Skills

When you’re in a survival situation, most GPS systems won’t the way you want them to. Most people use their phones to navigate around. The flaw to this is that unless you download an app and then download the actual map of your location, you won’t have access to it unless you’re in an area with service.

The other thing to consider is that if you don’t bring a battery backup for your phone, it will only last a short period of time.

Basic map reading skills are key when trying to get from point A to point B in the wilderness. You should be able to navigate yourself back to safety with no issue.

12. Fire Starting Skills

Matches are ideal for starting a fire in the wild and they are pretty easy to store for long-term use. But, if you don’t have matches or a lighter, you still need to be able to start a fire for your own survival.

You can use flint and steel, a magnifying glass, a 9-volt battery with steel wool, or a number of other methods. Having these skills and tools at the ready could be a matter of life and death.

Conclusion

And that’s it! Just remember that your ability to survive will ultimately come down to your preparedness level and skill level. You should take nothing for granted when it comes down to the most important things you need to survive in the wild.

Ensure you have these critical items loaded up and know how to use them. Do a little bit each day to get yourself prepared and if there is ever a need for it, you will be better prepared than most to handle life in the wild.

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