Hot Survival Training How-Tos

How To: Make sparks without matches or a lighter

How to make sparks without matches or a lighter

How To: Make a teepee from an inexpensive tarp

Ever wanted to build a backyard teepee? Here's your chance! In this two-part tutorial, learn how to contruct an inexpensive teepee out of a tarp. Easy to set-up, this teepee is roomy and fun to play in no matter what age you are! If in the wilderness, use this teepee for reliable shelter from cold or warm weather.

How To: Make Your Own Charcoal

Hello, all. In this article, I will be showing you how to make one of the most useful products known to man. I am talking, of course, about charcoal.

How To: Eat & extract water from a cactus

John Campbell demonstrates how to eat and extract water from a cactus. You can eat a cactus from the hedgehog plant family. First, cut off the top of the cactus and skin down the sides, cutting off the cactus spines. Cutting the cactus will not hurt it because it can heal itself. The cactus meat will be like a sticky cucumber. Try to avoid the central core because it is stringy but you can eat the cactus meat. Wrap the meat in a bandana, squish it and wring it out to extract the water from th...

How To: Finish of the end of a rope with back braiding

Back braiding, as demonstrated in this how-to video, is used instead of a whipping to hold the strands at the end of a rope together. Back braiding is the simple process of braiding the loose strands of a piece of rope. Watch this video tutorial and learn how to back braid a rope.

How To: Make natural long burning torches in the forest

In this tutorial, we learn how to make natural long burning torches in the forest. First, use a dead tree limb and rip off all the bark that is on it. Next, gather up the bark from the tree and tie it together with wire you carry with you. Also, gather up a dead stick and connect this to the dead bark as well. Use a multi-tool to cut the wire if you are in a hurry. Once finished, light the bark on fire and you will have a natural torch that will burn in the forest! Be sure to use a dead tree ...

How To: Make a survival fishing float bobber from a plastic soda straw

Okay, so you're fishing and you forget the basic essentials… you're fishing pole and your bobber. How are you going to catch a fish with just some fishing line? The answer? Plastic straw.

How To: Tie a lanyard knot

This video tutorial will show you how to tie a lanyard knot with a loop. You can try with an 18 inch length of paracord for the demonstration, but this will work with various lengths and diameters of cord.

How To: Light a match without a matchbook cover

When your matchbook cover is shot, you can still get a light from a match. Learn how to light a match on the bottom of a coffee mug. Fun survival skills when you have a match and no cover - the ceramic of the mug provides the friction necessary to light a match.

How To: Purify Urine for Drinking with an Emergency Solar Still

It’s called Urophagia—the art of consuming urine. There could be any number of reasons for having the desire to drink your own urine (or somebody else’s). There’s the so-called term “urine therapy,” which uses human urine as an alternative medicine. In urine therapy, or uropathy, it’s used therapeutically for various health, healing, and cosmetic purposes. There’s also those people who drink urine as sexual stimulation, where they want to share every part of each other. And then there’s the o...

How To: Make a figure four deadfall trap

See how to make a figure four deadfall trap. This is a great survival trap that can be easily constructed (with practice) out of very basic materials that in most environments can be easily found. The trap can also be made with very limited, or primative tools.

How To: Tie hammock hanging knots

The knots demonstrated in this how-to video are a good way to hang a hammock, because it makes it so easy to adjust your hanging height. The whipping knot around the tree will not slip if tied correctly. Make sure to tie the second half hitch or the knot may slip and come loose. As with all knots, use your own discretion and be safe. Watch this video survival training tutorial and learn how to tie some sturdy knots useful for hammock-hanging.

How To: Build & Hide a Campfire from Your Enemies — The Dakota Fire Pit

Fire.  It’s everywhere— always has been.  From the Ordovician Period where the first fossil record of fire appears to the present day everyday uses of the Holocene.  Today, we abundantly create flames (intentionally or unintentionally) in power plants, extractive metallurgy, incendiary bombs, combustion engines, controlled burns, wildfires, fireplaces, campfires, grills, candles, gas stoves and ovens, matches, cigarettes, and the list goes on... Yet with our societies' prodigal use of fire, t...

How To: Identify flint and other types of sparking rocks to light a fire

If you're going to start a fire in the wild, you're going to need the right kind of rock. This great little video helps you identify the kind of rock you'll need to successfully light a fire in the wild. You'll need some high carbon steel for striking your sparking rock, then you'll be ready to make sparks.

How To: Make a Slammin' Fire Piston for Under a Buck

Did you know that there's a way to start a fire by squishing air? In this project, I'll show you how to build a tool that does exactly that—and I'll give you a sneak peak into the principals of how a diesel engine operates!

How To: Escape from zip ties tied behind your back

You're being held prisoner, and your hands are tied behind your back with zip ties. You're helpless to escape… Or you would be, if you hadn't watched this tutorial. The helpful folks at ITS Tactical explain how you can quickly escape from zip ties tied behind your back.

How To: Tie the Celtic heart knot

In this video, we learn how to tie the Celtic heart knot. Start off with your rope and make a loop in the middle of it. Now, bring the working en on the right side into the loop so you have a circle. Now, bring that end back into the knot and braid it through the other loop. Next, push this through the bottom loop, then braid it through the lines that are on the shape. After this, you will see a heart shape start to form. Pull gently on the heart with both sides of the rope and shape the midd...

How To: Tie a paracord bundle

The method of rope handling demonstrated in this how-to video came from the Japanese. Pirates during the warring states period used such bundles to secure prisoners among other shipboard duties and the bundle stays alive today in hojujitsu. A few fathoms of paracord in a pocket and a handier tool aboard a boat would be hard to find. Watch this video knot-tying tutorial and learn how to tie a paracord bundle.

How To: Kill Prey in the Wild with a Survival Deadfall Trap

The worst can always happen. Even if you think you're absolutely prepared, you can somehow find yourself stranded in the middle of nowhere by yourself.  It can happen.  Without a map, without a compass, without a cell phone... without food and water.

How To: Tie an eye splice loop into the end of a rope

An eye splice is the best way to create a permanent loop on the end of a multi-strand rope. Whether you need an eye splice loop to hold a hammock up in your backyard or need one for your nautical voyages, this survival training video will teach you step by step how to tie one.

How To: Use a can opener on your Swiss Army knife

This video shows you how to use a can opener, like the ones found on Swiss Army knives. There's also a strange fruit in this video, something called lychees. So, if you're ever in need of opening a can of lychees in the woods, this is the video to watch.

How To: Tie a slip knot

The slip knot is the easiest way to attach a line to a post or bar. Learn how to tie a slip know in this video tutorial.

How To: Tie the Monkey's Fist knot with a knot tying animation

Learn how to tie the Monkey's Fist Knot! This animated knot tying tutorial is the best you'll find. With this knot tying how to, you can tie the Monkey's Fist Knot fast or slow, or pause it at every step along the way. Learn to tie knots for your next outdoor trip. Tie the Monkey's Fist knot with a knot tying animation.

How To: Terrorist Cheatsheet Explains How to Avoid a Drone Strike

The expanding U.S drone war in the Middle East has sparked controversy back at home, with many Americans protesting against the unmanned airstrikes. The attacks, which are carried out from a network of secret bases around the world, have been scrutinized for their lack of transparency with their "kill list" and ability to supersede the judicial system and assassinate any U.S. citizens that are involved with terrorist groups. To top it off, many are incensed with the accidental killings of civ...

How To: Construct and set an Asian bird trap from Laos

Here is a clear, step-by-step guide for building and setting a an Asian bird trap from Laos. This simple and effective trap requires some seeds, a small piece of bamboo, 4ft of cordage, and a young sapling. This trap can catch everything from small birds up to a jungle chicken.

How To: Join sticks at right angles with square lashing

Join sticks at right angles with square lashing.

How To: MAKE FIRE with a MAGNIFYING GLASS

90 seconds that could save your life. How to actually MAKE A FIRE with a lens, rather than just burning a hole in a leaf. (Or frying ants, which seems to be the other thing that kids like to do with magnifying glasses.) By forming your target material into an efficient ball, you will be able to start a fire even with very small lenses. Like less than an inch across small. The finer the individual fibres, and the more densely they are packed, the more effective is your ball of smigtin (smoulde...

How To: Make a fork and spoon in the bush

In this video tutorial, you'll learn how to make utensils in the wilderness. You'll see how to make a wooden fork, spoon, pot hanger and support when out in the woods. Also, learn how to clean your knife using moss. A nice piece of hazel wood is what you'll want for this survival bushcraft technique.

How To: Build and use an Osage bow

This five part video series brought to you by Pathfinder School shows you how to build and use the Osage bow. Step by step, from properly picking a piece of Osage wood, which is also known as Hedge Apple. You'll need an axe to trim your limps, so make sure your careful when taking on the task of building your own bow. This is a great video to watch when preparing for your camping or hiking trip. It's a very instructional and easy to follow video to make sure your properly prepared.

How To: Secure a clove hitch knot

Tie a clove hitch knot again, again, and again.

How To: Tie a quick clove hitch knot

While the clove hitch is not a particularly secure knot, it's useful in situations when the knot requires a little bit of give. The steps to tying this knot are demonstrated in this how-to video, and are shown at a fast pace so you can see how quick and easy it is to do. Watch this video knot-tying tutorial and learn how to tie a clove hitch knot quickly.

How To: Start fires with bamboo Army style in Afghanistan

Operation fire-saw. The British Army use tips from Bushcraft & Survival Skills Magazine to boost morale in Afghanistan and to practise their firelighting skills using an article written by firelighting expert Dave Watson.

How To: Make a figure four deadfall trap for wilderness skills

Learn how to make a Figure Four Deadfall trap- Wilderness Survival Skills, demonstrated by Paul Scheiter of Hedgehog Leatheworks. Learn how to survive in the wild. You never know when you'll be stranded on a desert island, lost in the deep woods, or be a contender for Survival, the TV show. This series of videos, by Hedgehog Leatherworks, brings you the basics in outdoor survival. Wilderness survival skills include fire starting, deadfall traps, primitive fishing, making jerky, rope & cordage...

How To: Cook with an ESBIT stove for camping or survival situations

There are all sorts of small survival stoves available, and the ESBIT stoves are some of the best. This video will teach you how to use an ESBIT stove to start a fire, even in the rain, and cooke a delicious and healthy backpacking meal on it.

How To: Make a spark by using flint and steel

This video shows how even the cheapest file can act as a striker. Use a standard micro file to make a spark. Do not prep it in any way and, in fact, don't even remove the teeth from the file. This a good, but short, closeup on the process.

How To: Recycle your own urine

Sounds gross, but urine is actually the most sterile of our body's wastes, and is recyclable if needed. This video shows you how to do it at home. Unfortunately, it probably won't help you much in an emergency unless you carry around sugar and charcol at all times.

How To: Kill a werewolf

A necessary survival guide for anyone plagued by bloodthirsty werewolves. The video explains how to identify and dispose of these troublesome terrible terrors of the night. Kill a werewolf.

How To: Make a "hobo" stove

In this tutorial, learn how to make a lightweight stove for camping and survival. You will learn how to make an ultra lightweight alcohol stove. This stove weighs only one ounce and has no moving parts. It only takes a few short minutes to make and will outlast most conventional stoves. This video will show you everything you need to know to get up and running with this mini stove. The stove boils in under five minutes and the fuel is super cheap. This is the perfect stove for hiking, backpac...

How To: Eat Spiderwort (Tradescantia)

Learn from Green Deane about Spiderwort a spring green that is available for two or more seasons of the year.

How To: Build a Homemade Portable Water Heater for Your Outdoor Camping Adventures

Warm water is an essential part of life that we sometimes tend to take for granted. Over one billion people, or roughly one-seventh of the world's population, have no access to hot water.