Everything Else
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 Fire Using the Hand Drill Method
Here's a great video that shows how make make a hand drill fire from scratch using Stone Age tools...
Body Hack: How to Stop an Emotional Freakout by Inducing Your Body's Natural Survival Instincts
Many of us experience highly emotional "freakouts", so to speak, more often than we'd like. Weather you experience them personally, or via your loved ones, it can be very difficult to think rationally during an episode, and for some people it can take quite a while to calm down.
How To: Make a Soda Can Stove
Survive the apocalypse by learning how to make a stove out of nothing but a soda can!
How To: Call for Help in Case You Wake Up in a Foreign Country
In most countries, there is one single emergency telephone number that allows you to contact local emergency services when in need of assistance. In the United States, that number is 911, which most of us know by the time we're able to speak, unless you're Buckwheat and Porky.
How To: Make Fire-Starting Char Cloth from a T-Shirt Using a Tuna Can
For this project, I sacrificed some of my kids' clothes and a can of tuna to make some high-quality fire starter! Here's how to make a great batch of char cloth to add to your emergency survival kit.
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.
How To: The End of the World Survival Guide: Staying Alive During a Massive Worldwide Earthquake
Will the predicted apocalyptic date—December 21st, 2012—really be the end of the world? In this ongoing five-part series, we examine what would happen if zombies, nuclear weapons, cyber wars, earthquakes, or aliens actually destroyed our planet—and how you might survive.
How To: The End of the World Survival Guide: Staying Alive During an Alien Invasion
Will the predicted apocalyptic date — December 21st, 2012 — really be the end of the world? In this ongoing five-part series, we examine what would happen if zombies, nuclear weapons, cyberwars, earthquakes, or aliens actually destroyed our planet — and how you might survive.
How To: The End of the World Survival Guide: Staying Alive During a Global Cyber War
Will the predicted apocalyptic date—December 21st, 2012—really be the end of the world? In this ongoing five-part series, we examine what would happen if zombies, nuclear weapons, cyber wars, earthquakes, or aliens actually destroyed our planet—and how you might survive.
How To: Build a RanDome Geodesic Emergency Shelter
This method is easy, intuitive and requires very little math. You will need:
How To: Make an Emergency Blanket from Recycled Chip Bags
What You Need: 6-9 empty chip bags
How To: Wrap a 550 cord around the handle of a breacher bar
Breacher bars are like the much cooler older brother to the swiss pocket knife. In fact, there's little comparison between the two. A breacher bar, which is a rectangular shaped knife, is used by SWAT teams and bomb techs to easily and quickly cut through and pry open just about anything. But safety comes first.
How To: Make Brazilian bushcraft survival tools: coconut containers, bamboo spoons etc
Brazil is a country rich in natural resources and splendor, making it a great place for outdoor enthusiasts. If you venture into the Brazilian wilderness and find yourself in need of precious survival supplies, or just want to make some cool stuff out of exotic plants, watch this video for instructions on making Brazilian bushcrafts like coconut containers and bamboo spoons.
How To: Make one meter of cordage from 2 leaves of Spiked Aloe plant
In a survival situation making cordage out of plants can enable you to construct apparatus you never would have been able to otherwise and save you life. This video will teach you how to make a meter of cordage out of 2 leaves from a Spiked Aloe plant.
How To: Make solid fuel for starting fires in the wilderness with cotton balls and wax
Tinder is difficult to come by in the best of conditions, but in a damp wilderness survival situation finding it can be downright impossible. Enter this video. It will teach you how to make solid fuel fire starters out of cotton balls and candle wax, which you can use to start a fire even in wet conditions.
How To: Pack basic equipment for a short trip to the wilderness
Brazil has more untamed wilderness than almost anywhere else, so you can trust their survival experts to know what they're doing. In this video a Brazilian survival expert will detail all of the basic supplies that he packs for any trip into the bush and why you should do the same.
How To: Put together a wilderness survival kit in a canvas bag
A compact survival kit is a great piece of gear to bring with you into the wilderness even if you have a larger pack as well, to serve as a backup. This video features a Brazilian wilderness survival expert detailing the contents of his compact survival pouch, a homemade canvas model.
How To: Assemble an every day carry kit, or EDC, for urban survival
Most people can barely be bothered to carry their wallets all the time, let alone a survival kit. When they're all dead from a massive natural disaster or terrorist attack, you'll know you were right to watch this video and prepare an every day carry (EDC) kit that ensure you will have the tools you need to survive with you at all times.
How To: Pack a survival backpack or bug out bag (BOB)
Whether you call it a survival backpack, bug out bag, get home bag, or 72-hour kit, having a backpack full of survival gear is a must for anyone concerned about disaster survival. This video series will show you how to pack an ideal survival backpack that contains everything you need to survive for 72 hours or more in an emergency in a package you can carry on your back.
How To: Assemble a 72-hour load-bearing equipment (LBE) survival kit
If you find yourself in a wilderness survival situation that demands a high degree of mobility, you're better off with a load-bearing equipment (LBE) system than a traditional survival backpack. This video will teach you how to assemble an LBE that will allow you to survive on the move for 1-3 days until you can find a more permanent solution.
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: Get the right storebought food for a survival kit
Many survivalists believe that MRE's are the way to go for survival food supplies, but they are expensive for civilians and there are storebought options that work just as well. This video will teach you about a wide variety of storebought foods that will keep for ages and make great fuel for any survival kit.
How To: Make a mini fishing kit to include in your survival gear
Fishing is a great way to acquire meat in a survival situation, but bringing fishing gear in a survival gear kit is very space-consuming. This video will teach you how to make a complete mini fishing kit for packing in your survival bag that contains everything you need for small-scale fishing and could give you the food you need to survive.
How To: Pack the 10 most important survival essential for any trip to the wilderness
If you venture out into the wilderness without at least the 10 pieces of gear described in this video, you are unprepared for an emergency situation. This is a great video for beginning outdoorspeople that will teach you about the ten most important survival gear pieces to bring with you on any trip into the wilderness.
How To: Put together an every day carry (EDC) kit for emergency survival situations
An every day carry (EDC) kit could be the difference between life and death if you are caught away from home in a disaster. This video will show you what you should include in a EDC that you will carry with you at all times, ensuring that you are never unprepared in case the worst happens.
How To: Pack an EDC, or every day carry, for urban survival situations
An EDC, or every day carry, is a survival it meant to be carried at all times in case of a disaster. This video will teach you how to assemble a compact and effective EDC that will make you prepared for most urban survival situations.
How To: Start a fire on a rainy day in the wilderness
Rain hampers many survival situations by making fires both more necessary and more difficult to start. This video will give you some expert advice on how to start a fire in the rain the woods, which has a greater chance of helping you survive than almost any other survival skill you can have.
How To: Assemble a basic survival fire starting kit
In a survival situation, one of the most vital pieces of gear you can have is a fire starting kit. If you aren't adept at starting fire and want to be prepared for a disaster, watch this video for a guide to assembling a basic waterproof fire starting kit that will start a fire for you in a wide variety of survival situations.
How To: Make an advanced fire starting kit and use it
A fire is the second most important thing you need to have in most survival situations, so having a good fire starting kit in your wilderness survival gear is crucial. This video will show you a variety of great fire starting tools you can include in your survival gear and how to use them best. These include tea light candles, waterproof matches, cotton balls, and ingenious combinations thereof.
How To: Take into account magnetic declination when using a compass to navigate
If you plan on using a compass as you sole means of navigation in a survival situation, you had better be familiar with magnetic declination and how it affects compass navigation. This video will teach you all about magnetic declination and how you need to take it into account when planning your route on a map with a compass.
How To: Find and use fatwood to start fires in the wilderness
Fatwood is an immense boon for any wilderness survival situation. It's a type of tree that has soaked up tons of nutrients from the ground and is perfect for starting fires. It can be broken down into kindling that will start fires for you time and time again. This video will teach you how to find fatwood and how to use it once you find it.
How To: Make charcloth for easy fire starting with a t-shirt and a metal tin
Charcloth is basically charred cloth (surprisingly enough) that doubles an an excellent tinder source for starting fires. This video will show you how to easily make charcloth out of an old t-shirt, a metal tin, and a fire. Now you'll be able to start fires much more easily at home and in the bush.
How To: Start a fire in the wilderness by using a Fresnel lens to magnify sunlight
The more ways you know to start a fire in the bush, the greater your chances of survival. This video will show you how to use a Fresnel lens, a specialized magnifying glass, to magnify sunlight and start a fire. A more refined application of the magnifying-glass-melting-ants-on-the-sidewalk principle.
How To: Make a wilderness shelter out of USGI poncho
The USGI poncho is a vital part of nearly every US soldiers gear, and can be used for more than just protecting you from the rain as clothing. It can also be fashioned into a shelter for wilderness camping, and this video will teach you how to do it.
How To: Light a fire with a piece of quartz and steel
Come on baby light my fire! If you're going to be a survivalist, the first thing you'll need to know is how to start a fire. This simply video shows how to use a piece of quartz and a piece of steel to build yourself a fire and stay alive! In addition, the video shows how to pack it all together in a nifty little Altoids tin.
How To: Make a durable piece of cord with a roll of duct tape
You're in the wild, without rope or string and you need something to tie down your tent. What do you do? Well, if you have that ever handy roll of duct tape you're in luck. This survival tip shows how to turn a piece of duct tape into a handy length of cord to use however you please.
How To: Use a ferro rod and steel wool to start a fire
Spark it up and learn how to light a fire with steel wool and a ferro rod. This is another method of fire starting which is simple, easy and effective. With your ferrocerium rod, some dry brush, leaves and a gentle breath you'll be on your way to heat, warmth and survival.
How To: Make and set an Asian monitor trap to catch small animals
If you're going to survive in the wild you're going to need something to eat. This video shows how to build what's called an Asian monitor trap, ideal for catching small animals. With a few tree branches, some cord and bait, you could be dining on squirrel tonight!
How To: Make a bandana into a sling for wilderness hunting
You're out of ammunition, you've lost your knife and you need something to hunt with. If you've got a bandana you're still in luck. This short video shows you how to turn your bandanna into an improvised sling for hunting in the wild.