Dubious
RETIRED MOD
- Joined
- Jul 22, 2012
- Messages
- 37,717
- Reaction score
- 80
- Country
- Location
We were thought 1 or more at school esp the needle floating on water as compass thing:
survival skills
- Thread starter Dubious
- Start date
Dubious
RETIRED MOD
- Joined
- Jul 22, 2012
- Messages
- 37,717
- Reaction score
- 80
- Country
- Location
Survival Skill #1
Locating a Suitable Campsite
“You want to stay high and dry,” Stewart says. Avoid valleys and paths where water may flow toward you (flash floods get their name for a reason—they can deluge a low-lying area in minutes). Choose a campsite free from natural dangers like insect nests and widow-makers—dead branches that may crash down in the middle of the night—as well as falling rocks. Ideally, you want to be close to resources like running water, dry wood (from which you can assemble your shelter and build a fire) and rocky walls or formations that can shield you from the elements.
Survival Skill #2
Building a Shelter
Not surprisingly, hypothermia is the number one outdoor killer in cold weather. That means a well-insulated shelter should be your top priority in a prolonged survival situation. To make a simple lean-to, find a downed tree resting at an angle, or set a large branch securely against a standing tree, and stack smaller branches close together on one side. Layer debris, like leaves and moss, across the angled wall. Lastly, insulate yourself from the cold ground--which will draw heat from your warm body--by layering four to six inches of debris to lie on.
Survival Skill #3
Starting a Fire With a Battery
Any battery will do, says Stewart. “It’s about short-circuiting the battery.” Connect the negative and positive terminals with a wire, foil (like a gum wrapper), or steel wool to create a spark to drive onto your tinder bundle. Have your firewood ready.
Survival Skill #4
Building Your Fire
Stewart views fire building in terms of four key ingredients: tinder bundle of dry, fibrous material (cotton balls covered in Vaseline or lip balm are an excellent choice, if you’ve got them) and wood in three sizes—toothpick, Q-tip, and pencil. Use a forearm-sized log as a base and windscreen for your tinder. When the tinder is lit, stack the smaller kindling against the larger log, like a lean-to, to allow oxygen to pass through and feed the flames. Add larger kindling as the flame grows, until the fire is hot enough for bigger logs.
Survival Skill #5
Finding clean water
“You’ll come across two kinds of water in the wild,” Stewart says. “Potable water that’s already purified, and water that can kill you.” When it comes to questionable water—essentially anything that’s been on the ground long-term, like puddles and streams—your best option is boiling water, which is 100 percent effective in killing pathogens. But sometimes boiling isnt an option.
Rain, snow, and dew are reliable sources of clean water you can collect with surprising ease, and they don’t need to be purified. With a couple of bandanas, Stewart has collected two gallons of water in an hour by soaking up dew and ringing out the bandanas. You can also squeeze water from vines, thistles, and certain cacti. Are there any maple trees around? Cut a hole in the bark and let the watery syrup flow—nature’s energy drink.
Survival Skill #6
Collecting Water With a Transpiration Bag
Like humans, plants “sweat” throughout the day—it’s a process called transpiration. To take advantage of this clean, pure source of water, put a clear plastic bag over a leafy branch and tie it tightly closed. When you return later in the day, water will have condensed on the inside of the bag, ready to drink.
Survival Skill #7
Identifying Edible Plants
There’s no need to go after big game in a survival situation, and chances are you’ll waste energy in a fruitless attempt to bring them down. “Make your living on the smalls,” Stewart says. That means eating edible plants (as well as small critters like fish, frogs, and lizards).
Separating the plants you can eat from those that will kill you is a matter of study and memorization. Buy a book to familiarize yourself with plants in different environments. And don’t take any chances if you’re uncertain (remember how Chris McCandles died in the end of Into the Wild). A few common edible plants include cattail, lambsquarter (also called wild spinach), and dandelions. Find these and eat up.
Survival Skill #8
Using a Split-tip Gig to Catch Critters
Gigging (hunting with a multi-pronged spear) is the simplest way to catch anything from snakes to fish. Cut down a sapling of about an inch in diameter, and then split the fat end with a knife (or sharp rock) into four equal sections ten inches down. Push a stick between the tines to spread them apart, then sharpen the points. You’ve got an easy-to-use four-pronged spear. Much easier for catching critters than a single sharp point.
Survival Skill #9
Navigating By Day
If you ever find yourself without a GPS tool (or a simple map and compass) you can still use the sky to find your way. The most obvious method to get a general bearing by day is to look at the sun, which rises approximately in the east and sets approximately in the west anywhere in the world. But you can also use an analog watch to find the north-south line. Just hold the watch horizontally and point the hour hand at the sun. Imagine a line running exactly midway between the hour hand and 12 o’clock. This is the north-south line. On daylight savings? Draw the line between the hour hand and one o’clock.
Survival Skill #10
Navigating By Night
Find Polaris, or the North Star, which is the end of the Little Dipper’s handle. If you can find the Big Dipper, draw a line between the two stars at the outer edge of the constellation’s dipper portion. Extend this line toward the Little Dipper, and it will line up with Polaris. Face Polaris, and you’re facing true north. If there is a crescent moon in the sky, connect the horns of the crescent with an imaginary line. Extend this line to the horizon to indicate a southerly bearing. Once you determine your direction, pick a landmark nearby or in the distance to follow by daylight.
Survival Skill #11
Tying a Bowline
Knots come in handy for a slew of survival scenarios—tying snares, securing shelters, lowering equipment or yourself down a cliff face. Ideally, you should have an arsenal of knots, from hitches to bends to loops, in your repertoire. But if you learn only one, learn the bowline.
“It’s your number one, go-to rescue knot,” Stewart, who uses a mnemonic for every knot, says. It’s foolproof for fastening rope to an object via a loop, particularly when the rope will be loaded with weight: the harder you pull, the tighter the knot gets. Stewart’s mnemonic for tying the bowline from any angle is “the rabbit comes out of the hole, around the tree, and back in the hole.” Use this mnemonic, says Stewart, and “it doesn’t matter if you tie it spinning on your head. It’s going to come out right.”
Survival Skill #12
Sending Up a Survival Signal
At times—like when you have a debilitating injury—your only hope for getting saved is to maximize your visibility so rescuers can find you. Two methods, if used properly, will guarantee that, if someone’s looking, they’ll see you.
The first is a signal fire—and the first rule is to put it out in the open for visibility. That means hilltops or clearings in a forest where nothing, like a cliff face or trees, will disperse the smoke. Create a platform to raise the base of the fire off the ground so moisture doesn’t saturate the wood. Save your absolute best combustible material for your signal fire to guarantee a quick light. Once the fire is lit, pile on green branches, like pine boughs in winter, to produce thick smoke. “It’s not about warmth, it’s about 15 seconds of smoke,” Stewart notes. “That’s about all you’ve got when you hear a plane before it’s out of sight.”
The second is a mirror signal. A flash from signal mirror—even at night, by moonlight—can be seen for miles, much farther than any flashlight. You don’t need a store-bought signal mirror to be effective. Improvise with any reflective surface you’ve got, from rearview mirrors or headlights to a cell phone screen. Aiming the reflection is the key, and it’s simple. Hold out a peace sign and place your target--be it plane or boat--between your fingers. Then flash the reflection back and forth across your fingers.
- See more at: 12 Outdoor Survival Skills Every Guy Should Master | Men's Fitness
Locating a Suitable Campsite
“You want to stay high and dry,” Stewart says. Avoid valleys and paths where water may flow toward you (flash floods get their name for a reason—they can deluge a low-lying area in minutes). Choose a campsite free from natural dangers like insect nests and widow-makers—dead branches that may crash down in the middle of the night—as well as falling rocks. Ideally, you want to be close to resources like running water, dry wood (from which you can assemble your shelter and build a fire) and rocky walls or formations that can shield you from the elements.
Survival Skill #2
Building a Shelter
Not surprisingly, hypothermia is the number one outdoor killer in cold weather. That means a well-insulated shelter should be your top priority in a prolonged survival situation. To make a simple lean-to, find a downed tree resting at an angle, or set a large branch securely against a standing tree, and stack smaller branches close together on one side. Layer debris, like leaves and moss, across the angled wall. Lastly, insulate yourself from the cold ground--which will draw heat from your warm body--by layering four to six inches of debris to lie on.
Survival Skill #3
Starting a Fire With a Battery
Any battery will do, says Stewart. “It’s about short-circuiting the battery.” Connect the negative and positive terminals with a wire, foil (like a gum wrapper), or steel wool to create a spark to drive onto your tinder bundle. Have your firewood ready.
Survival Skill #4
Building Your Fire
Stewart views fire building in terms of four key ingredients: tinder bundle of dry, fibrous material (cotton balls covered in Vaseline or lip balm are an excellent choice, if you’ve got them) and wood in three sizes—toothpick, Q-tip, and pencil. Use a forearm-sized log as a base and windscreen for your tinder. When the tinder is lit, stack the smaller kindling against the larger log, like a lean-to, to allow oxygen to pass through and feed the flames. Add larger kindling as the flame grows, until the fire is hot enough for bigger logs.
Survival Skill #5
Finding clean water
“You’ll come across two kinds of water in the wild,” Stewart says. “Potable water that’s already purified, and water that can kill you.” When it comes to questionable water—essentially anything that’s been on the ground long-term, like puddles and streams—your best option is boiling water, which is 100 percent effective in killing pathogens. But sometimes boiling isnt an option.
Rain, snow, and dew are reliable sources of clean water you can collect with surprising ease, and they don’t need to be purified. With a couple of bandanas, Stewart has collected two gallons of water in an hour by soaking up dew and ringing out the bandanas. You can also squeeze water from vines, thistles, and certain cacti. Are there any maple trees around? Cut a hole in the bark and let the watery syrup flow—nature’s energy drink.
Survival Skill #6
Collecting Water With a Transpiration Bag
Like humans, plants “sweat” throughout the day—it’s a process called transpiration. To take advantage of this clean, pure source of water, put a clear plastic bag over a leafy branch and tie it tightly closed. When you return later in the day, water will have condensed on the inside of the bag, ready to drink.
Survival Skill #7
Identifying Edible Plants
There’s no need to go after big game in a survival situation, and chances are you’ll waste energy in a fruitless attempt to bring them down. “Make your living on the smalls,” Stewart says. That means eating edible plants (as well as small critters like fish, frogs, and lizards).
Separating the plants you can eat from those that will kill you is a matter of study and memorization. Buy a book to familiarize yourself with plants in different environments. And don’t take any chances if you’re uncertain (remember how Chris McCandles died in the end of Into the Wild). A few common edible plants include cattail, lambsquarter (also called wild spinach), and dandelions. Find these and eat up.
Survival Skill #8
Using a Split-tip Gig to Catch Critters
Gigging (hunting with a multi-pronged spear) is the simplest way to catch anything from snakes to fish. Cut down a sapling of about an inch in diameter, and then split the fat end with a knife (or sharp rock) into four equal sections ten inches down. Push a stick between the tines to spread them apart, then sharpen the points. You’ve got an easy-to-use four-pronged spear. Much easier for catching critters than a single sharp point.
Survival Skill #9
Navigating By Day
If you ever find yourself without a GPS tool (or a simple map and compass) you can still use the sky to find your way. The most obvious method to get a general bearing by day is to look at the sun, which rises approximately in the east and sets approximately in the west anywhere in the world. But you can also use an analog watch to find the north-south line. Just hold the watch horizontally and point the hour hand at the sun. Imagine a line running exactly midway between the hour hand and 12 o’clock. This is the north-south line. On daylight savings? Draw the line between the hour hand and one o’clock.
Survival Skill #10
Navigating By Night
Find Polaris, or the North Star, which is the end of the Little Dipper’s handle. If you can find the Big Dipper, draw a line between the two stars at the outer edge of the constellation’s dipper portion. Extend this line toward the Little Dipper, and it will line up with Polaris. Face Polaris, and you’re facing true north. If there is a crescent moon in the sky, connect the horns of the crescent with an imaginary line. Extend this line to the horizon to indicate a southerly bearing. Once you determine your direction, pick a landmark nearby or in the distance to follow by daylight.
Survival Skill #11
Tying a Bowline
Knots come in handy for a slew of survival scenarios—tying snares, securing shelters, lowering equipment or yourself down a cliff face. Ideally, you should have an arsenal of knots, from hitches to bends to loops, in your repertoire. But if you learn only one, learn the bowline.
“It’s your number one, go-to rescue knot,” Stewart, who uses a mnemonic for every knot, says. It’s foolproof for fastening rope to an object via a loop, particularly when the rope will be loaded with weight: the harder you pull, the tighter the knot gets. Stewart’s mnemonic for tying the bowline from any angle is “the rabbit comes out of the hole, around the tree, and back in the hole.” Use this mnemonic, says Stewart, and “it doesn’t matter if you tie it spinning on your head. It’s going to come out right.”
Survival Skill #12
Sending Up a Survival Signal
At times—like when you have a debilitating injury—your only hope for getting saved is to maximize your visibility so rescuers can find you. Two methods, if used properly, will guarantee that, if someone’s looking, they’ll see you.
The first is a signal fire—and the first rule is to put it out in the open for visibility. That means hilltops or clearings in a forest where nothing, like a cliff face or trees, will disperse the smoke. Create a platform to raise the base of the fire off the ground so moisture doesn’t saturate the wood. Save your absolute best combustible material for your signal fire to guarantee a quick light. Once the fire is lit, pile on green branches, like pine boughs in winter, to produce thick smoke. “It’s not about warmth, it’s about 15 seconds of smoke,” Stewart notes. “That’s about all you’ve got when you hear a plane before it’s out of sight.”
The second is a mirror signal. A flash from signal mirror—even at night, by moonlight—can be seen for miles, much farther than any flashlight. You don’t need a store-bought signal mirror to be effective. Improvise with any reflective surface you’ve got, from rearview mirrors or headlights to a cell phone screen. Aiming the reflection is the key, and it’s simple. Hold out a peace sign and place your target--be it plane or boat--between your fingers. Then flash the reflection back and forth across your fingers.
- See more at: 12 Outdoor Survival Skills Every Guy Should Master | Men's Fitness
Dubious
RETIRED MOD
- Joined
- Jul 22, 2012
- Messages
- 37,717
- Reaction score
- 80
- Country
- Location
Take Inventory of Your Supplies
It kept coming back to that. He had nothing. Well, almost nothing. As a matter of fact, he thought, I don’t know what I’ve got or haven’t got. Maybe I should try and figure out just how I stand.
Everything you have on your person is a potential survival tool. When Brian did his inventory, he had a torn parka, shoes, his trusty hatchet, a $20 bill, a pair of jeans, and a t-shirt. Not much. But with some creativity and ingenuity, he used a shoelace to fashion a bow and arrow and the $20 bill and hatchet to start a fire without matches. Follow Brian’s lead. Take advantage of everything you have.
Get Your Head Right
Brian had once had an English teacher, a guy named Perpich, who was always talking about being positive, thinking positive, staying on top of things… Brian thought of him now- wondered how to stay positive and stay on top of things.
Maintaining a positive attitude is perhaps the hardest and most important wilderness survival skill to develop. Studies have shown that when people adopt a positive attitude “their thinking is more creative, integrative, flexible, and open to information.” Moreover, positive people tend to bounce back more quickly from physical sickness and injuries than people with negative attitudes. These two traits- creativity and physical resiliency- are essential to survival.
When you’re alone in the wild with little or no provisions it’s easy to slip into depression and feel sorry for yourself. But pity parties won’t get you anywhere as Brian learned after one particularly rough night:
He did not know how long it took, but later he looked back on this time crying in the corner of the dark cave and thought of it as when he learned the most important rule of survival, which was that feeling sorry for yourself didn’t work… When he sat alone in the darkness and cried and was done, all done with it, nothing had changed. His leg still hurt, it was still dark, he was still alone and the self-pity had accomplished nothing.
In a previous article, we discussed the fact that resilient men have an internal locus of control. They’re the masters of their own destiny and tend to handle stress well. Those with an external locus of control curl up into a ball and cry big crocodile tears about how bad they have it. Which man do you think is going to survive when their back’s to the wall?
While you should maintain a positive attitude while lost in the wild, you don’t want to delude yourself into thinking that things are better than they really are. First, you only set yourself up for disappointment when things don’t go your way, and second, maintaining a realistic outlookwill keep you from getting complacent. You always need to be planning and working as though you’re in your situation for the long haul.
In short, hope for the best, but plan for the worst.
Learn to S.T.O.P.
With his mind opened and thoughts happening it all tried to come in with a rush, all of what had occurred and he could not take it. The whole thing turned into a confused jumble that made no sense. So he fought it down and tried to take one thing at a time.
A key to Brian’s survival was that he did something that wilderness survival experts recommend without even knowing he was doing it. He frequently S.T.O.P-ed: Stop, Think, Observe, Plan. Throughout the story we’ll find Brian frantically attempting to complete a task. For example, when he tried to make a fire for the first time, he rushed the whole process and kept coming up empty. Frustrated, he stopped and deliberately thought about what was needed to start a fire. After observing that he didn’t have adequate oxygen or air for combustion, he made a plan to blow on the sparks when they landed in the tinder. And just like that he had fire.
The key to surviving in the wilderness is keeping yourself from panicking. Sometimes the best thing you can do in a survival situation is to do nothing and just think. You’ll save yourself a lot of wasted effort.
Small Mistakes Are Magnified in the Wilderness
Small mistakes could turn into disasters, funny little mistakes could snowball so that while you were still smiling at the humor you could find yourself looking at death. In the city if he made a mistake usually there was a way to rectify it, make it all right. Now it was different…
In the wild, small mistakes can kill. If you break your leg in suburbia, you’ll just have to prop your foot up on a pillow for a few days and hobble around on crutches. An inconvenience, but you’ll get by. Now, break that leg in the middle of nowhere and you have a world of problems. You won’t be able to walk, which means you won’t be able to hunt. If you can’t hunt, you can’t eat. If you don’t eat, you die. All because of a stupid broken leg.
There were a few moments in the book where Brian made some small mistakes that could have created huge setbacks. Eating and puking the “gut berries,” not adequately protecting his shelter which allowed a porcupine to inject a couple dozen quills into his leg, and getting sprayed in the face by a skunk. Many of these mistakes could have been avoided if he was simply more careful.
Granted, completely avoiding mistakes isn’t possible, but you should limit them as much as you can. Taking the time to S.T.O.P can definitely prevent most blunders. Staying constantly vigilant will help, too. Be aware of your surroundings. You never know if you’ll end up face to face with an angry mother bear or a raging bull moose.
Carry a Good Tool
Brian took the sack and opened the top. Inside there was a hatchet, the kind with a steel handle and a rubber handgrip. The head was in a stout leather case that had a brass-riveted belt loop.
The hatchet. That tool literally saved young Brian Robeson’s life. With it, he made a fire that offered warmth and protection at night and created spears and arrows he used to hunt for food. If he didn’t have that hatchet, Brian would have been bug food in just a few days. Any cutting tool would come in handy out in the wild. Even a lowly pocket knife. But if I were out in the wild, I would want a quality multi-tool like a Leatherman. I own one and they’ve come in real handy during my outdoor excursions. However, a new multi-tool has recently caught my eye, and I’ve put it on my wish list. The Atax puts Brian’s hatchet to shame. This thing does it all. It’s an ax, a skinner, a hammer, a wrench, a compass, and get this, an arrow launcher. Put this in the hands of a crafty, able-bodied man, and he’ll not only survive the wild, he’ll conquer it.
Know How and Where to Get Clean Water
It was water. But he did not know if he could drink it. Nobody ever told him if you could or could not drink lakes.
People often underestimate the importance of water in a survival situation. Your body can still function with little or no food for weeks, but go without water for a few days and you die. Water isn’t hard to find. It’s everywhere (well, except for deserts). The problem is finding clean water. Lucky for Brian he crashed in the middle of the Canadian wilderness right next to a clear, pristine lake. He could dunk his head right into the water, drink it, and not get sick.
You’ll probably not be as fortunate. Most wilderness survival experts recommend boiling water before drinking it to kill any harmful pathogens. This technique, of course, assumes you have a pot on hand. If you don’t have a pot, several techniques exist to procure drinking water like collecting rain or creating a water still. It’s also possible to create filtering systems with things you have on hand, like a t-shirt.
Make a Safe Shelter
Protect food and have a good shelter. Not just a shelter to keep the wind and rain out, but a shelter to protect, a shelter to make him safe.
After finding water, finding shelter to protect you from the elements should be your next priority. Take advantage of your surroundings when creating a shelter. Rock overhangs make excellent shelters. That’s what Brian used. If you don’t have a rock overhang nearby, you’ll need to use materials like limbs, leaves, and pine boughs to make a shelter. A lean-to is an easy and popular wilderness survival shelter. Other shelter designs exist and each one has their pros and cons.
Find Food
He had learned the most important thing, the truly vital knowledge that drives all creatures in the forest- food is all. Food was simply everything. All things in the woods, from insects to fish to bears, were always, always looking for food- it was the great single driving influence in nature.
Most of the book describes Brian’s attempts to procure food. He spent the bulk of his time scavenging for something to eat. He starts off gorging on a strange berry that makes him puke. After that, he discovers raspberries growing in the wild and adds them to his menu.
But man can not survive on fruit alone. Brian’s body needed protein to give him strength. He found his first dose of protein in the form of raw turtle eggs. They were hard to keep down at first, but he forced himself to drink the nourishing substance. Soon he added fish and birds to his diet. You can prepare to feed yourself in the wild now by becoming familiar with edible plants, berries, and roots. Moreover, learn how to create rudimentary traps to capture small game.
Know How to Start a Fire Without Matches
He swung harder, held the hatchet so it would hit a longer, sliding blow, and the black rock exploded in fire… There could be fire here, he thought. I will have a fire here, he thought, and struck again- I will have fire from the hatchet.
Fire provides warmth, light, protection from animals and insects, and a rescue signal. Fire is also a big morale booster; almost like a companion. That’s what Brian noticed when he created his first fire. “I have a friend, he thought – I have a friend now. A hungry friend, but a good one. I have a friend named fire.”
When you’re in a wilderness survival situation, don’t count on matches. Even if you have them, windy and wet situations will render them virtually useless. Thus, it’s essential that a man know how to start a fire without matches. Brian got his fire going by striking his metal hatchet blade against the quartzite in his shelter. You should try learning several methods so you’re prepared for any situation. In addition to knowing how to start a fire, you should also know how to build a campfire appropriate for your different needs.
Prepare a Signal
While he was working he decided to have the fire ready and if he heard an engine, or even thought he heard a plane, he would run up with a burning limb and set off the signal fire.
In the wild, surviving is your top priority. Your second priority should be to get the hell out of there and back to safety and QuickTrips. Fire works as a great signal. Brian prepared a fire lay that he could light quickly as soon as he heard a plane. A reflection mirror is another great option. While you can purchase a special signal mirror, any shiny, metallic object could work in a pinch. You can also create search signals by using rocks which contrast with the ground’s color to spell out “SOS” or “HELP.” The letters you create should be at least 3 meters tall in order for pilots to see them from the air.
I had to laugh at this one...You wanna go out and survive in the wild but dont forget the cooling system:
When I was much younger I didn’t need a sleeping bag, mat, or even a tent when camping. We would take off for the wilderness with only an Indian blanket, a canteen of water, a Zippo lighter, or box of matches and have a great time. Since I’ve grown older I’ve learned to appreciate the things I didn’t need back then.
Temperatures in northwest Louisiana routinely reach the upper 90°’s and low 100°’s during the sunny days of summer. I’ve long been a fan of using solar energy to cook and power some of our phones and radios so I decided to research and build a small evaporation cooler for camping, work, and around the house that will also run off solar power.
There are a lot of great articles and videos on the Internet showing several different styles of “bucket coolers.” After reading many articles and watching numerous videos on “Swamp Coolers” or “Bucket Coolers,” I settled on a design and began developing a parts list. It should be noted that I took advantage of the works others have done previously by using the same fan and pump observed because they have been proven effective in some of the videos and articles.
My parts list:
I began with a white 5 gallon bucket and lid from Home Depot. Two rows of 12 – 2 1/8” holes were drilled in the bucket and the plastic burrs around each hole were removed. The holes are drilled around the top, leaving the bottom free for holding water.
After drilling the 24 holes, a razor knife was used to de-bur the holes. Once all the holes were cleaned, a piece of .window screen was cut to match the height and inside circumference of the bucket. The filter material was cut to the same dimensions. The pump was set in the bottom of the bucket and tubing cut to reach the top of the bucket.
At the top, a T-connector was installed and a loop of tubing was measured and connected to the T. In the circle of tubing connected to the T, 3/32’ holes were drilled through the underside approximately every ¾” – 1” for water to flow down the filter.The screen and filter were removed and approximately 2 ½ gallons of water was poured into the bucket and the pump tested.
A hole, corresponding to inside diameter of the large end of the 90° PVC was cut into the lid. The fan was centered over the hole and connected to the lid with 4 – #6 screws, washers, and nuts. The 90° PVC was connected to the lid Using 4 – 1” L Brackets, screws, washers, lock washers, and nuts. A bead of GOOP put between the lid and PVC 90°, sealing it from any leakage of air. A dab of GOOP was also put on each screw and nut on the bottom of the lid to prevent them from loosening from the slight vibration of the pump and fan. On the lid of the plastic Project Box, two equally spaced and centered holes were drilled for the switches (I used 2 with on-off tags)
The switches were mounted to the top of the Project Box and then the Project Box was mounted to the lid behind the 90° PVC. A ½” hole was drilled through the box and lid. The pump and fan were wired to the switches with each connection being soldered. The power wires were connected to a longer wire with a fused cigarette lighter plug on the other end for use with our solar panels and deep cycle batteries.
The cooler works great on hot days. It works better with lower humidity, but still cools the air on humid days enough to be an asset when camping.
When camping, we run the cooler using a deep-cycle marine battery. A solar photovoltaic panel to charges the battery during the day. A standard dryer vent power cord installed hose directs or focuses the cooled air into our tent. If it gets too cool in the tent a night, we can switch off the water flow and still have air circulation.
This particular set-up runs very quiet.
After running the fan and pump together it was observed that two (2) wraps of window screen are needed to keep water from running out the 24 holes as it drips down the filter material. Also, if used to cool a tent, the bucket cooler needs to be outside the tent and there needs to be vent or opening in the tent opposite from where the cooled air enters to prevent condensation from forming. A good point to remember is if you keep the deep-cycle Marine battery connected to a solar charger or trickle charger, the water needs to be checked regularly to prevent a dry cell for forming.
Cooling a Tent with the Homemade Bucket Air Cooler
I spent two or three nights reading, watching videos, thinking about how to make a cooler, and a little over 3 nights building and testing. Since the cooler will be used on a daily basis in the summer in my truck (for work), camping, and poolside, I decided to beef-up some areas. The 90° PVC fitting was connected with “L” brackets and sealed with GOOP glue insuring now air leaks around the nozzle. All connections were soldered and taped with a quality electrical tape. The taped splices with be re-soldered in the future and heat shrink tubing with be installed on the slices. The holes in the project box were sealed with the GOOP Glue. And don’t forget there are 24 – 2” or larger holes in the top of the bucket so it has lost a lot of structural strength and will not hold up much weight bearing down on the lid.
In addition, I added 2 SPST switches to allow the pump to be turned on first, wetting the filter material. The other switch controls the fan. If it gets too cool at night the pump can be shut off, leaving fan on and the circulating air. The only change I foresee is changing the filter material to a more coarse material.
DIY Solar Air Conditioner/Bucket Cooler Cooling a Tent
It’s not pure air conditioning, but it’s much better than just a fan blowing hot air and we are more comfortable while we rough it.
@Armstrong did you learn any of this stuff when you were a boy scout?
It kept coming back to that. He had nothing. Well, almost nothing. As a matter of fact, he thought, I don’t know what I’ve got or haven’t got. Maybe I should try and figure out just how I stand.
Everything you have on your person is a potential survival tool. When Brian did his inventory, he had a torn parka, shoes, his trusty hatchet, a $20 bill, a pair of jeans, and a t-shirt. Not much. But with some creativity and ingenuity, he used a shoelace to fashion a bow and arrow and the $20 bill and hatchet to start a fire without matches. Follow Brian’s lead. Take advantage of everything you have.
Get Your Head Right
Brian had once had an English teacher, a guy named Perpich, who was always talking about being positive, thinking positive, staying on top of things… Brian thought of him now- wondered how to stay positive and stay on top of things.
Maintaining a positive attitude is perhaps the hardest and most important wilderness survival skill to develop. Studies have shown that when people adopt a positive attitude “their thinking is more creative, integrative, flexible, and open to information.” Moreover, positive people tend to bounce back more quickly from physical sickness and injuries than people with negative attitudes. These two traits- creativity and physical resiliency- are essential to survival.
When you’re alone in the wild with little or no provisions it’s easy to slip into depression and feel sorry for yourself. But pity parties won’t get you anywhere as Brian learned after one particularly rough night:
He did not know how long it took, but later he looked back on this time crying in the corner of the dark cave and thought of it as when he learned the most important rule of survival, which was that feeling sorry for yourself didn’t work… When he sat alone in the darkness and cried and was done, all done with it, nothing had changed. His leg still hurt, it was still dark, he was still alone and the self-pity had accomplished nothing.
In a previous article, we discussed the fact that resilient men have an internal locus of control. They’re the masters of their own destiny and tend to handle stress well. Those with an external locus of control curl up into a ball and cry big crocodile tears about how bad they have it. Which man do you think is going to survive when their back’s to the wall?
While you should maintain a positive attitude while lost in the wild, you don’t want to delude yourself into thinking that things are better than they really are. First, you only set yourself up for disappointment when things don’t go your way, and second, maintaining a realistic outlookwill keep you from getting complacent. You always need to be planning and working as though you’re in your situation for the long haul.
In short, hope for the best, but plan for the worst.
Learn to S.T.O.P.
With his mind opened and thoughts happening it all tried to come in with a rush, all of what had occurred and he could not take it. The whole thing turned into a confused jumble that made no sense. So he fought it down and tried to take one thing at a time.
A key to Brian’s survival was that he did something that wilderness survival experts recommend without even knowing he was doing it. He frequently S.T.O.P-ed: Stop, Think, Observe, Plan. Throughout the story we’ll find Brian frantically attempting to complete a task. For example, when he tried to make a fire for the first time, he rushed the whole process and kept coming up empty. Frustrated, he stopped and deliberately thought about what was needed to start a fire. After observing that he didn’t have adequate oxygen or air for combustion, he made a plan to blow on the sparks when they landed in the tinder. And just like that he had fire.
The key to surviving in the wilderness is keeping yourself from panicking. Sometimes the best thing you can do in a survival situation is to do nothing and just think. You’ll save yourself a lot of wasted effort.
Small Mistakes Are Magnified in the Wilderness
Small mistakes could turn into disasters, funny little mistakes could snowball so that while you were still smiling at the humor you could find yourself looking at death. In the city if he made a mistake usually there was a way to rectify it, make it all right. Now it was different…
In the wild, small mistakes can kill. If you break your leg in suburbia, you’ll just have to prop your foot up on a pillow for a few days and hobble around on crutches. An inconvenience, but you’ll get by. Now, break that leg in the middle of nowhere and you have a world of problems. You won’t be able to walk, which means you won’t be able to hunt. If you can’t hunt, you can’t eat. If you don’t eat, you die. All because of a stupid broken leg.
There were a few moments in the book where Brian made some small mistakes that could have created huge setbacks. Eating and puking the “gut berries,” not adequately protecting his shelter which allowed a porcupine to inject a couple dozen quills into his leg, and getting sprayed in the face by a skunk. Many of these mistakes could have been avoided if he was simply more careful.
Granted, completely avoiding mistakes isn’t possible, but you should limit them as much as you can. Taking the time to S.T.O.P can definitely prevent most blunders. Staying constantly vigilant will help, too. Be aware of your surroundings. You never know if you’ll end up face to face with an angry mother bear or a raging bull moose.
Carry a Good Tool
Brian took the sack and opened the top. Inside there was a hatchet, the kind with a steel handle and a rubber handgrip. The head was in a stout leather case that had a brass-riveted belt loop.
The hatchet. That tool literally saved young Brian Robeson’s life. With it, he made a fire that offered warmth and protection at night and created spears and arrows he used to hunt for food. If he didn’t have that hatchet, Brian would have been bug food in just a few days. Any cutting tool would come in handy out in the wild. Even a lowly pocket knife. But if I were out in the wild, I would want a quality multi-tool like a Leatherman. I own one and they’ve come in real handy during my outdoor excursions. However, a new multi-tool has recently caught my eye, and I’ve put it on my wish list. The Atax puts Brian’s hatchet to shame. This thing does it all. It’s an ax, a skinner, a hammer, a wrench, a compass, and get this, an arrow launcher. Put this in the hands of a crafty, able-bodied man, and he’ll not only survive the wild, he’ll conquer it.
Know How and Where to Get Clean Water
It was water. But he did not know if he could drink it. Nobody ever told him if you could or could not drink lakes.
People often underestimate the importance of water in a survival situation. Your body can still function with little or no food for weeks, but go without water for a few days and you die. Water isn’t hard to find. It’s everywhere (well, except for deserts). The problem is finding clean water. Lucky for Brian he crashed in the middle of the Canadian wilderness right next to a clear, pristine lake. He could dunk his head right into the water, drink it, and not get sick.
You’ll probably not be as fortunate. Most wilderness survival experts recommend boiling water before drinking it to kill any harmful pathogens. This technique, of course, assumes you have a pot on hand. If you don’t have a pot, several techniques exist to procure drinking water like collecting rain or creating a water still. It’s also possible to create filtering systems with things you have on hand, like a t-shirt.
Make a Safe Shelter
Protect food and have a good shelter. Not just a shelter to keep the wind and rain out, but a shelter to protect, a shelter to make him safe.
After finding water, finding shelter to protect you from the elements should be your next priority. Take advantage of your surroundings when creating a shelter. Rock overhangs make excellent shelters. That’s what Brian used. If you don’t have a rock overhang nearby, you’ll need to use materials like limbs, leaves, and pine boughs to make a shelter. A lean-to is an easy and popular wilderness survival shelter. Other shelter designs exist and each one has their pros and cons.
Find Food
He had learned the most important thing, the truly vital knowledge that drives all creatures in the forest- food is all. Food was simply everything. All things in the woods, from insects to fish to bears, were always, always looking for food- it was the great single driving influence in nature.
Most of the book describes Brian’s attempts to procure food. He spent the bulk of his time scavenging for something to eat. He starts off gorging on a strange berry that makes him puke. After that, he discovers raspberries growing in the wild and adds them to his menu.
But man can not survive on fruit alone. Brian’s body needed protein to give him strength. He found his first dose of protein in the form of raw turtle eggs. They were hard to keep down at first, but he forced himself to drink the nourishing substance. Soon he added fish and birds to his diet. You can prepare to feed yourself in the wild now by becoming familiar with edible plants, berries, and roots. Moreover, learn how to create rudimentary traps to capture small game.
Know How to Start a Fire Without Matches
He swung harder, held the hatchet so it would hit a longer, sliding blow, and the black rock exploded in fire… There could be fire here, he thought. I will have a fire here, he thought, and struck again- I will have fire from the hatchet.
Fire provides warmth, light, protection from animals and insects, and a rescue signal. Fire is also a big morale booster; almost like a companion. That’s what Brian noticed when he created his first fire. “I have a friend, he thought – I have a friend now. A hungry friend, but a good one. I have a friend named fire.”
When you’re in a wilderness survival situation, don’t count on matches. Even if you have them, windy and wet situations will render them virtually useless. Thus, it’s essential that a man know how to start a fire without matches. Brian got his fire going by striking his metal hatchet blade against the quartzite in his shelter. You should try learning several methods so you’re prepared for any situation. In addition to knowing how to start a fire, you should also know how to build a campfire appropriate for your different needs.
Prepare a Signal
While he was working he decided to have the fire ready and if he heard an engine, or even thought he heard a plane, he would run up with a burning limb and set off the signal fire.
In the wild, surviving is your top priority. Your second priority should be to get the hell out of there and back to safety and QuickTrips. Fire works as a great signal. Brian prepared a fire lay that he could light quickly as soon as he heard a plane. A reflection mirror is another great option. While you can purchase a special signal mirror, any shiny, metallic object could work in a pinch. You can also create search signals by using rocks which contrast with the ground’s color to spell out “SOS” or “HELP.” The letters you create should be at least 3 meters tall in order for pilots to see them from the air.
I had to laugh at this one...You wanna go out and survive in the wild but dont forget the cooling system:
When I was much younger I didn’t need a sleeping bag, mat, or even a tent when camping. We would take off for the wilderness with only an Indian blanket, a canteen of water, a Zippo lighter, or box of matches and have a great time. Since I’ve grown older I’ve learned to appreciate the things I didn’t need back then.
Temperatures in northwest Louisiana routinely reach the upper 90°’s and low 100°’s during the sunny days of summer. I’ve long been a fan of using solar energy to cook and power some of our phones and radios so I decided to research and build a small evaporation cooler for camping, work, and around the house that will also run off solar power.
There are a lot of great articles and videos on the Internet showing several different styles of “bucket coolers.” After reading many articles and watching numerous videos on “Swamp Coolers” or “Bucket Coolers,” I settled on a design and began developing a parts list. It should be noted that I took advantage of the works others have done previously by using the same fan and pump observed because they have been proven effective in some of the videos and articles.
My parts list:
- 5 gallon plastic bucket with lid
- 4” 90° PVC
- 12 VDC water pump (Model 66039, from Harbor Freight)
- Computer fan (Model # AFB121SHE, from www.frozencpu.com)
- Switches (SPST – I purchased two from Radio Shack – your choice on which type you want to use)
- Project Box, small (Radio Shack)
- 1” L Brackets
- #6 screws, #6 flat washers, #6 lock washers, #6 nuts
- Filter material (minimum 24” X 36”)
- Window screen, black plastic (minimum 24” X 76”)
- Tubing (diameter to fit pump)
- T- fitting (diameter to fit tubing)
- Goop glue
- 4” dryer vent hose
- Cigarette lighter plug (male end)
- Drill motor
- 2 – 2 1/8” hole saw
- Yardstick
- Razor knife
- Phillips head screwdrive
- Marker
- 5/32,” 3/16,” 15/32,” and ½,” drill bits
- Wire cutters
- Soldering iron
- Rosin Core solder
- Tape Measure
- Electrical Tape
I began with a white 5 gallon bucket and lid from Home Depot. Two rows of 12 – 2 1/8” holes were drilled in the bucket and the plastic burrs around each hole were removed. The holes are drilled around the top, leaving the bottom free for holding water.
After drilling the 24 holes, a razor knife was used to de-bur the holes. Once all the holes were cleaned, a piece of .window screen was cut to match the height and inside circumference of the bucket. The filter material was cut to the same dimensions. The pump was set in the bottom of the bucket and tubing cut to reach the top of the bucket.
At the top, a T-connector was installed and a loop of tubing was measured and connected to the T. In the circle of tubing connected to the T, 3/32’ holes were drilled through the underside approximately every ¾” – 1” for water to flow down the filter.The screen and filter were removed and approximately 2 ½ gallons of water was poured into the bucket and the pump tested.
A hole, corresponding to inside diameter of the large end of the 90° PVC was cut into the lid. The fan was centered over the hole and connected to the lid with 4 – #6 screws, washers, and nuts. The 90° PVC was connected to the lid Using 4 – 1” L Brackets, screws, washers, lock washers, and nuts. A bead of GOOP put between the lid and PVC 90°, sealing it from any leakage of air. A dab of GOOP was also put on each screw and nut on the bottom of the lid to prevent them from loosening from the slight vibration of the pump and fan. On the lid of the plastic Project Box, two equally spaced and centered holes were drilled for the switches (I used 2 with on-off tags)
The switches were mounted to the top of the Project Box and then the Project Box was mounted to the lid behind the 90° PVC. A ½” hole was drilled through the box and lid. The pump and fan were wired to the switches with each connection being soldered. The power wires were connected to a longer wire with a fused cigarette lighter plug on the other end for use with our solar panels and deep cycle batteries.
The cooler works great on hot days. It works better with lower humidity, but still cools the air on humid days enough to be an asset when camping.
When camping, we run the cooler using a deep-cycle marine battery. A solar photovoltaic panel to charges the battery during the day. A standard dryer vent power cord installed hose directs or focuses the cooled air into our tent. If it gets too cool in the tent a night, we can switch off the water flow and still have air circulation.
This particular set-up runs very quiet.
After running the fan and pump together it was observed that two (2) wraps of window screen are needed to keep water from running out the 24 holes as it drips down the filter material. Also, if used to cool a tent, the bucket cooler needs to be outside the tent and there needs to be vent or opening in the tent opposite from where the cooled air enters to prevent condensation from forming. A good point to remember is if you keep the deep-cycle Marine battery connected to a solar charger or trickle charger, the water needs to be checked regularly to prevent a dry cell for forming.
Cooling a Tent with the Homemade Bucket Air Cooler
I spent two or three nights reading, watching videos, thinking about how to make a cooler, and a little over 3 nights building and testing. Since the cooler will be used on a daily basis in the summer in my truck (for work), camping, and poolside, I decided to beef-up some areas. The 90° PVC fitting was connected with “L” brackets and sealed with GOOP glue insuring now air leaks around the nozzle. All connections were soldered and taped with a quality electrical tape. The taped splices with be re-soldered in the future and heat shrink tubing with be installed on the slices. The holes in the project box were sealed with the GOOP Glue. And don’t forget there are 24 – 2” or larger holes in the top of the bucket so it has lost a lot of structural strength and will not hold up much weight bearing down on the lid.
In addition, I added 2 SPST switches to allow the pump to be turned on first, wetting the filter material. The other switch controls the fan. If it gets too cool at night the pump can be shut off, leaving fan on and the circulating air. The only change I foresee is changing the filter material to a more coarse material.
DIY Solar Air Conditioner/Bucket Cooler Cooling a Tent
It’s not pure air conditioning, but it’s much better than just a fan blowing hot air and we are more comfortable while we rough it.
@Armstrong did you learn any of this stuff when you were a boy scout?
Last edited:
Leader
ELITE MEMBER
- Joined
- Sep 7, 2010
- Messages
- 29,159
- Reaction score
- 9
- Country
- Location
he is awesome !!
I first hit the show, when I saw him chase a lizard, catch and eat... I was like this is totally cool..
Dubious
RETIRED MOD
- Joined
- Jul 22, 2012
- Messages
- 37,717
- Reaction score
- 80
- Country
- Location
sickening...he is awesome !!
I first hit the show, when I saw him chase a lizard, catch and eat... I was like this is totally cool..
Leader
ELITE MEMBER
- Joined
- Sep 7, 2010
- Messages
- 29,159
- Reaction score
- 9
- Country
- Location
chal oye... he is a awesome, I really wish it was me doing all those awesome adventures...
p.s. his tools are pretty expensive though...
Dubious
RETIRED MOD
- Joined
- Jul 22, 2012
- Messages
- 37,717
- Reaction score
- 80
- Country
- Location
tools are the only things I can admire...what he does is waste of money on the tools ...should have given to me ..
Leader
ELITE MEMBER
- Joined
- Sep 7, 2010
- Messages
- 29,159
- Reaction score
- 9
- Country
- Location
did you know he fell from sky, during military training, when his parachute didnt open and broke his backbone, couldnt stand or walk for a year or so, and then he recovered as a miracle and all this adventure travel he did is after retirement?
Dubious
RETIRED MOD
- Joined
- Jul 22, 2012
- Messages
- 37,717
- Reaction score
- 80
- Country
- Location
so since he survived a broken backbone he is trying to survive other stupid acts
Leader
ELITE MEMBER
- Joined
- Sep 7, 2010
- Messages
- 29,159
- Reaction score
- 9
- Country
- Location
so since he survived a broken backbone he is trying to survive other stupid acts
huh... jealous log...
Dubious
RETIRED MOD
- Joined
- Jul 22, 2012
- Messages
- 37,717
- Reaction score
- 80
- Country
- Location
Kahan kay jealous issay adhi say ziada mayri lab mein pari hoti hain for greenhouse purposes and I am allowed to take for as long as I want no questions askedhuh... jealous log...
Leader
ELITE MEMBER
- Joined
- Sep 7, 2010
- Messages
- 29,159
- Reaction score
- 9
- Country
- Location
Kahan kay jealous issay adhi say ziada mayri lab mein pari hoti hain for greenhouse purposes and I am allowed to take for as long as I want no questions asked
but the point is they are not yours...
Similar threads
- Article
