Survival Preparedness - Survival Skills and Emergency Kits

Most of us would agree that at any moment we could find ourselves in a disaster or other emergency situation. Even if this fact is only lurking in the back of the mind just below consciousness, the statement is no less true. Anyone can suddenly be thrust into an emergency situation or have a disaster land squarely upon them quite unexpectedly. How well one survives or IF one survives may be a matter of luck. Far better to invest some time and effort in survival preparedness.

Survival preparedness for the purpose of this article is not a call to be constantly fearful of impending doom and disaster skulking around every corner, or to hoard great caches of dried beans, MREs, bullets, and gold then hunker down with your stash in some remote area.

More realistically, survival preparedness is the act of obtaining knowledge of and practicing basic survival skills, gathering survival gear, food and water together into emergency survival kits. These kits can then be placed at easily accessible points in the home, car, office, etc., or on your person.

Think ahead to anticipate what sort of situation might arise and what survival skills, gear, and supplies would be useful to successfully see you through to the end of it. Some excellent items on the list of basic survival skills to learn (and practice!) would be:

• how to build a fire with or without matches
• how to build a simple emergency shelter
• how to obtain food and water
• how to use a map and compass
• how to signal for help
• how to use the survival gear you have chosen

The size of the emergency kits and the items they contain will be determined by the scenario for which they are intended to be used; lost in the wilderness, stranded in your vehicle on a lonely back road, recovering from the aftermath of a tornado or other disaster.

Always include fire starting items, items to build an emergency shelter, survival tools, a medical kit, signaling device, emergency lighting, containers of water, and rations. There are many helpful web sites that describe complete lists of items to include in emergency survival kits of all sizes.

In any emergency situation strive to remain calm. Use your mind. It's one of your best survival tools.

Initiative belongs to the individual. Make the time and effort for prudent preparations toward your own survival and that of others. Do not risk suffering the consequences of taking no action at all.

Survival after all is being alive at the end of an ordeal.

Chuck McIntyre is active in helping others learn basic survival skills. He offers reviews and recommendations of survival gear and emergency kits at MySurvivalPro.com

How a GPS Unit Can Help You in a Survival Situation

Survival is one of those topics people find fasinating and interesting. Yet faced with a true survival situation most of us might fall short of the basic skills to stay alive. If you have ever seen one of the survival shows on T.V., it is fun to watch all of the things they do that are certainly hope would not be necessary. Preparation is key to any survival situation.

You may ask how a GPS could help you in a survival situation? It's simple, the GPS unit links with satellites to give you an exact location. If you have these coordinates and a cell phone, you can call for help and pass on the needed information. With this valuable information the rescuers can simply place the same coordinates in their GPS unit and come right to you with ease.

A GPS can also aid you in finding your location on a Topo map. Topo maps have placed coordinates along the margins of the maps. It can give you a generalized location to help you find certain land marks, roads, hilltops, open areas for signal fires, water, towns, and cities.

As I mentioned before, if you have the coordinates of a location, you then can place them in to a GPS unit and find that location. This being said, you may not need to be rescued but could aid in finding somone who does.

Survival is one thing I hope I never am faced with. But being prepared for such a situation give you piece of mind. Survival is best if it is short and sweet. The sooner people find you the better. No one can plan for survival, but you can be prepared. People have gotten into a survival situation on an afternoon walk.

Outdoor Survival Skills: Top 10 Skills, To-Do's and Must-Have Products

Outdoor survival skills can mean the difference between escape/rescue and tragedy. Fortunately, most survival skills are simple and easy to learn. Here are the top ten things to do in a survival situation, in order:

1. Don’t panic. Breathe. Relax.

2. Give yourself first aid if needed.

3. Inventory your survival items.

4. Assess any imminent weather dangers.

5. Find an open area where you can be seen from the air.

6. Create appropriate shelter.

7. Drink lots of water.

8. Make fire, but safely! Learn how to build fire in a variety of ways and how not to start a wilderness blaze in your quest for survival.

9. Signal for help.

10. Eat the wildlife, including insects, but nothing with more than 6 legs and no plants you aren’t totally sure of.

Ten Essential Survival Skills & Qualities:

Survival isn’t just about skills, but also attitude and mindset. Desire to survive, determination, persistence, willingness to plan, and learning survival skills ahead of time all increase your chances of survival. The best time to learn survival skills is before you need them.

- Will to survive

- Calm, poise, focus

- Make shelter

- Make fire
- Find and purify water

- Find food, hunt, trip

- Signal for help

- Navigate without map or compass

- Basic first-aid

- Weather prediction

The Most Valuable Survival Items:

We could probably debate this list endlessly, but I guarantee you’d much rather have these items with you than need them and not have them.

- Knife

- Poncho

- String/rope

- First aid kit

- Flint, tinder

- Water purifying tablets

- Whistle, mirror

- Wire saw

- Fishing kit

- Emergency blanket

Once you get into a survival situation, it’s too late to prepare and to learn the skills. Now is the best time to prepare to survive. Get your survival gear and get into a survival training class!

Brian Carter is an outdoor enthusiast, and a major fan of survivorman. He reminds you that once you get into a survival situation, it's too late to prepare- learn the skills now. Now is the best time to prepare to survive. Get your survival gear and get into a survival training class!