1) Attitude
This may sound like it should be below such things as fire starting and finding food or water, but the reality is that if you’re in a true survival situation and you expect to die, you probably will.
There are so many stories were people have simply given up, only to be found a short distance from a village or only a few days away from rescue. A good attitude towards your situation can make all the difference to your chances and maintaining one should be a priority.
2) Stay cool and make a plan
When you realise you’re in trouble, whether its immediately such as in a boat wreck, or you’ve wondered to far into the wilderness and lost your way, DON’T PANIC.
Not thinking straight can set you on the wrong path or confuse your priorities. Take a deep breath and assess your situation. Make a plan of what you should do first and don’t rush or lose your cool, if you think straight you can formulate the most effective plan and thus the best chance to survive.
3) Learn how to find water
You can survive for 3 weeks without food, but without water you wont last more than 3, though you’ll start feeling really bad after the first 24h without water.
There are various methods of finding water out there, such as sipping dew off leaves in the morning or digging small holes in the ground in marshy areas. For a more in-depth look at how to find water in the wild check out this article on how to find water in the wilderness
4) Learn how to find food
Even though a person can last up to 3 weeks without food, after 2 days you’ll start to feel really bad, you will experience a massive energy loss and temporary bouts of an intense sick feeling, which will move onto cramps and various other unpleasant things.
Fortunately though there’s allot of edible things out there in the wild, though its more a temporary food source as opposed to something you could live on permanently, but its enough to get you by. For a closer look at whats available, have a look at our list of Wild Foods.
5) Learn how to make a shelter
This one is the most important in extreme environments, such as intense hot or cold, but fortunately in most temperate zones you have a little more leeway, and luckily there’s never any shortage of materials.
There are many different types of shelter you can build, depending on your situation. A group of 4 people can make a shelter in 3 or 4 hours that’ll last for a few months, or you can quickly put up a simple sleeping bench and canopy each night if your on the move. For a look at the different shelter types check out our HOWTOBUILDSHELTERS.
6) Learn how to make a fire
Even though its not necessary to life, its still very important to learn how to make a fire. Water found in the wild can often be safe to drink direct from the source, but it can also often contain very harmful bacteria or animal waste, so making a fire can help with everything from purifying water to providing a much needed psychological boost.
With everything from torch’s to drying your clothes, a fire is something everyone who’s going “out there” should know how to build. For a list of the different types of fires and how to make them, have a look at our HOWTOBUILDFIRES page.
7) Make your own tools
If your stuck out in the wild you’ll need all the help you can get, so use whatever you have on hand. Even an old rusting car or boat will have a useful shard of metal you could make into a makeshift knife. Sharpening the end of a stick and holding it in the flames of your campfire for a few seconds can help harden it, making a useful digging tool. Whatever you come across that could be useful, always consider if it’ll make things easier for your situation.
8) Learn how to navigate
Research some of the common star constellations that appear above your country and try and memorise which nautical direction they are in each night, and every good survivalist should know how to recognise the north star. You can use such information to set you out in the right direction from the start, making your time until rescue shorter.
Always take note of landmarks such as mountains and rivers, and make sure to check your position against them every so often to make sure your still heading in the right direction.
9) If you’ve wrecked, stay put
In the event of a plane crash or boat wreck, the very first thing any rescue party will do is follow the path of travel until they come across the vehicle itself. If you come down in the middle of the Canadian wilderness and walk several miles away from the wreck looking for “someone” then the rescue team will have no idea that you’ve done so and will have to try and retrace your steps when they find the wreckage.
There have been countless situations where someone has walked away from their wreck and the rescue team have found it long before the actual survivors.
10) Prepare
Your best chance in any survival situation is to be prepared. A small survival kit, folding knife and flint with fire steel can all fit into the same pocket, and could change everything about your situation. It also goes without saying that if you always carry the necessary communications equipment, calling for help instead of waiting for it can’t hurt either.