13 Survival Hacks and Tips

July 20th, 2008 | by Pyro222 |

The following is a list of some of the strangest and most useful survival tips and tricks I have found in the past. Although some are “old news” and you may have seen these before, all of them are invaluable in my opinion and hopefully there are one or two you have never seen before that will possibly help you in a pinch someday.

1. DIY Altoids Tin Survival Kit - A while back, Field & Stream Magazine drafted a mean article on creating a mini survival kit whose contents could fit inside an altoids mint tin. In their 19 page article, they take you through step-by-step in creating a killer survival kit that can easily be carried in your back pocket.
2. Make an Emergency Light From a Pencil - This one is a very clever trick from shootingeggs @ metacafe in which you can get a surprising amount of emergency light from simply just attaching two wires from a car battery to a pencil lead.
3. DIY Altoids Tin Emergency Candle - This is one of my favorite survival tin hacks. EaKLondon @ Instructables shows you how to make a very simple emergency candle from a mint tin.
4. Predicting the Weather with Clouds - In a survival situation, the weather could seriously wreck your situation and possibly even kill you if your not prepared, but by using the clouds, you can gain insight into what the weather is doing. Check out this Instructable by randofo on how to predict the weather by observing the clouds.
5. Mini Fishing Reel From a 35 mm Film Cartridge - This one is a clever idea for using a 35mm Film Cartridge as an emergency fishing reel.
6. Find North Without a Compass - This is an awesome trick to find N S E W using just a stick and the sun.
7. Make a Fire With a Bar of Chocolate and a Soda Can - This is an oldie but goody. You basically start a fire by polishing the bottom of an aluminum can with melted chocolate and use it to magnify reflected sunlight. I’ve found that toothpaste (if available) helps get some of the bulk out of the way.
8. Fire From A Battery And Staple - Learn how to make fire by shorting out a staple on a AA battery.
9. Mini Burner Stove From 2 Soda Cans - This is probably one of the best ideas I have ever seen. In this video you learn how to make a simple and brilliant emergency stove from two aluminum cans. The beauty of this one is that it makes a great, lightweight, backpacking stove as well.
10. Drink From A Tree - Water is key. In this video Funditor shows you how to steal a significant amount of water from a tree or plant. Just a note, make sure you know the plant is not poisonous before doing this as any toxins could potentially wind up in the water and make your situation worse.
11. 2 Minute Stove for $1 - Another soda can stove trick. This one is much simpler than the one above and would be good if you need a quick stove to boil some water.
12. Improve your night vision - You may find yourself in a situation where you must move about in the dark. This video will show you 10 simple steps to help improve your night vision.
13. HOW TO - Make emergency eyeglasses - Not everyone is blessed with great eyesight and should you loose or break your glasses, you could possibly become extremely hindered. Here is a way to craft an emergency set of glasses from just some paper or cardboard. You will look silly as hell, but hey, you can see.