So What Is Contemporary Modern Survival Equipment?

By Paul F. Joshua

A thousand years ago, man pretty much struggled to survive each and every day and the only survival equipment which enabled them to stay alive was the ability to make fire. This was used for cooking, purifying water and to scare off wild animals. The winter chill could also be kept at bay with fire.

Make no mistake, the ability to make fire has never changed in survival importance, but the methods have certainly changed with the times. There is one piece of equipment that almost all outdoors people keep handy at all times - the flint stone.

Strike the flint against any metal and a spark is produced which is strong enough to set fire to light materials like fine grass, cotton or paper. Use this new small flame to light your pre packed fire stack. Flint can get soaking wet without ever loosing its ability too spark. Compare this to a box of matches or your butane lighter and you will soon see the sense in carrying flint with you.

The fact that people still get lost in very remote places renders most modern equipment quite useless. Here we think about items such as mobile phones that may be out of signal reach and on top of that, have a very limited battery life. Same applies for GPS systems that may not have satellite coverage to help a lost tourist out of trouble.

As we live in modern times, we do not think that we might end up in situations that mimic our forefathers whom lived without any help or these facilities. So when people end up in these situations, they may realize that they do not have the slightest idea how to survive.

To think that you may never get caught in trouble may just be the biggest mistake you will ever make. A car can leave you stranded in the middle of nowhere with no help options, or your yacht may sink and leave you hanging onto bottle in the middle of the Atlantic. Surviving could prove difficult.

You need to know that a clear head will see you get out of trouble again. Keep control of your mind and your chances of survival will be much better than if you give up mentally. On land, it may be good to make your way back to places you know you will be found. Before you go, indicate the direction you walked, and also mark clearly that you were on that spot.

Climb up any tall safe structure like hills or trees to get a birds-eye view of the area. Seeing where you are from up there, you can avoid difficult areas like rivers, ridges and thickets much better. Leave clearly visible markings all along your trek.

In the case that you are injured and cannot move far, rather set up a place where you can stay safe, then let others know where you are. Again your choice of tools includes fire. Make a fire and the put some green material on it to create thick white smoke. People will come and look for a signal, which may be seen from far away.

It may be nice to have all kinds of survival equipment with you, but all of these instruments can prove worthless should you stop thinking. To survive like others, you need to stay positive like other survivors before you. - 29972

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