Posts Tagged ‘life-threatening’
Do You Have Survival Options?
Taking time to conduct an adequate amount of research before you set out on a wilderness expedition is essential. It would be too late to worry about the fact that you did not do this, if you are unlucky enough to find yourself alone or stranded or even lost. At this stage, you will need to be very focused to analyze all your survival options.
Sometimes it can be tempting to get away by yourself, just to focus your thoughts and through a process of solitude come to terms with various aspects of your life. As we are lucky enough to live within striking distance of many of the most beautiful wilderness areas to be found, this can often be tempting but make sure that you are prepared. Don’t put others at risk through a lack of foresight and assess your survival options before you depart.
If something goes wrong and you find yourself stranded for any number of reasons, remember that you need several things to survive. The most important is shelter, the second is water, the third is a source of heat and the fourth is food. These are your four main survival options and must be considered in this order.
Hyperthermia can be one of your biggest enemies and most people do not understand this. If they find themselves stranded their first thought is to put all their energy into finding a way out. This is often not the right approach as you need to construct some form of shelter first. Don’t be lulled into a false sense of security and believe that you will not be affected, because even though it may be summer, if you get wet following rainstorms this will have the same effect on your body temperature as if you were out all night under the stars.
You will be able to operate much better in daylight, so to be able to make it through the night you must be able to make adequate shelter. This does not have to be very well constructed as it can be made out of simple leaves and branches. The objective is to get out from the elements and away from the wind and rain, enabling you to rest and rejuvenate.
Your first priority is to build a shelter, but once you’ve done that try and find a source of running water. This will greatly increase your survival options and you’ll probably find that in a natural environment, the water will be pure and help you to avoid dehydration.
A survival kit is an essential piece of equipment for you to travel with when heading into the unknown. It will have been specially prepared for you and should you become stranded could be a lifesaver. You will be able to start a fire using materials contained within.
Most people will not have taken the time to study comprehensive outdoor survival options, but we all have an inherent ability to look after ourselves. Don’t panic if you find you are stranded and believe that this will be a temporary situation. Make sure that you look after yourself first and foremost and ensure that you can survive a night outdoors and be refreshed and strong ready to get out of your predicament when the sun rises.
Hand Powered Radios Bring You the News
It is said that the the idea for hand powered radios originated in the early 1990s when a British inventor decided to come up with a solution to a problem in Africa, where educational radio broadcasts were seen as important to spread the word about transmission of diseases, but electricity was scarce. The inventor came up with the idea for hand powered radios, which operate through a cranking motion.
While hand powered radios may have been developed for Third World countries, they have a place within our developed world as well. Should you be unlucky enough to be affected by a natural disaster of some kind, such as a hurricane, you may be without grid power for a considerable period of time. In this case, this great invention will allow you to keep in touch with what is going on.
Survival specialists put together a special kit including a hand powered radio, a flashlight and cell phone charger. Cranking the handle or even squeezing it, should you be impaired in some way, would be enough to power these items. The kit also comes with a whistle to help you attract assistance to your plight.
We do not have to think about disasters or problems when it comes to uses for a hand powered radio. If you love camping, then you should take this along with you and as you will have no access to electricity, you will be able to have some form of entertainment to enjoy during evenings around that camp fire.
Those of us who have endured the aftermath of a hurricane, will testify to the fact that it can be particularly unpleasant, especially at night if you have no power of any kind. The kits including the hand powered radio, cell phone charger and flashlight can be an amazing help during these times.
Every home emergency kit should contain a hand powered radio, just in case a natural disaster of some kind were to strike. Unfortunately, most of the population of the United States is vulnerable to some kind of catastrophe and they should always be prepared.
The feeling of being alone and being unsure of what is going on around you is a very unpleasant one. You feel that you should know what authorities are saying and what advisories are being issued, as well as being able to call someone or see around you at night. Just by cranking the hand powered radio device for 30 seconds, you will have up to 30 minutes of information from your radio.
Handcranked technology is a fairly simple concept and is based on the repetitive motion theory seen in numerous electricity generating projects such as hydroelectric generators, for example. It is being further developed and expanded to provide hand powered laptop computers for developing countries.
Make Sure the Group Leader Has an Adventure Medical Kit
We seem to hear about it every summer. A group of hikers or campers are in trouble in the backcountry and one of them has to receive significant medical rescue help. Many people just do not seem to think ahead and believe that they can attempt a trip into the wilderness as if they were going to the grocery store. It is of course essential to prepare and to make sure that if anything untoward should happen you can deal with it as best as possible.
It doesn’t sound like the most fun thing to do, but when you are preparing for a group trip into the wilderness, you should think about everything that can go wrong. Once you have done that, you will kit yourself out with an adventure medical kit, which is designed for up to five people taking a trip of up to five days in duration. It’s never smart to try and cut corners, especially when your welfare is concerned.
Experts say that it is always a good idea for one member of the group to have training in first aid before they set out on a wilderness adventure. However, you will find that the adventure medical kit has a really well-written first aid book contained within. Its index is well designed and will help you to go straight to the information that you need, when the pressure is on.
Experts have written the book and compiled the kit contents, so you know that the adventure medical kit is ideal for the camping trip that you have in mind. All eventualities have been assessed and you will likely be able to cover the situation when you are far away from immediate professional help.
Not everyone is prepared for a big adventure, as many of us are used to the daily conveniences of our life. Therefore, when summer comes around and the thought of trekking into one of our marvelous state parks or forests seems like a good idea, just be well prepared before you set out.
Should you need it in a hurry, or in the dark, it is comforting to know that the adventure medical kit is contained within a reflective pack which stands out during low light. The nylon bag is however very easy to open and very light and fits nicely within a large backpack.
Within the adventure medical kit are a number of medications and instruments designed to treat typical camping injuries and problems. There are also products to contain bleeding, to treat wound care, to cover burns and make sure that the victim is taken care of until you can transfer to outside care.
Always make sure that your preparations reflect the length and style of your trip, as comprehensive kits are available accordingly. Whatever you do, don’t become a statistic when you head out into the forest without being adequately prepared, as you may well live to regret it.
Writer Steve Thibeault can provide you with a lot more information about an adventure medical kit. Refer to www.survival-gear.com for all the information.
Micro Flashlight - Handy and Flexible
We’ve all been through it — suddenly there’s a power failure and we are left groping around in the dark. Doesn’t this always happen when we are doing something important? When the initial shock goes, we are left with that feeling — here we go again! The first thing that you wonder is how long the power will be off for and then you start thinking about the location of your standby items. It would be nice to have a micro flashlight close at hand.
If you are getting ready to spend a night out in the open during a multi-day camping trip, you must be sure that you are adequately prepared and have packed all those essential elements. When you are getting your backpack together, in addition to putting your tent, your shelter and first aid kit, put a handy micro flashlight in a side pocket. These are very functional and weigh next to nothing.
Remember those bulky and clunky torches that were used to carry around when we were on a trip or that we used to store somewhere in the utility room in case of a blackout? Those items are long gone as today’s technology has introduced the micro flashlight to us, complete with digital circuitry and multi-functionality.
The micro flashlight has a compact yet rugged design and is meant to be used in all kinds of environments and situations. It has a tough outer casing and allows for easy battery replacement, even though you can use it constantly for up to 12 hours at a time.
While you can use your micro flashlight for conventional purposes, it is also designed to be used for safety or rescue. There are four safety beacons ” slow, medium, fast and SOS and you can set it to signal in Morse code mode. If you find that you get into trouble when you are out camping overnight, you can send signals to someone who may be too far away to hear you, but who may be able to see a coded message.
As the micro flashlight is so compact and inexpensive, each member of the family should keep one in a handy place. The conventional torch light of old takes up so much space it really could not be classified as either handy or personal. On a camping trip each camper must have one of these as a vital part of their overnight kit.
When the micro flashlight was designed, the people concerned had first-hand experience of operating under adverse conditions. The on button actually glows in the dark so you won’t have to fumble around and it is also designed so you can illuminate it with a single operation, even when wearing gloves. It has a quick release so you can attach it to your gear and always know where it is.
You should not worry about power cuts from those bad summer storms if you keep a micro flashlight handy at home. Accessorize your early morning hunting expeditions or multi-day camping trips.
Before You Go, Study Those Survival Sites
It will be too late, when you find yourself in a precarious position in some wilderness environment for you to be searching for survival sites online. As such, you should make sure that you do this before you even set out and take into account the old Boy Scout motto “be prepared.” Always be sure that you are in possession of the information you need to overcome every eventuality.
There are a number of qualified survival sites on the web, where you will find a lot of information about techniques and the availability of resources to help you prepare. You might ask yourself - why do I need to prepare for such a situation? As an example, if you like the outdoors and are planning a camping trip or expedition of some kind, you never know when something untoward will happen. Sudden bad weather could isolate you or an injury could occur, restricting your mobility.
Almost every state within the United States can be affected by a significant weather event or a natural disaster. For example, you could face an earthquake, fire, flood, tornado, ice storm or hurricane, no matter where you live. As you don’t know when one may affect you, hone your survival skills by logging on to specialist survival sites online.
Even though the odds of you being involved in a natural disaster may be quite low, if you like to be in the great outdoors or are a hiker or fisherman for example, you must take into account all the potential implications and never leave anything to chance. Get your information and survival sites online.
When you are in a wilderness survival situation, immediately assess the situation by considering your physical safety first and foremost. If there is any chance that you will be in the area for the medium to long term, you need to find sources of food and water and start to construct shelter. Fire is your friend and you must be able to build one.
Survival sites online will be able to equip you with a kit containing vital elements to help you meet the challenges you will likely find in isolation. Your primary considerations are covered including warmth and shelter, a specialized first aid kit and appropriate signals such as a light or a whistle to attract people’s attention.
From day to day we do live pampered lives and seldom have to dig deep to find that in built will to survive which we all have. When the chips are down, however, our common sense will really help us and to make sure that you prepare yourself with this knowledge before you set out on your trip, go to survival sites to read up on the variety of articles therein.
Before you set out on a major expedition into our beautiful backcountry, make sure that you are physically fit and mentally able to cope should anything go wrong. Don’t forget that you will be far from cell phone towers and will not be close to an emergency rooms for treatment, so you will be on your own and must innovate.

