# How to survive in the woods



## swjohnsey (Jan 21, 2013)

What do you need? Shelter, water, food and maybe a way to carry it.

Shelter is what you need to keep you warm and dry. This can be your clothes, tent, sleeping bag and pad.You can get by even in very cold conditions if you have some good clothes like a Goretex or equivalent shell, some sort of insulation layer like fleece and a base layer like poly pro or Capilene (polyester long johns). I have curled up under a log on snowy nights in the woods with every bit of clothes I had including my Goretex shell. It makes life easier if you have a tent. There are many good three season tents out there now that weigh around two pounds. A couple are the Big Agness Flycreek UL1 and the Hubba. A good sleeping bag is worth it weight in gold and cost nearly that much. A bag like the Western Mounteering Highlight weighs about a pound, compressess to the size of a grapefruit and is rated 35 degrees. It will set you back about $300. A good pad is a necessity in cold weather and a luxury at other times. Something like a Thermarest Neoair Xlite weighs only 8 ounces but has a good R value and will make sleeping easier.

Most folks can get by without eating for a month but you can't go more than about 3 days without water and maybe only a day in hot, dry conditions. Water doesn't have to be that complicated. You need something to carry it in and something to purify it with. Something as simple and cheap as Gatorade bottles works well for carrying water. The are cheap, light, did I say cheap? They have a wide mouth, they will stand up to freezing water. Two of them are about all you need unless you are traveling in the desert. Water purification is something folks get all anal about. I spent 20 years as a LRRP drinking water out of ditches and cow tanks using only army issue iodine tablets. I paddled the length of the Mississppi in a kayak, drank and bathed in Mississippi river water every day for 2 1/2 months, only treated with bleach, walked from Georgia to Maine and hardly ever treated my water. Never sick from water, not once. I like the Platypus 3 liter bladers in areas where I have to occassionally carry more tha 2 liters of water.

Food! You probably don't need any but it sure is nice to have. Rule of tumb is that you should get at least 100 calories/ounce out of what you are carrying. Some stuff that is easy to get and cheap that fit into this category are peanut butter, sugar, any kind of oil, butter, lard, instant mashed potatoes, Knorr sides, instant rice, boxed mac and cheese, raisins, oats, flour tortillas. If you are in a real life or death survival situation if probably won't be safe to cook so some of these like peanut butter and instant mashed potatoes can be eaten cold. If you think you are going to eat twigs and sprouts or catch any kind of animal you are in for a big surprise.

You should be able to quickly make a wood fire just as a survival skill. If you have to make a wood fire, keep it small, cook and get away. It is more clandestine to use stove. Something like a Fancy Feast alcohol stove is all you need. They work O.K. but I like some of the other alcohol stoves better like the Super Venom from Zelph (stove guru). In really cold weather or when you are going to be out for a long time (more than a week) you come out better using a white gas stove like the MSR Whisperlite because you have to carry less fuel because gas is more efficient.

You need a few other thing. A couple of ways to start a fire. I carry a mini-Bic and some waterproof matches. You need a knife. It doesn't have to be a big knife. Mine is a LST Gerber than weighs something like .6 ounces and has a blade about 2" long. If you have to use a knife to defend yourself you are probably going to die unless you are an expert with a knife and then it will be iffy. You need a light source, mostly for emergencies because you are hiding, remember. A Petzel E-lite is a headlamp that uses a couple of button batteries. It is waterproof, the batteries last a long time, it works in the cold because the batteries are lithium and the batteries dies gradually. It also has a red mode to preserve night vision. A compass is good to have. You can't do better than a cheap Silva orienteering style compass.

All this crap comes in under 20 lbs, everything you need to survive for four days including food and water.

I am a retired Army Ranger. I spent 15 years on LRRP/LRS team. I am a graduate of the Army SERE Survival, Evasion, Resistance, Escape Instructor Course at the JFK Special Warfare School, Ft Bragg. I thru-hiked the Appalachian trail in 2012, paddled a kayak from Lake Itasca to the Gulf of Mexico on the Mississippi in 2009. What I say is mostly true.


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## gaspump86 (May 5, 2012)

Good info. I appreciate your service.


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## musketjim (Dec 7, 2011)

Good info.:congrat:Thanks for your service bro. Everyone remember to tweak specifics for your environment of course. Interior Alaska winters require a bit different gear as opposed to desert or jungle. One piece of gear I will experiment with as soon as I get the chance is the small Kelly kettle. It appears to burn just about any type of fuel. Wood,buffalo chips, moose pellets:factor10:. I think snares and a small slingshot are excellent additions at light weight. I'm not a big fan of Gore-Tex. I've found that in heavy or extended rain it will bleed thru and under exertion you can sweat thru. Nothing is perfect, find what will keep you warm when wet in that type of environment.Good info on pads and bags. Do your research and get the best you can afford. I like Bivy-sacks as opposed to tents. Although I don't have all your training, I also am retired military and split my last 13 years between Iceland, interior AK, and Minto N.D. and have lived in interior Ak since my retirement 15 years ago. AF Arctic Survival is the only official training I've had. The rest of my ever increasing knowledge base is the school of hard knocks and lucky escapes I guess. Take care of your body, as of this date you only get one. Your mind and attitude will drive and protect you. Keep learning mind and body before gear.


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## swjohnsey (Jan 21, 2013)

Breatheable waterproof fabric is evolving. Goretex was a godsend to folks living in the field when it came out. Goretex itself has improved plus there are many new ones on the market. Probably the best now is Event. I am a fan of the lighter, cheaper stuff like the Marmot Precip and even the Frogtoggs Dri Ducks.

I used the Kelty Kettle. It worked very well for heating water. Kinda bulky and heavy. I haven't used one of these but have seen them used. I like them because you can use 'em as an alcohol stove 'til you run out of fuel and then use 'em as a twig stove: http://www.traildesigns.com/stoves/caldera-ti-tri.

You can't beat a bivysac if you are trying to hide. The issue Goretex is the one I use, a little heavy but all Goretex, not just the top. You can't get 'em pretty cheap off ebay.

I am heading to Alaska at the end of the month to try and catch the start of the Iditarod and then head up to Fairbanks/China Hot Springs to try and get some good Northern Lights pictures. I am trying to make it Space A so it is always iffy. I plan on flying into Elmendorf/Anchorage and maybe take the weekly train to Fairbanks.


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## prepare_survive_thrive (May 7, 2012)

swjohnsey said:


> Breatheable waterproof fabric is evolving. Goretex was a godsend to folks living in the field when it came out. Goretex itself has improved plus there are many new ones on the market. Probably the best now is Event. I am a fan of the lighter, cheaper stuff like the Marmot Precip and even the Frogtoggs Dri Ducks.
> 
> I used the Kelty Kettle. It worked very well for heating water. Kinda bulky and heavy. I haven't used one of these but have seen them used. I like them because you can use 'em as an alcohol stove 'til you run out of fuel and then use 'em as a twig stove: http://www.traildesigns.com/stoves/caldera-ti-tri.
> 
> ...


Hats off to you sir. I've tried very hard but have yet to get my pack under 45lbs. Do you not like wool? Im trying to get some minus 33° stuff but still cant afford it. the wool I have used has retained my body heat very well. Just a thought.


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## swjohnsey (Jan 21, 2013)

Wool is O.K. but heavy and expensive. Polyester is cheap, relatively light and easy to maintain. I like down insulated stuff, too. But, again, expensive and you need to keep it dry. When the weather won't ever get above freezing I gravitate to down for an insulation layer.


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## WWhermit (Mar 1, 2012)

prepare_survive_thrive said:


> Hats off to you sir. I've tried very hard but have yet to get my pack under 45lbs. Do you not like wool? Im trying to get some minus 33° stuff but still cant afford it. the wool I have used has retained my body heat very well. Just a thought.


If you haven't heard of it, check out smartwool. It's not your grandfather's wool products. More of a blend of wool and synthetics. Much better, lighter, and warmer than traditional wool. It also dries much faster if it gets wet.

This stuff works great as a base layer, and excellent for socks.


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## *Andi (Nov 8, 2009)

I say give it a try ...

take three days and go for it ...

:cheers:


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## BillM (Dec 29, 2010)

*We used to*



swjohnsey said:


> What do you need? Shelter, water, food and maybe a way to carry it.
> 
> Shelter is what you need to keep you warm and dry. This can be your clothes, tent, sleeping bag and pad.You can get by even in very cold conditions if you have some good clothes like a Goretex or equivalent shell, some sort of insulation layer like fleece and a base layer like poly pro or Capilene (polyester long johns). I have curled up under a log on snowy nights in the woods with every bit of clothes I had including my Goretex shell. It makes life easier if you have a tent. There are many good three season tents out there now that weigh around two pounds. A couple are the Big Agness Flycreek UL1 and the Hubba. A good sleeping bag is worth it weight in gold and cost nearly that much. A bag like the Western Mounteering Highlight weighs about a pound, compressess to the size of a grapefruit and is rated 35 degrees. It will set you back about $300. A good pad is a necessity in cold weather and a luxury at other times. Something like a Thermarest Neoair Xlite weighs only 8 ounces but has a good R value and will make sleeping easier.
> 
> ...


We used to call this Hobo camping. Just a wool blanket light tarp and what you could roll up in it or carry in your pockets.


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## act5860 (Feb 9, 2013)

Excellent op. Keep it light and use what's available around you. Iwas an instructor at the arctic survival course in 1981, 1982 at Eilson AFB.


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## cowboyhermit (Nov 10, 2012)

Good job on the op

Wish I could agree that goretex was a godsend, I know many people who swear by it. I spent a lot of money on this stuff and now use none of it, gave some away, other items got damaged within days. When I was unhappy with the first goretex I got, a bunch of guys convinced me that if only I bought this new version it would be sooo much better, nope

To be fair we deal more with extreme cold here than rain. I am also harder on clothes than most people.

Wool may be expensive but it lasts me so much longer I actually spend much less on clothes than when I was buying the synthetic stuff all the time. Down is amazing as long as it is dry.


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## swjohnsey (Jan 21, 2013)

Eilson, next to the North Pole.


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## swjohnsey (Jan 21, 2013)

cowboyhermit said:


> Good job on the op
> 
> Wish I could agree that goretex was a godsend, I know many people who swear by it. I spent a lot of money on this stuff and now use none of it, gave some away, other items got damaged within days. When I was unhappy with the first goretex I got, a bunch of guys convinced me that if only I bought this new version it would be sooo much better, nope
> 
> ...


The nice part about Goretex is that it is guaranteed forever. I just sent my wife's jacket back to Eddie Bauer. It musta been over 20 years old. Got a full refund because they didn't have the same jacket anymore.

Also for Goretex or any other breathable fabric to work the durable water resistant coating DWR must occassional be refreshed with something like Nikwax.


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## cowboyhermit (Nov 10, 2012)

The warranty can be a bit of a run around, at least in my experience and what I have heard from others, if you had different experience that's great 
For me though it was mostly the issue of comfort and it letting me down when I needed it. Not much help to someone out in the cold to say they can mail it for an exchange.


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