Pat's Survival Tips

I'm a survivalist. I've been studying and practicing the art of survival for many years now and, not to sound elitist or egotistical or anything but, I've absorbed a lot of knowledge on the subject. Now, I want to share that knowledge with you. I'll try to post new tips as often as I can.

Let's get started with some of the basics.

Those of you out there suffering from liberal guilt might not like this one: Always carry some sort of cutting tool with you. Whether that be a multitool, pocket knife, or whatever. Personally, I carry a knife. My every day carry knife is a TOPS Pathfinder (endorsed by Dave Canterbury). It's nine inches overall, is 3/8 of an inch thick. It's big enough to do some minor chopping and small enough for precise, scalpel-like cutting. It's not made from some cheap stainless steel, either; this baby is 1095 carbon steel with a linen micarta handle. When I go into the woods, I carry it in a kydex locking sheath. For every day carry, I use a nylon M.O.L.L.E. sheath. I highly recommend this knife for every day carry.

More things I carry (and recommend for you to carry) every day: A compass, a whistle (you can buy whistles that have a built in compass), a length of 550 paracord (you can buy paracord bracelets now that unravel to about 10 feet in length), an LED flashlight or keychain light, and a means of making fire; this can be a cigarette lighter, waterproof matches, or a ferrocerium rod. I prefer the ferrocerium rod because it repels water better than anything else I've encountered.

Random survival fact of the day: Boiling water in order to kill those little microscopic baddies isn't the only option. You can add 16 drops (1/8 of a teaspoon) of bleach per gallon of water, stir, and in 30 minutes it's safe to drink. Drinking water from a creek, river, stream, etc without purifying it can result in dysentery, parasites (such as tapeworms), and eventually, quite possibly, death due to dehydration. How? Dysentery (extreme diarrhea, basically) makes you dehydrate. Isn't it ironic that unclean water can eventually cause dehydration?

If anyone has any questions, I'll answer them to the best of my ability.