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Outdoor Survival Tools

The Importance of Outdoor Survival Tools

Kenny and his four high school buddies made it an annual event to rent a cabin in Pennsylvania every summer for two weeks. In fact, they had been involved in this kind of wilderness survival adventure for the past ten years.

Although the cabin didn’t have running water or electricity, Kenny and his high school pals always brought enough water, matches to light a fire, and a flashlight (with extra batteries). Along with the food and beer they packed extra clothes, a first aid kit, toiletry items, rain gear, and some basic outdoor survival tools, they usually had just about everything they needed to have a good time–as well as a safe time.

It wasn’t always this way. Indeed, after they were at the cabin for a few hours the first summer, they realized that they certainly had enough food and water and other “basic” items, but they didn’t bring all of the outdoor survival tools they needed. This wasn’t a total oversight for they figured they had addressed all the tools they would need by bringing a multi-purpose knife similar to a Swiss Army knife.

Lacking Basic Outdoor Survival Tools

They got a sudden wake-up call the first summer at the cabin when they brought along plenty of canned goods but didn’t have a can opener. So after this fiasco they made it a point to always bring a manual can opener.

Experience Helps Build Your “Must Have” List of Outdoor Survival Tools

Another year after their matches got wet and couldn’t be used they decided that they would always bring a magnesium fire starter along with a few cigarette lighters, and waterproof matches.

Around the fifth summer they decided to bet a little brave and camp outside the cabin and so they reasoned that they needed to build a shelter. The main problem they encountered was that they really needed something to cut the branches from the trees. When they got back home, they found out on an outdoor survival how essential a good machete was in the wild. So they added a machete to their list of “must have” outdoor survival tools.

The same year when they were constructing their shelter, they quickly realized that the “perfect” location needed to be slightly leveled. What they wouldn’t do for a small shovel. So after leveling the ground with the claw end of their hammer, they figured that they needed to add a small shovel to their list of outdoor survival tools.

This past year after going back home, the group decided that they would “rough it” the next year and attempt to live off the land for at least a few days. Kenny figured a good way to procure food would be to go fishing in the lack that is located about a mile from their cabin.

So they all went to the local Gander Mountain where they lived and bought some fishing rods, and a tackle box loaded with hooks, extra fishing line, weights, and lures. The salesperson at Gander Mountain then suggested that they buy a filleting knife so they could properly prepare the fish for eating. So they bought a fishing guide and few filleting knives. For now their “must have” list of outdoor survival tolls was complete.

Outdoor Survival Tools: Conclusion

Just before heading out to their cabin this past year, all of the guys started discussing how their list of “must have” outdoor survival tolls got bigger each year. Kevin laughed and said that what was kind of ironic was that the more they ventured into the wild away from their cabin, the less they knew about camping in the wilderness, and the more tools they needed to add to their “must have” list of outdoor survival tools.