Going out in the wild can be a very grueling and scary experience, especially for an inexperienced person. Adventure and wilderness trips expose people to a new environment they were not accustomed to. Such events necessitate the use of specialized skills which enhance survival and adaptability in a new environment. While you can easily survive in the wild with the ordinary skills, you might have gathered from your life, having bushcraft skills increases your ability to survive the discomfort and challenging experience that is wilderness adventure trips. This article discusses five bushcraft skills and tools you will definitely need the next time you are outdoors.
1. Starting Fires
Starting fires is undoubtedly an essential skill you need to have when in the wilderness. Unsurprisingly, anthropologists relate this skill of making fires to one of the most defining moments of human evolution. Fires provide numerous advantages, including security, safety, and warmth, and allow people outdoors to cook food easily. You might think all you need to start a fire is a match or a lighter, and you are right.
However, you will also need some extra bushcraft skills to start fires when you don’t have matches or lighters.
For instance, you can use the Bigfoot Bushcraft Fire Starter provided by BattlBox for only $5.99 to start fires when you don’t have matches. This package includes 60 plugs and has a 5+ minute burn time. Moreover, they are waterproof and windproof, with 10+ years of shelf life and non-greasy formula.
Even when you have matches, starting fires outdoors requires specific skills, including how to make kindling material. Ideally, you could use small sticks, twigs, or leaves as kindling. However, if you can’t find some, you can use a survival knife to shave off a big log to create a feather stick.
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2. Making Shelters
The main aim of going out in the wilderness and experiencing the outdoors is to do away with the comforts of your home. However, this does not mean neglecting basic human needs such as shelter. When outdoors, your shelter-making skills will help you survive harsh weather conditions and get home safely after your trip.
The shelter you build depends entirely on the weather conditions you have. If you are going to a cold region, you will need to make a shelter that keeps away the wind or snow and can allow you to build a fire. A simple shelter such as a leaves and branches shelter will do the trick in hot regions. If you do not want to build a shelter from scratch, consider carrying a portable camp tent on your next outdoor trip.
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3. Getting Clean Water
The human body can only survive up to three days without water. For that reason, you must find water when outdoors on an adventure. If you want to survive the outdoors, try exploring regions close to efficient water sources. When you get to the outdoors, you can start by listening for a babbling brook or a river. Remember, while this water may be fresh, you still need to filter, purify, or boil it to be suitable for drinking. Now that you know how to make fires outdoors, boiling the water should be easy.
4. Hunting and Food Foraging
You need nourishment when on a survival or adventure trip outdoors. Creating a meal can be a tough task if you do not have the right ingredients. You must learn how to identify edible plants and hunt for animals to get food. The best way to hunt easily is by using a rifle. However, if you do not have one or lack the skills to hunt using a gun, you can also create a trap for animals by digging a hole and covering it with leaves to make a trap. You can also survive on wild berries, fruits, and other edible plants. However, this might be difficult if you are inexperienced in such plants.
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5. Making Tools
Making tools from anything is the last bushcraft skill you should muster before a survival adventure trip. Tool-making skills will help you navigate the outdoors using items you find in the wild. Additionally, it will reduce the load you need to carry when on your survival adventure trip. A knife is one of the essential tools you need when traveling. Using a knife, you can carve different tools such as skewers for your meat, containers for boiling water and food, and spears for long-range hunting.
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Wrapping Up
An outdoor adventure trip is a success where you have fun or a grueling experience depending on your preparedness and bushcraft skills. The five bushcraft skills above are by no means a definitive list of all you need to learn to survive outdoors. However, they are an excellent place to start for any novice in the survival game. Remember, as with all kinds of skills, you need to constantly work on them and practice them to be an expert. You can get assistance on using these tools and learning bushcraft skills by going through periodic blogs and posts issued by the survival team at BattlBox.