“One of the most important, yet most neglected, aspects of wilderness living is personal hygiene. In our experience, most guys behave like unwashed heathens in the woods and won't shower, shave, or brush their teeth for weeks at a time if they don't have to, but that's a recipe for trouble.”
Read moreInstructor Corps Pro Tip 4/30 - Ranger Bands on Fire
“They won’t catch a spark, but if you have an open flame, they’ll burn easily. Lighting one is like starting a mini tire fire. Even the small ones will burn for 10-15mins in all conditions, including rain and high winds, and they're virtually impossible to put out.”
Read moreInstructor Corps Pro Tip 4/16 - The 9-Volt Fire
“While you can certainly carry a 9-volt battery and steel wool into the woods (there are a few pieces of gear left that still take 9-volts), I consider this to be more of a MacGyver skill.”
Read moreInstructor Corps Pro Tip 4/9 - The Possum's Dump Pouch
“But you only have so many pockets, and your pack is usually full of stuff already. So like any good marsupial, you need a pouch. The solution to this is to carry a military mag dump pouch (or a carpenter's nail pouch) with you so you can easily collect resources as you go.”
Read moreInstructor Corps Pro Tip 4/2 - Water from a Vine
“Need water but can't locate a good source? In certain areas (rarely in GA, but it happens) you might be a good ways away from a creek or stream, or it might be a time of drought and sources may be dried up. If that's your situation, consider the grapevine.”
Read moreInstructor Corps Pro Tip 3/26 - Calculating Magnetic Declination
“When we’re kids, we know that down is south and up is north. Where a compass points is where Santa lives, and it’s at the top of the map. Life is simple. But when we become men (and women), start doing land nav, and put away childish things, it gets a little more complicated.”
Read moreInstructor Corps Pro Tip: 6 Reasons Not to Trust Your GPS
“Those who are new to the woods and believe that wilderness skills can be hacked like everything else are especially susceptible to this fallacy. But some things can't be shortcut. Some things, the old-fashioned, difficult, inefficient and time-consuming way is still the way to do it. Land nav is one of those things.”
Read moreInstructor Corps Pro Tip 3/12 - Counting Your Pace
“There is no ‘hack’ to getting your pace count right. There are best practices, followed by lots of practicing. Go out and find a place to lay out a 100-meter course, and get to it. What if you’re not military or SAR? Is this relevant to you? Absolutely.”
Read moreInstructor Corps Pro Tip 2/26 - Keep Your Tinder Dry
“Rain is a natural and unavoidable part of living in nature, and can be tolerated pretty well with proper planning and gear. But one thing is for sure – it certainly amps up the difficulty of firecraft.”
Read moreInstructor Corps Pro Tip 2/19 - It's All in Your Hands
“…If you’re carving out a comfortable living in the howling wilderness with only your knowledge and a few tools, that’s damn tough enough. I’ve got nothing to prove, so I’m wearing gloves. Here’s why.”
Read moreInstructor Corps Pro Tip 1/22 - The Case for Rest
“While getting proper rest may not seem important, consider the consequences if you don’t. One night probably won’t affect you too much. You won’t be at your best, but you’ll be alright. But more than one night in harsh conditions with little or no sleep, and things start to unravel…”
Read moreInstructor Corps Pro Tip 1/1 - The Overlooked Candle
“…if you’re wondering where I got the one on the right in the photo… I definitely didn’t snatch it from a candlelight Christmas Eve service, if that’s what you think. The Possum Mentality never sleeps.”
Read moreInstructor Corps Pro Tip 11/20 - Situational Awareness for Tracking
“Of all the casualties of the smartphone age, three of the most important, and the most tragic, losses are awareness, attention, and focus.”
Read moreInstructor Corps Pro Tip 11/13 - The Kochanski SuperShelter
“We always say that we don’t do “hacks,” and we don’t. But this is the one thing we’ve come across that truly hacks the system – it allows you to bend the laws of the woods like Neo bends space and time in the Matrix. There is no downside, and there are no compromises. Interested? Then allow us to enlighten you about the Kochanski SuperShelter.”
Read moreInstructor Corps Pro Tip 10/30 - Bombproof Tensionless Anchor
“The basic building block of any rope system is an anchor. Without an anchor, there’s nothing to pull tension on, nothing to clip in to, etc. And the tried-and-true single point bombproof tensionless anchor is one of the strongest and simplest around.”
Read moreInstructor Corps Pro Tip 10/16 - Laying a Fire
“If you’ve ever had a fire that started out alright, flamed up, and then quickly died, this may well be one of the reasons why.”
Read moreInstructor Corps Pro Tip 10/2 - Char Cloth
“One of the oldest and most time-tested of all tinders is char cloth. It’s simply cotton cloth (or nearly any other woven plant fiber, really – you can use linen, jute twine, burlap, etc.), that’s undergone the process of pyrolysis.”
Read moreInstructor Corps Pro Tip 9/18
Lots of people who carry knives are scared of sharpening them. In our experience, it’s mostly because they’re afraid of screwing up, so they don’t do it.
Read moreInstructor Corps Pro Tip 6/19 - Treating poisoning with charcoal
Is it as good as activated charcoal? No. But could it potentially save your life in a survival situation? Absolutely.
Read moreThe Case for Danger
“We must always remember that there is nothing in this life which is not dangerous. The greatest danger of all is not firearms, it is not blades, it is not wild beasts, it is not tornadoes, earthquakes, avalanches, or floods, but it is LUXURY, it is everything which tends to make a man weak, dependent on others, and soft in mind and muscle.”
– Daniel C. Beard, 1920
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