Learning survival tips can prepare you for a situation where the right skills can save your life. From getting stranded in the wild to making it through a SHTF situation, it’s important not only to have the right gear, but the right skills and training.

Most people think immediately of SHTF items when they think about a survival situation, and those are definitely necessary. But there are a range of skills you will need to save your life in the case of a true survival situation. The following survival tips look at some of the most important.

Top 10 SHTF Supplies

Finding and Purifying Water

In a survival situation, water is the No. 1 issue. You can live without food and shelter for a relatively long time, but you will not make it far without water. Learn methods for where to look for flowing water in the wild (in the crevasses where hills meet, for example) and beware of  stagnant water that may contain bacteria. In all cases, it’s best to boil the water before drinking it.

Learn First Aid

You can make all the smart decisions about all the right equipment and tools, including choosing a survival knife. But it will all prove meaningless if you don’t know proper wound care and first aid. You should study up on how to treat the four most common injuries: cuts, sprains, burns and fractures. Then, make sure you have all the right supplies to treat each.

Choose the Right Survival Knife

Starting and Tending a Fire

This is 101 outdoor skills stuff, but it’s something you want to be an expert at in all terrains. Fire is necessary for clean drinking water, cooking food and maintaining body heat. Without the ability to build a fire in all situations, you’re not truly ready for a survival test.

Building Shelter

With or without a tent, you will want a location that is flat, dry and near a water source. Without a tent, you will need to learn about different methods for shelter building using what you can find in the wild. Keep in mind that shelters need only be big enough for your body, protecting you from the elements and helping conserve body heat.

Knowing What to Eat

You can spend many weeks learning what is edible and what is not in the wild. Experts recommend that you first rub a plant on your skin, then stop and wait a few hours to see if your skin reacts. If there’s no reaction, then try rubbing it on your lips. If there’s no burning or stinging sensation, you can move forward with just nibbling the plant. If you feel OK after a few hours, you can move up to small bites.

Know How to Navigate

You can’t know where you’re going – or get back to where you came from – without developing solid skills in navigation in the wild. While using a map and compass is essential, it’s also important to build up navigating skills when you have nothing but the sun and some sticks. That way, you’ll never truly be lost.

Keep Calm

This may be the hardest survival tip of all to master. It’s hard to practice for a situation where you must survive outdoors by yourself. However, fear only makes the situation worse, and can lead to you making poor decisions. One of the first steps is to maintain a positive outlook and remember that you have the skills and knowledge you need to survive.

Learning these survival tips can make the difference if you ever find yourself stranded in the wild. By preparing in advance, you’ll find it easier to maintain the positive outlook you need to survive.

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