Talk:Survival skills

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1 Category
2 point of view
3 Water
4 What about survival at sea?
5 Social survival skills?
6 Rule of Fours
7 External Links
8 Changes
9 Similar Page

[edit] Category

Someone needs to categorize this!

Can't agree more with what Dave B had to say. I did a three day course with these folk and certainly learn't all about what it takes to get back in one piece. Remember, survival is all about getting back not subsisting off the land. I for one don't like the idea of staying out there any longer than I have to. I also realised that my equipment wasn't up to speed. I had purchased a survival kit from the States and quickly realised how useless it was. Psychology is the key to survival. Regardless of training and equipment if you haven't got it up top than you ain't going to make it. Technology will let you down everytime, so be aware. I thoroughly recommend their training to anyone in Australia or for those wishing to visit the last great frontier. Stay Safe.

Peter Felton QLD Australia

This article is quite obviously in need of some serious work. I personally feel that most of the initial work should be focused on the "Basic Necessities" section, as this is the most important. Photos would also be valuable, especially for things like water gathering devices, traps, shelters, and improvised weapons which are hard to describe otherwise.

203.10.231.229 02:01, 21 September 2005 (UTC) Survival is more than just finding a shelter, water and food. It's all in the mind.

Why do the most experienced people find themselves in trouble when others with little or no training or experience live to tell their tale or even write a book.

Alive and Kick'n, Australia's most comprehensive guide to surviving in remote areas gives you all the answers. Written by two chaps who have not on been there but have also done it , and who run their own business provides you with a step by step of what to do from preparation to rescue.

Dave B203.10.231.229 02:01, 21 September 2005 (UTC)

[edit] point of view

I believe the introduction is a bit agressive when it describes our society. Slave labor?

I belive that they are refering to wage slavery.--Knife Knut 02:11, 14 July 2005 (UTC)

I removed most of that section as it was not relevant to the article. Well actually yes... --Pappa 10:04, 27 July 2005 (UTC)

>>>>>I'm sorry, but is "outer space" really necessary in the list of survival environments encountered??? >>>>>And why is Outer space capitalized??

[edit] Water

I've started a new category, Category:Appropriate technology and some of the articles in it may be relevant to Survival skills. I believe that some techniques described in that category, such as the Cloth filter and Sodis or Solar disinfection, would be useful survival skills. --Singkong2005 06:18, 27 November 2005 (UTC)

"Urine on the other hand contains salt, which makes it unsuitable to drink." This one-sided view conflicts with the information at Drinking Urine: Survival, which presents a more balanced view: Yes, urine contains salts and other chemicals, and may even speed dehydration, but it may extend your life if no other water is available. Article could also use a link to Drinking Urine.Jedwards05

[edit] What about survival at sea?

I haven't been able to find any article about the survival of people adrift at sea, yet I can recall hearing about many different people who survived for long periods adrift.

I was trying to find out more about C.O. Jennings who wrote the book An Ocean Without Shores. During WWII he survived 127 days at sea, drinking rainwater and eating raw seagulls. When he eventually got taken prisoner by the Japanese, it seemed to be like a holiday camp to him in comparison. Its an exciting book which I thoroughly recommend. There is nothing on the web about him, which is a shame. I wish I knew more about him.

I think there should be an article about survival at sea, and other types of human endurance.

[edit] Social survival skills?

I have heard very many people refer to internalization of certain skills that assist in ones ability not to be pushed around, et al, in your society given your race, social class, etc. related factors, as "survival skills." Should a subsection like that be included in this article, or is there already another article that addresses this which this article can link to?

I don't know whether or not there is another article on social skills, but that material definitely doesn't belong here. --Smack (talk) 17:43, 27 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Rule of Fours

I had an "outdoor education" teacher years ago tell me this, and recently heard it repeated on "Survivorman". It's called "The Rule of Fours". It's not strictly correct, more of a mnemonic for remembering your priorities.

Four minutes to get air
Four hours to get shelter
Four days to get water
Four weeks to get food

I was also told another non-obvious (to me) rule: if you have access to food but not water, don't eat the food. You won't starve, and digesting the food will use water your body cannot afford to waste. Fracture98 04:22, 28 August 2006 (UTC)

I think that this "rule" is more misleading than useful.

"Four minutes to get air" just baffles me. If you're under water (no air at all), you'll drown in four minutes, unless you're a highly conditioned diver. If you're at high elevation (thin air), your need for air depends on just how high you are.
The time you can spend getting shelter depends on conditions. In clear weather at noon, you can probably afford six hours or so. If cumulus clouds are gathering and it's already two hours before sundown, you can barely afford two, if that.
You'll die of dehydration in four days, maybe unless you can soak in rainwater or a lake.
You'll die of hunger in four weeks. Moreover, for the last three weeks or so, you'll probably be weak, stupid and miserable.

You do have a point about eating when you have no water. However, in order to write about this in the article, we need to analyze it some more. For instance, I doubt it applies equally to moist foods (berries) and dry foods (trail mix). Furthermore, it's not immediately clear whether food takes up water temporarily (until your intestines reclaim it) or permanently. --Smack (talk) 18:49, 28 August 2006 (UTC)

Yeah, I guess I should have said something like "It's not strictly correct, more of a mnemonic for remembering your priorities.". Oh, wait. I did. Fracture98 01:58, 29 August 2006 (UTC)

As a mnemonic, it doesn't need to include specific details – especially when they're wrong. --Smack (talk) 15:32, 30 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] External Links

I added a link to survivalistboards.com - its a survival website and discussion board. The link has been removed, it was citied as a "commercial site" or was it because the site belongs to me, I dont know the exact reason. In the external links section, 4 of the 6 links are commercial. Please allow me to re-add my site, or please remove the 4 commercial links from the external links section. There is nothing for sale on my sites, just a couple of google banners. As survivalistboards.com deals with survival skils, it is related to this topic. - --21kev 17:00, 30 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Changes

I removed "cutting tool" after knife and replaced it with "multitool" - a knife is a cutting tool, so the statement "knife and cutting tool" was repetitive. Also added the physical and mental sections under training. --21kev 18:52, 30 August 2006 (UTC)