Survival
This page is all about how to survive when you get caught out unprepared in the wilderness.
Shelter
Snow Shelters
In winter conditions, snow shelters become a viable option. They are very warm and windproof compared to other kinds of shelters. A well executed snow shelter is superior to a tent in many ways. There are many kinds of snow shelters including snow caves, quinzhees and igloos.
Fire
Tinder
Tinder is the smallest stuff that catches immediately with a flame.
Home-made options:
Cottons balls saturated with Vaseline (waterproof, catches with a spark, each burn 2-3 minutes).
Ranger bands (1 cm wide cuts bike inner tube; waterproof, burn 2-3 minutes each).
Commercial options:
Coghlans emergency tinder (sort of like the cotton balls above, but not as messy; http://www.coghlans.com/images/productBig/392.jpg).
Coghlans fire sticks (basically wax and saw dust; http://www.coghlans.com/images/productBig/164.jpg).
Other options:
Strips of foam seeping mat or padding in pack shoulder straps or back panel.
Insect repellant saturated bits of cotton.
Suggestions for packing Vaseline saturated cotton balls:
Stuff a whole bunch into a film canister.
Cut a section of drinking-straw a couple inches long. McDonald’s straws are good because they are wide. Using a q-tip or toothpick, push the Vaseline cotton ball into the straw, and then carefully melt the ends shut. When it is time to light, cut off a tip, pull out a bit of the cotton and it will light with spark and burn for a few minutes.
Kindling
Kindling is the smaller wood (toothpick to broomstick thickness) that catches from the tinder. This stuff generally has to be dry, which is hard to find, especially in winter or wet weather. Splitting larger wood is the best option. If splitting is not possible, shaving away wet outer surfaces to access the drier parts is the next best option. Smallest kindling should be dry shavings of wood, followed by progressively larger pieces.
Standing dead wood is the best option for dry wood, but hard to find, and will still need to be split for kindling. Dead and down wood is often wet on the outside, but is sometimes dry on the inside and a good option if the snow is not too deep to find it. Living trees provide the most easily accessible wood. Only the outer ring (sapwood) is alive and contains sap and moisture while the inside of the tree (heartwood) is dead and generally dry. Moisture content varies with species. Harder dryer trees like ash (not found out west), maple and birch are best. Soft sappy trees like pine, fir, spruce and cedar are much harder to catch fire. Once the fire is going, these tree types burn just fine.
Cutting larger diameter wood into manageable logs is best done with a saw. With patience, a small saw such as the one on a Swiss Army Knife will get through 4 inch trees/logs. When the diameter of the wood being cut exceeds the length of the saw blade, you have to saw around on each side of the wood to work your way through it. Larger saws are obviously faster and easier to use. A good fixed blade knife suitable for splitting (described below) can be used to chop. Chopping in general is more dangerous than sawing, and harder to do when physically or mentally compromised. With practice and good technique, a 6 in blade knife will chop faster than a Swiss Army Knife or Leatherman can saw.
The safest way to split logs is with a fixed blade knife. The blade needs to be about an inch longer than the diameter of the wood being split. For most purposes a 5-6 inch blade is long enough. The blade is pounded into the log with a baton (some other heavy enough branch) to split it. This is the best way to get small sticks. http://img205.imageshack.us/img205/5306/p5231666mw2.jpg (knife in pic has a 9 in blade)
Knives and Tools
The knife blade should be at least 3/16 inch thick (5 mm) with a flat spine. Avoid hollow handled knives and blades with a saw back, like Rambo’s knife. These are novelty items that limited the strength and use of the knife. Good knives have a full tang (look it up if you don’t know this is). Avoid knives with guards that extend on the top of the knife. They interfere with ‘batoning’. A guard that prevents fingers from slipping onto the blade are good idea however. Blade steel needs to be good quality. Stainless steel is generally low quality if it is affordable. Examples of good stainless steels are 440C, VG10, S30V, AUS8(A), 154CM . If the type of stainless steel is not specified, it is junk. High carbon non-stainless steel is generally better quality for the price, but needs to be kept lightly oiled to prevent rust. (Even stainless steel will rust in time if not cared for). Carbon steel is also easier to sharpen which is a bonus. Good quality steels stay sharp longer, are much stronger, and the edge will not chip. Look for flat or saber ground knives. More expensive convex grinds are the best. Avoid hollow grinds. There and many good knives out there, but unfortunately many more crappy ones (which are just as expensive) making knife shopping tricky. Ontario, Cold Steel and Camillus (Becker) are some of the more affordable brands that make good knives. The Cold Steel SRK is my favourite. It is the lightest knife of its size I have found with good balance for chopping as well fine work; it has a very strong point for digging and prying, a secure sheath, and can be had for $60 with careful shopping. Expect to pay a minimum of ~$100 to get a decent knife in or to Canada.
Opinions on tools vary. The idea is to have the lightest weight combination that will cover the basic tasks of “getting” and splitting wood. Some people prefer a large knife 8” – 10” blade (like the 9” one in the pic above) that will chop well and split. It weighs 24 oz with its sheath. I suggest two smaller tools instead. My 6” SRK and 7” pruning saw (Sandvic Laplander sold at MEC) have a combined weight of 18 oz. Not only is this lighter, but it is safer and easier to use than the one big knife. Chopping is not only dangerous, but it requires good technique to be efficient. Sawing is much easier when injured, which is an important consideration. Using the saw to “get” the wood will keep the knife sharper longer, and reduces the likelihood of breaking it. Two tools give more versatility, and the ability to leave one behind, or to carry them between two people. Also, should one tool break, you still have another to work with. If only one can be carried, the knife is more useful than the saw. The 6” knife, or Swiss Army Knife/Leatherman saw can still “get” the wood, it is just much more work and slower.
Axes and hatchets are too specialized and heavy to carry hikes or ski trips. They also require good technique to be safe and efficient. Very long thin blades like machetes are for use on light greener vegetation. Not appropriate on wood in these forests.
Other
Disposable lighters are more reliable than matches, and will light many more fires than matches of the same weight and bulk. Birthday cake candles are useful for reaching into the fire to light tinder.
A good introductory reference to firecraft is chapter 7 of the US Army Survival Manual: http://rk19-bielefeld-mitte.de/survival/FM/07.htm