Useful Survival Skills Everyone Should Know

Main Takeaways

• Survival skills equip you with the knowledge and abilities to protect yourself and others in unpredictable scenarios.
• Water purification, fire starting, shelter building, and traditional navigation are a few simple and useful survival skills everyone should know.
• Make sure you learn basic first aid care to prevent injuries from worsening.

Survival skills aren’t just for avid outdoor adventurers and survivalists; they’re for everyone. Yes, even you.

These skills, covering everything from fire-starting basics to first aid, ensure your safety in unexpected disasters and wilderness situations. They also enable better preparedness in emergencies, so you can stay calm and make more rational decisions. And trust us, that makes all the difference when time is of the essence.

Don’t know where to begin? Start with these simple and useful survival skills from Army Surplus World!

1. How to Provide Basic First Aid and Medical Care

There’s a reason why first aid supplies are on every survival list, from off-grid survival to DIY winter emergency kits. They provide immediate injury care when professional help is unavailable. 

But it’s not enough to just pack a kit. Having a basic understanding of first aid can help reduce pain, prevent worsening conditions, and even save someone’s life.

Useful survival skills to learn include:

• Basic wound care
• Burn treatment
• Insect and animal bite treatment
• Fracture and sprain management
• CPR
• Primary assessment (checking for responsiveness and breathing)
• Recognizing hypothermia and heat-related conditions, like heat stroke

2. How to Build a Fire

Fire starting is a fundamental survival and outdoor skill. It’ll help provide warmth, light, and a cooking source in emergency and wilderness scenarios. It can also be an invaluable communication tool if you’re lost or stranded.

This can be challenging, especially in wet conditions. That’s why you should master starting a fire in various conditions using matches, lighters, and friction methods. You should also learn useful survival and safety skills, such as:

• Suitable types of tinder and kindling
• Fire safety to prevent wildfires
• How to keep your fire burning once it’s started

3. How to Build a Shelter

Shelter should be a top priority when you find yourself in an emergency. You can create simple shelters with surplus tents or canvas tarps, if you have one. But since that’s not always possible, you should also know how to create makeshift shelters with your military poncho or natural materials like branches and leaves.

4. How to Find and Purify Water to Drink

Water is critical for survival. The only problem is that natural water sources can contain bacteria and viruses that cause waterborne illnesses. You should not only know how to purify water with water purification methods but also how to identify safe sources of drinking water, such as rivers, streams, and even rainwater puddles. 

5. How to Use a Map and Compass

It doesn’t matter how experienced a camper or outdoor enthusiast you are. Anyone can get lost in the wilderness.

GPS devices are useful, but traditional navigation skills are a must for survival. Phones die. Signals drop in remote areas. Not to mention, GPS is famous for sending drivers and pedestrians down wrong routes.

You should know how to read a military compass and how to use it with a map to plot your course accurately. Topographic maps are also helpful. They can help you identify trails, landmarks, and potential water sources.

6. How to Signal for Help

Emergency signaling is one of the most simple and useful survival skills everyone should learn. However, how you signal will differ depending on your situation and available resources. Some common emergency signaling methods include:

• Whistles - Survival whistles can carry over long distances.
• Signal Mirrors - These mirrors reflect sunlight to create a visible flash that can be seen from miles away.
• Flashlights - Camping flashlights with high lumens can be extremely beneficial for signaling.
• Signal Fires - Signal fires are not the same as regular fires. They use green vegetation or other materials to produce thick, dark smoke that’s easily visible from a distance.

7. How to Tie a Knot

Knot tying is often overlooked among survival skills. But it shouldn’t be. Simple and useful, this survival skill helps you build secure shelters, set snares and traps to catch food, or even create a secure loop to rescue someone. Consider it the foundation for your other survival skills. 

Some essential survival knots to master include:

• Bowline
• Taut-Line Hitch
• Clove Hitch
• Figure-Eight Loop
• Sheet Bend

8. How to Forage for Food

While nature provides many food resources, not all are safe to eat. Understanding the difference is one of the most crucial and useful survival skills. Some important things to learn:

• Edible plants and berries in your area
• Parts of plants that are safe to eat
• Poisonous look-alikes of plants that are safe to eat

Get Prepared with Army Surplus World

You learn the survival skills. We’ll provide the gear to master them. Be prepared for any emergency scenario with our wide selection of tactical and military survival gear at Army Surplus World!

FAQs

How long can you survive without food or water?

Most people can survive about 3 days without water. You can survive about 3 weeks without food, provided you have access to water.

What are the most useful survival skills?

Knowing how to start a fire, locate and purify water, build a shelter, navigate without GPS, and signal for help are top survival skills.

How do I purify water in the wild?

You can purify water by boiling it for 1 minute. No pot on hand? Purification tablets are also helpful.