SURVIVAL

HACKS

OVER 200 WAYS TO USE EVERYDAY ITEMS

FOR WILDERNESS SURVIVAL

CREEK STEWART, author of Build the Perfect Bug Out Bag

AVON, MASSACHUSETTS

Contents

Introduction

CHAPTER 1

Shelter Hacks

CHAPTER 2

Water Hacks

CHAPTER 3

Fire Hacks

CHAPTER 4

Food Hacks

CHAPTER 5

Staying Healthy

CHAPTER 6

Gear Hacks

CHAPTER 7

Forward Movement

CHAPTER 8

Everyday Carry (EDC) Kits on a Budget

Conclusion

Acknowledgments

Introduction

sur-VIV-al HACK-ing

verb

The act of using what you have to get what you need to stay alive in any situation.

“Hacking” is making do with what you’ve got. It has three aspects:

Using knowledge of basic survival principles

Innovative thinking

Exploiting available resources

KNOWLEDGE OF BASIC SURVIVAL PRINCIPLES

Knowledge is the basis for almost every successful survival skill. You can get it from reading books, listening to the advice and stories of others, and watching the actions of others. However, the most important way to gain true knowledge of survival principles is trial and error with your own two hands. No method of learning takes the place of hands-on, personal experience. Your options in a survival scenario will ultimately depend on your understanding of basic survival principles that surround shelter, water, fire, and food.

INNOVATIVE THINKING

I’ve often said that innovation is the most important survival skill. Innovation can be defined in survival as creatively using available resources to execute a plan formulated using pre-existing survival knowledge. At the end of the day, the application of survival principles is only limited by your ability to creatively use them.

EXPLOITING AVAILABLE RESOURCES

Available resources are anything natural or manmade, from leaves and sticks to trash bottles and windshield wipers. Everything is potentially a survival resource that you can exploit, with knowledge and creativity, to get what you need. In this book, we explore hundreds of everyday items that can be modified, repurposed, reused, reshaped, rebuilt, or recycled to meet some kind of basic human survival need.

THREE THOUSAND FAILURES

Some of the hacks featured in this book are tips and tricks I’ve absorbed throughout my lifelong study of survival; I learned them from other people and from watching others in the field. I’ve picked up all sorts of hacks from friends, family, students, and other survival enthusiasts. I’m always on the lookout for a fun, new, and creative survival hack.

However, many of the following 200-plus survival hacks are also the result of more than 3,000 failed attempts. Some, such as the Make a Fire Pipe hack in Chapter 3, took more than 20 tries to get right. If I had quit working on a hack idea at the first failed attempt, this book would be about five pages long.

The 200-plus hacks listed in the following pages are proven to work. I’ve successfully practiced them all. Each of them is an actionable lesson in survival; you can go into your backyard and practice them right now. Many can be executed in the comfort of your home or garage, and certainly you can use them on your next camping trip.

THE MORE YOU HACK

As you study, practice, and use these 200-plus hacks from everyday objects, you’re bound to learn more about survival principles and how to creatively meet basic survival needs. This knowledge will lead to new “hack” ideas that I want to hear about! E-mail your hack ideas to creek@creekstewart.com. Who knows, your hack could make it into the next volume of Survival Hacks.

Chapter 1

Shelter Hacks

CLOTHING HACKS

A Belt with Traction

Pantyhose Prevention

Lip Balm Zipper Waterproofer

Handy Tool/Gear Grips

Roycroft Pack

Tumpline for Heavy Loads

Sock Half Gloves

FOOTWEAR HACKS

Seal Your Seams with Toilet Rings

Newspaper Mukluks

Racket Snowshoes

Scrap Rubber Huaraches

This Insole Never Felt So Good

Use Ice to Make Your Shoes More Comfortable

Duct Tape Snowshoes

Sock Gaiters

CANOPY HACKS

Trash Bag Shelter

Hack Tarp Boat

Pop Can Snow/Sand Anchor

Pop Tab Tensioner

Two Simple Grommet Savers

DIY Canopy on a Budget

Shock Band Hack

Bug Out Bicycle Shelter

Glow-in-the-Dark Guylines

6" Tensioning Stick

SHELTER AND HEATING HACKS

Pallet Shelter

Framework Collar Connector

A $1 Sleeping Pad or Fire Reflector

A Quick and Dirty Camp Table

Hobo Candle Heater

Metal Bucket Storage Heater

A Simple Blackout Air Conditioner

SEATING AND BEDDING HACKS

Blanket Chair

Bed Sheet Hammock

Feed Sack Cot

Tire Stool

The 3-Ounce Camp Chair

In extreme conditions, you can survive as few as 3 hours without shelter. Exposure to the elements is almost always your number one survival priority. Keeping warm, cool, dry, or protected from the rain, snow, and wind is easier said than done when you’re working with limited resources. You may need some creative hacking in order to be effective.

I’ll never forget the words of a wise Scoutmaster when I was a kid: “Boys, the ability to dress yourselves is the first of all great survival lessons.” He was right. Shelter starts with clothing and footwear. It ends with more complicated principles such as windbreaks, insulation, bedding, roofing materials, fire reflection, and waterproofing.

This chapter’s hacks are all designed to help offer protection for you and your gear from your biggest survival adversary—the weather. Without protection from the elements, few other survival priorities matter. The ability to cope with what the weather throws at you is what keeps you alive long enough in order to even execute other survival skills directed toward water, fire, or food. We’ll start this chapter of shelter hacks in the spirit of my old Scoutmaster—with clothing.

CLOTHING HACKS

A BELT WITH TRACTION

A broken belt in the field can be a devastating setback, especially if you’re using your belt to carry gear such as a knife, your everyday carry (EDC) kit, and saw. A surprisingly simple and very durable hack belt can be made from the tread of an old bicycle tire. When the walls are trimmed away until just the face tread remains, it becomes the perfect belt width. Staple, rivet, or lash one end to your buckle, punch holes in the other end for adjusting, and you’ve got a belt that will last a lifetime. You can also use bicycle tire treads as suspenders, pack straps, replacement handles, and rifle slings. Slivers from the rubber tread can even be used as harsh-weather fire starters.