WildSurvival101

WildSurvival101 Discover the wilderness with outdoor enthusiast Ian Flood. From basic camping to advanced winter survival, I'll guide you through nature's challenges.

Learn essential skills like navigation, shelter building, and emergency response.

Ferro Rod, Lighter or Matches: Which Should You Carry?People sometimes ask which fire starter is best. I think that's th...
08/29/2026

Ferro Rod, Lighter or Matches: Which Should You Carry?

People sometimes ask which fire starter is best. I think that's the wrong question. Each solves the problem differently.
A ferro rod is durable and throws repeated sparks, but it needs properly prepared tinder to work. A lighter is fast and gives a sustained flame, but protect it from cold and wet or it won't perform when you need it. Waterproof matches are simple and reliable, but finite — once they're gone, they're gone.

Don't pick a winner. Build redundancy, and store the backups separately so one failure doesn't take out your whole fire-starting plan.

Save this — the answer isn't picking a winner, it's carrying more than one.

A bug-out bag can get very heavy, very fast. Usually for the same reason: people build them by collecting products inste...
08/29/2026

A bug-out bag can get very heavy, very fast. Usually for the same reason: people build them by collecting products instead of asking what functions the bag actually needs to cover.

Think in categories, not items:

Water and warmth — carry it, treat it, and carry insulation appropriate to conditions.

Shelter and first aid — protection from wind and precipitation, plus supplies you actually know how to use.

Navigation and communication — primary and backup for each, not just one method you're hoping works.

Then audit what's already in there. Remove dead weight. Move emergency items to where you can actually reach them under stress. Review the bag by season — what worked in summer isn't what you need in winter.

The bag isn't finished when it's packed. It's finished when you've test-carried the load.

Knowing twenty knots isn't particularly useful if you can't remember which one to use when you actually need it.A better...
08/28/2026

Knowing twenty knots isn't particularly useful if you can't remember which one to use when you actually need it.

A better approach: learn a small number of knots by function, not by name. Five that cover most practical needs:

1. Bowline — a fixed loop that won't slip, used for rescue or securing around an object.
2. Clove hitch — a quick attachment to a post, tree, or spar. Fast, but not a critical life-safety anchor.
3. Adjustable tensioning hitch — slides for adjustment when unloaded, grips when tensioned. The one most people skip, and regret when a tarp sags overnight.
4. Sheet bend — joins two ropes of unequal diameter, which a square knot won't do reliably.
5. Figure-eight stopper — stops a rope from pulling through a pulley, block, or opening.
The names matter less than knowing which job each one solves.

Practise with gloves on and cord that isn't perfectly cooperative, until you don't have to think about the steps.

7 Wilderness Skills I’d Prioritise FirstIf you wanted to become more capable outdoors, where should you actually start?I...
08/27/2026

7 Wilderness Skills I’d Prioritise First

If you wanted to become more capable outdoors, where should you actually start?

I'd put these seven near the top:
Fire and water — prepare fuel properly, assess the source before treating it.
Shelter and navigation — control exposure, and use map, compass, and terrain together.
First aid and layering — assess systematically, manage heat and moisture before they become problems.
Signalling and communication — have more than one realistic way to get attention or request help.

Not because these are the only skills that matter, but because they cover the failure points that actually put people in trouble.

Capability comes before gadgets. A well-practised basic skill beats an expensive piece of gear you've never tested.

When something goes wrong outdoors, the instinct is often to do something immediately.That's frequently the wrong respon...
08/26/2026

When something goes wrong outdoors, the instinct is often to do something immediately.

That's frequently the wrong response.

S.T.O.P. Method breaks the instinct into four deliberate steps:
Stop — physically halt. Movement compounds a problem before you've assessed it.
Think — separate what you actually know from what you're assuming.
Observe — read people, weather, terrain, daylight, location, and equipment, in that order.
Plan — choose the safest useful next action based on what you actually observed.

Then reassess.

S.T.O.P. isn't a one-time checklist — it runs again the moment anything changes.

This isn't wilderness-specific. It's a decision-making framework for any situation where conditions can shift faster than instinct can process them.

Before You Drink: 4 Questions to Ask About Any Wilderness Water SourceClear water can look inviting. But clear doesn’t m...
08/23/2026

Before You Drink: 4 Questions to Ask About Any Wilderness Water Source

Clear water can look inviting. But clear doesn’t mean safe.

Before collecting water in the wilderness, take a moment to assess the source itself:

1. Origin — Where is the water coming from?
Consider the source and what the water may have passed through before reaching you.

2. Upstream Conditions — What’s happening above you?
Look for camps, animal activity, human waste, dead animals or other potential sources of contamination upstream.

3. Clarity & Colour — What does the water look like?
Cloudy or turbid water may need pre-filtration before treatment. But remember: water that looks perfectly clear can still contain microorganisms and other contaminants.

4. Surroundings — What human activity could be affecting the water?
Look beyond the immediate shoreline. Industry, mining, agriculture, roads and nearby development can introduce fuels, chemicals, fertilizers, pesticides, manure and other contaminants into a watershed.

And there’s an important distinction:

Not every water-treatment method removes chemical contamination.

In remote terrain, I prefer to think in terms of systems rather than relying on one piece of equipment. Assess the source first, choose the best available water, and carry two independent treatment methods for the hazards those methods are designed to address.

Save this field check for your next trip—and send it to the person you’d want beside you when things get difficult.

I’d like to compare field experience on this one:How do you Stay Warm Without Sweating Yourself Cold?My starting points ...
08/23/2026

I’d like to compare field experience on this one:

How do you Stay Warm Without Sweating Yourself Cold?

My starting points are:
• Move moisture away from skin with the base layer.
• Use the mid layer to trap insulating air.
• Use the outer layer to manage wind and precipitation.
• Vent or remove layers before sweat builds.
• Protect extremities while preserving circulation.

Do you tend to run too hot or too cold when you are active in winter?

Here’s something practical you can use on your next trip:Before You Buy Survival Gear: 4 Questions That Prevent Expensiv...
08/22/2026

Here’s something practical you can use on your next trip:

Before You Buy Survival Gear: 4 Questions That Prevent Expensive Mistakes

• What happens if this item fails?
• What are the worst realistic conditions it must work in?
• Do I have genuine redundancy for a critical function?
• What does it add to total system weight?
• Buy around function and consequence, not specifications alone.

This one is grounded in: Field Investment Assessment — failure consequence, operating conditions, redundancy, total system weight.

I prefer teaching wilderness skills this way because a clear sequence is much easier to remember than a pile of disconnected tips. The objective is not to make the outdoors feel dangerous—it is to make you more capable in it.

I’d genuinely like to hear your experience in the comments. Someone else reading may learn from it too.

08/20/2026

How to Build a Quinzee Safely: The Snow-Shelter Checks Beginners Miss

Here are the practical points I want you to take away:

1. A quinzee begins as a piled mound of snow, not a block-built igloo.
2. Give the mound time to settle before hollowing it.
3. Use depth markers while excavating so you can judge wall thickness.
4. Keep an entrance and ventilation opening clear.
5. Treat snow-shelter construction as a practised skill, not an emergency improvisation

Have you ever built a snow shelter—and what surprised you most?

If you know someone who is building their outdoor confidence, share this with them. The goal is to make useful wilderness knowledge easier to understand and easier to apply.

The most useful thing I can give you on lost without GPS? 5 map-and-compass habits that keep you oriented is not another...
08/19/2026

The most useful thing I can give you on lost without GPS?

5 map-and-compass habits that keep you oriented is not another survival slogan. It is a short process you can actually use.

Here are the practical points I want you to take away:

1. Carry a paper map and compass even when GPS is your everyday tool.
2. Orient the map before making route decisions.
3. Use large terrain features to confirm where you think you are.
4. Check direction regularly instead of waiting until you feel lost.
5. Treat electronics as useful redundancy, not your only navigation system.

Why does this matter?

Because wilderness problems rarely arrive one at a time. Weather, fatigue, equipment, time and human judgement interact. The more pressure increases, the more valuable a simple, rehearsed process becomes.

This is also why I talk about certainty over fear. Preparedness is not about imagining catastrophe. It is about reducing the number of decisions you have to invent under pressure. Learn the principle. Practice it. Know the failure points. Then adapt when reality differs from the plan.

A useful exercise: take one trip you already do—an afternoon hike, winter drive, canoe trip or weekend camp—and ask where this lesson would fit. That turns information into preparation.

If your phone died five kilometres into a hike, how confident would you be finding your way back?

If you know someone who is building their outdoor confidence, share this with them. The goal is to make useful wilderness knowledge easier to understand and easier to apply.

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