firemaking

While we all wonder how we would fare if we had to survive for months in the wild like Brian does in the book Hatchet, the reality is that most survival situations only last a day or two. You get lost or injured in the woods and have to spend a night out that you hadn't planned on. And as my guest, Dave Canterbury says, as long as you know some basic skills and pack the right gear, you can turn a potentially life-and-death situation into what's just a night of inconvenient camping.

Dave is the author of numerous books on wilderness survival, including his latest: The Bushcraft Essentials Field Guide. Today on the show, Dave unpacks the five priorities of short-term survival and what you need to pack, know, and do to deal with the risks of venturing into the wild. We discuss the biggest concern when it comes to first aid, the three elements of a proper shelter, Dave's favorite method for starting a fire, the safest bet for water purification, what to look for in a perfect survival knife, the five knife skills you should master, the essential knots every outdoorsman should know, and more.

Resources Related to the Episode

• How to Use a Tourniquet to Control Major Bleeding
• 6 Trees Every Survivalist Should Know
• How to Harvest and Use Nature’s Aspirin
• How to Keep Your Course in the Wilderness
• Series on land navigation
• 6 Unconventional Outdoor Shelters
• How to Build the Ultimate Survival Shelter
• How to Build a Campfire That Will Last Through the Night
• The Ultimate Firestarter: How to Make Char Cloth
• How to Choose the Perfect Survival Knife
• 5 Critical Knife Skills for the Outdoorsman
• How to Fell a Tree With a Knife
• 7 Basic Knots Every Man Should Know

Connect With Dave Canterbury

• Dave on IG

Winter is coming. If you like to be in the outdoors, one thing you need to start thinking about is what would happen if you were stuck in the wilderness with nothing but your wits. Would you be able to survive the harshness of the cold? A lot of survival resources gloss over what you do in cold environs. My guest today is Dave Hall, and he's written a book about just that, called Winter In the Wilderness. We talk about shelter, how to get water, building a fire, surviving hypothermia, and more.