Article and cover photo by Mark Rackay, Montrose County Sheriff’s Posse
You might not think of normal pocket items as survival tools, but many things work in a pinch.
Seems just about every outdoor magazine, blog, or outdoor and survival related website has an article about using regular household items as survival tools. I recently read one about 20 things you can use a broken cell phone for in an emergency.
I never got much past the second or third idea. Apparently, the lost person can remove the glass screen from your broken cell phone and use it as a knife. Would it not be better to have a knife in your pocket? I carry two pocket knives, always, everywhere I go. To me, the cell phone was pretty much worthless when you could no longer use it to call for help.
What got me really thinking about this was a story I read about a search and rescue mission for a missing hiker out of Pennsylvania. A man was reported missing after he failed to return from a hike with his dog.
An extensive search was launched, including aircraft, foot searchers and the police. The overnight search produced no results and searchers were concerned because it was an exceptionally cold night, and the missing man did not have much with him in the line of survival gear.
It was a hunter who found the man and his dog the following morning. The hunter reported the duo was cold, sore, and hungry, but otherwise doing well. Once the hiker stopped hearing the helicopters overhead, he knew he had to settle in for the night and do something to ward off the cold.
While the man did not have a survival pack, he did remember to bring along the most important tool in the toolbox, his brain. He used his ability to remain calm, avoid panic, and be resourceful to come up with a solution. He used his hand sanitizer as a fire starter, and with a pocket lighter, made a fire to keep him and his pup warm throughout the night.
Since the pandemic, just about everyone has a bottle of hand sanitizer stuffed in a pocket, purse, or pack. Using it as a firestarter makes perfect sense, considering the main ingredient is ethyl alcohol. The man kept his head and used a household item in his pocket to save his bacon. A small bottle of hand sanitizer can also be used to clean out minor cuts and help prevent infections.
My wife is one of those people that have a Chapstick in every pocket. She suffers from chapped lips and uses lip balm regularly. A tube of lip balm has several uses in an emergency, besides just repairing cracked and dried out lips.
The wax in lip balm can be used as a fire starter in a pinch. A cotton swab, or a cotton ball, can be coated up with the lip balm and lit with a match. While it will not burn for hours, it is probably enough to get a fire going in an emergency, if that is all you have. I would not rely on it during a snowstorm or really windy night. For those situations, a road flare is magical.
Chapstick lip balm can also be rubbed across small cuts to help control bleeding. Numerous times I have cut my hand or finger and gotten blood all over my equipment, pack, hunting rifle, clothes and whatever else is near. I never have a bandaid when I need one, but the Chapstick works in a pinch. It also stops the itching from bug bites.
One item I carry around is a heavy-duty garbage bag. My original idea was to stuff my water-resistant pack in the bag during a rainstorm. Water-resistant means just that, not waterproof. The zippers are usually the weak link, and you don’t want to find out they leak after the storm has passed.
I tried the pack covers, and they work to a point, if the rain or snow is light enough, but for a gully washer, the garbage bag is the answer. Throw in the pack and tie it off. The bags have many other uses including a makeshift poncho, a ground cloth under your sleeping bag, making shoes, or to keep shoes dry. You can even use one as a sleeping bag in a pinch.
Dental floss is something else that can be used in a pinch. Besides saving the day from a piece of annoying food stuck in your teeth, it can be used as a pretty strong string for gear repairs, shoelaces, and tying a tarp to a branch when making a lean-to. Once, on a Canadian wilderness trip, we sutured up a gaping wound on a member of our party with dental floss and a sewing needle.
My absolute favorite do-everything item to have around is duct tape. It is one of the most versatile things to have, both at home and in the field. You can repair clothing, shoes, equipment, tools, and even waterproof your tarp seams. Duct tape can be used to help control bleeding. I use it as a bandaid because it sticks well and is waterproof. Put it on your feet for blister control or twist it up and make a pretty strong rope.
You don’t have to carry the whole roll with you. You can wrap half a dozen yards around an old credit card and stick it in a pack pocket or make several and scatter them around in your equipment. You can’t have too much duct tape.
The point of this column is not to get you to stuff all your pockets with junk from around the house. I would rather see you hit the woods with a properly stocked survival pack. The idea is to realize the best tool you have with you is your brain. Keep calm and make do with what you have, where you are.
Mark Rackay is a columnist for the Montrose Daily Press, Delta County Independent, and several other newspapers, as well as a feature writer for several saltwater fishing magazines. He is an avid hunter and world class saltwater angler, who travels around the world in search of adventure and serves as a director and public information officer for the Montrose County Sheriff’s Posse. Personal email is elkhunter77@icloud.com.
