You have watched the TV shows, read the books and brought the kit. But do you practice these skills? If you carry a survival kit on you when venturing in the great outdoors have you familiarized yourself with its contents? Do you routinely replace items that have passed an expiry date like water purification tablets?
Experience in using your equipment is important, as it is only if you have tried it will you know what works for you and what doesn’t. You do not want to find out when your freezing cold and soaking wet that you do not like using the hacksaw blade scraper on the firesteel as you do not get consistent sparks or that the knife that came with the kit needs sharpening when trying to perform a basic task. Then any issues that are discovered can be resolved in the comfort and safety of your back garden, once you have taken care of any issues practice performing the basics for surviving under a variety of weather conditions.
You keep your kit in working order, so why not keep your skills from going rusty by practicing and learn new skills when you can. Learn to improvise, can you fashion a cutting edge from a piece of flint? What about making some cordage? Your mind is a wonderful tool and you just need to hone it like you would your knife.
I plan to put myself to the test in the next few months with an emergency blackout at home scenario as well as a two night camp with only what I carry on a day hike. I will let you know how I get on in a future post.
