Forget everything you’ve seen in TV shows and movies. Most of it is nonsense but all of these hacks are clever shortcuts to staying alive in the most extreme situations. These are tricks and tips that might just help you avoid and early death on your next outdoor adventure. The information is more geared to someone who accidentally stumbles into the forest with relatively little equipment – pretty much nothing but the clothes on their back and maybe a small pack with rations and common supplies.

Tips to Start a Fire

There are so many different fire hacks, we decided to put them all into one segment. First, use your jumper cables and a pencil to start a fire. Just be sure that you shave down the pencil so that the clamps are touching the lead on the inside on both sides. You can cut the pencil in half if  it has an erase on one end (or just cut the eraser off entirely. An electric burst from the power cables will erupt your wooden pencil into flames. Be careful though, this can (obviously) be a dangerous process.

Alternatively, you can just use the power cables to make sparks and start a fire with some kindling. The same goes for any kind of battery. If you have a 9-volt battery it can also work – just rub some steel wool on it and you’ll be producing sparks in almost no time. For AA or any other battery all you need is a gum wrapper or some aluminum foil. Fold the foil or gum wrapper into an hourglass shape with a thin middle. Touch either side to the terminals and the electricity will cause the thin center of the wrapper to burst into flame.

Then there’s the reflective way to start a fire. You can use a mylar blanket, the lens of a camera, or even a smashed piece of glass to redirect the sun’s rays onto something soft and flammable like agave pith, char cloth, or any other tinder. Another great method is using both lenses from your glasses (if you have glasses). A third method – use your pee (or other water). Simply get a ziploc bag, put some water in it, use that as a “magnifying glass” with the sun – voila – your tinder will start catching.

If you have instant noodles and some alcohol (or other flammable liquid) handy, you can use these to create a makeshift stove. Antifreeze or alcohol will soak the noodles, allowing it all to burn slower – which keeps the fire going longer than it would. One pack of instant noodles soaked in alcohol will burn for roughly 20 minutes – enough time to boil some water.

If it’s wet and windy, you can use an alcohol swab to start a fire. You probably have a handful of alcohol swabs in your first aid kit, and in a desperate situation you can use one to start a fire. The alcohol catches fire quickly and the cotton will hold a flame much longer than a match. Obviously you don’t want to waste your alcohol swabs, but if you badly need a fire this is a good survival hack to get one going quickly without worrying too much about tinder.

Collecting Water

Collecting water is the most important thing for survival. When you wake in the morning and see bits of dew on every rock, leaf, and blade of grass – you need to collect it. The best method is to mop it up. Use a (clean) sock, a bandana, or your T-shirt. You can easily mop a good amount of water in not that much time by simply absorbing all the morning dew from your surroundings into your piece of cloth, then wringing it dry into a container. The great thing about this survival hack is that the water is pretty much drinkable from the get go – no need to additionally filter it.

A water filtration system works best with a plastic bottle, but any container will do. You simply need to collect water from a (dirty) stream or a puddle in one container and have an empty container beside it. Keep the container with the dirty water elevated above the empty container, then place one end of a cloth strip or kitchen towel into the dirty water and the other end into the clean water. As long as the container with the dirty water is higher up than the empty container, gravity will work in your favor, the cloth will absorb water, which will then fall into the empty container, filling it with relatively clean water.

The dirty water will filter itself through the cloth over time. You will notice the empty container gradually fills with clear, drinkable water. This is a slow process for sure, but it’s potentially a real lifesaver.

Plastic Bottle Fish Trap

If you have a 2-liter bottle handy, you can make a fish trap. First you need to cut the upper part of the bottle just where it bottlenecks. Then you can flip the outside piece and put it back into the bottle backwards. Get it to fit snugly, (secure it if you have a way to dot this) and then stick it position in the water. Little fish will swim into the bottle but they won’t be able to swim out. This can help get a mouthful of small fish to survive on. Obviously you’re not going to catch anything big, but it’ll give you small fish to nibble on while you figure out your next move. Keep in mind that in many places, catching small fish (and using traps in general) is illegal. But in a survival situation, anything goes.

Butterfly Bandage & Shoelace Splint

With bandages in short supply and your hands likely taking the brunt of any possible injuries, you may want to think about turning a normal Band-Aid into a butterfly Band-Aid. Simply slice each end so that it has four adhesive strips (essentially into this shape > – < ) rather than two, but leave the middle part solid. This will let you place the bandage between your knuckles and on your fingers much better.

Fingers can break easily while out in the wild. If you broke a finger or sprained your wrist and are in need of a basic splint, try finding two extremely dense branches, placing one on either side of your finger or hand, and using your shoelace to pull them tight. This will keep your bone rigid for better healing (this is one of those things that you can use a belt for as well if you break a bone larger than a finger bone).

Leaves for Warmth

If you find yourself freezing cold, stuff your jacket and pants with leaves. It’s not ideal, but stuffing leaves into your clothing can keep you warmer and drier. You can even stuff some leaves into your boots and your socks to keep your feet warm. Additionally, you can also cover the surface of your shelter (your tent, tarp, or whatever) with leaves, which helps both with warmth and as makeshift camouflage.

Keep Everything

In a survival situation, nothing is useless. Whether you’ve retreated to the forest for safety due to social unrest, you’ve gotten lost while hiking, or you’re just testing your survival skills by going into the bush for a few weeks alone. No matter what your situation is, try to keep everything. Almost anything can be put to good use in the wild.

Garbage can be used for catching water, clothing can be used for bandages, bedding, and traps, bits of fish can be used as bait for bigger fish or in animal traps, wrappers can be used as emergency band-aids, etc. Keep everything and be creative, and you will always find a way to survive. If we end up in a world where you can’t easily go out and buy new things, then everything (even stuff you’d think of as trash) becomes more valuable.

The Best Survival Tip of All

Being preparred! Surviving with nothing but the clothes on your back can be tough. The best “survival hack” is to not need hacks at all – by being properly prepared and having the right wilderness survival knowledge. There are lots of simple survival hacks that you can (and should) be aware of as well, but preparedness is your best friend.

Before heading out into the wilderness, whether it’s a long trek or just a recreational camping trip, make sure you have the right tools, equipment, and supplies for whatever it is you’re doing. Tell people where you’re going and when you expect to be back. If you plan on wandering off away from your campsite by yourself, even just to use the toilet, make sure you have your map and a flashlight in your pocket at all times. A compass, a knife, warm clothing, and a basic small emergency kit should be kept on your person no matter where you are. The real hack to survival is being prepared and having the knowledge to survive.