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build a fire, survival fire making, best fire making tools

Video: Finding Dry Tinder for Survival Fire Making During Bad Weather

 600 300 Survival Common Sense Blog | Emergency Preparedness

Murphy’s Law (as it relates to wilderness survival) states that the more desperately you need to build a fire, the harder it will be to do so! But there are always dry twigs, stick and bark available in the woods if you know where to look. In this video, you’ll learn where to find them.

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Survival Knives

How ergonomics affect knife handle comfort and safety

 600 386 Survival Common Sense Blog | Emergency Preparedness

Ever wonder why some knife handles feel great, and others just don’t work for you? Well, it’s all about science, ergonomics and the law of averages. Here is how to figure out if a handle will work for you.

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Hunt|Fish|Camp

Tips for effective cold weather deer hunting – Northern Minnesota style

 600 338 Survival Common Sense Blog | Emergency Preparedness

Deer hunting is different all over the United States. A southern hunter might be fighting mosquitoes and heat stroke at the same time a northern hunter’s big concerns might be frostbite and hypothermia. Here are some tips for that northern deer hunter.

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Making Fire

How ergonomics affect knife handle comfort and safety

 600 386 Survival Common Sense Blog | Emergency Preparedness

Ever wonder why some knife handles feel great, and others just don’t work for you? Well, it’s all about science, ergonomics and the law of averages. Here is how to figure out if a handle will work for you.

read more

Emergency Shelter

build snow cave, how to build snow shelters

Try this practical method to build a survival snow cave

 600 300 Survival Common Sense Blog | Emergency Preparedness

Just about every survival manual shows how to build a snow cave. But the reality is that most people don’t have the skill, tools or time to effectively use this technique. These young scouts did it and you can, too.

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Survival Gear

Best trail shoe? Check out this review of the Danner Trail 2650

 600 356 Survival Common Sense Blog | Emergency Preparedness
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Some of your most-used walking or hiking shoes/boots may end up being lightweight, low-cut trail shoes. That makes these Danner Trail 2650 shoes worth a second look.

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Survival Skills

cattails, poison iris, poison cattail look alike

Edible plants video: How to tell look-alike poison iris from cattails

 600 300 Survival Common Sense Blog | Emergency Preparedness

Every part of the cattail plant is edible. But don’t mistake a cattail for a toxic look-alike. Here is how to tell the difference.

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VIDEOS | TIPS & HOW TO's

People enjoy talking about new technology, equipment or skills that they have learned. They are justifiably proud of their new knowledge.
Video: Gear you don’t need – dump the Mylar blankets from your survival kit
 375 400 Survival Common Sense Blog | Emergency Preparedness

Do you carry a Mylar blanket as an emergency shelter item? If so, here’s why you should get rid of it.

brick rocket stove, cast iron cooking
Video: How to improve on the basic brick rocket stove
 326 400 Survival Common Sense Blog | Emergency Preparedness

People have asked about variations of the improved brick rocket stove, so here are some of the answers. We check out a higher chimney, combined with the better venting system. See what we discovered!

Video: Leave boot print to help searchers find you
 600 400 Survival Common Sense Blog | Emergency Preparedness

Having an easily-recognized boot print can make finding a lost hiker a lot easier. Here is how to leave a print to help out the Search and Rescue people.

Leon Pantenburg writes a survival skills blog with tips and techniques to help typical folks survive an unexpected urban or wilderness emergency, using their common sense and emergency preparedness training. Topics include survival knives, survival clothing and camp cooking, making a fire, emergency shelter, hunting and fishing, competent survival skills and survival gear reviews.