Survival Improvisation

After much thinking about survival (in various situations), finding endless number of lists, etc. Questions for the ETS Think Tank. We all know that the mind is a critical component to any survival kit and generally surviving any situation.

How much does improvisation play into a survival situation? Is it possible to survive with just a multi-tool and your mind? I guess you could simply survive with your mind alone dependent on the situation. But is it enough?

You attitude and mental abilities are at the core of a survival situation. I recall a victim we rescued who was found sitting in a wet, chilly forest, rather despondent. We asked, "How about starting a fire?" His response - "It's useless, the woods are too wet."

We got a fire going quite promptly. The woods weren't that wet. The victim was carrying a fifty pound pack - mostly items he could not use because he was just not in the game.

One thing the mind does is ponder hypothetical situations and prepare in advance. It comes up with lists of items that will be broadly useful in a variety of situations and then somehow those items seem to be at hand or at least recognizable.

When I spent my first unplanned night out in the snow and cold, I was not dreadfully surprised. I knew, from reading and discussing with others, that unplanned bivouacs were part and parcel of mountaineering and that it was a good idea to carry a few essentials. Thus, when I gazed on a beautiful sunset over the icy slopes, and I realized I had traveled about 100 yards in half an hour, I knew I had to prepare some sort of shelter, put on all my clothing, eat something, light a fire, and stay as warm as possible. I did have a gas stove, matches, a cup, and tea, among other things, in my gear.

Of course, it is easy to conceive scenarios in which a prepared mind, with or without gear, will not see you through. You are on the beach and a 100 foot tsunami approaches. Of course, had you been thinking, you might have heeded warnings and not been on the beach that day.....

Well, it HAS TO BE enough, hasn't it? Considering the alternatives....

I recommend Laurence Gonzales' book "Deep survival". It deals with the key components that all those that survive impossible odds have in common. The book deals with mental processes and how survival is a very thin balancing act to keep the powerful emotions from running the show (thrashing wildly through the bush, giving up in despair and so on). It certainly was an eye opener for me.

That being said, even the top supreme survivalist will fail when the conditions are too tough. Nature does not grant you diplomatic immunity to hazards or environmental conditions. Normally I would at this point digress into a long explanation of that's why we carry those extra layers of protection (i.e. our PSK), but we all know that drill... Stay on topic!

I'd say that the ability to stay rational, consider all the alternatives and actively improving your situation. Improvisation is the logical conclusion of staying open to your surroundings and looking for ways to improve your situation - without the restraint of convention. Hm... look, here's a XXX. How weird. Hm... I could actually use it to do YYY.

Actually, I'd rate improvisation skills pretty high on skills important to survival. And... do cheat: Improvisation is a whole lot easier if you carry some improvisation grease (your PSK). And practice. Someone said that improvisation was just the result of hours and years of practice... He was talking about actors able to improvise off the script, but the point has some survival merits as well.

Can you survive with just a multi-tool and your mind?

Probably. Although depending on the terrain/weather, you could be pretty well miserable a lot of the time.

Could I survive with just my wits. More than likely, but again, depending on terrain/weather, I will not be really happy.

Would I do a Bear and try and find my way out? NO, unless I was sure of civilization being in reasonable walking distance. I mean I have a reliable map, I know the area, and damn near can see where I want to be, in good weather.

Would I do a Les and hunker down, find what I can, make what I can, do what I can... yeah, 90%.

That would be the ultimate minimalist survival kit, wouldn't it?

"Brain?" "Check!"
"Multitool?" "Check!"

Mindset and improvisation would be your most critical tools. Just doing some thinking and comparing to some of the basic essentials. You might have to identify some helpful medicinal plants or improvise a bandage; build a shelter with natural materials; make a bow drill to create fire; use natural materials and charcoal from your fire to filter water; make a container from a section of a log to carry water and purify the water by using hot rocks to boil it; and improvise a snare or fishing items to get some food in your belly. What would it take to pull all this off? Knowledge, skill and practice. And something a little more intangible: the will to survive.

Why don't we normally advise taking such a minimalist approach? Well, just add something like a broken arm, dislocated shoulder, or other serious injury and suddenly improvising all your needs takes on a new and tortuous agony. Or so I've been told. Not been there and certainly don't want to do that.

It all depends on the circumstances.

If you've crash-landed halfway between SoCal and Hawaii, the plane is sinking and you've got your mind and multi-tool, what are your chances of survival? I'd rather have a liferaft.

If you've just been rolled out of your own car trunk by carjackers and dumped way out in the Death Valley desert in January, just after dark, and the temperature is 20F, what's your plan? I would rather have firestarting tools and materials and an emergency blanket or tarp.

Your yacht just sank off a reef, and the highest point of the reef is a flat area about 1000 sqft, but it's all under a foot of water... what then? That liferaft is looking better and better.

If there's a way out, using your brain will help.

If there's nothing to use your multi-tool ON, you might as well not have it. Do you happen to have an abscessed tooth?

While there are conditions where a knife would be very useful, it isn't the be-all and end-all of survival.

A functioning brain and a more general kit that at least covers the basics (shelter, fire, water, signaling) is better than a brain and any single thing.

If I could only have one thing, FIRE would be my choice: I could keep myself warm if there was something to burn, I could boil water under some circumstances, I could signal for help.

A multi-tool: it can cut some things. Okay, go on from there.

Sue

Loaded question. To only have your mind and multitool means either your wholly unprepared, had epic fails to get there or relying on others for survival.

That being said, its situationally dependent on location, injury and assets available. Even the sharpest mind and multitool would be hard pressed to make it in a frozen environment if you have limited mobility. Or the desert.


Given a 100% body and ability to modify terrain assets, (growth, deadfall, hydration)its very feasible to make due with just those two items.

There is a mental balancing act between allowing your mind to wander enough to think 'outside the box', to think of your situation from a bit of philosophical distance so you maintain perspective, to maintain a sense of humor, but also to both allow emotion to motivate you when you need to dig deep but to husband it so your energy is not wasted and to focus that emotional force into productive activities.

IMO the biggest obstacle to successful improvisation is the way our consumerist world is set up to provide highly specialized devices and to create an expectation that things only have a single use.

I was amazed when I saw a specialized device to open a bag of potato chips, $1.03 w/tax. I'm wondering what was wrong with using scissors. Mostly, not that I eat a lot of chips, I use my hands. But a knife would work also.

Years ago I went to a big group feed. Sort of a picnic. One family brought a suitable cheese and intended to mix in salsa to make a dip. But they were stymied when they discovered there was no can opener. I roll up and thee are quiet lamentations about how unfortunate it was that there was no can opener, and so no dip. Frowny faces all around.

Not these were not dumb people. Several of the men worked construction. And there were knives and silverware around to serve up other dishes. But no can opener. I grabbed a cheap chef knife and opened up the can. You would have thought it was a minor miracle.

This was a decidedly non-emergency. They weren't going to starve for lack of a can opener. Somebody would have figured it out before anyone expired. But it demonstrated to be that people have gotten into a rut. That was back in the 70s and if anything the pop-top cans have made people even less aware of how to handle a can without a dedicate opener or included easy-open feature.

Wow! All that multi-tool marketing is sure paying off...

;-)

A few days ago in the local home center I noticed a device specifically marketed for opening those big plastic clamshells in which some many things are now packaged...

Guess what? It was packaged in the mother of all plastic clamshell strong box devices.. So you need an opening device to get at the clamshell tool. When will it ever end?

Luckily I am never far from my Ltool Wave. And I know where to find some big rocks....

I am not a Native American, but I greatly admire the ancients' ability to live off the land. They had no metal tools, and not only survived on what they could make, kill, or find, but prospered in every climate zone on this continent. All people were tougher 200 years ago, but the Native Americans especially illustrate that you can live well and make what you need, if you know what you need. Google and read the story of Father Baraga the Snowshoe Priest sometime. His spirit inspires me when the winter grows long.

For most of human history, none of us had any metal tools. It was Neanderthal Mode all the way.

Modern experiments show that stone tools are quite functional. Mostly they just need sharpening more frequently than their metal counterparts, and you need a different skill set to sharpen them up

If only some folks could improvise as well as these guys.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TamMqvk4Bb8

There is no tool which can replace good training, and good training can replace most tools. Everything is situation dependent, as Susan points out, but with the right knowledge and training, you can survive most anything. Attitude is VERY important, and I agree with MostlyHarmless about the book: "Deep Survival". The same concept is taught in most DOD survival schools. If you have prepared mentally (knowing the environment you are going into), and have an attitude that will not let you give up, you can survive. "Know more, carry less".

IMO, the lists are finite, probably less than 5 tril


Of course it depends. Be aware, now, that your body and mind
may not be working so efficiently, after a mishap.

For the guy reading or watching a survival movie, hopefully
"improvisation" will be sprinkled throughout a prolonged
adventure, where the survivor suffers many setbacks.


Be careful of asking "Is it possible" and then running with
that. A better question to ask: Is it probable for whosit to
survive in a specific environment with this-a-kit.

Novices often get a "yes" to a "theoretically-possible"
question and change the meaning of "possible",
in their mind, to a "tangibly-possible" or even to
"highly-likely-possible".

I think a prepared mind can do a satisfactory job even without the multi-tool. What it takes though, is available materials to work with. If you don't have suitable raw materials at hand, it really doesn't matter what implements you bring with you.

You need to be able to have or come up with a means of securing essentials (water, shelter, fire to name a few). If you are in an environment where any of those are limited, then you are going to face stress and your survival options are minimal. A multi-tool is not going to make much difference if there's no water around.

So improv combine with a fair amount of intelligence about the environment you find yourself in are vital. A multi-tool only makes the job easier, but doesn't provide me with any real ability. In a desert environment, I would much prefer a big sheet of plastic instead.

So instead of focusing on gear, ask yourself instead, "How can I find/make suitable essentials to perpetuate life in whatever environment I am likely to find myself in?" That may mean water, shelter, fire, or any other basic necessity. You need to think how the multi-tool can help you meet your needs BEFOREHAND, or else you will find it lacking at the critical moment. How will the multi-tool help you find and procure drinkable water? Asking the questions and coming up with plausible answers will be of far more value than the items are themselves.

I recall, YEARS ago, attending a wilderness survival class taught local to me. It was a 3 day course, as part of a 40 hour long training course we took for our local S&R team. The first night, one of the first things the instructor said, which sort of stuck in my head, was that there were two things you cannot easily make in the wilderness (mind you, I live in New England); rope & a knife. Everything else can be found or manufactured.
That didnt really stick out in my head until we started making cordage from nettles-it takes a LONG time, and doesnt function as good as real cordage. Fortunately, I always have 550 cord as bootlaces (holdover from the Army days), and I cannot recall the last time I didnt have a knife on me (flying being an exception).
I thing learning to improvise goes a long way in a survival situation. First & foremost, it keeps you ENGAGED IN STAYING ALIVE. If you are stuck for more than 24 hours, you have a LOT of downtime. improvising can help fill that. And, you are actively engaged in staying alive, and getting found. Of course, this is taking into account you arent hurt, or part of a much larger disaster. The latter would present far more opportunities to improvise-but, I would rather avoid that, than participate in it

I'd like to add that most likely they did not walk away from home without equipment...


Making knives, rope and so on is tedious. You make that in your home and you remember to bring that precious minimum gear with you when you leave home. That is what I would expect skilled outdoor people to no matter when and where they live or lived. They would never be "naked in the woods" (without knife and so on).

I think the "naked in the woods" scenarios are useful because nowadays there are A LOT of people wandering off without any plan what so ever in the event they're forced to stay the night outside. Discussing that scenario you realize what difference just a minimum bit of equipment can make in that situation - you DO NOT want to be naked in the woods, and it does not really take a huge backpack to prevent it.

Primitive skills have their time and place - but I'm all for combining fire bow drill with carrying a lighter, cordage making with synthetic cord and so on.

Here's a (slightly comical) contrapositive argument. Not having the convenience of modern implements and having to resort to primitive methods you've learned will make you not forget to always have those modern implements with you all the time(from a been there, done that, don't want to do it again point of view).

Becoming proficient at primitive skills makes you appreciate the luxuries of technology all the more. (Try to) make a fire with a bow drill and damp wood, and you will obsess about bringing matches or a lighter (or both) with you from then on.

Exactly. The more I learn about the primitive methods the more I appreciate the modern methods and make sure I include the most effective gear for the job in my survival kit or EDC.