The essentials for Hiking

When you are intending to go hiking it is essential to know something about surviving in the wild. Just a bit of knowledge and a few items can mean avoiding an stressful ordeal in the woods or not even coming back. This quick guide is aimed at giving you the basic techniques and survival tips to help keep you safe when hiking in the wilderness.


Items needed when packing a hiking survival kit

Tinder: this is not the most important item within your kit but I would recommend it as timber, kept dry in a air sealed pack, will always gaurantee you a fast start to making a fire. If you do not pack this you can always use scrunged up bark.

Headlamp or flash light.

Compass: a crucial part of survival as without it you could end up going round in circles. Sense of direction is essential for finding your orientering your way out of a lost scenario.

Whistle: This is one of the most important items in your kit. Three loud blasts of a whistle is the call for help. Make sure you cover your ears when using as you can easily damange them.

Lighting material: A lighter is good but remember if the flint on it is wet it is useless. Matches is the best option inside a waterproof container with a stricker (cut one out from a match box)

String: Very basic but really usefull for tying things down and making a nooses, you never know when you may need it. Take at least 2 meters.

Medical kit: Either a small or large kit. A small kit would be in a plastic air sealed bag and consist of the following items; paracetamol; eye wash; small and large plasters; antiseptic fluid. The larger kits you can buy are good for their instructions which can help you treat wounds you have no previous knowledge of.

Making a camp fire.

Fire is the most important element when surviving in an environment.

You must always use dry wood for creating a fire, the best way to test for this apart from feeling it is to bend the wood. If the wood snaps then its good, else find some other.

Place two handfulls of dry small twigs over one handful of scrunched up dry bark, or timber if you have some. Then place several meduim twigs over the top. Always start off with small pieces of wood as large logs will just sufficate the fire and it’s important for the fire to breath.

Light what you have already laid down then add the larger pieces of wood as the fire gets going. A great alternative to using matches is a fire starter. Once you have lit the fire continue to add further larger pieces of dry wood in a criss cross formation to allow for room under the sticks to draw in air which will help fuel the fire. If you do not have any lighting equipment please read our other articles on making fire from no man made materials.