An important part of manhood has always been about having the competence to be effective in the world — having the breadth of skills, the savoir-faire, to handle any situation you find yourself in. With that in mind, each Sunday we’ll be republishing one of the illustrated guides from our archives, so you can hone your manly know-how week by week.

In most urban situations, the cell phone is the ultimate survival tool. With it, you can call for help, get directions, and look up practical information (you’ve downloaded a digital survival library, right?). In the wilderness, if your phone’s signal is faint or non-existent, it’s a significantly less useful tool, but it can still come in handy as a lightweight camera, a basic GPS unit, and, if you’re lucky, even a way to send a SOS message. In many cases however, a phone’s most useful functions are ironically unavailable in true survival situations. But, that doesn’t mean your favorite handheld device can’t get you out of a jam.

Inside your phone, a powerful lithium-ion battery has the potential to spark a fire if you know how to harness its potential. Keep in mind, taking your phone apart and using the battery to start a fire is likely to ruin it, so think carefully about whether you want to trade the potential for a signal for the chance at a fire. Also, remember that even after your battery is too low to run your phone, it likely still has enough power to spark a fire. 

Finally, if the above method fails, there is one final possible solution: Puncturing your battery with a knife or sharp object can release toxic and highly flammable gas that is likely to cause the battery to ignite and even explode. If it’s your last resort, cover your nose and mouth with a cloth and your eyes with glasses if possible, and then puncture the battery quickly. Once punctured, set your tinder bundle on top and step away until the battery has ceased releasing toxic fumes.

Like this illustrated guide? Then you’re going to love our book The Illustrated Art of Manliness! Pick up a copy on Amazon.

This article was originally published on The Art of Manliness.

The military shower, also known as the “Navy” or “combat” shower, is a method of showering that conserves water by employing a strategic stop-and-start approach. While it originated on naval ships where freshwater is limited, the method is also deployed by other branches of the military in water-scarce environments — like remote bases, forward operating posts, and field-training exercises.

The process of a military shower is simple: get wet, shut off the water, soap up, turn the water back on, and rinse off fast. That’s it. It’s efficient and effective: while the average shower lasts eight minutes and uses around twenty gallons of water, a military shower can be done in as little as two minutes and uses less than three gallons. And it still gets you clean.

For civilians, the military shower is useful if you want to lower your water bill and conserve resources, and it can be utilized in situations where water may be rationed or scarce — like camping or grid-down emergencies. Or it can simply be practiced as a daily exercise in self-discipline.

If you find yourself even shorter on water, use the “bird bath” technique to clean up. Skip the shower entirely and wash with a washcloth, a small basin of water, and some soap. Focus on the key zones: face, pits, groin, and feet. It won’t get you all the way clean, but it’ll freshen you up when water’s most scarce.

Illustration by Ted Slampyak

This article was originally published on The Art of Manliness.

An important part of manhood has always been about having the competence to be effective in the world — having the breadth of skills, the savoir-faire, to handle any situation you find yourself in. With that in mind, each Sunday we’ll be republishing one of the illustrated guides from our archives, so you can hone your manly know-how week by week.

Many people, especially outdoorsy types, know the story of Christopher McCandless, as famously told in author Jon Krakauer’s book (and the film of the same name) Into the Wild. 

After surviving in the Alaskan wilderness for over 100 days, the rogue adventurer ultimately died in an abandoned bus there. The official cause of McCandless’ death has always been listed as starvation, but Krakauer felt like there was more to the story. In a journal entry a few weeks before he died, McCandless wrote, “Extremely weak. Fault of pot. seed . . .” He was referring to seeds from Eskimo potato, also known as alpine sweetvetch.

After years of investigation, Kraukeur and a chemist discovered a toxin in the potato seeds that could have extremely negative effects on the body, if enough of them were consumed. 

The story of Christopher McCandless reminds us that eating and foraging wild plants is a risky game. As a hiker or backpacker, you might encounter a thousand plant species on a single trip, and any number of them might be edible. Others . . . could kill you with a single bite. 

The best way to determine if a plant is edible is to study up before you ever hit the trail, and consider carrying an edible plant identification guide. But, if you find yourself in a desperate situation, and you’re not sure if you can eat something or not, there is a universal edibility test, which we walk you through above, that can lead you toward safer plants. 

Like this illustrated guide? Then you’re going to love our book The Illustrated Art of Manliness! Pick up a copy on Amazon.

This article was originally published on The Art of Manliness.

An important part of manhood has always been about having the competence to be effective in the world — having the breadth of skills, the savoir-faire, to handle any situation you find yourself in. With that in mind, each Sunday we’ll be republishing one of the illustrated guides from our archives, so you can hone your manly know-how week by week.

In 1978, The Swarm premiered in theaters across the country and illustrated the raw, destructive capabilities of bees. In the film, starring a young Michael Caine, swarms of bees crash helicopters, derail trains, and wreak havoc on communities. If that sounds ridiculous, it was, but then again, these were not just any bees. These were killer bees.

In reality, when people talk about killer bees, they’re referring to the Africanized honeybee. Developed in the 50s, the Africanized honeybee is a hybrid of Western honeybees and East African honeybees. The purpose of this experimental cross-breed was to increase honey production. But in 1957, swarms of the bees escaped quarantine in Brazil and began working their way toward North America. Today, they can be found throughout the Southwest (as well as Florida) and are spreading a little more each year. 

These hybrid pollinators got their “killer” name because of their extremely defensive behavior. They sting more and chase farther, in some cases following people for more than a quarter of a mile. As individual bees, they’re no more venomous than an average honeybee. But as a group, killer bees can become a deadly force; hundreds of their stings will inject enough venom to overwhelm the body’s vital functions.

Killer bees make their nests in all the typical places you’d expect: in rotten logs, beneath house eaves, and underground. They’re typically most aggressive in spring when making new hives. It’s at this time of the year when they tend to move in large swarms. If you find yourself in their path, or accidentally disrupt their hive, here’s what to do.

Like this illustrated guide? Then you’re going to love our book The Illustrated Art of Manliness! Pick up a copy on Amazon.

This article was originally published on The Art of Manliness.

An important part of manhood has always been about having the competence to be effective in the world — having the breadth of skills, the savoir-faire, to handle any situation you find yourself in. With that in mind, each Sunday we’ll be republishing one of the illustrated guides from our archives, so you can hone your manly know-how week by week.

There are countless ways to build a fire, each suited to different circumstances. Today, we’re spotlighting an ancient method designed for a very unique and specific scenario: evading a human tracker.

Dakota fire holes were often used by American Indians to create easily concealed, highly efficient fires that burned clean, even in windy conditions. Dakota fire holes are not what you want if you’re trying to create a big bonfire to warm you and a bunch of friends. But, they are ideal for cooking and for staying hidden if you’re trying to have a fire without being seen.  

Dakota fire holes work by creating two holes that connect at the bottom. One hole should be made in a vertical orientation while the other should angle down to connect to the first hole’s base. When you make a fire in the vertical hole, air is drawn into the angled hole to feed the fire with oxygen. Because of the concentrated air supply, only a handful of twigs or pine cones are required for fuel. And, by placing rocks around the lip of your vertical hole, you can create an ideal surface to set a pot or pan on for cooking. As for tending, you can toss in more twigs to keep the flames going, as well as tend to the fire with a longer stick (remember that the fire is just a foot down, so it’s still accessible).

Beyond the diagram above, there are only a couple other things to know about creating an effective fire hole:

First, learn how to detect wind direction, because you should always locate the second hole you make — your air supply hole — in the direction that the wind is coming from. In some cases, wind direction is obvious. But if it’s calm out, try wetting your entire index finger and then holding it up in the air. Whichever side of your finger feels cooler is the windward side. 

Second, remember to keep the dirt you excavated to fill in your holes when you’re done. Not only does this extinguish the fire fully, but it also helps to conceal any evidence that you were there. If digging your hole required removing vegetation, like plants or grasses, carefully replace them to take your concealment one step further. 

Like this illustrated guide? Then you’re going to love our book The Illustrated Art of Manliness! Pick up a copy on Amazon.

This article was originally published on The Art of Manliness.

An important part of manhood has always been about having the competence to be effective in the world — having the breadth of skills, the savoir-faire, to handle any situation you find yourself in. With that in mind, each Sunday we’ll be republishing one of the illustrated guides from our archives, so you can hone your manly know-how week by week.

Remember how in the book Hatchet, the pilot who’s flying Brian up to Canada suffers a heart attack and dies, and Brian has to figure out how to land the plane? That scenario may seem as unlikely as having to survive for months in the bush with only a single trusty hand-tool, but it happened just last month to a passenger flying on a Cessna 208 from the Bahamas to Florida. When the pilot passed out, Darren Harrison, who had no prior experience in flying a plane, climbed from his passenger’s seat into the cockpit, moved the unconscious pilot aside, and took control of the aircraft, which was plunging into a nosedive. Harrison contacted air traffic control, which guided him on how to safely fly and land the plane. As Harrison recalled, “I was pretty calm and collected the whole time, because I knew it was a life-or-death situation. Either you do what you have to do to control the situation or you’re gonna die. And that’s what I did.”

Whether you’re flying on a small plane on which the pilot has become incapacitated, or you’re a passenger on a commercial airliner and have taken out a terrorist, who took out the pilot, having a rough idea of what to do next will help you have that same calm and confident attitude. While autopilot systems will be able to do a lot of of the work for you, landing a plane still requires a manual touch and a cool head. So keep the above in mind as you take control of the aircraft and seek to bring her safely back to earth.

For more details, check out this article written by Air Force pilot Cameron Schaefer.

Like this illustrated guide? Then you’re going to love our book The Illustrated Art of Manliness! Pick up a copy on Amazon.

This article was originally published on The Art of Manliness.

An important part of manhood has always been about having the competence to be effective in the world — having the breadth of skills, the savoir-faire, to handle any situation you find yourself in. With that in mind, each Sunday we’ll be republishing one of the illustrated guides from our archives, so you can hone your manly know-how week by week.

An etrier, also called an aider, is a French term for a short rope ladder, where each rung is simply a loop of rope or other material, created by tying repeating knots. Mountaineers have used etriers for centuries because they’re lightweight, compact, easy to customize, and exceptionally strong. Today, they’re often made out of tubular webbing because it is one of the strongest, lightest, and most versatile materials climbers and survivalists carry. 

Tubular webbing is similar to the flat nylon webbing used to make the compression straps on your backpack, but with one key difference: tubular webbing is, as you might expect, webbing that’s woven into a tube (even though it lies flat, it’s indeed a tube). This gives it extra strength and more resistance to tearing when it rubs against rocks and other sharp surfaces.  

To create a ladder, you’ll need a substantial amount of webbing. The general rule of thumb is to estimate the height of your obstacle and then gather twice as much webbing. So, if you’re scaling a building to reach a balcony 30 feet up, you’ll need 60 feet of webbing. You’ll also want a strong device to attach the ladder at the top; steel rebar hooks or extra-large carabiners are just a couple options. Once your ladder is complete, use a long pole to guide your hook onto a secure attachment point, or sling it like a grappling hook until it finds a solid hold. 

Once you’ve got your ladder done, you can reinforce the loops with pieces of split PVC, paracord, or even duct tape.

Like this illustrated guide? Then you’re going to love our book The Illustrated Art of Manliness! Pick up a copy on Amazon.

This article was originally published on The Art of Manliness.

An important part of manhood has always been about having the competence to be effective in the world — having the breadth of skills, the savoir-faire, to handle any situation you find yourself in. With that in mind, each Sunday we’ll be republishing one of the illustrated guides from our archives, so you can hone your manly know-how week by week.

In a wilderness survival situation, you may need to cut down a small tree. Maybe you need to make a debris shelter and need a long ridge pole to get it started. Or maybe you need some logs for creating a parallel fire lay (one of the 6 fire lays every man should know).

But what do you do if you don’t have an ax or a hatchet?

Well, as long as you have a solid survival knife on you, you can still fell a small tree.

You want to use a knife that’s sturdy and isn’t hollow ground. A simple mora knife is ideal for this job. It can take a beating.

You’ll need to find a sturdy stick too. Then, by pounding the back of the knife with it, you can cut small wedges out around the tree until its structure is sufficiently compromised for you to push it over. 

This technique takes some time and sweat, but it works if you need to fell a tree in a pinch.

Like this illustrated guide? Then you’re going to love our book The Illustrated Art of Manliness! Pick up a copy on Amazon.

This article was originally published on The Art of Manliness.

When disaster strikes, a well-packed bug-out bag can make all the difference. Whether facing natural disasters like hurricanes and wildfires or man-made crises, this 72-hour survival kit is designed to sustain you during the first critical days of an emergency situation. By assembling your bag today, you’ll have what you need when every second counts and clear thinking becomes your most valuable asset.

For more on packing a robust bug-out bag, why you need the specific items listed, and how to choose the right gear, check out this article.

Illustration by Ted Slampyak

This article was originally published on The Art of Manliness.

An important part of manhood has always been about having the competence to be effective in the world — having the breadth of skills, the savoir-faire, to handle any situation you find yourself in. With that in mind, each Sunday we’ll be republishing one of the illustrated guides from our archives, so you can hone your manly know-how week by week.

Fire is one of four essential survival components, along with shelter, water, and food. In some environments, fire can be the trickiest to acquire and the most precious to sustain. If you’re out of matches and other man-made fire-starters, starting a fire with friction and natural materials is quite difficult. Thus, once you do get a fire going, it’s not “disposable” but rather something you want to “recycle,” if possible.

Enter fire carrying. Carrying the fire isn’t just a great metaphor for passing on your values, but a practical, millennia-old way to reuse an ember. When you’re moving camps, you can take an ember from your current fire with you, and use it to start a new fire at the place you choose to camp next.

The goal with fire carrying is to allow a preexistent ember to potentially last for hours as you journey from one place to another. Choosing the “packaging” to accomplish this is tricky, as you want to pair the ember with a material that will smolder (helping keep the ember alive), without itself burning up. Materials that strike this needed balance include things like punky wood, fungus, or pine cones. Once the ember is paired with smolder-friendly materials, you wrap this coupling in wet moss that will hold things together without burning.

Above we outline three methods for how to do this. Keep in mind that no matter what technique you use, you should plan on babysitting the ember while you’re on the move. You may have to periodically blow on it or adjust your packaging to ensure the right mix of oxygen and fuel. Once you arrive at your new camp, you can unpack your ember, place it in dry tinder, and blow your fire back to life. If you’ve got time, practice a few fire-carrying techniques while you still have a good fire. Practicing your method beforehand will help you refine your process and give you a good idea of how long the ember will last. 

Like this illustrated guide? Then you’re going to love our book The Illustrated Art of Manliness! Pick up a copy on Amazon.

This article was originally published on The Art of Manliness.