When it comes to survival, you learn one thing very early. Literally, anything can be used in this world for something to help you. It does not matter whatsoever what that item is, we could likely find a use for it. Therefore, there are many survival hacks with random everyday items.
What counts as a “survival hack,” however? Good question, random citizen. When we use “hack” we are referring to a concept that is not considered normal or often done. Meaning, it is not something everyone does but something anyone “could” do.
When it comes to computers, a hack means breaching some sort of previously locked area. It could be a network or possibly even an entire database. In this form, you’re accessing something that was never meant for you to access.
Survival Hacks are along the same vein. In that, these items we discuss are not technically made to use as we will show you. However, they are still capable of much more than their original use. We’ll tell you how.
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Ways To Use Everyday Items For Survival
Here are 7 survival hacks with everyday items for wilderness survival that we think you’ll enjoy trying out.
1.) Condoms
It is very likely that a man will take one or more condoms with him on an outdoor adventure if he’s going with his partner. This is a good way to keep safe from STDs and involving women, a good thing to use in order to prevent pregnancy.
Condoms might be used in this form but they can be so much more than this. In survival, condoms can be used as water-carrying devices. Of course, the more “endowed” among us will be able to carry more water. That is neither here nor there, however.
Condoms are also made to be pretty tough material-wise. Keep in mind, they have to be capable of handling heat and friction. This is why condoms, when filled with water, can be used almost like a magnifying glass. You can use them to start fires with the sun.
Since condoms are generally clear yet also have a tint to them, they are capable (when you add water) to work as a perfect fire starter like magnifying glasses tend to. You just need a good sunny day and some dried tinder. Then boom, you’re good.
Their toughness also comes in handy when you cut them to use strips for tying stuff or in small traps to catch food.
2.) Pantyhose
Sure, it is doubtful anyone will take pantyhose with them when they go camping and suddenly get lost. Yet a survival situation can happen at any time in many forms. Perhaps you have a car accident in the middle of nowhere or your car just dies on you.
Now you have to make it back to civilization or stick with your car. While it’s advised that people remain with their vehicle, you might feel different. Now you’re on a mission to get to the nearest town but the journey will be difficult.
You look in your car to see what light items you can take to use and spot pantyhose. If nothing else, you know they won’t be too heavy to carry even if you don’t get much use. You then take them with you, which will turn out to be smart on your part. You’ll get quite a lot out of them.
If you’d like to use them for tying purposes, they can be helpful. They stretch a bit and could likely be perfect for this. Yet this same ability also makes them great for trapping small game in various small traps you might set up.
This can be incredibly useful for trapping fish in numerous fish traps you could develop if you’re close to a body of water. If nothing else, they can be useful for helping you carry a lot of different things you might need to gather up.
Clearly in survival not every bit of food available to you will be animal-related. Yet there are edible plants as well as fruits and vegetables you might come across. Using pantyhose to help you carry this stuff back to camp can be helpful.
If that is not enough for you, we have one more thing. Pantyhose can also be a useful water filter for you too!
3.) Glasses
For those of us that wear glasses, you’ll find that these can come in handy for many reasons in cases of survival. One of their most obvious uses is fire-starting. The sun can be utilized by glasses, which can focus on some dry tinder.
Usually, this concentrated beam of light will allow you to use the heat of the sun somewhat through the glass. Which will then catch dry tinder on fire. Yet glasses can be far more than this for you.
Beyond the obvious seeing ability they bring, they can be great for signaling. Using the sun, your glasses will send reflective light that can be seen from miles away if you’re in the right area. If you’re looking to be rescued or merely stay in touch with others, you can utilize this.
It’ll especially be useful for you to learn the S.O.S. as well as other forms of Morse Code that light is capable of doing just like the dot-dash concept used to. Signal Lamps used to implement this and there are some that still do in areas across the world.
Finally, you can always keep the glass section for signaling while you dismantle the rest to make things like weapons or even fishing hooks. You can even do this out of one piece of the glass, as you’ll only need one for signaling. The other can be used to also employ for fishing and hunting.
4.) Pads And/Or Tampons
Most women will carry pads or tampons with them if they know they are going outdoors. It’s a good precaution just in case their period comes sooner than normal. Of course, older women who no longer have to deal with this will be unlikely to take these items.
Therefore, the market for this will be women from their teens to 40s. However, in cases of survival, it is not uncommon that you could come across one or both of these items depending on where you are.
Pads and Tampons are incredibly useful for a load of reasons. First, they are great for absorption so the main goal. Therefore, Pads can be great to cut up a bit and use as bandages for first aid purposes.
Tampons and Pads both use dry materials, with highly flammable cotton among them. This gives you guaranteed fire that can take to a spark quickly. Now, you have a fire where you might not have.
This can be invaluable in areas where you might keep running into cold, damp, or wet tinder that just won’t light up easily. Once you have a fire going, you can bring other tinder closeby to dry off for future use or slowly add it to the fire you already have.
5.) Salt
It should go without saying that Salt is incredibly useful. People have used it for thousands of years in some form or another. The main use for it has been to help food last longer, as salt is a literal preservative.
Obviously, that means you can use salt for the same purpose in a survival situation. Yet Salt also has other uses. In cold conditions, salt can help you heavily when it comes to movement in the snow.
Salt helps to melt snow but also can give you stability in icy terrain. Therefore, you can add some salt to your shoes or to makeshift shoes you might have, and thereby add stability where you’d have a far harder time without it.
Of course, Salt can also be used in first aid. For thousands of years, humans used salt to help soothe sore throats through gargling it with water. It’s technically an antiseptic, allowing you to use it on some cuts to prevent infection.
There’s a reason Salt was once referred to as white gold by people thousands of years ago. Its uses are seemingly endless.
6.) Bras
Invented to help women with their breasts, mostly to keep them in place among other things, the brassiere has been a useful asset for women. However, many women choose not to wear one either at home or even out and about. Yet most tend to at least wear one when they go out.
This is a good thing if they get into a survival issue. As bras can be perfect for helping with a number of different survival needs. First, keep in mind that bras are essentially cloth. So they can be opened up. You can use some for water collecting but the bands can be used for making weapons or building your shelter.
Likely the biggest thing we love about them is that many bras have to keep their shape. This is accomplished by their use of metal wiring. This is lightweight stuff but tends to hold very well under many different conditions.
You could rip this out of the bra and use it to make clips for holding stuff together. They can also be used for making hooks to fish with too. Meanwhile, your knife can cut through this metal as it’s small enough to deal with that.
Yet this metal is still effective as a weapon. If you use your knife to make one end pointed and then treat a section of this metal with heat…it’ll stop its moldable movement. It’ll then become solid and thus capable for use as an arrow or even work for spearfishing.
7.) Paperclips
It might sound really weird but yes, you read this right. We’re talking paperclips. How can they be useful to you? They can be great at holding stuff together, just as we use them normally. This can be great when used for your shelter.
Yet the use goes beyond this as they make brilliant hooks for fishing and can be great for piercing through some smaller animals in traps you can set up. This is especially true when you use slightly bigger paper clips.
Like with metal wiring from the bras we mentioned, when heat-treated the paperclip can become hotter. You could even make the points finer and therefore make them a legit threat for fishing or for killing small game.
For first aid, paperclips can technically be makeshift stitches as well as needles if needed. You could even use them to help form a splint or something similar. Plus, if you ever were to get locked up in some random place in your survival….paperclips are great for picking locks.
A good box of paperclips, as you can see, can be very useful. Never think you couldn’t use a paperclip you come across. Trust us, you can always find a use for one.
There are multiple ways to handle emergency situations on the fly with what you have at hand, but nothing beats preparedness. REI has all the emergency & survival items you need so you’re fully prepared the next time you’re caught in a tough situation outdoors.
