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Hey… Hey… Guess what day it is… It’s Posts of the Week Wednesday! Ok, maybe we get more excited about it than you but the POWW gives us an excuse to read all the survival, prepper, homesteading, EDC, and bug out bag articles we want because…um…it’s totally for the POWW post.
We kind of liked how last week’s POWW had a theme to it so we decided to stick with the theme…theme? Either way, this week is all about multi use items. There are a lot of things that are in, or should be in your bug out bag, that have a variety of applications. These are the best type of gear because you can save space and weight by only having to pack one item instead of nine.
These are only the posts we found this week but there are plenty more multi function items like bandanas/shemaughs, tinfoil, and, of course, your handy survival knife. I know you’re as anxious to get into it as we are so without further ado…
The Best Survival Posts of the Week
Cayenne Peppers
I was talking with a buddy of mine this weekend who has been a police officer for almost a decade and is almost as avid of a survivalist as I am. Somehow we got on the subject of wilderness tourniquets and how to stop major bleeding when you don’t have access to modern equipment.
I offhandedly mentioned that you can use cayenne pepper to stop the bleeding and he didn’t refused to me (I was totally right). But other than that and seasoning my chili, I was completely unaware of the many other uses for cayenne peppers until I ran across this article by Sara Hathaway. I’ll be adding a few pepper plants to our garden now!
Tampons
We saw the title on this next post and just had to click on it. Say what you will but if you saw an article that started with “Yes, That’s a Tampon in My Mouth…“, you’re probably going to read it.
What, just us?
Well, whatever, it ended up being a pretty good read. I had heard of using a… what do you call them… sanitary napkin (?) as a bandage but hadn’t thought of using a tampon for the same purpose. Besides doing their regular job, these new additions to my BOB have a few more tricks up their sleeve.
From water filter to cordage to kindling, you can use every part for multiple survival duties. With all that functionality in such a small package, it’s hard not to pack one or two of these. It may be an embarrassing trip to the store for some of you but it could save your life!
Petroleum Jelly
If I’m being honest, I have no idea what petroleum jelly’s (Vaseline) original purpose was (and I’m too lazy to spend the few keystrokes to find out) but I do know that it has quite a few applications in my everyday life. And no, one of them is not smearing it on my teeth during a beauty pageant to improve my smile.
Personally, I use it to lube items that WD-40 or engine oil aren’t good options for like hand tools and rusted pipe threads. I also have a small jar, along with a few cotton balls (also a good multi use item), in my go bag.
Here are some more uses to get a little more mileage out of this versatile oil byproduct (doesn’t sound as good, does it?). For anyone whose skin is prone to drying out or getting sun burned easily, this could save some very uncomfortable days.
Plastic Bottles
I’m always a fan of using trash for survival. I figure if S ever does H the F, the one thing that we’ll have plenty of is garbage. From my experience, one of the most important kinds of refuse is plastic water bottles.
Besides being a pretty great water container by design, they can be used for anything from cordage to fish traps. And the best part is you don’t need to pack these, they’re everywhere. I’ve even found some in the middle of a forest before. For those visual learners like me, Darren has made a video on some uses for the plastic bottle.
Duct Tape
And lastly, what would a post on multiple use items be with the granddaddy of them all, duct tape? I don’t think we will ever stop coming up with new uses for this wonder tool. There is even a scholarship for high schoolers to make prom dresses out of the stuff. With enough duct tape, you could fix the world. Along with paracord, I make sure to attach this stuff to everything I can in case I need it later.
Wrap your lighter/canteen/youngest child in a few feet. I’ve got a pencil in my bag with about a half inch roll on it. Saves hand cramps now and maybe my life later! Anyways, enough about my love of duct tape, here’s a great infographic on just a few of the survival uses you can get out of this must-have bug out bag item (unfortunately, the infographic has been taken down now 🙁 ).
That’s all we’ve got for you this week. What’s the best thing you read?
