Preparing vs. improvising
One of the topics that generally gets a lot of play in the survival world is improvising. Innovative ways to repurpose items and use them for survival. While the information is interesting and potentially useful, you need to be a little careful with this train of thought.
Case in point — most of you have likely seen the tip about lighting crayons to use as improvised candles. Y’know what works even better? Actual candles. Yet more than once I’ve seen that tip about crayons posted and observed people comment that they were going to pick up a box or two of crayons at the store so they’d have them on hand for that purpose. If you’re at the store, why wouldn’t you just buy candles?
Never plan to improvise
Plan to use the right equipment and gear whenever possible and reserve the improvisation for when it is actually necessary.
Can you use the pull tab on a can of soda or beer to make a fish hook? Yep, sure can. But, for almost the same price as a can of soda from a vending machine, you could put together a fairly decent fishing kit that would fit into an Altoids tin for your pocket.
Could you scrounge a beer bottle from an abandoned campsite or even a roadside ditch and break it so as to use a sharp edge as a cutting tool? Absolutely. You could also have the foresight to carry a knife with you.
Can you go out and sponge water from mud puddles, bring it home in a dirty bucket, and work it through a series of homemade filters to make it at least somewhat fit to consume? Sure, but you could also spend three bucks on a case of water to keep stashed away. And those layer filters using cotton, sand, gravel, and such? You’re FAR better off using a Sawyer, MSR, or Berkey filter.
Can you disassemble your cell phone and use the battery and a scrounged gum wrapper to start a fire? Yep, YouTube is filled with such feats. Know what is even simpler and easier? Carrying a Bic lighter and/or a ferro rod in your pocket.
Improvising is for when you have no other choice
Kind of the whole point of prepping is to work toward being prepared for emergencies. While being able to improvise solutions in a pinch is certainly part of the equation, it shouldn’t be the primary goal.
To be absolutely crystal clear, I’m not suggesting improvising has no place in the prepper mindset. Far from it, as being able to think outside the box is one of the most valuable skills a survivalist can possess. What I’m saying is that the whole idea of prepping is to plan ahead for practical ways to meet your needs. Planning to improvise right from the outset is limiting your options.
About the author
Jim Cobb is a well known freelance author on survival and other topics.
Want more information about Jim? You can find him on Facebook by clicking HERE!
Read other articles by Jim Cobb on 3BY by clicking HERE!
It’s definitely better to plan and be prepared than improvise!
YES it seams that a group with in the preppers what’s to out McGiver each other.
you wrote my prepper mantra – PREPPERS PREP – planning to half azz it and just get by with second or third best is probably the worst mentality you can go thru life with …
pretty much guarantee you that’ll cost you something vital along the way and hopefully it won’t be a life …
Good job! I’ve been waiting for someone to debunk all of the improvising/repurpose BS.Stop watching idiots like Bear Gryls.
Buy what you need and keep it handy.
As someone that spent over a year witnessing the Bosnian civil war-ethnic cleansing situation I find it grimly amusing that “Buy what you need” idea is so strong. How do you know what your going to NEED? Have you ever been in a serious survival situation? Has any of the Guru’s that give you lists of “Critical Items to Hoard for SHTF” EVER been in a serious survival situation?
Better question have you Tested your skills using that Credit Card purchase? I personally know too many folks with still in the bubble wrap equipment and they are READY… really?
As an example have you ever given thought on just how much material is needed to treat a SINGLE Burn injury from a pot of boiling water on your kids legs? Most of our “First Aid Kits” and Israeli one handed combat bandages and such will not be very helpful in most common SHTF injuries. Minor cuts, rashes, burns, stomach aches, joint and muscle strains are the most common and can really harm your survival chances. Knowing how to boil up cotton cloth tee shirts for washable-reusable bandages and knowing how to use then with proper knots to replace those soon unusable ace bandages etc… Plain white sugar is pretty useful in treating weeping wounds and thus avoiding serious infections. Crushed Cabbage leaves are amazing in reducing swelling, joint and muscle pain and even fevers. NO, not up to the standards of modern medicine, I work in surgery but was amazed when an older Bosnian lady used crushed cabbage leaves on my twisted knee. I could have left that hades hole for “proper treatment” but they needed me there for medical support.
Gear is nice but experience is more important. NOW is a good time to try out stuff before it’s life or death. I built an Atal-Atal and a stone (actually chipped glass) knife and harvested a small deer last year. It worked as well as my normal compound bow with fancy broadheads, just took some practice to learn how it works.
The Bosnian situation was very fluid and most folks LOST all their “Neat” Survival type stuff to armed thugs. So learning how to Make Do is not a bad idea.
Can’t waste time responding to nonsensical comments