SOS OUTDOORS wants to keep our customers safe while they venture into the great outdoors. Here are some very helpful tips to remember just in case the unexpected should happen to you while you face Mother Nature.

NAVIGATION: Becoming lost in the wilderness can be very scary. If you should find yourself in this situation, the first thing to remember is to remain calm. DO NOT PANIC. The state of panic causes confusion and desperation, which will lessen your chances of finding a way out. The most common mistake people make when they become lost, is that they begin to panic, and travel aimlessly in every direction. It is very important to avoid  doing this, and travel in a straight line. Due to shrinking forests, and growing urban development, there are usually signs of civilization within a reasonable distance. Usually within a few miles in any given direction, one or more of these signs will emerge. A road, dirt or ATV trail, railroad tracks, and utility lines are just some of the signs you can expect to find. These signs of civilization can be found much more effectively if a traveler continues in a straight line. the easiest way to accomplish this is by targeting an object (any tree, rock, shrub, or other landmark will work) ahead in the distance, and walking to it. After reaching your target, pick out another target ahead and walk to it. NOTE: It is important to make sure your previous target is directly behind you each time. Although this may seem time consuming, trust me, it is the most effective way of finding a way out of many forests. Another effetive method of finding your way out of a forest is to find a river or stream, and follow it down stream. This methad can also lead you to some sign of civilization.
OTHER HELPFUL NAVIGATION TIPS: Ever hear of transforming a regular needle into a compass? It is important to heep in mind that this can only be done if you magnetize the needle first. It is said that this can be done by rubbing the needle across a section of polarized material such as silk. However, this is much easier to do with a magnet. Afterall, if you plan on carrying a needle with you, why not magnetize it before packing it? Gently rubbing a magnet acsoss the entire length of the needle repeatedly will magnetize it. Once the needle is magnetized, you can float a tiny shred of paper, or leaf on still water, and gently set your needle on top of it. NOTE: Do not place it in the edge of a river, pond, or large puddle, as wind and current will effect the results. It is also important not to place it inside any thing metallic. You can find piece of shaved bark, or a nonmetallic stone with a natural crater or divot in it that can be filled with water.
The needle will automatically point North/South. Now, the only problem is to figure out which way is which. Here are a couple ways to distinguish:
  • There are usually fewer branches on the Northside of a tree, as well as more mosses, and lichens. This is due to the fact that the North side of the tree stays more humid.
  • Ants prefer to build their hills in the ground on the south side of trees.
NOTE: These methods can vary with different climate changes, and the dennsity of a forest in a certain area. More definate ways of destinguishing North from South include familiarizing yourself with certain star constellations (you only need to how to locate the Big Dipper, and Polaris, better known as the North Star). Also, always remember that the sun rises in the East, and sets in the West.
The following steps are a sure way to find East and West at any time of day, as long as the sun is still shining. You will need three small (at least 12" long) sticks to do so. To make it easier, we will label the three sticks A, B, and C. First, push stick "A" into the ground where the sunlight can hits it directly. This will cast a shadow. Now follow the shadow casted from stick "A", and push stick "B" into the ground at the very tip, or end, of the shadow created from stick "A". Wait approximately 15 minutes, and you will notice that the shadow from stick "A" has moved, and is no longer touching stick "B". This is good. Finally, push stick "C" in the ground to mark the new position of the shadow's tip. Draw, or imagine a line that connects stick "B" to stick "C". NOTE: This line should be created between the actual sticks (B and C), right where they penetrate the soil, totally disregarding any shadows. The line that you created between sticks "B" and "C" automatically points East/West.
 
 

FIRE: Although starting a fire without matches or a lighter is possible, it is a task that is not easilty accomplished. Please understand that the most talked about method, "Rubbing two sticks together", will prove to be impossible unless you know a little bit about identifying types of trees, enabling you to choose the proper wood types. After digging, notching, or gouging a small divot in one piece of wood, you use another piece as a rod, or drill. Hold one end of the rod between the palms of both hands, while placing the opposite end into the divot you created in the other piece of wood. Now, rub your hands back and forward quickly the rod spinning inside the divot (much like if you were trying to drill a hole through it). This will create friction and begin to byrn the wood. NOTE: The wood should be dry, and for best results, the rod should be from willow, cottonwood, fir, balsam, elm, cypress, or basswood trees.
Lenses from eyeglasses, binoculars, or scopes (a lense can also be molded by melting a good sized piece of ice between your hands, but be careful not to become frostbitten while doing so) are alos effective sources to start a fire. You can then harness the sun's rays onto something flammible. The downfall to this method is that the sun needs to be shining brightly for this to work. NOTE: Flammible materials to look for include pine or evergreen twigs, shaved birch bark, ABANDONED hornet nests, dried thin leaves, and various types of thin dried brush.

WATER: This is another very important subject of survival. The only real "reliable" method to purify water while in the outdoors if you do not have any other purification products on hand, is to boil the water. Please understand that this isnt always reliable. For instance, although this may kill any bacteria in the water, it will not help against many toxins, or chemicals that may have found their way into a water source.  NOTE: Always boil water for at least five minutes. Some of the more obvious water sources to look for are streams, lakes, puddles, or snow,  while more subtle sources include morning dew droplets, which gather on the leaves of plants. Sometimes following well used animal trails will lead you to a water source. NOTE: DO NOT ATTEMT TO DRINK OCEAN WATER!!! Although it may seem tempting, it will kill you!!! It contains way more salt than it does water, and will cause rapid dehydration, along with rapid cell destruction. However, water can be drawn safely from seawater by putting the seawater directly into a holding reservoir of any type. Then place a smaller reservoir directly into the center of the reservoir that contains the seawater (make sure the seawater can not overflow into the smaller reservoir). Now you will need to cover the entire larger reservoir tightly with any type of plastic, or other air tight material (Unfortunately, it should be easy to find something due to the increasing amounts of pollution in our oceans). Use a shoe lace, or any type of string, vine, or elastic to secure the material tightly around the reservoir, to form somewhat of an air tight seal. Now place a small heavy object directly in the center of the plastic cover (a small pebble, shell, fishing sinker, etc.) causing it to form a funnel directly over the smaller reservoir. The heat from the sun will cause pure water to evaporate from the seawater, and gather onto the inside upper surface of the plastic material. As it builds up, the droplets will funnel directly into the smaller holding reservior. The harmful salt will remain in the larger reservoir.

FOOD: A variety of foods are available in the woods; However, some of them, although quite abundant, are commonly unaknowledged by the novice outdoor adventurer. Acorns for instance, are very bitter, but can be consumed to stay alive. They can be boiled several times, and crushed into a rough powder to lessen their bitter taste. Also, fresh grass can be consumed (you may first want to observe which types are being eaten by the wildlife, and be sure to always choose fresh grass). Boiling the grass will also assist in the taste of it. NOTE: Do not attempt to eat types of mushrooms because most of the harmless ones have a deadly cousin thats an almost exact look alike. Many insects are also very edible if starvation is threatening. Mealworms, crickets, and grasshoppers are just a few examples.

SHELTER: A simple, yet effective shelter can be constructed by obtaining two long (approx. 5 feet long) "Y" shaped tree branches, and poking them into the ground. Make sure you place them abproximately eight feet apart, the Y's should face, and be parallel to each other. Next, rest a long (at least 8 feet long) stick across the two Y sticks, dropping each end into the bottom groove of the Y. Now, simply lean smaller sticks up against both sides of the stick, which you placed across the Y's. You can leave approximately six inches between each stick that you lean. Do this to create a "tent" look. Be sure to create enough room for you to crawl inside. For the next step, simply throw bushy branches, or branches full of foliage on top of the entire structure until it is completely covered. You can use a mixture of branches, brush, and leaves to complete the task.  NOTE: Make sure the open ends are not facing the wind direction.
You can make this shelter more cozy by burying hot rocks six inches deep beneath the soil inside your shelter. You can also fill the entire shelter with loose debris simply by allowing it to fall beneath the sticks that you leaned up. Do this until the entire shelter is overflowing with debris. Then you simply burrow inside and drag more debree in behind you to seal the entrance.NOTE: When heating the rocks with a fire, use only dry rocks to prevent them from exploding. Also, dried moss, spruce, and balsam can provide a comfortable matt to rest on.

PREPAREDNESS:This is the most important factor for outdoor survival. Critical situations can be avoided by preparing yourself before venturing into the outdoors. Browse and shop at SOS OUTDOORS for all the products you will need to avoid such situations!!!