CRAYNDLE
What do you get when you light the top of a crayon on fire? A crayndle, of course. Crayons are made up mainly of wax and burn very well. Leave the paper label on because it acts as the crayndle wick. An average crayndle will burn for 30 minutes. To keep them from falling over, melt the pointed writing tip into a small pool on a hard, fireproof surface and place the bottom of the crayon in the melted wax until it cools and hardens. This will prevent the crayndle from tipping or falling over. Need a bigger flame for more light or even cooking? Wrap several crayons together using wire. This will not only produce more light, but it creates a larger flame, which can be used to heat a small space if other types of fuel are limited.
ORANGE YOU GONNA USE THAT PEEL?
I love oranges. Did you know dried orange peels make great fire starters? However, this hack goes beyond using just the peel. An orange peel can actually be used to make a very impressive survival lamp. Peel the orange so that half the peel is intact and that the pithy central column is still attached. At this point the orange should look like a half-hollowed-out orange peel with the pithy core sticking up out of the center. Place the orange on a sturdy, hard, fireproof surface and fill with almost any kind of cooking oil such as olive oil or vegetable oil. The oil will slowly absorb into the pithy center column. After a few minutes, this pithy core can be lit just like a lamp wick and will continue to burn for several hours. Bonus hack: One of my favorite camp breakfasts is to bake instant rolls inside half rounds of hollowed orange peels right in the coals of a fire.
CRISCO CANDLE
If your childhood was anything like mine, then you grew up with a big can of Crisco in the pantry. My mom used Crisco for frying and homemade biscuits, but it wasn’t until recently that she learned a new use for Crisco: a 30-day candle. Crisco is a solid-state vegetable oil that also happens to burn incredibly well. A Crisco candle is best made with the long strands of a cotton mop head. Cut 1 strand off and cram it down into the can of Crisco using a thin, forked stick. Cut the end that sticks out to about 1" above the top and slather it with a little Crisco before lighting. One can of Crisco can burn up to 30 days. You’ll have to replace the wick several times, but it works as an amazing emergency candle. Burn 3 wicks at once for more light and heat. Insert them several inches apart.
NAVIGATION
WRISTWATCH COMPASS
If you know the time, you can determine direction. Using an analog watch, point the hour hand at the sun. Then, bisect the distance between the hour hand and 12 o’clock. That line, pointing away from the center of the watch, is south. If your watch is digital, just draw a clock with hands on the ground so that the hour hand is pointing toward the sun and do the same thing only on the ground instead of on your wrist.
What if you can’t see the sun? Even on cloudy days the sun will still cast a shadow from a stick placed in the ground. Align your hour hand perfectly with that shadow and it will be pointing toward the sun. Continue as just described. Once you know south, the other three directions fall into place.
FINGER CLOCK
This hack isn’t so much about finding direction as it is knowing when to stop hiking and start making base camp for the night. Many survivors underestimate how long it can take to set up a proper base camp, and then find themselves rushing around in low-light conditions. A reliable way of estimating the amount of time left until sunset is by using your fingers. Hold your hand up sideways with the bottom of the sun resting on top of your index finger. Now, count the number of fingers going down until they connect with land. Each finger represents approximately fifteen minutes of sunlight available.
AIR GOGGLES
I’ve placed this hack under the navigation heading because it’s related to navigating underwater. Seeing underwater is blurry at best without swimming goggles. Air goggles are simple to make. This is done by creating a tight seal across your forehead and to the outside of each eye along your temples with your hands by pressing them tightly against these areas. When you slowly lower your face into the water, a pocket of air will collect around your eyes and up against the wall that your hands create. If there is a small air leak in your hands, these air pockets can be replenished (or increased in size) by simply exhaling underwater and adding bubbles to the goggles. Your eyes are now behind a pocket of air and can see in water just as if you were wearing goggles. This is a perfect technique for getting a clear view of the bottom of any shallow pool or body of water.
SHADOWS LEAD THE WAY
You can improvise a fairly accurate compass using just a stick. Even with cloud cover, the sun will cast a shadow. Stab a straight 36" stick into the ground. Mark the end of its shadow with a rock. Wait a couple hours as the sun moves across the sky. Then mark the end of the shadow again with a second rock. Now, draw a line from the first rock to the second rock. This line is the east/west line; the second rock points east. As the sun moves from east to west it casts a shadow from west to east. From this you can then determine north and south.
SIGNALING AND RESCUE HACKS
BULLET CASING WHISTLE
Using just an empty bullet casing, a file (or sharp corner of concrete), and a branch, you can make one of the best hack rescue whistles in the world. File a groove 1⁄2" from the opening of the bullet casing as shown in the illustration. Be sure the flat 90-degree portion is toward the open end. Next, carve off the top fifth of a branch that is the same diameter as the inside diameter of the bullet casing. Cut this piece so that it is the exact length from the opening to the 90-degree, flat-filed edge and insert it into the end of the casing as shown. This bullet will now produce a piercing whistle to signal for recue.
BUSTED CELL PHONE TO THE RESCUE
Let’s face it: A cell phone is about the best survival tool you can have—if it’s working! Everyone knows that technology fails you when you need it most, and cell phones are no exception. Whether waterlogged or broken during a fall, a busted cell phone could still help you signal for rescue. Behind every cell phone screen are several layers of a highly reflective mirror-finish material that can be used to flash the sun’s rays in the direction of a rescue party. This works best if you adhere them side by side to bark or a flat rock, using sticky pine sap (wet mud will work temporarily). Increasing the surface area and number of reflective surfaces helps ensure a successful signaling attempt. The best method of accessing these reflective pieces is to crush the phone with a rock from the side, which will split most phones in half with little effort.