If you were dropped off in the woods and given the choice of only three tools you could carry with you, what would you choose? What tools are lightweight enough to carry around for hours but still useful enough to keep you alive for an extended period of time out in the wild? While this topic could start a fierce debate depending on who you talk to, here’s a list of the top three tools you’d want to have on you in a woodland survival situation.
A GUN WITH AMMO
When you’re in the backcountry, you never know what type of hungry creatures you could run into at any given moment. While learning how to watch for signs of predators and avoid them is one of your first methods of defense against getting eaten, some predators are notoriously determined. Having a gun and ammo with you could save your life if you come face-to-face with a hungry or ill-intentioned stalker in the woods.
In addition to protecting you from predators of both the animal and human varieties, a gun can help you obtain food. Unless you’re an expert trapper (which is an excellent skill to have, by the way), a gun could be your only reliable means of sustenance.
A POT OR OTHER CONTAINER
You might raise your eyebrow at the suggestion that a pot or container is one of the top three tools you need to survive in the woods. But think about it for a minute. Unless you are camped right next to the head of a spring, you need some way to boil water to make it safe. If you have a pot, you can boil any questionable water sources to reduce your risk of getting deathly ill. Water is something you can’t live without for very long in the woods, but it’s essential to boil most sources of water before drinking it.
To be honest, carrying a pot around you can be difficult and annoying. So a small metal bowl will suffice. In a pinch, you can even use a water bottle to boil water if you have some way to suspend it above a fire. Just make sure you suspend it high enough that the plastic won’t melt but the water inside will still reach a boiling temperature.
MULTITOOL
A cheap multitool won’t do much for you in a survival situation. But a quality multitool can help you do a lot of different things, including starting a fire, opening cans of food, sawing small branches for kindling, and processing small fish and game. You can also use the knife of a multitool to protect yourself from any shady people who might find their way to your camp.
When shopping for a multitool, look for one that has the following tools (at a minimum):
- Saw
- Bottle opener (this can help you dig for edible roots or loosen nails to reuse for other purposes)
- Large blade
- Can opener
- Tweezers (you can use them to make a compass by breaking off one side and rubbing it against your hair or wool, then placing it on a small leaf and floating it in water).
If your multitool has more tools than these, that is even better. But these are some of the basic tools you’ll want to have on you if you’re forced to survive in the woods.
Do you have any other tools you always take with you when heading out into the wilderness? We want to know about them! Leave a comment below and tell us more about the preferred survival tools you always carry with you when you’re hiking, camping, or spending extended time out in the wild.