Everything you need to know about rope, cordage, and lashings – rope types, terminology, and use.

To be able to construct shelters, traps and snares, weapons and tools, and other devices; you should have a basic knowledge of ropes and knots and some of the terminology used with them.

Water droplet lying on a damask textile due to surface tension and low absorption of textile

Water is one of your most urgent needs in a survival situation. You can’t live long without it, especially in hot areas where you lose water rapidly through perspiration. Even in cold areas, you need a minimum of 2 liters of water each day to maintain efficiency. Water helps you maintain your body temperature, lubricates…

The threat from animals is less than from other parts of the environment. However, common sense tells you to avoid encounters with lions, bears, and other large or dangerous animals. Move carefully through their environment. Caution may prevent unexpected meetings.

Successful use of plants in a survival situation depends on positive identification. Knowing poisonous plants is as important as knowing edible plants.

In survival situations, the ability to build and light a fire can make the difference between life and death. You can use fire to purify water, sterilize bandages, signal for rescue, drive animals from their homes, efficiently modify the landscape, smoke and preserve food, softening tar for adhesives, making charcoal for medicinal purposes, and provide…

All outdoorsmen or survivalists need a rope knots tying guide to ensure they are familiar with a variety of knots and the specific purpose for each knot type.

Possessing the knowledge and ability to sew is an essential toolset if you are to survive in the wild for any extended period of time. Clothing, shelter, shoes, and tools may need to be repaired and often those repairs require basic sewing technique.

It is not uncommon, especially in a wilderness survival situation where you possess limited supplies, to encounter situations where a longer length of rope is needed. Rope splices are used to splice shorter lengths of rope together to form a single, larger length of rope. Good rope splices hold tight without impacting the natural shape…

Hitches Hitches are used to tie a rope to another object such as a barrel, pole, post, stake, or bundled cloth (e.g., tarp). A hitch holds well due to the friction set up between the two surfaces of the rope being pressed together (which is why hitches with slippery rope or wire are no effective).…

Simple tower structure built with lashings

Lashings are used to firmly hold together two or more spars (poles, masts, scaffolding, legs, trestles, etc.) There are numerous survival construction projects that require lashings for construction.