The first hour
- Stop. Sit down, drink water, eat a snack.
- Think. How did you get here? Is it light out?
- Observe. Landmarks, weather, your supplies.
- Plan. Usually stay where you are, especially if someone knows your route.
- Try calling or texting 911. Texts can go through with weak signal.
The first day
- Signal: three of anything (whistle blasts, flashes, fires) means help.
- Make yourself visible: bright clothes, open space.
- Build shelter from wind and rain before dark.
- Keep warm and dry. Insulate yourself from the ground.
The first week and beyond
- Ration water but drink enough.
- Treat water before drinking if you can.
- Stay with your shelter; searchers often find people within 24 to 48 hours.
Get ready now: checklist
Your checks save on this phone.
Common mistakes
- Wandering further.
- Not telling anyone your plans.
- Not packing layers.
Keeping kids calm
- Teach kids 'hug a tree': stay in one spot if lost.
- Give each child a whistle and teach three blasts.
Gear that helps
- Whistle: my pick, Fox 40 Classic CMG Pealess Whistle with Lanyard
- Emergency bivvy: my pick, SOL Escape Bivvy
- Headlamp: my pick, GearLight USB Rechargeable Headlamp, 2 Pack
- Compass: my pick, SUUNTO A-10 Compass
- Topo map
- Water filter: my pick, LifeStraw Personal Water Filter, 1-Pack
- Fire starter: my pick, Überleben Zünden ferro rod
- Space blanket: my pick, Swiss Safe Emergency Mylar Blankets, 10 pack
- Personal locator beacon
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Sources
Keep going
Prepper tricks for this
Fire Starting (10)
Petroleum jelly (Vaseline) cotton balls
Cost: About 3-5 cents each (store-brand cotton balls about $2/100 plus a $2 jar of petroleum jelly), versus $8-15 for a pack of commercial tinder tabs.
Why it works: The cotton acts as a wick and the petroleum jelly is a slow-burning fuel, so you get a small candle that lasts minutes instead of seconds. Side-by-side tests found it the easiest and longest-burning of common DIY tinders.
How to do it
- Buy plain 100% cotton balls. Test one first: hold a flame to it. If it melts and shrinks instead of burning, it is synthetic and won't work.
- Scoop about 1 teaspoon of petroleum jelly into a zip bag with 10-20 cotton balls and squish until every ball is soaked but still fluffy.
- Pack them into an old pill bottle, film canister or mint tin.
- To use: pull one ball open so dry fibers poke out the middle, then light it with a lighter, match or ferro rod spark.
- Set it under small twigs. Expect about 2 to 8 minutes of flame from one ball.
Safety: Flammable: store away from heat. In a hot car the jelly can get runny, so keep the container sealed and in a bag.
Dryer lint egg-carton starters
Cost: Basically free if you already have lint, cartons and candle stubs.
Why it works: Cardboard plus wax gives a longer, steadier flame than lint alone. Plain lint on its own lights poorly and burns briefly in tests, so the wax is what makes this trick good.
How to do it
- Save lint from loads of cotton towels and jeans (lint from synthetic fabrics melts and smells instead of burning well).
- Stuff each cup of a PAPER egg carton with lint. Do not use foam cartons.
- Melt old candle stubs in a clean tin can set in a pot of simmering water (a homemade double boiler).
- Pour a little wax over each cup so it soaks in, let it harden, then cut the cups apart.
- To use: light a corner of the cardboard and put it under kindling.
Safety: Never melt wax directly on a burner or in a microwave: it can catch fire. If wax ignites, cover the pot with a lid. Never use water on a wax fire.
Wax-dipped pinecones
Cost: Free to about $5 for a bag of wax; pinecones are free.
Why it works: Pine cones contain resin and have lots of surface area; wax adds a long-burning fuel and makes them water resistant.
How to do it
- Collect fully open, dry pinecones. Let them air-dry indoors for a week if damp.
- Tie a cotton string to the base of each cone to hold it.
- Melt wax in a can in a pot of simmering water (double boiler).
- Dip each cone 2-3 times, letting the wax set between dips. Hang or set on wax paper to harden.
- Use one cone at the base of a campfire or wood stove fire.
Safety: Same wax-melting rules as above: double boiler only, never unattended. Keep them away from kids since they look like decorations.
Fatwood (resin-soaked pine)
Cost: Free if you can find it; about $10-15 for a box at a hardware store.
Why it works: The wood is saturated with flammable pine resin, so it acts like a natural fire-starting stick and burns hot even in wet weather.
How to do it
- Look for old dead pine stumps or the spot where a branch joins the trunk of a dead pine.
- Fatwood is heavy for its size, amber or orange inside, and smells strongly like turpentine.
- Shave thin curls off with a knife, or scrape a pile of fine dust with the back of your knife.
- Light the curls with a lighter, or catch a ferro rod spark in the scraped dust.
- Store a few sticks in your kit: it keeps for years and lights even when damp.
Safety: Burns smoky; use outdoors or in a wood stove. Only take from dead wood and only where collecting is allowed.
Source: OffGrid: Finding fatwood and how to use it for fire-starting
Corn chips as kindling (Fritos and similar)
Cost: About $1-2 a bag, and you can eat the extras.
Why it works: Corn chips are mostly corn and oil, so each chip burns like a tiny candle for a minute or more.
How to do it
- Pile 5-10 corn chips under small twigs.
- Hold a lighter or match flame to the edge of one chip for a few seconds until it catches.
- Add twigs once the chips are burning steadily.
Safety: Needs a flame (a spark alone usually won't catch them). Keep sealed so they don't attract animals or go stale and soft.
Source: OffGrid: Fire tinder comparison (petroleum-jelly cotton vs birch bark vs fatwood)
Steel wool and a 9-volt battery
Cost: About $5 for steel wool and $3 for a battery; one pad is many fires.
Why it works: The battery pushes current through the very thin steel strands, which heat up and burn. It works even if the steel wool is damp.
How to do it
- Buy fine steel wool, grade 0000 or 000 (not soap pads).
- Fluff a small handful into a loose nest and set it on top of a tinder bundle (dry grass, paper, cotton ball).
- Touch both battery terminals to the steel wool. It glows and spreads instantly.
- Gently blow on it to light the tinder.
Safety: Store the battery and steel wool in separate bags and put tape over the battery terminals. Fire departments warn that loose 9-volt batteries touching metal can start fires in drawers.
Source: Colorado Springs Fire Department: 9-volt battery fire safety
Homemade char cloth
Cost: Free (old clothes and a used mint tin).
Why it works: Heating cotton without air turns it into almost pure carbon, which catches even weak sparks and holds a glowing ember.
How to do it
- Cut 100% cotton fabric (old t-shirt, jeans, flannel) into 2-inch squares.
- Put them in a mint tin and punch one small nail hole in the lid.
- Set the closed tin on hot coals or a camp stove, outdoors.
- Smoke will puff from the hole. When the smoke stops (about 5-10 minutes), take the tin off the heat and plug the hole with a twig.
- Let it cool completely before opening. The squares should be black and flexible.
- Use: a spark from flint and steel or a ferro rod makes a glowing ember on the cloth; fold it into a tinder bundle and blow.
Safety: Do it outdoors; the tin gets very hot. Don't open it hot or the cloth will catch fire when air rushes in.
Source: OffGrid: Fire tinder comparison (petroleum-jelly cotton vs birch bark vs fatwood)
Relighting birthday candles for windy days
Cost: About $2-3 for a pack of 24.
Why it works: The wick has magnesium dust that keeps glowing hot after the flame goes out, so it reignites the wax vapor.
How to do it
- Pack a few 'trick' relighting birthday candles in your fire kit.
- Light one and set it right under your tinder so it keeps a steady flame there while you build the fire.
- If wind blows it out, it usually relights itself in a few seconds.
Safety: They can relight in the trash. When done, drop them in water and leave them there a minute. This is a helper for wind, not a replacement for good tinder.
Source: NFPA: Candle Safety
Waterproofing matches with nail polish or wax
Cost: Pennies, using matches and polish you already have.
Why it works: The coating seals out moisture so the match head doesn't get soggy.
How to do it
- Dip the match head and about 1/4 inch of the stick into clear nail polish or melted wax.
- Stand the matches upright in a piece of foam or cardboard to dry.
- Store them in a pill bottle with a piece of striker strip glued inside the lid, plus a cotton ball.
- Before striking, scrape off the coating with a fingernail.
Safety: The weak spot is the striker strip, which still gets ruined when wet, so keep the whole bottle sealed. Honestly, a $1 mini lighter or store-bought stormproof matches are more reliable; use these as a backup.
Source: Ready.gov: Build a Kit
Keep your lighter warm in cold weather
Cost: About $1 per lighter; buy a multi-pack.
Why it works: Butane barely vaporizes near freezing, so a cold lighter may spark but not light. Body heat fixes that.
How to do it
- Carry a plain disposable lighter as your main fire tool.
- In winter, keep it in an inside pocket close to your body, not in an outside pack pocket.
- If it won't light, warm it in your hands or armpit for a minute and try again.
Safety: Keep lighters away from kids and out of hot cars in summer.
Source: Ready.gov: Build a Kit
First Aid and Health (8)
Skin glue for small cuts
Cost: Medical skin glue is about $8-12; hardware super glue is about $3.
Why it works: Glue holds the edges together and seals out dirt while the skin heals.
How to do it
- Use it only on small, clean, shallow cuts that have stopped bleeding (paper cuts, small knife slips).
- Wash the cut and your hands.
- Hold the edges together and paint a thin layer of glue ON TOP of the cut, a little past each end. Don't put glue inside it.
- Hold for about a minute. Add a second thin layer if needed.
Safety: Medical glues (like 2-octyl cyanoacrylate) are made for skin. Hardware super glue can irritate skin. Don't use on deep, jagged, bleeding or puncture wounds, bites, burns, or on eyes, lips or joints. Watch for redness, swelling or warmth (infection).
Honey on wounds: medical-grade only
Cost: About $10-20 for a tube or a few dressings.
Why it works: Honey is naturally antibacterial and keeps wounds moist, which helps healing.
How to do it
- For wounds and burns, buy medical-grade honey dressings or gel (sold as wound care, sterilized and FDA-cleared).
- Clean the wound, apply a thin layer, and cover with a clean dressing.
- Change daily, or as the package says.
Safety: Kitchen honey isn't sterile and can contain bacteria spores. Never give any honey to babies under 1 year. See a doctor for deep, dirty or infected wounds.
Source: FDA clearance of MediHoney wound gel (Medtech Insight)
Tape over hot spots to prevent blisters
Cost: Pennies; a roll of tape is about $5.
Why it works: Tape takes the rubbing instead of your skin.
How to do it
- The moment a spot on your foot feels hot or rubbed, stop.
- Dry the skin and put a smooth piece of tape (duct tape, paper tape or athletic tape) over it with no wrinkles.
- If a blister has already formed, cut a donut of moleskin to go around it, not on it.
- Wrap a few feet of duct tape around a water bottle or lighter so you always have some.
Safety: Don't pop blisters unless they're large and painful. If you must, use a clean needle and leave the skin flap on. Watch for signs of infection.
Source: Mayo Clinic: Blisters first aid
MYTH: Tampons are good for gunshot or serious wounds
Cost: A real tourniquet is about $25-35; trauma gauze about $10-40.
The truth: A tampon holds about as much material as two small gauze pads; a roll of gauze has yards of it for packing and pressure.
What to do instead
- The truth: tampons are made to soak up slow bleeding, not to stop heavy bleeding. There's no testing showing they work in trauma.
- For serious bleeding: call 911, press hard directly on the wound with both hands and don't let up.
- For an arm or leg, a tourniquet 2-3 inches above the wound stops life-threatening bleeding.
- Take a free Stop the Bleed class to learn wound packing with real gauze.
Safety: Buy tourniquets from reputable medical suppliers; cheap knockoffs can break.
Source: Crisis Medicine: Heavy flow is not massive hemorrhage - tampons don't belong in IFAKs
Sanitary pads as big bandages
Cost: About $5-8 for a pack of 30-40.
Why it works: They're cheap, absorbent, and individually wrapped so they stay clean.
How to do it
- Keep a pack of individually wrapped maxi pads in your first aid kit.
- For a large scrape or cut, place the pad over it and hold it in place with tape, a bandana or an elastic bandage.
- For heavy bleeding, press down hard on the pad with your hands.
Safety: They're clean but not sterile. They don't replace firm pressure, gauze or a tourniquet for serious bleeding.
Keep a backup supply of your daily meds
Cost: Usually just your normal copay.
Why it works: Pharmacies may be closed for days after a disaster. Some states allow emergency refills, but you shouldn't count on it.
How to do it
- Ask your doctor or pharmacist about getting a 90-day supply, or refilling a few days early each month, to build up a small extra stash.
- Keep a 7-day 'grab' supply in a labeled bottle in your go-bag and rotate it so it doesn't expire.
- Write a list of your meds, doses, doctor and pharmacy on paper.
- Check your medication's storage instructions (for example, how long insulin is okay at room temperature).
Safety: Never stop or ration a prescription without talking to your doctor. Follow the rules for controlled medicines.
Source: Ready.gov: Build a Kit
Homemade oral rehydration drink
Cost: A few cents.
Why it works: The right mix of sugar and salt helps the body absorb water much faster than plain water, which is key with vomiting or diarrhea.
How to do it
- Measure 1 liter (about 4 1/4 cups) of clean, safe water.
- Add 6 LEVEL teaspoons of sugar and 1/2 LEVEL teaspoon of salt.
- Stir until dissolved. Sip it slowly and often.
- Make a fresh batch every day.
Safety: Measure carefully; too much salt is dangerous, especially for kids. Store-bought rehydration salts are best when available. Keep breastfeeding babies. Get medical help for babies, older adults, or anyone very sleepy, not peeing, or with bloody diarrhea.
Source: Rehydration Project: How to prepare oral rehydration solution
MYTH: Put butter on a burn
Cost: Free.
The truth: Cool water pulls heat out of the skin and stops the burn from going deeper.
What to do instead
- The truth: butter, oil and grease trap heat and can raise infection risk.
- Instead, run cool (not ice-cold) water over the burn for about 10-20 minutes.
- Cover loosely with a clean, dry cloth or nonstick dressing.
- Get medical help for large, deep, or face, hand or genital burns.
Safety: Don't use ice; it can damage skin.
Source: Mayo Clinic: Burns first aid