The Basics (10 Essentials According to the Boy Scouts)

Welcome to our first ever blog here at Survival Recon!

Eventually, as the site grows, we will be covering topics ranging from brewing your own home brews to surviving the zombie apocolypse... but for our first posting we wanted to cover the absolute basics of survival (at least according to the Boy Scouts of America).

There are many facets to surviving, mostly having to do with the theatre of operations, or environment, you are dealing with, but we figured the scouts had the basics pretty much nailed with their official "10 essentials" list. Check this out below (with a few extra added notes on our part), and for more information please visit The Boy Scout Handbook.

The 10 Essentials:

1. Pocket Knife - This is pretty self explanatory but for an extra level of detail, let's delve just a wee bit deeper. We aren't talking about a pearing knife you can shove in your pocket and "damage" your own essentials. We are talking about something that folds up, along the lines of a Swiss Army Knife with lots of gadgets and stuff. Especially a magnifying glass.

2. First Aid Kit - It's not just your momma's suggestion, it is a lifesaver. This sucker doesn't need a heart defibulator or a surgical kit, but it does need stuff like adhesive bandages, medical tape, sterile gause, antiseptic soap, and scissors.

3. Additional Clothing - Ok, drop the board shorts and prada boots. Think more like "how am I NOT going to freeze my ass off" instead. By added clothing we mean multiple layers of socks, pants, and shirts (which btw are superior to a massive jacket). Layers give you options for adaptation for a wide range of temperatures.

4. Rain Gear - If you think we are talking about condoms then #1, you didn't visit the link we provided above (age sensitive) and #2, you are part of that group that caused the whole survival issue in the first place. You need actual rain gear to stay dry. Cold water causes your blood to freeze AKA hypothermia.

5. A flashlight - Yes, you will need batteries too.

6. Trail Food - This is for maintaining your energy. Visit TrailQuest for a list of some pretty good recipes. You are looking for mostly high energy proteins here. You should be good to go for at least a few weeks, although miserable, so starving to death should be the least of your worries. The human body can reportedly survive for weeks without food so aren't you glad you ate all those jelly donuts before the apocolypse?

7. Water - Much better than beer or vodka for hydration purposes. Your body needs it. Trust us here.

8. Firestarters - In the event of an apocolypse, everyone will want their own Carrie as their own personal psychotic sidekick and sue chef, but in all practicallity, Carrie was a fictional creation by master writer Stephen King. You will want matches, lighters, or even better: flint rocks to carry with you. Fire is man's best friend. Even before the dog. Back when much bigger dogs were trying to eat him.

9. Sun Protection - Shades are cool man, especially in the event of a disaster. All the cool people will have them no matter if it is for a trip through a grueling desert, or a mountain of snow. Being sun or snow blind will be bad. You also want to stockpile some SPF <insert your favorite number here> sunscreen, lip balm and an ever so cliche wide-brimmed hat that accompanies any post-apocolyptic loner.

10. Trail maps and compass - Knowing where not to go is just as important as knowing where to go. Knowledge of both will be increased significantly with these two items.

Hope you enjoyed the list and please feel free to contact us with any questions.