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Monday, February 28, 2022

Surviving a Post Collapse Scenario with your EDC | Part 1 | ON Three

Hypothermia: How to Stay Warm When Losing Body Heat

By 



During the winter season, you will read about motorists that got stuck in snowdrifts and lose their lives.

The same fate awaits the outdoor enthusiast, prepper, or seasonal camper who gets caught unprepared by an early winter storm. The saddest thing is that many people succumb a few miles away from camp.

Some of the fatalities reported over the last twenty years were not even the result of the winter’s blizzards or the challenging living conditions. Deaths occurred during times when the temperature was well above the freezing point. The main culprit in these cases was hypothermia.

This article should provide you with all the knowledge needed to prevent body heat loss during your trips out in nature. You should be aware that hypothermia occurs not only in cold regions, but there’s also mild weather hypothermia in environments with temperatures between 30- and 60- degrees F.

Once you understand how your body produces heat and how it loses the stored heat, you should take all the precautionary measures.

The dangers of hypothermia

One of the most common mistakes some outdoor enthusiasts and wilderness explorers make is not understanding the hypothermia process and how it can affect the human body. Some victims had suitable clothing for the season, yet they didn’t maintain a steady body temperature.

They removed various layers and allowed their bodies to cool down without being aware that their mistakes would put them in a dire situation. By the time they understood that they would not recapture the lost warmth, it was already too late. Hypothermia has already sneaked in.

What is this hypothermia condition, and how can it kill you even in moderate climates?

Back in the old days, people “froze to death” in sub-zero temperatures, and when the temperature was way above the freezing point, the most used phrase was “..death by exposure”.

Even if some folks froze to death while others due to cold exposure, the cause of death was always the same, hypothermia. That is when the body temperature falls below 98.6 degrees F, and it stays below normal for extended periods.

The mechanics of hypothermia are relatively simple, and the moment your body starts to lose heat faster than it can keep from the environment or manufacture, it’s usually the starting point when hypothermia starts to develop.

There are two main things that survivalists need to do to prevent hypothermia. One is to supply your body with constant food, which provides fuel for your body, and the second is to allow the excess heat to leave your body, nothing more, nothing less.

While you can carry food in your bug out bag and energize your body at regular hours, the staying warm part is a little bit more complicated.

Staying warm when hypothermia sets in is complicated, and it requires much more effort and heat to get it back above the average body temperature. The momentum hypothermia creates is difficult to reverse since the victim is not aware of it. When you become aware, as previously said, it’s probably too late.

Suppose you look at the world map and identify suitable regions for someone to experience hypothermia. In such a case, you will point to the landmasses that are more susceptible to cold temperatures. You will not pick the tropical lands since we humans feel more comfortable in tropical climates.

Your reasoning for choosing colder regions might be logical. Still, you will be surprised to find out that most of the tropical lands you left aside can also provide a deadly dose of hypothermia.

That can occur during the night or at high elevations, regardless if you find yourself in Minnesota or Hawaii. This knowledge alone can save you from disaster, and it will provide valuable preparation lessons for surviving the cold.

When body temperature drops, it starts a specific self-defense mechanism. The blood vessels of your skin will begin to close as the body’s primary function is to protect the central core (heart, lungs, livers).

The body will sacrifice the extremities to send more blood to its core; thus, your toes and fingers will get numb, which leads to frostbites. If you don’t do something to warm them up, you may end up losing any body part affected by frostbite.

Hypothermia poses an even bigger problem to those suffering from pre-existing health conditions. As your start to get cold, every cell of your body will operate at half capacity, which will affect various organs, leading to poor health.

For example, suppose you are fighting an infection and are unaware that hypothermia is setting in. In that case, your body’s defense will become too weak to fight said infection since it now struggles to get warm.

We need to know how our body controls its temperature, how it produces heat, and how to prevent hypothermia.

How does your body control its temperature?

There are three basic processes through which your body regulates its internal temperature. These are respiration, evaporation, and radiation.

As you breathe, you expel hot air from your lungs and get an intake of fresh, colder air. In case your body produces more heat than it uses, you will sweat. This process helps cooling down your body since the moisture from your body also draws out the heat. Your skin also helps cool down the body, and every blood vessel on your skin will radiate heat into the air once the body starts to overheat.

Keep in mind that your head is the part that radiates heat the most. At high elevations, it is mandatory to protect your head and face.

These processes are beneficial for keeping your body at a stable temperature, but at the same time, they can also release more heat than needed.

How is body heat produced?

There is an involuntary and a voluntary process that helps your body produce more heat. The involuntary one is a chemical, metabolic process, and it occurs when you fuel your body with food. As your body breaks down the food, it produces energy, known in simple terms as burning calories.

Now, the caloric intake you need is the tricky part. You can burn 2,000 calories during a pleasant walk out in nature, and you can replace those calories with a few light meals or snacks.

Imagini pentru hypothermia

However, those living and working in colder regions may require more than 6,000 per day, depending on their activity. Maintaining such a high level of calorie intake requires a special diet. One with an increased number of calories and the daily nutritional requirements (vitamins, minerals, and essential amino acids).

Besides the food intake, you must also ensure a fair amount of liquid intake to hydrate your body. There are some dangerous myths about using various beverages to keep your body warm and hydrated. People drink alcohol or hot coffee to get warm, but these two drinks do more harm than good.

Alcohol will make you feel warm when consuming it but will also draw heat away from the body. The liver will use more energy, trying to decompose the alcohol, which will draw heat from other organs.

As for coffee, you should know that caffeine is a mild vasodilator. Instead of shrinking to prevent the heat from escaping, the blood vessels from your skin will do the opposite. You may indeed gain some energy from drinking coffee, but you will lose heat the more coffee your drink.

Your best bet would be to stick to warm water and tea, and hot chocolate. For example, I drink hot chocolate during my winter camping sessions and I add a teaspoon of coconut oil mixed with chili flakes. There’s nothing better to warm your body, and I advise trying such a beverage when exploring the great outdoors during the winter season.

The voluntary process is the stimulation of muscles or, simply put, exercising. Any activity that gets your muscles working will produce heat, and you can control the heat production by doing various activities. For example, walking can double your heat production, while a short but intense exercising session will raise your energy level up to 10 times.

How can you prevent hypothermia?

As stated before, the three basic processes that help your body regulate temperature can also lead to severe body heat loss. But those are not the only things you have to worry about. Conduction and convection are the two other things you should pay attention to.

The heat flowing through your body can pass to the surrounding environment. When you sleep on the ground or take a cold bath, conduction occurs, and your body loses heat faster than it can replace.

The same thing goes with convection, and the heat radiated from your body that makes a protective shield around your skin can be replaced by moving cold air. That heat layer will have to be replaced continually, and faster air movement leads to a more significant heat loss.

That means one thing, and that’s making sure you’re always putting a protective layer between your body and cold objects.

Always add padding on the ground when improvising a shelter, and don’t get in contact when you’re crossing a river or stream using a boat. Your feet must be protected at all times since these body parts are in constant contact with the ground. It would be best if you had a pair of proper boots and a few pairs of socks when exploring the great outdoors.

When it comes to convection, you must prevent the wind from blowing away heat from your body. That means you need to wear windproof clothing, and you should always put a layer of protection between you and the wind, especially when you set up camp.

Another thing that is often ignored is the breathing process. This process helps regulate body temperature by releasing hot air from the core (lungs). That’s why you often blow on your hands to warm them up during a chilly evening. However, the breathing process is a double-edged sword since the more air you breathe, the more heat you end up losing.

Besides pacing yourself to reduce breathing intensity when exploring the great outdoors, you should also wear something to cover your mouth and nose. Even more, some survival experts recommend breathing only through your nose since the hair in your nostrils can also help warm the air you breathe in.

Sunday, February 27, 2022

30 Hobbies for Preppers to Improve your Prepping Skills

How To Cut Out The Weight Of Your Bug Out Bag

Building the perfect bug out bag is one of the biggest challenges the average prepper takes. You’re trying to create a pack which has everything you could possibly need, for whatever emergency you might run across that causes you to abandon your home, but doing it without knowing what that emergency is going to be. No wonder it’s challenging.

In order to help us with this dilemma, there are countless lists of what a bug out bag should include. While any of those lists alone looks good, the confusion begins when we start comparing them to each other.

There are always differences, and the things that each list adds always seem like good ideas. But if we try to take all those things with us, we’ll end up with a bug out bag that weighs so much, we can’t even manage to leave home.

Saturday, February 26, 2022

10 Warning Signs SHTF is Coming

Apocalyptic Panic Disorder: Seven tips to regain control

By 



Natural disasters are on the rise. The world’s political climate is becoming more turbulent and violent. The COVID-19 pandemic has produce chaos and strife among global economies and populations. The worrying threat of nuclear war seems like the proverbial Sword of Damocles, teetering above our heads.

It’s difficult—if not altogether impossible—not to stress out at the moment. But, that doesn’t mean you need to suffer at the hands of an uncertain fate. It’s nothing new for people to fear nuclear war and apocalyptic events. People around the world have been dealing with such anxieties for many decades. With that said, self-care is crucial during times of uncertainty if you want to put a stop to your panic.

Many studies have shown that apocalyptic fears increase one’s risk for psychological disorders, especially for younger sufferers. Thankfully, you can keep your mindset healthy by putting in the effort to protect your mental health.

Friday, February 25, 2022

25 Prepper Acronyms You Should Know

Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) – What You Need to Know


ByAugust Neverman


The two most likely reasons for an EMP are a nuclear explosion or solar flare. This post discusses the damage an EMP may cause and actions that you can take to prevent or manage the results of the EMP. A large  Electromagnetic Pulse EMP would cause widespread problems. 





This post is part of our Common Sense Preparedness series, where our goal is to help you be prepared for whatever life throws at you. 


What is an EMP (Electro Magnetic Pulse)?

Thursday, February 24, 2022

This Is Going To Get Bad But…

13 Survival Uses for Paracord



You never know when an emergency or “Doomsday” scenario could one day take place, and you’d want several tools and supplies ready to go if it did. Paracord is certainly one of those items, and here’s why. Paracord happens to be an item that’s incredibly versatile, which is why every survivalist and prepper should get their hands on some. I’ll even show you several examples of exactly how to use your paracord in practical ways that will improve your chances of survival when you’re out in the wilderness. These are 13 survival uses for paracord that you may not have known about. 



In case you missed this post, How to Survive an Avalanche or my First Aid Kit Post

13 Survival Uses for Paracord

What is Paracord?

There may be some of you wondering what a paracord even is and I’d be more than happy to share the information with you. Paracord is a thin rope that’s made from nylon, having several strands of strings that are intertwined with one another. This helps to create a rope that’s both incredibly strong but still very lightweight at the same time. In fact, its strength-to-weight ratio makes it the top of the line choice as far as rope is concerned, especially among parachuters and survivalists. Keep reading to discover more survival uses for paracord. Paracord

1. Tourniquet

When uncontrollable bleeding takes place miles away from a hospital, you’re going to have to act fast in order to get the situation under control. Rapid blood loss can lead to death in just a matter of minutes. A paracord tourniquet could very well save someone’s life in an emergency situation.    

2. Splint

Broken bones are another serious ordeal that could jeopardize you or your family, or at the very least, slow you down when you’re in an emergency situation. Not only does it immobilize you, but broken bones can also lead to exhaustion or dehydration far quicker, and increase someone’s chances of catching hyperthermia in cold environments. Until you’re able to get that person some medical assistance, here’s how to use paracord as a splint in the meantime.  

3. Sling

If someone in your party has a broken arm or limb, you’ll need a sling to help stabilize its movement to reduce some of the pain. For this, you’ll need a rigid stick and some paracord to help elevate and stabilize their arm. 

4. Stretcher

By learning how to make the right kind of knots that are strongly tied around two long tree limbs, you’ll have a stretcher that can support a person’s entire weight. This is how to make your own paracord stretcher for an easier way to help transport someone that’s injured.  

5. Climbing

Rock and rappelling climbers use paracord all the time because even the most basic cord is able to handle up to 550 lbs of weight. You just never know when you’ll be forced into a climbing situation and you’ll be glad that you went with paracord. Ray explained, it’s far better to have an actual climbing rope, something like Sterling 9.8mm Dry Core, or Mammut 9.5mm Crag Dry, or pretty much any climbing rope by Beal. The recommended rating for a climbing rope is 10-15 times the weight of the climber. When I was climbing I never went out with rope rated at less than 2,000 lbs and back then I weighed in at 170 pounds.

6. Shelter

When you’re needing shelter from the rain or just a spot where you can lay your head down to get some rest, paracord is an ideal choice for using in order to tie and secure your shelter in place. Here’s how to create your own DIY emergency shelter.    

7. Bow Drill Fire Starter

When you’re left without any supplies to start a fire, all hope is not entirely lost. What you will need is some paracord and a few sturdy sticks to create your firestarter. It’s not that hard to make, but I’m not going to lie to you. This is a difficult way to get a fire started, but it’s still an option when all your other ideas and supplies have run out. 

8. Fishing Line

Your supply of food won’t last forever, but if you have a lake or stream nearby that’s filled with fish, and paracord in your pack, you’re in luck. Paracord can also be used as a fishing line to provide you and your family another way to snatch a nourishing meal. You’ll need roughly 10 to 15 feet of cord while using the interior strands to create your fishing line. After you’re through fishing, you’ll need a stringer to keep your fish fresh. Paracord will come to your rescue once more.  

9. Belt

Having to survive on smaller rations while getting less sleep than you’re used to, along with the huge amount of stress that can pile up, chances are you’ll begin to lose some serious weight. It will be a lot harder to keep your jeans up if you don’t have a belt around your waist, but if you don’t, paracord will work just fine.

10. Tripwire

Tripwires won’t necessarily stop an intruder, but it will give you and your family a couple of extra seconds to react. Just be sure not to use the entire paracord to create the tripwire. All you need is the inner strands so that it’s less noticeable in the dark. To be more effective, try to set them only a foot above the ground and around your entire campsite. 

11. Handcuffs 

There’s always the possibility that not everyone will be on your side during a survival situation and you may need a method to defend yourself against that threat. Paracord can also be used as the perfect restraint, whether it’s used as handcuffs or to tie your suspect securely to a nearby tree. These are simple camping knots that everyone should learn to use. 

12. Shoelaces 

You wouldn’t think that shoelaces are that important when it comes to survival, but what would happen if your only pair of hiking boots had broken laces? You’d probably be better off putting on a pair of flip flops while walking through the woods or through a foot of snow. Being able to walk for miles with the proper footwear is more critical than you may realize. Paracord will be the perfect emergency replacement to hold your feet over. 

13. Raft

There may come a point that you will have to forge across a stream or a river to reach your destination and there isn’t a bridge in sight. With a few trash bags filled with air, several large sticks, and some paracord to tie it all together, and you’ll be able to make your very own survival raft.  

Final Word

These are just 13 ways that you can use paracord for your survival purposes, but there are actually hundreds of other ways that it could be used. If you want to find out more, check out these 101 different uses of paracord for your survival purposes. What are some survival uses for paracord that you’d like to share? May God Bless this world, Linda. 

Copyright Images: Pocket Knife with Colored Ropes Deposit photos_322804342_s-2019

Wednesday, February 23, 2022

Prepping for the Uncertain Future...

10 Cast Iron Cooking Mistakes You Need To Stop Making Right Now


There are so many benefits to cooking with cast iron – especially if you’re a prepper or homesteader. No matter how many different types of cookware litter your kitchen, there’s a good chance that cast iron is the most precious piece of equipment you own!

Unfortunately, there’s also a good chance that you’re committing one of many egregious mistakes that can be made when you are cooking with cast iron.

Here are some of the most common cast iron cooking mistakes you might be making – and why you should stop making them as soon as you can.

Tuesday, February 22, 2022

Its MUCH Worse Then We're Being Told: HARD TIMES Are Coming

20 Mistakes You Are Making When Freezing Meat

Meat storage is an essential element of a responsible prepper’s plans. You don’t want to discover that your procedures involved mistakes during an emergency.

Both newbies and veterans slip up now and then, however.

We discuss the oversights that may lead to waste and the rules that apply when you employ the freezing and freeze-drying options.

The Refrigerator/Freezer – A Modern Age Luxury: a freezer will keep your meat 100 percent wholesome, but taste and quality may suffer the longer it stays in there.

Here are the top mistakes when freezing meat:

Monday, February 21, 2022

Making a Spetsnaz Shovel out of a Regular Garden Shovel.

What you need to know about scavenging after a long-term SHTF event












Most preppers realize that should the day come where we experience a long-term, grid- down, SHTF scenario, at some point we may have to scavenge to find much needed supplies. No matter how large and plentiful our stock pile is, at some point we will need something we don’t have.

Maybe something important has broke, and you need to find a replacement or parts to fix it. It could be that you ran out of something faster than you anticipated. Either way, finding supplies is something you may have to do should the world as we know it comes to an end.

Let me start out by saying that looting is NOT scavenging. Watching people carry off things like TVs, jewelry, and multiple boxes of shoes during riots, hurricanes, etc. is flat out stealing! That is criminals taking advantage of a bad situation. They were not taking items needed simply to survive but instead taking things for personal gratification. The owners of the stolen property will certainly miss what was taken. Again, this is NOT scavenging!