In this article we examine common questions about ferro rods. These simple devices have become a mainstay of outdoor fire-lighting, especially in bushcraft, and a key component of many modern sur...
In the bushcraft world, we tend to like muted, natural colours. These mirror the colours of our local natural environment, typically shades of green and brown. I think there's a strong argument f...
The Universal Edibility Test, while having its place, presents problems. These problems largely fall into two categories; 1) problems caused by the way this test is commonly presented, especially...
https://paulkirtley.co.uk/2023/discussing-problems-universal-edibility-test/
Bruce Zawalsky is a professional wilderness survival instructor and author, with over 25 years of experience as an outdoor educator. He teaches survival courses, wildlife and bear awareness cours...
https://paulkirtley.co.uk/2019/bruce-zawalsky-canadian-wilderness-survival/
John Hudson, Chief Instructor at the UK military’s Defence SERE Training Organisation, joins me in conversation on the Paul Kirtley Podcast. Originally an RAF helicopter pilot and now the survi...
https://paulkirtley.co.uk/2019/john-hudson-uk-military-chief-survival-instructor/
Traditionally igloos were tundra shelters, with other snow shelters and snowhouses involving mounding up snow being favoured in the forest. But modern Ice Box devices blur this boundary. So, I th...
https://paulkirtley.co.uk/2017/snow-shelters-why-we-dont-build-igloos-in-the-forest/
Snow shelters take different forms but have many commonalities. Digging them out can be warm work as well as creating problems with moisture in your clothing. I have found over the years, utilisi...
https://paulkirtley.co.uk/2016/the-best-clothing-for-digging-out-snow-shelters/
White water safety and rescue skills are essential if you spend any time on or around rivers. These are real world survival skills. If you examine the statistics of what kills people outdoors, wa...
https://paulkirtley.co.uk/2015/white-water-safety-rescue-training-survival-skills/
It's never been easier to reach wild and remote parts of our planet, and we’re doing it more and more for recreation and adventure. The question is though, what do we do when things go wrong? I...
https://paulkirtley.co.uk/2015/plan-a-framework-for-prioritising-in-a-survival-situation/
I have in the past written about the value of a long-log fire in the context of articles detailing the building of a lean-to shelter and later, the renovation of a previously used shelter. This h...
https://paulkirtley.co.uk/2015/how-to-build-a-long-log-fire/