The Pocket Outdoor Survival Guide: The Ultimate Guide for Short-term Survival

by j-wayne-fears

The Pocket Outdoor Survival Guide provides the essential knowledge that hikers, campers, canoeists, hunters, anglers and anyone who spends time in the outdoors needs to deal with short-term survival situations. This handy guidebook will help you make it through that "unplanned night in the woods" and be in your pocket to help you make it safely through the adventure.

Genres: Nonfiction, Reference, Survival

128 pages, Paperback

First published July 30, 2004

Reviews

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

The thing that really struck me about Fear's Survival Guide is as much what it didn't contain as what it did. I'd never before seen a survival book that didn't have any information about gathering food or making a fire bow - what the heck is going on here?

The inclusion and omission of information is all very logical. Fear's premise, which permeates the book and never deviates, is that the vast majority of people stranded in the wilderness will be rescued in three days. The rest will be rescued within a week or two at most. During that time, you'll likely never need food or more than the most basic shelter.

Fears does a great job of separating wheat from chaff and myth from reality in choosing the information needed to survive a short period of time (typically one or two nights) in a variety of conditions. I was most impressed with his explanations of keeping warm (or cool), hydrated, and mentally prepared to survive. The techniques are strictly utilitarian (though he does make mention of some of the more elaborate techniques of shelter construction, etc.)

The one aspect of survival I really hadn't given much thought to at all is perhaps the most important of all: how to help Search and Rescue people find you. Knowing how to tie various types of knots and make fire from sticks is all fine and well. But it's completely useless if a search party walks right by your camouflaged shelter while you sleep.

It's incredibly short and concise, so I think this is a wonderful reference to re-read right before any camping trip or outing. Particularly the minimalist survival gear checklist. With the right attitude, a few ounces (or grams) of gear, and the information in this book, I think you'd have a slim chance of dying in the woods.

[Vỹ Hồng · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a small book on the basics of outdoor preparedness. I personally have no experience in the topic so I learnt quite a bit reading this. But if you already had some trainings and experience, this book might not be much value.

[Nik · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is nothing wrong with this book. However, as a more advanced reader of survival books I didn't learn anything new. It is a great refresher nad not a bad idea to throw one in your B.O.B.

[Aleksandar · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the most concise and to-the-point book on survival I've come across so far. This book tells it as it is and needs to stories and preachy narratives, because the advice is so reasonable, I was face palming, thinking to myself "I should have known this!" For example, for every hour a lost person walks, the search area grows four times larger. Or that the type of boots a lost person has is an important information to trackers. This is a book written by an author who knows what he's talking about. It covers a wide range of situations and climates, goes over the basics of a survival kit ("How to make the perfect survival kit" can help supplement that information with more specifics) and emphasizes the vital skill of always letting a responsible person know where you're going, and when you're supposed to be back. The fact that some lost people even hide from searchers due to panic and confusion completely astonished me. The fact that plants animals eat may be toxic to man amazed my friends; deer apparently love poison ivy. This is a book worth reading.

[Alessandra]

Some basic tips for what to do if you get lost in the woods. Advice on how to be prepared so you're able to make it until search and rescue can find you.

[Dee Dee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Helpful and a very handy survival guide book !!
Interesting hints, and especially liked the Ground to Air Signals. Enjoyable book !!

[John Phillips · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are ever lost in the woods, J. Wayne Fears is the one you want to come find you. If you want to prevent being lost in the woods, this is a great book to read. If you're going into the woods and not planning to get lost, you'd be wise to pack this in your daypack. Survival depends on doing a few things right, and this book will tell you what those few things are that can be the difference between life and death in a survival situation.

[Ashley Todd · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this on the way to our youth camp since I'm assisting in a "FUGE vs? Wild" track time. There was a lot of information packed into a short book. I've read some criticisms that the book didn't go into detail about finding food in the wilderness, but the author explained that with the facts that most rescues take place within 72 hours of getting lost and people can survive without food for up to 3 weeks.

[Cell · Rating 3 out of 5]

最近玩了 Rise of the Tomb Raider，所以先看了這本書
這本書的立論和蘿拉完全不同
主要是想辦法在確保安全下讓人容易找到

不知是不是這類書籍常見的情況
這本書屢次提到特定廠商名稱，以及只能找到一二家廠商產品的關鍵字
多少有業配的嫌疑

話雖如此
關於 signal mirror 怎樣將反射光對準目標
還有因為一般在野外失蹤會在72小時內就會獲救
食物這種一二週不吃不會死所以優先度低……
這類想都沒想過的知識是挺有用的

[Johnny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Save yourself!!!!

[Taylor W. Rushing · Rating 1 out of 5]

Crap! Read the Whole Earth catalog.

[Shawn3K · Rating 4 out of 5]

It seems smart to read this given how often we camp in the Adirondacks.

[Juan Castro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good information if you haven't explored the subjetc before...

[Brad Theado · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pretty general knowledge for anyone who has read this type of book. In the past.