I was happy to see the use of a pencil sharpener for the outdoors. I always carry one with both the large & small sharpening holes. It is aluminum so it won't rust, is very light & won't break like plastic can. They have an infinite amount of uses in the woods.

Once you think you know everything you always learn something new. Improvising is a few parts common sense, thinking outside the box, technical knowledge, experience, and art. Thanks for sharing!

Always remove the childproof mechanism off the Bic lighters. If your fingers are numb from being cold you will never get that lighter to spark. been meaning to mention that for some time.Love your videos!

I used to use Vaseline, now I use vic vapour rub. The oils in it make for easy work starting a fire as the run and drip. Especially a wet wood fire if you put a few small blobs on the wood as the flames catch it , it ignites and drips spreading the fire. Better, far better than vaseline and the vapour keeps bugs away. It also has many other uses for survival prep.

I have been using plastic trash bags for a makeshift poncho while riding a motorcycle. If it starts to rain and the temperature is dropping. You can use it to keep your core warm as you ride.

On the order of priorities in a survival situation, I would think that eating the butter would be more important than using it for a candle lol

for the zipper breaking hack, instead of use a paperclip i use a strong key ring, and even let me "close" both side of the zipper.

My favorite firestarter that I carry in my backpack is hand sanitizer. The schmoo can be used as hand sanitizer, but it's the easiest thing to start a fire with. I even use it for charcoal lighter. A handy thing to keep, that is also used for hiking, is to buy a Sawyer mini water filter (~$20 at Wally World). If you have a problem with municipal water supply, then the Sawyer can filter out down to bacteria sized particles.

2 long candles in 6 lbs of crisco can give light for 72 days

Just wanted to drop you a big THANKS for all the free knowledge you have given me over the years.

I kid you not... I was at a kids birthday party and my friends had forgotten to get a birthday candle. I took out my lip balm, painted a piece of rolled paper, and we shoved it the cake. GTG.

I like the butter candle idea, it's like something MacGyver's great granddad would have done.

Cool stuff. On the can, I was thinking instead of cutting through the thick metal ring at the opening, leave it and instead cut out the four holes on the sides. It would give a bit more structural integrity to the stove. Would be bad to put something just a tad too heavy and have it all tip over because one of the four supports gave out, leaving the ring would help a lot. Now I'm gonna have some fun and horrify my wife. HEY HONEY? Where's the butter and tissues?

If you can't find your candles? Put them in the fridge next to the butter . . 😀🇺🇸🔫

Another good video. I've done the paperclip zipper thing in the past, even before I started prepping lol.

First, thank you so much for demonstrating how to get petroleum jelly into the cotton without a huge grease pit forming. Second, I'm not sure "style" means what you think it means, Mr. Fashion Plate! :-)

Great vid Sootch! A couple suggestions....switch to the old paper stem Q-tips. After installing paper clip to zipper, put heat shrink tubing over the whole paper clip and leave it permanent. ;

Really liked the Paracord in a water bottle, and the pencil sharpened wood 😀👍

The Macgyver of survival. Many good improvised stuff. We need more on animal catching and traps!

The cotton balls are great. Once as a teenager I cleaned off my nail polish off with np remover and wondered...so I lit it and it burned for ages...and cracked the ashtray! So a small bottle of acetone/thinners works amazing too. Love the Vaseline tip, will try it soon. Awesome tips!

I have always heard that in a true survival situation you shouldn't burn anything that you can eat. Your body can gain more from using the butter within than is gained from the heat of being burned. So eat the butter and find a pinecone to burn for light. Lol When I was a kid we made more stable and safer stoves by using a church key to make the holes in a can but I guess church keys are no longer a common piece of kit.

I think I would rather eat the butter and sit in the dark..lol. :-)

My favorite fire starter is using dryer lint and you don't have to mix nothing with the dryer lint, just fill up a small container like a medicine bottle or any other waterproof container.

Learned the pencil sharpener trick 50+ years ago. Great vids Sootch!! Love the way you laugh at some of your tricks/tips.

Dear SensiblePrepper Just a quick line to say thank you very much for showing some of your survival hacks... I shall be placing some of what I have learnt tonight in to effect by the end of the week.. Thanks again

Always good to get a refresher course. Top notch boss.

In my world I'm always the weird one for coming up with things like this. good to know there's a lot more people that enjoy and appreciate unique uses of items. Yes helpful in a real situation but also just awesome and fun! Well unless I actually need them of course

For fire starting, I always just bring a can of sterno. Scoop out a chunk with a stick, light it on fire, stick it in my campfire to be, always works great. Could probably just bring a jar of vaseline and do the same thing...

Very good tips, a couple I had forgotten about. Great video and thank you for doing what you do.

Melt the petroleum jelly and drop the cotton balls into it. When they are saturated, lift them out and hang them up to drip. Once they have solidified, drop them into your container. Use split rings (key rings) for the zippers. With the rings you can lock the two sliders together so that your bag will not accidentally open. Don't waste your time with tin cans, invest in an Esbit pocket stove with fuel. The fuel can also help start a fire when your tinder is wet. For a little nick like that, if you MUST use anything, use a Band-aid, for heaven's sake! I don't even worry about such scrapes. For antiseptic dressings, I use shop-bought honey and cover it with a piece of plastic, either cling wrap or a strip cut from a plastic baggy. Honey stops, neutralises and reverses even full-blown gangrene, as long as you do not wash it off for two weeks. Just add more honey every 24 hours or so. This timing is not critical: it can go for up to 48 hours. Heat up a nail and push it through the lid of the bottle: it does a cleaner job so that your cord won't snag. Who carries a can of WD-40 in a survival situation? For light, carry a hand crank (dynamo) flashlight. The battery will hold for about 500 charges and although not typically very bright, it's better than your candles when the wind is gusting. One can also get hand crank lanterns, which supply brighter light than a candle, are wind-proof and can be hung up where they will do the most good. Best of all is a zoomable headlamp, but one needs extra (usually 18650) batteries for it. Save the butter to eat and supply you with energy. If you MUST burn something, use cooking oil or Crisco, which have NO nutritional value.

I use makeup pads. Use the back of a spoon or whatever is convenient and put Vaseline / petroleum jelly in the middle of the pad and fold it, then work it around the pad, making sure none of it will leak out. They store easier and work the same.

Yes sir. That trash bag has a surprise use. We were in review at the NCO Classes. (Circa1987) And rembering that bag i put in one of my pockets. That expensive class"a" was going to get ruined. So on it went. The captain later wanted know why my "a" was dry as he rembered the storm that drove us inside. Once again I pulled out the bag. And we laffed . As the cycle closed. Several of us had a bag in there "a" uniform.

another good fire starter or candle or even emergency cooker....... collect candle stubs or tea lights and melt the wax in a pot then get a small tin or empty clean food can (not too tall the biggest i would be comfortable with would be a coffee mug size) and a strip of card board now tightly wind the strip of cardboard into a tube till it fills the tin or can now top up the can with the wax until it reaches the top of the card board......the cardboard will act as a wick and the wax the fuel and you can a candle or something to cook over just be mindful of keeping the top clear for the flame can burn free.

You have the one thing we all need in hard times - a good sense of humor 😉

Great ideas. I'm probably not the first person to suggest this, but you could punch some holes in the lower part of the can stove (on the sides) to improve air flow. Thanks for sharing your hacks! Always enjoy your videos.

Lmao opened the pad like a bag of chips, I bet that was the first time he has ever tried to get one out, like "wtf? It's stuck in here" nice vid as always

I HAVE DONE THIS TIPE OF POT STAND EXEPT THAN I DON'T CUT THE TOP RING AND I MAKE 4 CUT TRIANGLES FOLDED INWARD TO KEEP THE TOP PART STRONG, REALLY GOOD NICE IDEAS FOR SELF RELIANCE .

Just an FYI: Bag Balm is superior to petroleum jelly. More multipurpose and stays lit faaaar longer than petroleum jelly. I think it is due to it's Lanolin content or sumthin. Good video!

Have you ever heard of spacepaste? It's dehydrated toothpaste chew tablets. I add them to my vehicle kit. Never get stuck without good oral hygiene. I also have marked steel flasks full of peroxide and the other rubbing alcohol.

There ain't nothing like lighting up hairspray with a match and using it for a torch to burn cockroaches. They're quick but not quick enough

Well, almost all of these you have already shown in all your different survival hacks videos, but you refilmed the clips ! xD Even if a couple of them are common, this compilation is just great. Good stuff right there !

Good video. But the best hack recently is the one that will allow me to survive the next 4 years... The DNC hack! Ha ha. True though.

Be strong, Be of good courage, God bless America, And long live the republic, One of the best ending battle cries I've heard in a long time, :3

Unique and useful tips. Thanks for sharing.

That butter candle is triggering some vegan somewhere

On the can stove rather than using a knife that will bite you I use an old-fashion church key (aka beer/soda can opener from before pull tabs). I make a ring of triangular punches around the top and around the bottom (open end). The ones on the bottom I punch around the bottom ring making little feet to add to the oxygen supply. You can make a small fire and put the can on top. Using a shorter can like a baked bean can you can use a candle to heat water.

I would have cut the folding tabs below the rim and left the rim intact to make it more sturdy...

I would reccomend using gloves when you cut the can bro ...............

Love how you go in detail, whe showing it. It helps me understand more.

Fun video brother! Thanks for sharing!

loving that bluegrass pickin..

hey sootch, can you do a video showing all the survival hacks you can do with a papa johns pizza box? i have quite a few laying around

Using the can reminded me, we did that in girl Scout camp except we just cut one hole in one side, open side down, and put a candle 🕯️ in then fried bacon 🥓 and egg on top. Good times😀

Great hints. The paracord in a bottle is a great one.

Just a thought on the can stove. You could use a church key to cut wedges around the bottom of the can's wall and end up with a more ridged structure.

both the butter candle and the pencil sharpener fire shavings ideas are very cool, thanks for sharing.

brother.. Another great video saved to my survival list

Less than 30 seconds in and you have a new subscriber. The pencil sharpener with a small stick for tinder? *Amazing!* I am one who uses unconventional items for prepping, (I dont think I need to spend a ton of money and be weighed down with huge packs to be prepared) and seeing the 1st 30 seconds of your video, *huge fan already* :)

Love the butter/candle and lip balm/candle hack . Very useful to know

I suppose one could reuse the butter numerous times; just scrapeup the melted then solidified butter, mold it into a small mason jar or any fire-resistant container, and bah-da-bing!

I would use a pair of tin snips on the can, faster, easier, safer and saves your knife blade, good to have a pair of tin snips in every tool box.

Amen! Blessings and thanks for all the great ideas 💡!

frito lay corn chips are good to start a fire.the generic ones burn even better.

Love the content been a prepper in thought for years. Just now starting to implement a plan and your content is full of great information and tips. Subscribed and clicked the bell

Peace & Shalom to you, my friend.

If I need to survive first order of busses is getting that paper clip on my zipper right after I get my paracord in the water bottle. Next I'm going to sharpen my sticks.

I've bought crayons at the thrift store and the outside paper make a great wick. They burn for some time!!!

You can purchase candle wicks and soy Wax on amazon for cheap. I think it would be a good idea to grab a couple for emergency candles. You can add scents and put it in any container you have.

Good stuff, brother. Loved the butter candle. You never disappoint. Keep them vids coming, i'll keep watching. Thanks, bro.

Thank you, loved your video. I like the butter and the black bag usage.

Golly Gee. I hate to waste BUTTER. It's one of the major food groups you know

Nice work, a little bit of humor and some information

HUmble suggestion We always carry bandage scissors in kit bags Most useful item & have used it 4 quik field dress of fish also & WE carry small common scissors so handy cut up bait and trim lines etc ATB 2U

this channel is awesome you can learn great thing from here.

I remember on jungle survival training in the military . All we given in the Philippe we had one thing a knife. You cannot beleive how many things you can make from bamboo

I think I remember antarctic explorers burned seal blubber for light and heat. The smell was so bad, and the particulates in the stale air, lack of sunlight and a heavy flesh (meat) diet drove them crazy. Norwegian arctic explorers were smarter. Vegetable diet. Endurance.

To keep my Paracord from tangling, I crochet it into mats.

Water. Water, warmth and a good attitude .

These are some very good tips. Thanks for sharing. I think most of these will come in handy one day.

fire starter, axe, lighter, bow, so many things more important then a garbage bag. other then that good video!

I would use crisco before butter!!! Butter is way to precious to waste on fire!

I like the butter 🕯 candle idea. Thx 4 sharing. Do more new ones plz. 😀

Nice to see that SC patch on your bag. Looks like mine.

i built a fully functioning wood stove with a large muffler. easy as pie to build. and keeps my paranoia, panic, bugout station shack toasty warm.

thank you so much for all you do sir!!! God bless and keep you!!

Some of the survival hacks you have shared have really helped me out, thanks much!

i saved this is very good video keep doing this bro

Love your videos. I feel like I've seen you do most of this on other videos. And really, top ten? Hardly

I like to chop a chopstick into inch or inch and a half lengths and tie two together with paracord. Use a length between the two that allows you to connect two different things. i.e. trousers that have lost their button.

8:06 I see you got practical and replaced your maxi pad 😂 I appreciate the cotton ball and Vaseline tip. But really not understanding why you would improvise a match with chapstick and a q tip and then use a lighter to light it. If you have a lighter you don’t need to make a diy match?

Try using trauma shears to prep your cooking can stove. Works better than a knife.

thanks - that was helpful!

Another Excellent Instructional Video. Thank you again. DWW

This is the kind of thing I subbed for two years ago.

If my man starts using my pads instead of grabbing a bandaid for little cuts he's going to be in trouble. Lol

Fast forward to 2020: "Will trade candles for toilet paper."

Some nice hacks there

I see that you use the scharade schf 51 I like the schf 52 give it a try great video 👍🏻🇺🇸🇺🇸

There was a lot of flammable debris on the ground close by that fire you lit with the cotton ball. Glad there wasn't a stiff breeze blowing... Just sayin'...

I love this guy....City Girl can use these tips.