29 YouTube Survival Skills That Could Save Your Life

YouTube is a great resource for preppers and survivalists looking to brush up on their skills. Check out these YouTube survival skills videos and keep yours sharp, too.

RELATED: 29 YouTube Survival Skills Videos You Can Learn At Home

In this article:

1. How Not to Get Lost in the Woods
2. Stay Hydrated While Hiking
3. Looking at the Lighter Side | How to Survive the Dessert
4. Find and Cook Food Along the Beach
5. DIY Fire Starters
6. Packing Your Backpack
7. Make a DIY Sling Shot
8. Make a Belt from Paracord
9. How to Baton Wood with a Survival Knife
10. Make a Bow from a Pen
11. Make a Paracord Bracelet
12. Start a Fire with a Bottle
13. Backpack Camping in the Rain
14. Keeping Clean Even in the Wilderness
15. Learn Life-Saving Hacks
16. Shemagh Tricks
17. Tying Knots for Survival
18. Make a DIY Pocket Walter Filter
19. Make a Swedish Torch
20. Using a Guitar Pick to Start a Fire
21. Bugout Camping Tricks
22. Basic Firestarting
23. Fighting Smart
24. Proper Archery Form
25. Self-Defense Hacks
26. Shoveling Snow the Easy Way
27. Learn More Self-Defense Techniques
28. Flood Survival
29. Start a Fire with Gum Wrapper

YouTube Survival Skills Everyone Should Know

1. How Not to Get Lost in the Woods

People getting lost and meeting their demise out in the wilderness is a well-documented mishap. Check out the video from Kenneth Kramm and learn how you can avoid getting lost in the woods and what you need to do if you do get lost with these tips.

2. Stay Hydrated While Hiking

Dehydration can actually lead to serious troubles–even death. This video from Between the Blazes walks you through the steps you need to take to keep hydrated while you’re on a hike.

3. Looking at the Lighter Side | How to Survive the Dessert

In a tight situation, it’s important to keep your head and be decisive. Your ability to think outside the box will come into play when things go wrong.

Laughter or the ability to see the humor in the face of difficulty can reduce stress and keep you fighting. While you’ll bust out laughing with this goofy how-to survival video from Nigahiga, you’ll also pick a thing or two about desert survival here.

4. Find and Cook Food Along the Beach

Fish isn’t the only food item you can find in the sea or other bodies of water. Amazingly, people getting stranded on the beach are immediately set on fishing.

This video from Ultimate Bushcraft will show you how to hit the beaches, rocks, and tide pools for other kinds of seafood you can easily pick for you to eat.

5. DIY Fire Starters

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Fire is one of the pillars of survival and without fire, your chances of survival will drop down fast. We have here a collection of DIY fire starter videos and unique ways to create a fire which may help save your life out in the elements.

6. Packing Your Backpack

You must find the balance between bringing all you need and the weight of the items when packing your backpack. This video from REI will show how it’s done, so whether you’re traveling, hiking, or camping, you only bring what you need.

7. Make a DIY Sling Shot

A weapon is a survival essential for self-defense and hunting food. This homemade slingshot from our very own channel is quite effective in hunting small game.

8. Make a Belt from Paracord

Every survivalist must have a good number of multipurpose items and this paracord belt has to be on the list. So how can a paracord belt save your life?

This DIY video from Paracord Guild will tell you why and how you can make a paracord belt, step-by-step.

9. How to Baton Wood with a Survival Knife

First, this Youtube video from Innerbark Outdoors will show you the need for a good survival knife for survival. Next, it will show you the proper and safe way to split wood for your fire and other survival needs.

To make fire out in the wilderness, you will need fuel. Wood is the first choice because it is readily available.

10. Make a Bow from a Pen

We’ve already stated the importance of a weapon, especially a homemade one for survival, so we have here another DIY survival weapon video tutorial from Taras Kul.

You need to know how to make weapons even from the small and unsuspecting objects.

11. Make a Paracord Bracelet

Imagine having a strong, long and very versatile cordage around your wrist. Once you learn this skill, you’ll be able to make a paracord watch strap, too.

Make sure to check out our video tutorial also on how to make your own paracord bracelet.

12. Start a Fire with a Bottle

You will perhaps have a water bottle with you most times, and this is a good thing both for your hydration and for fire-starting. You read the latter part right, and this is how you do it.

13. Backpack Camping in the Rain

Camp in the rain properly and you will learn a valuable skill you can use to survive calamities like flooding and hurricane. We have here another YouTube video from Kenneth Kramm which will show you how it’s done with a high success rate.

14. Keeping Clean Even in the Wilderness

Proper disposal of your waste will actually save your life in the long run. We all know improper disposal of waste can lead to diseases affecting not only you but also animal exposed to the waste.

15. Learn Life-Saving Hacks

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There are other ways to do things you may never have considered. Here are some of these life hacks which are actually useful.

RELATED: 10 Essential Items For New Preppers [Video]

16. Shemagh Tricks

The weather can be unforgiving especially when you have decided to bug out. Check out the many ways you can use a shemagh for survival.

17. Tying Knots for Survival

A loose knot can lead to your demise, thus properly tying a knot will help save your life. Learn how to lasso knot, plus other knot tutorials from our Survival Life channel.

18. Make a DIY Pocket Walter Filter

Earlier, we shared a YouTube video on how to stay hydrated which essentially stressed the importance of water–safe drinking water. Now, this featured video will show you how you can make a DIY pocket water filter so you can secure safe drinking water wherever you are.

19. Make a Swedish Torch

You can make a fire with a single log. It’s also easy to ignite and great for cooking.

20. Using a Guitar Pick to Start a Fire

It’s hard to believe a guitar pick can become a firestarter but watch the video and learn.

21. Bugout Camping Tricks

Camping is the perfect way to practice and fine-tune those survival skills you learn here. Keep learning with these five camping tips and tricks.

22. Basic Firestarting

It’s primitive but using a flint is still one of the most effective ways to start a fire as shown in this featured video.

23. Fighting Smart

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When you have no choice but to fight, all you have to do is hit the attacker’s throat in the right spot and he’s immobilized.

24. Proper Archery Form

Archery is getting quite popular as a survival weapon and getting the archery stance right is the key to level up your skills.

25. Self-Defense Hacks

Learn these three self-defense techniques to become more confident you’ll know what to do when you’re attacked.

26. Shoveling Snow the Easy Way

Snow unchecked and unshovelled can bury you deep, so get the job done before it does any harm. You get tired easily from shoveling so why not just roll the snow as the video demonstrates?

27. Learn More Self-Defense Techniques

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We cannot stress enough how self-defense is crucial in many survival situations. Thus, learning more self-defense techniques will at least give you the fighting chance if not the edge to overpower your attackers.

28. Flood Survival

Floods are one of the most destructive calamities which destroyed both lives and properties worldwide. It’s essential to know what to do when the water rises, so you can save your loved ones as well as yourself.

29. Start a Fire with Gum Wrapper

Again, fire is essential, so we have here another fire-starting trick you can learn. With a battery and a cutting tool, the gum in your pocket can become a fire-starter or lighter.

Of course, don’t forget to check out our videos and subscribe to our YouTube channel, Survival Life!

Here’s another video from Survival Life on the survival uses for duct tape which may save your life:

There are plenty of sources when it comes to survival tips and tricks, but when it comes to finding free survival video tutorials, it’s hard to beat YouTube. Most of us are visual learners, so learning a new survival skill by watching a video is much easier than reading about it.

Perhaps the greatest thing about YouTube survival skills is you can watch them over and over until you master the skill, for free! What’s not to like about that?

Do you have your favorite YouTube survival skills show we missed? Share it with us in the comments!

Up Next:

• This Survival Training Course Might Just Save Your Life
• Escape A Sinking Car: What To Do When You’re Submerged
• 19 “Old World” Primitive Survival Skills You’ll WISH You Knew Before SHTF

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Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on July 7, 2016, and has been updated for quality and relevancy.