Watch: Russian Demonstrates a “Real Survival Tool”

In the video below, a Russian expounds on the difference between survival and “survival.” He discusses the difference between civilian and military survival philosophies, and he makes some good points.

Some preppers are true believers when it comes to military survival tools. If it’s good enough for highly trained, highly valuable pilots and soldiers, then it has to be useful, right? Well, not so much. As civilians, we have choices that military personnel do not, and we’re often able to have more stuff with us (or stashed nearby) than a typical member of the military.

He also talks in some detail about a number of useful tools for surviving in the woods, including one “really really awesome” tool that he made himself. From a Silky ONO hatchet that resembles a meat cleaver to a small Swiss Army knife, and finally to the homemade tool.

It’s a short piece of angle aluminum (think “angle iron”) with some modifications, and I’m going to spoil the surprise by telling you that the tool is a plastic bottle cutter, which is used to cut a long plastic strip from a bottle. It can be used as pretty strong cordage or even to make brooms and brushes. We have covered this and some of its various uses before, but since this guy has made a “survival variant” of the plastic bottle cutter, I thought it was worth a look.

After he cuts some cordage from a bottle, he demonstrates how to bind sticks together with it with a trick that really tightens up the plastic bindings.

I kinda like the guy. I might have to check out more of his videos.

Russ Chastain

Editor & Contributing Writer Russ Chastain is a lifelong hunter and shooter who has spent his life learning about hunting, shooting, guns, ammunition, gunsmithing, reloading, and bullet casting. He started toting his own gun in the woods at age nine and he's pursued deer with rifles since 1982, so his hunting knowledge has been growing for more than three and a half decades. His desire and ability to share this knowledge with others has also grown, and Russ has been professionally writing and editing original hunting & shooting content since 1998. Russ Chastain has a passion for sharing accurate, honest, interesting hunting & shooting knowledge and stories with people of all skill levels.