But the list doesn’t end here as the argument always begins… “where does fire fit into this list of survival priorities?” Since these are “rules,” many think they should always be addressed in that order and have been taught the corresponding skills in progression. I am not sure where it originated or who made it popular (and I searched), but just in case you don’t know how the basic rules go, in essence, the general populace now believes you will likely perish in: Perhaps the most popular list equated to survival is the Rule of 3s. While there are many survival priority lists to choose from, let’s go for the big one first… While the easy way out would be to tackle a list of essential items, I prefer to go to the root, the one that is the generator of those “essential” gear lists, and that is the Rules of Survival. It almost seems like the pharmaceutical industry the drug comes first, then the condition is ‘invented’. These rules & lists seem to grow with every piece of new gear invented.

Our society is full of lists and rules on this and that, most likely started by some sales endeavor and backed up in recent decades by marketing research that says, “lists sell.” Wherever it originated, it has manifested itself into the world of wilderness survival and bushcraft in the form of survival rules and essential carry lists.

So use this information as food for thought and reader beware. That being said, what follows may or may not be the right approach for you, i.e., I am not trying to be evangelical in what I have written, I am just sharing a perspective and I was actually very hesitant to publish publicly as this goes against many peoples mainstream thought plus, it is difficult to provide all the information and context I would like via a blog post.

As this is a life or death topic, I take it very seriously. This article contains my current thoughts and perspective on survival rules and more.

Three rules of survival