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Wild10
A working bushcraft camp with fire, shelter, and gear in a boreal forest

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Outdoor Skills

106 bite-size wilderness tutorials — the kind of things you want in your head before you need them. Each skill is one screen: three to six steps, a tip, and any real warnings.

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3 skills

  • Measure distance with a pace count — video thumbnail

    Navigation

    10 min

    Measure distance with a pace count

    Knowing your pace count over 100 m tells you how far you've walked without a GPS.

    1. Measure or step off 100 meters on flat, open ground.
    2. Walk it at a natural pace, counting every time your left foot lands. That's your pace count.
    3. Typical adult: 60-70 paces per 100 m.
    4. In broken ground, up hills, or with a heavy pack, add 20-30% to your count.
    5. Track distance with pebbles or knots — one per 100 m walked.

    SF Actual — Basic Land Navigation

  • The four knots that matter — video thumbnail

    Tools & Cordage

    15 min

    The four knots that matter

    Skip the rest until these are automatic.

    1. Bowline — a fixed loop that never slips or jams. Rescue, anchoring, tarps.
    2. Taut-line hitch — an adjustable loop for tent guy lines. Tighten or loosen by hand.
    3. Clove hitch — quick attachment to a pole or post. Great for starting lashings.
    4. Trucker's hitch — a pulley for tensioning a line. Ridge lines, cargo, tarps in wind.

    Tip: Practice each 20 times with cold, wet hands and eyes closed. That's field-ready.

    Trailguide — Clove Hitch (start here)

  • Tools & Cordage skill

    Tools & Cordage

    10 min

    Split wood safely with a knife (batoning)

    Batoning is a controlled technique for splitting small wood with a fixed-blade knife when no axe is available.

    1. Use only a full-tang, fixed-blade knife with a spine at least a quarter-inch thick — folding knives will fail.
    2. Set the round upright on a stable log platform, place the knife edge across the top, and tap the spine with a wooden baton (never metal).
    3. Once the blade is seated, strike the tip of the spine with progressively firmer taps until the wood splits.
    4. Keep your off hand well clear of the blade and split path.
    5. Choose small rounds (wrist-thick or less); larger wood requires an axe, not a knife.

    Warning: Batoning stresses knives. Never baton knots, and stop the moment the blade shows lateral flex or the handle scales loosen.

Educational reference only. Wilderness conditions change fast — practice in low-stakes settings, take a certified wilderness first-aid course, and confirm regional regulations (fire, fishing, foraging, snaring) before you rely on any of these skills in the field.