According to the CDC, from 1999 to 2011, a total of 16,911 deaths in the United States, an average of 1,301 per year, were associated with exposure to excessive natural cold. The highest yearly total of hypothermia-related deaths (1,536) was in 2010 and the lowest (1,058) in 2006. Approximately 67% of hypothermia-related deaths were among […]
About Christian Noble
Chris Noble is the founder of MasterWoodsman.com and Woodsmoke Camping Company. A Master Naturalist, he holds a Bachelor of Science in Forestry and has worked as a Registered Forester and Certified Burn Manager in several states. Chris is also a Wilderness First Responder and since the late 90’s has been “practicing primitive” skills and taking lessons from numerous Master Woodsmen throughout North America. An advocate for Conservation, teacher of Wilderness Living Skills, and happily married, he enjoys passing what he has learned thus far to others, especially his 2 children, Emerson and Duncan.Author Archive | Christian Noble
1 degree; Wilderness Fire Starting Considerations
NEXT TO KNOWING HOW TO DRESS WELL, FIRE IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT BUSH SKILLS THERE ARE, BECAUSE IT IS ONE OF THE FEW MEANS AVAILABLE TO MAKE UP MOST GREAT DEFICIENCIES. Master Woodsman Mors Kochanski’s excellent quote above sums it up. Next to knowing how to dress well (reducing heat loss), fire is […]
Get Ready for Rabbitstick 2014!
We keep an updated list of great Gatherings and Symposiums on our EVENTS page. I strongly suggest you check out the page as these events are great places to learn, share, network and even socialize at a very reasonable cost. The mother of all of them, in my opinion, is Rabbitstick. As the event is […]
Survival Entertainment, Friend or Foe? An exclusive interview with Cody Lundin
An opportunity recently presented itself to ask Dual Survival’s Cody Lundin for a formal interview of which he graciously accepted. Lundin is a professional survival instructor with over 25 years of experience. He has also worked within the television industry since the 1990’s both behind and in front of the camera. I hoped to learn more about […]
Survival TV Sucks!
Unless you have been living under a rock, it’s likely you’ve heard the news that Cody Lundin was fired from the Discovery Channel’s hit TV show, Dual Survival. This being the result of “differences over safety and health concerns…” Just in case you missed it, the details can be found on Lundin’s FaceBook Page. While I admit […]
Blade Show 2014
I believe this is my 11th Blade Show in the last 14 years. Those first years I attended, I was really into knives, a huge fan of the late Rob Simonich (nicest guy ever, I still carry a Bitter Root everyday). Nowadays, I am really there just as much for the social aspect, maybe even more. […]
Huaraches
I had a question on my personal YouTube channel about acclimating your feet to huaraches. So I am here to give you the good, the bad, and the ugly. If you are not familiar with Huaraches, they are the (tire) sandals of the Taramurhara Indians of northern Mexico. It’s also worth noting other cultures from around […]
Punkwood
When the realization set in to all the things punkwood offers with fire, and how available it is in the woods, I did the quintessential face-palm. This also happens frequently when I read the classics from Kephart, Jaegar, Beard, Seton, et. al. and see those simple and cool solutions that I didn’t take advantage of in […]
Natural Insect Repellents
I was in my early twenties the last time I used manmade insect repellent. I hated what DEET did to my gear, especially plastic. And one can’t help wonder what it was doing to me! At that time in the eighties, I was really into hunting and fishing. Luckily those bug jackets that hold the netting […]
Suggested Outdoor Skills To Learn First…
When it comes to Outdoor Living Skills, I’ve heard it asked many times over the years… “what should I learn first?” It needs to be stated at the beginning of this article that our society is more fast paced than ever. And while the extraordinary amount of information that is so readily available is fantastic, […]
Trip Report: Australia
Just got back from more than a week in Australia. While work took me there, I was fortunate enough to take my wife Stacie and spend a few days exploring the bush, learning from the Aborigines, and hitting some of the tourist attractions. For this report I will break it into four parts. First, the […]
Steve Watts Bow Drill (1985 video)
As our great friend Steve Watts says, “…without the context, it’s just arts and crafts.” To briefly put into context, the video below was shot in 1985, almost 30 years ago. That was BEFORE the internet. You remember, that time in our history when people actually shared outdoor living skills in person because they didn’t […]
Great Survival Quotes
Below are a few wilderness survival (or survival-like) quotes that resonate with me personally. Please be aware that some quotes won’t mean much or could be misinterpreted without the surrounding context from the author. Therefore, they are NOT intended to be survival advice, although I am sure you will find many you will like and […]
That’s the way to run a culture…
Neat story in the video… Hard to imagine thinking that far ahead as busy as we all are these days. In managing timberland as I did years ago, there was always planning for a rotation or more ahead (50+/- years), and I was always cognizant about future impacts to riparian zones and wildlife corridors. Sadly […]
Water Filtration Using Plant Xylem
In the continuing search for potable water solutions in developing countries, researchers have turned to plant xylem. Below are the highlights of the just published research paper on this solution. I strongly suggest you read the entire paper if this is of interest to you (link below). If you are in the Cliffs Notes fan […]
Self-Reliance by Ralph Waldo Emerson
Messages and Messengers Below is the full text and audio version of Ralph Waldo Emerson’s, Self-Reliance, from Essays: First Series, published in 1841. I post this because there is a recurring theme from some folks in the sharing of outdoor living skills… one that says, “this has all been done before” or “there is nothing new.” Whether […]
Google Crisis Map
I have been viewing Google Crisis Maps for several years now as it is a powerful tool bringing information from many agency resources into one map virtually real-time. Check out the video below for a brief explanation… While the video is informative, it really doesn’t do this solution justice. The light bulb to share went […]
The Survivors; JMBS Article
Great read about the goings on at Jack Mountain Bushcraft School. In Aroostook County, a ragtag troop of recent veterans converges on a wilderness school for nine weeks. Sergeant Freddie Orcutt spent his last night as an enlisted man alone on a small island in the crook of V-shaped Scopan Lake. The first frost had […]
The Super Shelter
There has been a lot of interest in The Super Shelter with recent YouTube videos and articles from others. While you may pick up a tip or trick here and there from YouTube and posts (this article included), getting instruction in the field and doing it yourself are going to be your best teachers. To add […]
They Just Don’t Make’em Like They Used To…
Since the late 1700’s Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) has sold fine English-made woolen products in North America. HBC’s point blankets being the standard by which all wool blankets are measured. Published in 2002, Harold Tichenor’s book, The Blanket; An Illustrated History of the Hudson’s Bay Point Blanket, chronicled much of its history. Unfortunately, the book is out of […]
Weather Wisdom
“In God we trust, everyone else bring data” As humans in our current society, our lives are very much data driven, everything backed up by science. There was a time however, when man had to rely purely on observation and what today we call folklore. Well that folklore is based on something, and it can be […]
In The News ~ Early December 2013
Dude, You’re Screwed is a new Discovery T.V. show starting this Sunday, December 8th at 10 eastern. One of the cast, Tom “Tomahawk” Moore, has shared his knowledge and travels on some popular internet forums over the years, so you may already be familiar with Moore. Chad and I first met Tom in […]
Lotus Belle Tent
Don’t consider this article anything more than an FYI… As it looks like a cross between the traditional Yurt and Bell Tent, the Lotus Belle caught my eye in a New Zealand article on camping. I do like that it is made from 12 oz. treated canvas, add a stove it can be a ‘hot-tented,’ […]
On Your Own in the Wilderness (and Challenge)
The best way to describe the book, On Your Own in the Wilderness is that of a modern-classic. Written by Colonel Townsend Whelen and Bradford Angier in 1958, you can really feel Whelen’s influence from the days of Classic Camping. Although Whelen, famous for the Whelen Lean-To (future article here) and contributions to shooting ballistics, had […]
2014 Events
We just updated our EVENTS page for 2014 as best we can at this time. Please provide us with any updates and/or suggestions at info at masterwoodsman dot com. Keep checking back too, we will update regularly. It is worth mentioning, WINTERCOUNT is the only event in the early part of the year. I […]
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Survival Entertainment, Friend or Foe? An exclusive interview with Cody Lundin
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Leave No Trace killed Woodcraft… almost
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Steven Miles Watts
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Promoting Outdoor Living Skills
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Your Guide To Survival Using A Trash Bag
- Why the GBS with Kochanski and Wescott | Master Woodsman: […] first conversation is a podcast with Mor...
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Kent: The link is no longer working...
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Ross Hinter: Thank you Chris, excellent article. Sure looking f...
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Randy Clark: Can't believe I found this website. I only came ...
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Chad Thomas Colorado: Looking foreword to it!!! I have learned so many s...
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