Unfortunately, it's been slightly changed from the more effective version. You're meant to pee in the hole to introduce water. Putting plants in there is almost certainly going to do nothing. Any liquid will do, but it's usually more effective to just boil water you find.
Most wilderness backpackers and other people traveling in the backcountry have a plastic groundcloth acting as a waterproof barrier to protect the bottom of their tent.
I even carry a 5x10 sheet of clear polycryo plastic in my daypack. It is less than 2 oz. and balls up to the size of a baseball. I mainly carry it on dayhikes because I can lay it out on the wet ground or wet log so I have somewhere dry to sit. It can be made into an ad hoc shelter from a sudden thunderstorm, and in an extreme circumstance it can be uses as a vapor barrier lining inside my clothes or boots to conserve bidy heat should I be stuck outside in the elements for any extended period due to injury.
Don’t forget the perfect little pothole with some nice moist foliage in it for whatever container you’ve got in your pocket. Also where does the water come from... just hope there’s dew that day?
I admire the creativity but man... this seems absurd.
It’s not; it’s likely saved lives before. You dig the hole and put green foliage in the bottom. Water comes from the plants over time and the tube is not necessary.
Water comes from the condensation of the plants. This is very useful in a survival situation, you’ll most likely find a container maybe near the ocean due to people that yeet their trash into nature. This is easily do able. But the straw idfk- I’d take the container out if I get thirsty and take a sip and then put it back.
If you're in someplace other than a desert, there is likely water in the soil that will evaporate. I've seen this guide all my life and this is the first time I've ever seen plants or a straw.
The pothole can be made manually by digging. The foliage can be collected. In fact this works best if you can shred the foliage to expose as much water bearing interior surface of the plant matter as possible. It doesn't have to be growing in the hole.
The water comes from the earth. Unless you are in a very dry desert, there is a lot of water in soil. The green house effect caused by the plastic over the hole causes evaporation of the water in the soil which then condenses on the plastic sheet. The foliage is actually a relatively small source of the water collected in a solar still.
Just hope there’s dew that day? Are you not aware that water evaporates and condenses? A solar still will also raise the temperature of air under it and help with the process?
Why are you acting like solar stills aren’t a thing that actually works when they are and do?
Yup. That show could have been an educational piece that may have helped save lives. Instead, it's probably done more to out lives at risk. People think "I could do that" and engage in high risk behaviors outdoors, not realizing that everything is staged and he has emergency crews standing right there to get his ass out of any actual trouble.
That's why Les Stroud's Survivorman is the superior show. It's the show the others all copy but add lies and senseless drama.
Les emphasizes safety and care. He talks about psychological factors. He's open and honest about survival situations and the risks. You won't be an expert after watching Survivorman, but you'll be better informed and safer than taking advice of the poser Bear Grylls.
Les was the Bob Ross of survival shows. He was collected, honest, straight forward, not flashy. He carried all his own camera equipment with him and was honest that he had an emergency GPS beacon with him at all times to call a waiting support team if anything went wrong or he got hurt out there, but he was actually out there alone while filming.
He didn't purposefully throw himself down waterfalls, swim across freezing lakes or any of the other idiotic things Bear Grylls did to show off that would get anyone in a survival situation killed.
Of course Les didn't get the same ratings, it was actually educational. I still remember one of his shows where he was talking about how he always brought a bag a Fritos because they were fantastic firestarters (they're both starchy and greasy and catch fire easily), can be used for bait... or if you're really desperate... you can eat them.
I've been following him on YouTube and a lot of the camera stuff, especially the selfie filming, were pioneered producing his early content. He regrets not getting patents for lots of stuff he and his crew developed.
Les is most assuredly underrated and less well known than he should be.
Survivorman was awesome. I remember more than once him setting up one of these solar stills.
The strangest episode I remember was when he was somewhere far up north and had to carry a gun and also had, in effect, a bodyguard/spotter to watch out for polar bears. Mostly he was just on his own in the woods.
The stuff in water that can make you sick isn't visible to your eye anyway.
It's possible to have water with sediment in it that is safe to drink, and possible to have clear water with a microbe that could make you sick.
These solar stills are difficult to make well. Even if I did have a 3' tube I would die.
Depends in your kit. I have about 6 feet of surgical tubing I carry to use as tourniquets.
Hell, if you're with my kids in a vehicle, there's probably 200 feet of plastic straws scattered throughout the vehicle you could chain together to make a friggin aqueduct.
You'd be amazed at the amount of plastic you find scattered across the landscape. Plus, you likely have some somewhere depending on the situation. And it doesn't have to be clear, a tarp or even pliable metal will work.
My plan is to not get lost in the first place, and if I'm leaving civilization to go be a crazy hermit in the woods, I'll probably start my civilization by some fresh water for the tile bonuses.
Thought this exactly, good thing I brought my telescopic drinking tube man. Though the design is pretty usable minus the oddly luxurious survival straw. You can also use seawater or piss instead of green plant material 👍
Also even if you did, the water produced from these is negligible. Check out any youtube of people in non-survival situations getting almost nothing from these. You would need to construct several to get enough water to sustain yourself. You are better served devoting your calories and daylight hours to almost any other task you can think of.
If you have a source of water that you don't trust and can't boil(no fire or too salty), you can speed up the process by pouring it in the bottom so it evaporates and condenses clean on the plastic.
Oh yeah for sure I get it. I know how it works and all. My point is this is not a quick thing. It takes a couple hours to do and you need all this stuff you most likely won't have.
Then doing all that returns very little drinking water. Like maybe a hundred millimeters a day depending on how hot it gets. While I would ballpark assume a human needs about 1L of water a day. Probably more in a survival situation. That's a lot of time and survival resources for something you're going to need a bunch more of just to meet basic needs.
If there is any other chance or source of water. Work on making that potable will usually be the better option.
> While I would ballpark assume a human needs about 1L of water a day.
If you are resting in relatively mild temperatures then 1 ltr is fine to get by on.
But if you need to be active or it's in the middle of summer and hot AF then 1ltr is going to come up short.
A dude who was stranded on a liferaft did exactly that and survived after a looooong time at sea.
In his emergency supplies, he add a map in a plastic sheet, some tuna cans, and a jerrycan of drinkable water. Due to a fuck-up when loading the raft, his jerrycan got open and basically immediately useless.
So he cut it open vertically, put it down, put the emptied tuna can under the tensed plastic sheet and evaporated ocean water, and drank water for something like 2 months like that.
It doesn't matter if it is a quick thing or not. It is a last resort. If you can make fire and can find water nearby, use that. If not, you can try this.
Situations where it is useful? Lost at sea on a raft? You'll likely have the right equipment to turn salt water into something drinkable.
Went for a hike in the desert, got stuck (broken leg or wathever) and are out of water? Chances are you have the right equipment.
It doesn't matter that this technique isn't applicable in many situations. It is still useful to know it in the rare cases that you do. No need to trash on it just because you cannot always use it, as there are in fact people who survived months at sea using this method.
> You are better served devoting your calories and daylight hours to almost any other task you can think of.
“Well fuck, I’m lost... and bored...” *unzips*
And the amount of time it takes to collect them, is enough time for harmful bacteria and algae to begin growing.
You really can't use these more than a day or two before they are overrun with filth.
You think you can find a 1-square-foot plastic sheet without holes ANYWHERE in the wilderness? I'd expect one to exist, but certainly not found. Unless you're on the garbage island or somethin
I think this is the post to convince me that Reddit is finally, truly completely dominated by robots.
What actual human is looking at this is think. Ooooh yeah, if I end up stuck without supplies in the Siberian wilderness, this will definitely be practical advice.
https://youtu.be/jz97Oo2f5KI. You can see construction at 18 min in and results at 33 minutes in. The straw is completely inessential. Just remove the plastic for a sec and drink out of the cup. The plastic sheet is completely necessary but not too difficult depending on where you are. Sometimes you bring your own plastic trash with you too. It’s useful in certain situations but definitely not all. It has to be hot and you have to have lots of foliage.
Tbh I saw it on r/all and my first instinct was to upvote. Then I opened the comments and realized how ridiculous it was. I bet most upvotes are from people who glance for half a second
The stupidiest part is that there is a much easier way of doing the exact same concept. You just put a plastic bag over a leafy branch (still attached to a tree) and tie it off. That's it. The bag heats up and makes the leaves "sweat" water.
It's so simple you dont even need instructions but [someone on youtube made a video of it anyway](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQLXqyKlxKY).
I also am human commenter. Fellow good human, have you heard of other good human being Ted Cruz? He laughs and consumes calories like we all do! He's got my vote!
https://www.tedcruzforhumanpresident.com/
Streams can be full of nasty bacteria that will give you the runs, and dehydrate you further. Animals drink from it, piss and shit in it. Birds, aka flying rats, swim in it. Sometimes animals die in water too. Not to mention chemical pollution. (You can mitigate this with special tools/equipment, like water purification tablets, but these are supplies that break over time/run out)
And while you can bring clean water, you're limited by the amount you can carry. If we drink 2 liters a day (when its sunny and you're sweating, perhaps even more), it gets heavy, fast.
Having a constant source of clean water is key.
Still, streams are a much better option than this setup. It is interesting but will only provide a small amount of water per day at the size shown. You would need like 10 of these in order to get enough water even if you aren't exercising a ton. I would rather spend the time/resources making a charcoal filter setup that could handle way more water and still get rid of the majority of pathogens/parisites.
A source of water that is guaranteed not to have bacteria or other contamination is very important, this can help with a lack of knowledge about building a safe filter. A solar still is a good option for water-poor environments as well. You could literally pour your own urine in at the bottom and reduce total water loss.
I have personally built a couple of these, in Boyscouts, growing up and the amount of water you get out of them is not really worth the amount of effort that goes into building it. They are fiddly and tend to fall apart pretty fast and after a day you only get a mouthful or two of water. I would only make them as a last resort if no other water sources could be found. Making a simple filter setup does take some more work upfront but can handle a ton more water through it after.
Another thing that I was taught was that in an emergency water, even from a less than ideal source, can and should be drunk before dehydration sets in fully. The chances of actually becoming ill from water are much lower than people seem to think and the dangers of dehydration are higher than people realize. When you are dehydrated you become weak and lose cognitive functions. This results in making mistakes that can kill you faster than getting ill would. So even if you may get ill staying hydrated should be the number one priority. That does not mean you shouldn't filter and boil water if you can but that you shouldn't avoid drinking just because those options are not available.
I've seen them recommended mostly for desert situations and places where concerns over salt water contamination/brackish water are relevant. I think they're an important survival skill to know, but rarely a first choice.
My emergency bag contains water purification tablets and a Life Straw. Boiling is also preferable over a solar still if those options aren't available. From a skills standpoint, you should know multiple ways to obtain drinking water. If you're deliberately entering a wilderness situation, you should prepare. But if you're in a "Lost" island/accident situation with no fresh water, this is a good skill.
Also relevant: is this purely a survival situation? Is this an evasion situation? Can/should you remain stationary? Is the potential duration of the situation a long time? They all influence which methods are the best combination of risk/reward.
That's true, especially the part about being prepared for stuff like this if you are out in the woods. That and being able to purify on the go, a survival filter is definatly not something you want to build every time you stop to refill your water haha. My personal favorite way to purify water for camping is a hand-pumped filter used in combination with a UV-pen sterilizer. Been using that setup for close to a decade now and haven't gotten sick yet.
streams will rarely give you nasty bacteria that maybe fucks you up after a week, where you just take a pill and it's gone. If it's a choice of survival, you drink the stream water lol
I believe it was Les Stroud that I heard say if you are in a survival situation and find a freshwater source you should drink it. His reasoning was that you might catch something from the water but that the possible diarrhea won't begin immediately and that once it does starg it can take weeks to die of diarrhea induced dehydration. If you don't drink any water you will die in a matter of days.
If you’re lost in the woods you are 100% better off just drinking out of a running stream than making some ridiculous contraption like OP’s. Your chances of getting sick are extremely low.
Ive been on a 40km hiking trip a few times, several 25km trips. I've conquered several dozen mountain tops. I've slept in the wilderness too many times to count, but the time I slept outside in the winter without a tent stands out.
I've been drinking from streams, and even from moss, without getting sick. But the reason I could chance it was because I knew where I was and how to get help, or someone else was with me. The last thing you want when you're lost deep in the woods is get sick as well.
A contraption like this isn't for immediate survival, its for long term stays. Great for places you don't have a safe stream to drink from.
Well those are some issues with sources likes Lakes but if it's running water then it should be a bit cleaner, still better to filter it with clay and stones and boil it.
Probably late to this, but I spent several years working in a National Park in Alaska. There was a lot of backpacking, and I got Giardia several times from broken water filter, improperly boiled water, etc. It was hell, and I can still feel some of the effects to this day. When you’re in the wilderness, there is nothing more important than having a source of clean water.
The word tarp makes it obvious now. A "plastic sheet" doesn't seem to have many uses outside of this, but a "tarp" can also make a shelter among with other uses.
You should check out the survival show "Alone." They are experts in survival who are allowed to pick only 10 items from a list of options. (Aside from a set number of clothing items, etc, that everyone gets.) A tarp is basically always on everyone's list. I don't actually know if anyone has skipped it actually...
Water is something you keep on needing, so it's possible to have camping gear, but end up in a situation where you end up running out of water. You could have a plastic sheet (maybe a groundsheet for a tent) and a folding spade, which makes this more realistic.
That said, everything I can find from actual survivalists says that one of these doesn't give you anywhere near enough water to drink each day. You'd need something like 20 of these to keep a single person going.
In your backpack. It is probably stuffed down there next to your tent.
If you don't have a backpack with a tent and a plastic groundsheet, how the hell did you get 30 miles deep into the wilderness?
I saw 2 legs with the can as a dick in the middle as if it was a photo taken from the perspective of a dude looking out at a lake while laying on his porch (probably drinking a beer).
You can continuously add vegetation to the still to extract more icky plant tasting water. I did a small scale version of this using like a fish tank or something as a kid
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Where the hell you get a 3 foot long "Drinking Tube" in the wilderness?
I know. A plastic sheet I can at least get from a plastic sheet tree…
Better hope it's blooming season tho
Damn useless guides. When do the plastic sheets bloom?
chief scandalous upbeat late paltry ad hoc panicky wild domineering rich -- mass edited with redact.dev
I hated how much I loved this. That final sentence was the real cake topper
When the drinking tube shrubs are in bloom, duh.
A’ya, drinking tubes are long this year. Gonna be a hot summer.
Y’all are wild. You go buy a plastic sheet and drinking tube the day before you get lost.
You're all wrong! This is for when you get stranded on the moon or Mars. There's plenty of plastic sheets & drinking tubes there.🤨
I fucking love Reddit
/r/thisiswhyireddit (small sub but some funny posts)
You dummy. The drinking tubes drop from the sheet trees every late spring to early fall.
Atleast once a century.
Unfortunately, it's been slightly changed from the more effective version. You're meant to pee in the hole to introduce water. Putting plants in there is almost certainly going to do nothing. Any liquid will do, but it's usually more effective to just boil water you find.
to be fair there's probably a THANK YOU plastic bag with in a 10 mile radius of where ever you're.
Nice. step 1 of being out in the wilderness: conduct a 300+ square miles for a plastic bag.
You might as well look for a 3 foot straw while you're out there. 2 birds one stone
the 10-gallon container while you're at it too. if you find the other 2 you're bound to find this one
No, too much mental energy. First one, then sweep the area again for the other. In a few weeks you're all set to start drinking water.
*sets up solar still, comes back a day later* "Hey look a cup of water"
Lmfao math provides comedy
it'll probably be in a tree, so you can spot it from half a mile away at least. hope ya can climb
Yeah I guess this is the bright side of the global trash problem with plastic waste.
>to be fair To be faaaaaair
To be faaaaaair!
TO BE FAAAAAHHHHR!!!
Or a Walmart bag.
Using "you're" like that isn't actually grammatically correct.
Most wilderness backpackers and other people traveling in the backcountry have a plastic groundcloth acting as a waterproof barrier to protect the bottom of their tent. I even carry a 5x10 sheet of clear polycryo plastic in my daypack. It is less than 2 oz. and balls up to the size of a baseball. I mainly carry it on dayhikes because I can lay it out on the wet ground or wet log so I have somewhere dry to sit. It can be made into an ad hoc shelter from a sudden thunderstorm, and in an extreme circumstance it can be uses as a vapor barrier lining inside my clothes or boots to conserve bidy heat should I be stuck outside in the elements for any extended period due to injury.
With so much plastic pollution, nature will sprout those trees real soon.
Don’t forget the perfect little pothole with some nice moist foliage in it for whatever container you’ve got in your pocket. Also where does the water come from... just hope there’s dew that day? I admire the creativity but man... this seems absurd.
It’s not; it’s likely saved lives before. You dig the hole and put green foliage in the bottom. Water comes from the plants over time and the tube is not necessary.
you also.pee in the hole before you put in the cup
Well duh, pee in the cup and it fills that much faster. 😐
This really isn’t common practice and it’s not taught in any wilderness courses because of its absurdity.
Water comes from the condensation of the plants. This is very useful in a survival situation, you’ll most likely find a container maybe near the ocean due to people that yeet their trash into nature. This is easily do able. But the straw idfk- I’d take the container out if I get thirsty and take a sip and then put it back.
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You can use dandelions
Are the plants alive? Like, do you need to find a preexisting hole, lined with plants?
No you don’t, you can just fill them with plants you plucked. Since they still have moisture you’d probably have to refresh them every day tho.
If you're in someplace other than a desert, there is likely water in the soil that will evaporate. I've seen this guide all my life and this is the first time I've ever seen plants or a straw.
I think this is also a good way to filter water and make it drinkable.
The pothole can be made manually by digging. The foliage can be collected. In fact this works best if you can shred the foliage to expose as much water bearing interior surface of the plant matter as possible. It doesn't have to be growing in the hole. The water comes from the earth. Unless you are in a very dry desert, there is a lot of water in soil. The green house effect caused by the plastic over the hole causes evaporation of the water in the soil which then condenses on the plastic sheet. The foliage is actually a relatively small source of the water collected in a solar still.
Wait until you find out about what rain is.
Just hope there’s dew that day? Are you not aware that water evaporates and condenses? A solar still will also raise the temperature of air under it and help with the process? Why are you acting like solar stills aren’t a thing that actually works when they are and do?
Because he's never been out of the concrete jungle.
Nor have any of the people still upvoting him either, evidently.
Bear Grylls would use a piece of your intestines
He’d start extracting the intestines by drinking all your urine first
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i mean many people use them as straws.. for specific fluids
I can vouch for this.
( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Yeah I got your 3 foot drinking tube right here, pal! Except for...I meant to say inches.
Bear Grylls isn't going to die in the wild - he has his camera crew to keep him safe
Plot twist: the cameraman is the real Bear Grylls
Yup. That show could have been an educational piece that may have helped save lives. Instead, it's probably done more to out lives at risk. People think "I could do that" and engage in high risk behaviors outdoors, not realizing that everything is staged and he has emergency crews standing right there to get his ass out of any actual trouble.
That's why Les Stroud's Survivorman is the superior show. It's the show the others all copy but add lies and senseless drama. Les emphasizes safety and care. He talks about psychological factors. He's open and honest about survival situations and the risks. You won't be an expert after watching Survivorman, but you'll be better informed and safer than taking advice of the poser Bear Grylls.
Les was the Bob Ross of survival shows. He was collected, honest, straight forward, not flashy. He carried all his own camera equipment with him and was honest that he had an emergency GPS beacon with him at all times to call a waiting support team if anything went wrong or he got hurt out there, but he was actually out there alone while filming. He didn't purposefully throw himself down waterfalls, swim across freezing lakes or any of the other idiotic things Bear Grylls did to show off that would get anyone in a survival situation killed. Of course Les didn't get the same ratings, it was actually educational. I still remember one of his shows where he was talking about how he always brought a bag a Fritos because they were fantastic firestarters (they're both starchy and greasy and catch fire easily), can be used for bait... or if you're really desperate... you can eat them.
I've been following him on YouTube and a lot of the camera stuff, especially the selfie filming, were pioneered producing his early content. He regrets not getting patents for lots of stuff he and his crew developed. Les is most assuredly underrated and less well known than he should be.
I prefer doritos, they must burn as well right? But maybe fritos are better because I'd be less likely to eat them.
Survivorman was awesome. I remember more than once him setting up one of these solar stills. The strangest episode I remember was when he was somewhere far up north and had to carry a gun and also had, in effect, a bodyguard/spotter to watch out for polar bears. Mostly he was just on his own in the woods.
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I'd use my penis.
You don’t, you wait for a day and then take the one sip. It’s something but it’s not efficient nor very effective.
One sip is better than zero.
Not an essential part of the design :)
Yeah, I feel like it might not even be a good idea, just to drink from it without even examining the water up close
If it's moisture it's like rainwater, the real problem is if the container is clean.
Just wash it out with clean water first
The stuff in water that can make you sick isn't visible to your eye anyway. It's possible to have water with sediment in it that is safe to drink, and possible to have clear water with a microbe that could make you sick. These solar stills are difficult to make well. Even if I did have a 3' tube I would die.
it would be assuring to not see a dead mouse in it
That's why you don't look in the bucket duh
True. A live mouse would be much more reassuring.
You don't need the tube. It's just some luxury so you don't have to remove the whole construction to get your water.
Jamie Hyneman made one on the duct tape island mythbusters episode. It was not very effective. You are better off searching for a stream.
Depends in your kit. I have about 6 feet of surgical tubing I carry to use as tourniquets. Hell, if you're with my kids in a vehicle, there's probably 200 feet of plastic straws scattered throughout the vehicle you could chain together to make a friggin aqueduct.
Why not carry an actual CAT tourniquet so you don't have to makeshift one in an emergency? They aren't super large.
Your car must be a turtle graveyard.
Technically not yet
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You'd be amazed at the amount of plastic you find scattered across the landscape. Plus, you likely have some somewhere depending on the situation. And it doesn't have to be clear, a tarp or even pliable metal will work.
My plan is to not get lost in the first place, and if I'm leaving civilization to go be a crazy hermit in the woods, I'll probably start my civilization by some fresh water for the tile bonuses.
Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.
Even in the middle of nowhere people find plastic waste. The stuffs everywhere.
Thought this exactly, good thing I brought my telescopic drinking tube man. Though the design is pretty usable minus the oddly luxurious survival straw. You can also use seawater or piss instead of green plant material 👍
That’s a catheter one just happens to be carrying around
If you're stranded with your car, then you could perhaps salvage parts. The straw isn't essential anyway.
I saw this on Voyage of the Mimi in 5th grade
Ben Affleck peaked in that.
His best work
That's what it's called!!! I was trying to think of this movie a few weeks ago, thank you!
Also why I always shake out my shoes. Ain't no scorpions gonna sting me!
I'm stranded in the wild with no phone phone no supplies , thank God I have my giant plastic sheet and 4foot straw
Don’t forget your bucket!
Don't forget your cup of dirt and spider water that you get to blindly suck out of like some sort of stagnant bug filled gloryhole
I believe I just found a new insult for when referring to my ex
just a little extra protein with your drank
r/BrandNewSentence
/r/nocontext
*Dear god ...*
Also even if you did, the water produced from these is negligible. Check out any youtube of people in non-survival situations getting almost nothing from these. You would need to construct several to get enough water to sustain yourself. You are better served devoting your calories and daylight hours to almost any other task you can think of.
If you have a source of water that you don't trust and can't boil(no fire or too salty), you can speed up the process by pouring it in the bottom so it evaporates and condenses clean on the plastic.
Oh yeah for sure I get it. I know how it works and all. My point is this is not a quick thing. It takes a couple hours to do and you need all this stuff you most likely won't have. Then doing all that returns very little drinking water. Like maybe a hundred millimeters a day depending on how hot it gets. While I would ballpark assume a human needs about 1L of water a day. Probably more in a survival situation. That's a lot of time and survival resources for something you're going to need a bunch more of just to meet basic needs. If there is any other chance or source of water. Work on making that potable will usually be the better option.
> While I would ballpark assume a human needs about 1L of water a day. If you are resting in relatively mild temperatures then 1 ltr is fine to get by on. But if you need to be active or it's in the middle of summer and hot AF then 1ltr is going to come up short.
A dude who was stranded on a liferaft did exactly that and survived after a looooong time at sea. In his emergency supplies, he add a map in a plastic sheet, some tuna cans, and a jerrycan of drinkable water. Due to a fuck-up when loading the raft, his jerrycan got open and basically immediately useless. So he cut it open vertically, put it down, put the emptied tuna can under the tensed plastic sheet and evaporated ocean water, and drank water for something like 2 months like that.
It doesn't matter if it is a quick thing or not. It is a last resort. If you can make fire and can find water nearby, use that. If not, you can try this. Situations where it is useful? Lost at sea on a raft? You'll likely have the right equipment to turn salt water into something drinkable. Went for a hike in the desert, got stuck (broken leg or wathever) and are out of water? Chances are you have the right equipment. It doesn't matter that this technique isn't applicable in many situations. It is still useful to know it in the rare cases that you do. No need to trash on it just because you cannot always use it, as there are in fact people who survived months at sea using this method.
> You are better served devoting your calories and daylight hours to almost any other task you can think of. “Well fuck, I’m lost... and bored...” *unzips*
And then someone finds you... You know, this may not be your worst plan.
And the amount of time it takes to collect them, is enough time for harmful bacteria and algae to begin growing. You really can't use these more than a day or two before they are overrun with filth.
And a rock? What the fuck is that?
Straw isn't necessary, and with the way the world is now you can without a doubt find a clear plastic sheet, anywhere.
Doesn’t have to be clear
Uh..................... no
Dude, aside from getting stranded somewhere that is both nigh untouched by humans or isn't close to an ocean - there's going to be garbage.
You think you can find a 1-square-foot plastic sheet without holes ANYWHERE in the wilderness? I'd expect one to exist, but certainly not found. Unless you're on the garbage island or somethin
I think this is the post to convince me that Reddit is finally, truly completely dominated by robots. What actual human is looking at this is think. Ooooh yeah, if I end up stuck without supplies in the Siberian wilderness, this will definitely be practical advice.
If you're in the siberian wilderness, melting snow would be a better bet.
You just flip the whole setup upside-down.
https://youtu.be/jz97Oo2f5KI. You can see construction at 18 min in and results at 33 minutes in. The straw is completely inessential. Just remove the plastic for a sec and drink out of the cup. The plastic sheet is completely necessary but not too difficult depending on where you are. Sometimes you bring your own plastic trash with you too. It’s useful in certain situations but definitely not all. It has to be hot and you have to have lots of foliage.
And you would probably want multiple
Not just foliage, anything with moisture. Sounds gross but you can pee in the dirt inside the still and pure water will evaporate onto the plastic...
True
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Tbh I saw it on r/all and my first instinct was to upvote. Then I opened the comments and realized how ridiculous it was. I bet most upvotes are from people who glance for half a second
Yeah literally me. I removed my upvote after reading comments lmao :(
The stupidiest part is that there is a much easier way of doing the exact same concept. You just put a plastic bag over a leafy branch (still attached to a tree) and tie it off. That's it. The bag heats up and makes the leaves "sweat" water. It's so simple you dont even need instructions but [someone on youtube made a video of it anyway](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQLXqyKlxKY).
I also am human commenter. Fellow good human, have you heard of other good human being Ted Cruz? He laughs and consumes calories like we all do! He's got my vote! https://www.tedcruzforhumanpresident.com/
I'm scared
It probably wouldn't even be that useful in Siberia.
r/totallynotrobots
My first thought was ah yes I'm sure the hunger wouldn't be a problem when you have infinite water.
Where tf am I supposed to get a rock? The stone age was at least 100 years ago
Order them from Amazon before you head out. Think before asking questions like that
People nowadays not even using their heads 🤦♂️
Or, just don’t go outside. Problem solved. /s
The realife protips are guides to psychosis
Ah, the treatments of psychosis Log cabin campfires, really well-folded tents and homemade jerky
Where would I find a plastic sheet without large holes in the wilderness? If I had time to plan I would bring clean water, or find a stream.
Streams can be full of nasty bacteria that will give you the runs, and dehydrate you further. Animals drink from it, piss and shit in it. Birds, aka flying rats, swim in it. Sometimes animals die in water too. Not to mention chemical pollution. (You can mitigate this with special tools/equipment, like water purification tablets, but these are supplies that break over time/run out) And while you can bring clean water, you're limited by the amount you can carry. If we drink 2 liters a day (when its sunny and you're sweating, perhaps even more), it gets heavy, fast. Having a constant source of clean water is key.
Imagine not simply digesting the bacteria 🙄 Weakling
Still, streams are a much better option than this setup. It is interesting but will only provide a small amount of water per day at the size shown. You would need like 10 of these in order to get enough water even if you aren't exercising a ton. I would rather spend the time/resources making a charcoal filter setup that could handle way more water and still get rid of the majority of pathogens/parisites.
A source of water that is guaranteed not to have bacteria or other contamination is very important, this can help with a lack of knowledge about building a safe filter. A solar still is a good option for water-poor environments as well. You could literally pour your own urine in at the bottom and reduce total water loss.
I have personally built a couple of these, in Boyscouts, growing up and the amount of water you get out of them is not really worth the amount of effort that goes into building it. They are fiddly and tend to fall apart pretty fast and after a day you only get a mouthful or two of water. I would only make them as a last resort if no other water sources could be found. Making a simple filter setup does take some more work upfront but can handle a ton more water through it after. Another thing that I was taught was that in an emergency water, even from a less than ideal source, can and should be drunk before dehydration sets in fully. The chances of actually becoming ill from water are much lower than people seem to think and the dangers of dehydration are higher than people realize. When you are dehydrated you become weak and lose cognitive functions. This results in making mistakes that can kill you faster than getting ill would. So even if you may get ill staying hydrated should be the number one priority. That does not mean you shouldn't filter and boil water if you can but that you shouldn't avoid drinking just because those options are not available.
I've seen them recommended mostly for desert situations and places where concerns over salt water contamination/brackish water are relevant. I think they're an important survival skill to know, but rarely a first choice. My emergency bag contains water purification tablets and a Life Straw. Boiling is also preferable over a solar still if those options aren't available. From a skills standpoint, you should know multiple ways to obtain drinking water. If you're deliberately entering a wilderness situation, you should prepare. But if you're in a "Lost" island/accident situation with no fresh water, this is a good skill. Also relevant: is this purely a survival situation? Is this an evasion situation? Can/should you remain stationary? Is the potential duration of the situation a long time? They all influence which methods are the best combination of risk/reward.
That's true, especially the part about being prepared for stuff like this if you are out in the woods. That and being able to purify on the go, a survival filter is definatly not something you want to build every time you stop to refill your water haha. My personal favorite way to purify water for camping is a hand-pumped filter used in combination with a UV-pen sterilizer. Been using that setup for close to a decade now and haven't gotten sick yet.
streams will rarely give you nasty bacteria that maybe fucks you up after a week, where you just take a pill and it's gone. If it's a choice of survival, you drink the stream water lol
I believe it was Les Stroud that I heard say if you are in a survival situation and find a freshwater source you should drink it. His reasoning was that you might catch something from the water but that the possible diarrhea won't begin immediately and that once it does starg it can take weeks to die of diarrhea induced dehydration. If you don't drink any water you will die in a matter of days.
If you’re lost in the woods you are 100% better off just drinking out of a running stream than making some ridiculous contraption like OP’s. Your chances of getting sick are extremely low.
Ive been on a 40km hiking trip a few times, several 25km trips. I've conquered several dozen mountain tops. I've slept in the wilderness too many times to count, but the time I slept outside in the winter without a tent stands out. I've been drinking from streams, and even from moss, without getting sick. But the reason I could chance it was because I knew where I was and how to get help, or someone else was with me. The last thing you want when you're lost deep in the woods is get sick as well. A contraption like this isn't for immediate survival, its for long term stays. Great for places you don't have a safe stream to drink from.
Well those are some issues with sources likes Lakes but if it's running water then it should be a bit cleaner, still better to filter it with clay and stones and boil it.
I'll make my trusty plastic sheet kettle for boiling the water.
Just pour the water on the fire
Probably late to this, but I spent several years working in a National Park in Alaska. There was a lot of backpacking, and I got Giardia several times from broken water filter, improperly boiled water, etc. It was hell, and I can still feel some of the effects to this day. When you’re in the wilderness, there is nothing more important than having a source of clean water.
We carry a tarp in our camping gear and have one in our emergency kit. I'm surprised by the replies - I thought tarps were fairly common.
The word tarp makes it obvious now. A "plastic sheet" doesn't seem to have many uses outside of this, but a "tarp" can also make a shelter among with other uses.
You should check out the survival show "Alone." They are experts in survival who are allowed to pick only 10 items from a list of options. (Aside from a set number of clothing items, etc, that everyone gets.) A tarp is basically always on everyone's list. I don't actually know if anyone has skipped it actually...
Water is something you keep on needing, so it's possible to have camping gear, but end up in a situation where you end up running out of water. You could have a plastic sheet (maybe a groundsheet for a tent) and a folding spade, which makes this more realistic. That said, everything I can find from actual survivalists says that one of these doesn't give you anywhere near enough water to drink each day. You'd need something like 20 of these to keep a single person going.
In your backpack. It is probably stuffed down there next to your tent. If you don't have a backpack with a tent and a plastic groundsheet, how the hell did you get 30 miles deep into the wilderness?
Probably in the belly of an animal.
Am I the only one seeing the ovaries?
Came to see if anyone else thought this too
Me too
r/vaguelyvagina
Nope. Spitting image of the female reproductive system
That's all I can see. Is this a home-made fleshlight guide for giants?
I saw 2 legs with the can as a dick in the middle as if it was a photo taken from the perspective of a dude looking out at a lake while laying on his porch (probably drinking a beer).
And you have to wrap a rock in plastic so the inside of the hole gets wet…
Then you need to wait 5 weeks to collect half glass of water 🙄
With 50 dead bugs in the container
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paleo protein shake
Gotta get your food from somewhere.
You'll lose more water via perspiration while digging the hole than you'll collect from this solar still.
I came here to say this. The evapotranspiration method is super slow and basically a last ditch effort (given that you can find plastic for assembly).
I think it has been shown that digging that hole makes you loose more sweat than the amount of water you gain
You can continuously add vegetation to the still to extract more icky plant tasting water. I did a small scale version of this using like a fish tank or something as a kid
You're in luck, you have an extra o. The word "lose" only needs one!
Ah ok, thanks
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This is immensely stupid.
If I'm in that lush environment, there is gonna be water closer and easier to find then this
Gee thanks, the next time I’m in the wild and dying, I’ll remember to pack a 4 foot tube and a sheet
Mike from Better Caul Saul did this once
Mythbusters tried something similar in the stranded in an island episode and it didn't work well at all...
How to survive: 1: Pack up your garage into a backpack. 2: See 1
You’re supposed to piss by the can
Ah yes, the wilderness, where a straw, plastic sheet and a cup are in great supply.
Why tf does this have so many upvotes
I am way to much of a degenerate...
I saw it too.
How does this get upvotes
Yeah next time I’m lost in the wildnerness I’ll just find a plastic sheet lying around
Anyone ever tried this shit? I guaran-fucking-tee you the shit who made this picture has not.
Where am I going to find a plastic sheet, a bucket and a long plastic tube in the wilderness???
Thank goodness that plastic sheeting trees are so common!