Chapstick and Vaseline

Obviously Chapstick can be used as lip balm and for chapped hands, which is great, but it has many other uses too. All of the things Chapstick can be used for, Vaseline can also be used for.

You can put a small amount onto your glasses or goggles and rub it in. Then wipe the lenses off with a cloth to ensure you can see through them properly only leaving a very thin coasting. This will provide you with anti-fog protection.

Rub some Chapstick or Vaseline into the fibers of cotton wool, dry grass, wood/bark shavings etc. It will greatly extend the burn time making a much better tinder.

You can rub Chapstick or Vaseline onto the thread of a flashlight, or anything else with a thread for that matter, and it will help to waterproof it and also lubricate the thread to extend its operational lifespan.

You can apply some Chapstick or Vaseline to the blade of your knife to protect it from water and any potential oxidization and rusting and help to keep it sharp.

It can also be used for just every day, general lubrication purposes. This is good for a variety of tools and mechanical purposes.

It can also be spread onto zippers for some added water resistance. Simply apply a small amount and run the zipper a few times to spread it about. This will also extend the life of zipper and make it much smoother to use.

You can cut the tip off of a Q-tip, cover it in lip balm and push it into the Chapstick container. Then when you light the end you will have a nice little makeshift candle that will give you a great burn time.

Chapstick and Vaseline can even be used to plug small pin prick holes in tarps or tents. It may not be the most permanent solution in the world but if it’s raining and you need a quick fix this is a good option.

A great use is also for rubbing over areas such as your heels to help prevent blisters. If you’re walking long distances this is a big problem and a bit of lubrication to reduce the friction will help a great deal.

You could even mix it with ash from your fire to make a form of camo face paint. If you don’t have any sunglasses you can put this mixture under your eyes to help prevent debilitating snow blindness.

When your Chapstick is all used up, you can take out the mechanism and use the container to store other things such as tinder or matches.

There have been reports and stories of people eating 2 spoons of Vaseline a day to stay alive when they have no food. I wouldn’t try it or recommend it but if I was dying of starvation then I would definitely give it a go!

Vaseline can also be used for sealing cuts and grazes to help prevent dirt or contaminants getting in to the wound and potentially causing an infection.

Both Chapstick and Vaseline can be used as an insect repellent. They don’t like it as it’s greasy so you can put some on your skin to help fend off mosquitos and cover the areas around food or anywhere else you don’t want bugs landing.

They can also both be used for extra water resistance of fabrics on problematic areas like your boots. Simply rub some into the non-waterproof fabric areas and you will have a water repellent barrier. This works best if left to fully dry out afterwards but can work in the short term too. This will cause the fabric to be less breathable too however which can cause problems with moisture from sweating so only do this if you’re going through really wet terrain and you have no other choice.