Duct Tape

Duct Tape is obviously a great survival item to have at your disposal, if you can find some, for many reasons. It is water resistant and extremely strong, it was actually developed in World War II to seal ammunition cases.

Duct Tape can be doubled up or folded in half to make a strap for a rifle or for anything else for that matter. It can also be used to form a makeshift sheath for a knife or to attach a knife to the end of a long stick to make a hunting spear.

It can be used as a medical binding tape to keep bandages secured tightly over a wound, this also helps to stop the bandage getting wet in the rain. If bandages are wet they actually stop the blood from congealing and promote further bleeding of the wound. You could even tape some sticks to your leg for a makeshift splint and it can even be used to make slings. Or if you don’t have gloves you can wrap it round your hands to help prevent blisters whilst performing labor intensive activates.

If things get bad enough it can even be used to restrain anyone who may be acting hostile towards you. It can also be used to tape the door handles of double doors together to secure a safe area in urban locations.

As it is water resistant and strong it can be used for temporary vehicle repairs, such as sealing broken tubes and fuel leaks. This also makes it great for sealing containers or repairing leaks in shelters, tarps and ponchos.

You could even wrap it around non water resistant parts of boots or shoes to keep your feet dry, which is always important. Doing this will also help to insulate your feet in cold weather.

Duct tape can even be used as flypaper in your shelter or tent. It can also be used to leave messages written in tape to other people or to leave a trail and markers.

You can even use it to make a temporary water container. To do this you will need to double it up and form it into some sort of bowl shape which is easier said than done, but it is possible if you need to do it.

It will also burn quite well, you can roll it into a tube and light the end to make a candle to provide some light that will last a decent amount of time. By rolling it up in the other direction you can also make cordage out of it if you use a longer piece.

I’m sure you will find a million other uses for it too. It really is one of the most versatile and useful things that you can find while scavenging.