Chapstick is an item that many of us carry in our pockets each day largely for the reason that it helps to treat chapped lips! However, chapstick is also an item that belongs just as much in a survival kit as it does in our pocket.
Here are the top ten survival uses for chapstick:
This is why we use chap stick in the first place, right? While chapped lips are not life threatening by any means, they are still annoying. So even if you don’t see any value in the nine more survival uses that you are about to read for chap stick, including it in your survival kit wouldn’t be a bad thing to do anyway. Besides, chap stick is extremely light and compact, so why not include it?
If you see any small sized holes in your clothing, tarp, tent, poncho, or whatever, did you know that you could use chap stick to plug that hole to keep moisture out? Try it out. It works.
You can also use chapstick to treat injuries such as scrapes and small cuts. Any open wound needs to be treated with the strictest of attention in a survival situation, even if it’s only a simple and seemingly insignificant cut, so you can prevent the risk of a devastating infection spreading.
By applying chap stick directly to a cut, it will help keep bleeding down and debris out, while also helping to inhibit the spread of infection.
If you’re in an environment with freezing temperatures and you have any exposed skin, that skin will be immediately vulnerable to frostbite, which is the last thing you want.
Fortunately, if you apply chapstick to your exposed skin (such as the tip of your nose), you will have just added a layer of protection against frostbite.
Your metal tools, such as your knife or hatchet, needed to be properly maintained. This is especially true in a humid or tropical environment where there is a very real possibility that your metal items could rust.
Fortunately, by rubbing chap stick directly against the blade, it will give it a layer of protection against humidity and moisture and therefore hopefully stop rusting from occurring.
While wearing goggles or glasses, nothing can be more annoying than having to deal with fog. Fortunately, simply rub some chap stick with the end of your finger onto the inside of your lenses and then wipe it down with a cloth, and you shouldn’t have to deal with fog for the time being.
We should all know how important it is to start a fire in a survival situation, and chap stick is actually one of the most flammable items there is. Rub it directly against your kindling, paper, cotton ball, Q-tip, or whatever, and then bring it into contact with a spark.
It will light up almost immediately and continue to burn, allowing you to then add more fuel to build your fire into a sustainable one.
Walking for extended distances over rough terrain means that blisters can form on your feet and toes. If so, it’s very important you treat these blisters right away and prevent them from growing, if you don’t help them, it will get very painful for you to walk.
The good news is that by applying chap stick directly to the site of a blister, you will not only reduce the pain, you could stop the blister from growing.
If the zippers on your clothing or backpacks have been rather rough lately and you have a difficult time opening and closing them, this isn’t anything that a little chapstick can’t handle. Simple rub chapstick along the zipper and it will immediately become significantly smoother and easier to zip and unzip.
Once you’ve used up all the chap stick in your container, don’t let that container go to waste! Remove the screw from the container and then store items within it, such as seasoning, fishing line, money, and so on.
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We live in a beautiful world, get out there and enjoy it.
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