Field procedures
Action block
Do this first: Identify the scenario you are preparing for, then follow the links to practice the relevant techniques before you need them. Time required: Active: varies by skill — 30 min (basic fire) to several hours (game processing); recurrence: regular practice closes the gap between knowing steps and performing under stress Cost range: inexpensive to affordable — most field skills require minimal gear; the investment is time, not money Skill level: beginner through advanced — each linked page classifies its own skill level Tools and supplies: Tools: fixed-blade knife, compass, firestarter. Supplies: vary by procedure — see linked pages. Safety warnings: (none — this is a routing hub; safety guidance lives on the technique pages)
Field procedures are high-utility skills that may be the difference between handling a situation in place and evacuating for outside help. They are not theoretical — they are techniques that require practice before the need arises. This hub routes by scenario and by tool need. The technique pages teach the technique; this page tells you where to go.
Most real-world field scenarios involve more than one Foundation. A wilderness day-hike gone wrong pulls from Water (treatment and sourcing), Food (game or forage), Medical (wound care), Shelter (emergency overnight), and Skills (fire and navigation) simultaneously. This hub is the switchboard for those cross-Foundation moments.
Do this in the field — route by scenario
Wound care
A wound that cannot be evaluated by a clinician in the next several hours needs to be managed in place. Irrigation is the single most effective intervention to prevent infection.
- Irrigation → closure → dressing → Wound care
- Infection management, signs of systemic spread → Infection
- Major bleeding, tourniquet application → Bleeding control
Fire
Fire provides heat, light, cooking capability, and psychological anchor. Starting one reliably in wet or cold conditions is a perishable skill.
- Starting fire with lighter, ferro rod, or bow drill → Fire starting techniques
- Which fire architecture to build → Fire lay types
- Cooking on coals → Cooking over fire and coals
Knife work
A sharp knife does more work with less force and causes fewer injuries than a dull one. Sharpening is a field procedure because the knife edge degrades during use.
- Whetstone sharpening, angle technique, testing for edge → Sharpening knives and tools
- Safe field use, blade geometry for tasks → Knives for field and preparedness use
- Preparing game after harvest → Game processing
Navigation when GPS fails
GPS devices fail from battery drain, water damage, or satellite unavailability. Map-and-compass navigation requires no external power; natural navigation requires no tools at all.
- Map + compass: orient, bearing, triangulate → Map and compass navigation
- Sun, stars, terrain association → Natural navigation
- GPS setup, offline maps, battery management → GPS navigation
Water in the field
Improvised water treatment reduces pathogen risk when purpose-built filters are unavailable. Sourcing and collection are prerequisites.
- Finding water, all source types → Finding water
- Boiling, chemical treatment, improvised filtration → Water (hub routes all purification methods)
- Field rationing when supplies are limited → Water rationing
Game dispatch and processing
Harvesting game in the field requires species-specific technique and pathogen awareness.
- Overview by species, pathogen precautions, cook temperatures → Game processing
- Deer field-dressing, skinning, quartering, butchering → Deer processing
- Rabbit, tularemia precautions, small-carcass technique → Rabbit processing
Shelter improvisation
An emergency shelter extends survivable exposure time in cold, wet, or wind. Debris shelters require no tools; tarp rigs require a tarp and cordage.
- Debris hut, lean-to, A-frame from forest materials → Debris shelters
- Tarp rigging — A-frame, lean-to, diamond → Tarp shelters
- Keeping a shelter warm without power → Keeping warm
Cordage, lashing, and knots
Rope and cordage underpin almost every other field procedure — shelter rigging, load-hauling, improvised tools, animal restraint.
- Five essential knots and when to use each → Essential knots for preparedness
- Square, diagonal, shear, tripod lashings → Lashing for shelter and field construction
- Making cordage from plant fiber when manufactured rope runs out → Making and using natural cordage
Fishing
Passive and active fishing techniques produce protein without the difficulty of hunting.
- Rod setup, hook sizing, trotline passive technique → Fishing for food
Trapping
Trapping multiplies your food-capture effort — traps work while you sleep. Legal requirements vary by jurisdiction.
- Trap types, set placement, dispatch, legal requirements → Trapping for food
Tool-substitution index
When you don't have the ideal tool, these pages have field-expedient alternatives.
| You need | Where to find the substitute |
|---|---|
| Sharp cutting edge | Sharpening — improves what you have; Knives — tasks that can be done with a less-than-ideal blade |
| Rope or cordage | Natural cordage — reverse-wrap from plant fiber, bark, or sinew; Lashing — friction lashing technique when cord is short |
| Fire-starting implement | Fire starting techniques — bow drill produces fire with zero manufactured inputs |
| Container for water | Field pottery — pit-fired clay vessel from natural materials (advanced, time-intensive) |
| Compass / navigation aid | Natural navigation — shadow-tip method, Polaris, terrain association |
| Shelter material | Debris shelters — insulated debris hut from forest duff, no tools or manufactured material |
| Fishing gear | Fishing for food — improvised passive methods including gorge hooks and trotlines |
| Snare wire | Trapping for food — improvised triggers and natural-material snares |
Adverse-condition variants
Standard technique applies in favorable conditions. These pages contain specific guidance for degraded environments.
| Adverse condition | Canonical page with variant section |
|---|---|
| Wet-weather fire-starting | Fire starting techniques — wet-weather technique, batoning dry wood from core |
| Frozen-ground shelter | Debris shelters — frozen ground considerations; Tarp shelters — snow-load configuration |
| Low-light navigation | Natural navigation — star navigation, night terrain reading |
| No-tool game processing | Game processing — technique notes; Knives — minimal-tool field task section |
| Cold-water crossing | Survival swimming — current reading, controlled entry, gear management |
| Improvised water collection in dry terrain | Finding water — atmospheric, dew collection, transpiration bag |
Field note
The hierarchy for most field emergencies is the same: stop the bleeding (wound care), stay warm and dry (shelter + fire), find water (purification before drinking), and signal for help if that remains an option. Most wilderness fatalities trace back to getting the order wrong — warmth and water before food; fire before shelter in sub-freezing conditions risks hypothermia during construction. Know the order in advance. The linked pages give you the technique; this sequence gives you the triage.
Cross-Foundation integration
Many field scenarios require parallel work across Foundations. This table maps the most common integrated scenarios.
| Scenario | Primary Foundations involved | Starting point |
|---|---|---|
| Wilderness day hike overnight | Skills (fire, nav, shelter) + Water + Medical | Debris shelters then Finding water |
| Grid-down winter at home | Energy + Shelter + Food + Medical | Keeping warm and Blackout response |
| Post-flood remote homestead | Water + Medical + Food + Shelter | Water hub then Infection |
| Bug-out on foot | Mobility + Skills (nav) + Water + Shelter | On-foot bug-out |
| First season hunting for food | Food (game) + Skills (knife) + Medical (zoonosis) | Game processing |
The Skills hub contains the complete catalog of technique pages. The Scenarios section provides worked examples for specific crisis types.
Sources and next steps
Last reviewed: 2026-05-23
Source hierarchy:
- This page is a routing hub — no primary claims requiring Tier 1 citations. Factual content is on linked technique pages; citations appear there.
Legal/regional caveats: Fishing and trapping regulations, hunting seasons, and game-processing transport rules vary by state and jurisdiction. Verify with your state wildlife agency before harvesting. Some natural-cordage plants (dogbane, nettles) grow on protected lands where harvest requires a permit.
Safety stakes: standard guidance.
Next 3 links:
- → Skills overview — full catalog of all technique pages across field, craft, and maintenance skills
- → Game processing — most common field-procedure gap for new harvesters — pathogen precautions and cook temps by species
- → Medical overview — wound care, infection, and trauma pages for when field procedures don't go as planned