The wilderness often beckons to ambitious and adventure-hungry explorers, offering a lifetime of possibilities and discovery opportunities. The wilderness also, unfortunately, is inherently dangerous — at least, compared to our comfortable and controlled lives back over in society. All too often, a fun, recreational trip can turn into a dire survival situation in just a matter of hours. Really, just a severe shift in weather and a lack of preparedness will have you wishing that you were back at home.

Stay Prepared With One Of Our Satellite Phones For Sale

As a satellite phone and mobile internet provider, we’re able to connect outdoor explorers, travelers, ship goers, and those who work on remote sites with fast and reliable communication technology. There are a number of reasons why anyone needs to stay in constant contact with the outside world, and mountaineering is only one of them.

Mountaineering, however, is also one of the main reasons why Outfitter Satellite offers Iridium satellite phones and accessories. As an informal resource for those who actively choose to adventure around some of the most epic locations on the planet, our satellite phone providers will be covering seven survival myths below.

Myth: You Should Rub Frostbitten Skin

That’s a bad idea. Frostbite is when ice crystals literally form in your skin and other sub-dermal tissues, meaning that rubbing the affected area will only spread it and force it deeper into your skin. Doing so will only lacerate new cells due to the presence of sharp ice crystals (at the molecular level).

Instead, do whatever you can to re-warm the area, and take painkillers (not alcohol) if possible to alleviate the pain because frostbite can be quite painful.

Myth: Alcohol Will Warm You Up

Here’s the undeniable truth: alcohol will make you feel warmer. Sure, a little liquor on a cold walk back home is going to make the walk that much nicer. However, if you’re in a legitimate survival scenario where frostbite or hypothermia are at play, do not drink alcohol.

Alcohol will dilate your skin-surface blood vessels and capillaries. In turn, this will rapidly reduce your core temperature. Instead, think logically (we understand that this is a tall order in a survival situation) and drink warm liquids instead.

Myth: You’ll Never Get Lost With A GPS System

Satellite technology is great — after all, we should know, right? It’s advisable to take a GPS system into the backcountry should you choose to adventure, but don’t think that it’ll outright prevent you from getting lost. There’s always the chance of the GPS system dying, breaking, or even getting lost (somehow, don’t ask us).

Myth: Flying Birds Always Lead to Water

This is sometimes true, but not always. Can you really read a bird’s mind? Unless you’re Birdman, don’t blindly follow the direction of birds to find a source of water. If you can read their mind, please let us know what they’re saying. We’re curious.

Myth: Rubbing Two Sticks Together Will Create Fire

Fire by way of friction is certainly possible, but it requires a great deal of practice, patience, and overall know-how. In other words, it’s extremely difficult, if not impossible to execute, in a random survival situation. We had to touch on this survival cliche.

Myth: “Space Blankets” Don’t Work

We’ve all seen those paper thin, mylar-coated emergency blankets that weigh about as much as a bundle of feathers. They’re intended to rapidly warm you up, and guess what? That’s exactly what they do. Many people seem to think that they’re not effective, but they are due to the thermal-reflective design.

Instead of losing heat that your body naturally radiates, a space blanket captures that heat and returns it back to you (convective heat). They’re great to bring on a winter trip because they’re extremely warm, cheap, and like we said, very lightweight.

Myth: Wet Matches Work If They’re Dried Out

Unless you’re using all-weather, waterproof matches designed to withstand moisture, you’ll be out of luck trying to strike matches that were previously wet.

Stay In Contact By Contacting Outfitter Satellite

In search of satellite phones for sale? We have exactly what you need on our store. Shop our handheld satellite phones including Thuraya and Iridium Push-to-Talk today.