If you’re like many Americans, you’ve got a black or brown leather belt strapped around your waist right now.
And rightly so. These handy inventions have a lot of good qualities. They help keep your pants up, and can help hold your concealed carry. Not to mention, they also look great with just about any attire – from business to casual.
However, that’s where most people stop thinking. They don’t realize the incredible versatility these ordinary belts have that can save their lives in a survival situation.
The goal with any SHTF scenario is to use every resource around you to its maximum capacity. That’s why, in order to be truly ready for anything, you’ll want to prepare first by knowing…
How A Simple Leather Belt Makes An Outstanding Survival Tool
Assist Someone In A Ditch/Hole
You may end up in a situation where someone in your party falls into a deep hole or ditch. And it may be that it’s too far down, too steep, or too dangerous to send others down to help.
While you call for help or form a rescue plan, you’ll need to make sure the stuck person gets the first-aid, food, and water they need in order to survive.
Well, if you’ve got a leather belt, you can simply tie it to the handle of a durable bucket, and fill the bucket with all the resources the person needs. Then slowly lower the bucket of supplies down to them. (You may also be able to connect the belts together to form a longer “rope”).
Help Someone Climb Up
If someone in your bug out party ends up sliding down the side of a hill or mountain while you’re hiking, you can crawl down to them as safely as you can, and then extend your belt to them for them to grab onto. Using the belt, you can help pull them to safety.
Avoid Burning Your Hands
It’s likely you won’t have things like oven mitts in a survival situation. But never fear – you can still use your belt to help keep you from burning your hands when you touch hot pot handles.
Simply wrap your belt around the pot handle and then hold onto it while you cook. The thick leather will prevent your hand from burning on the hot metal, allowing you to cook your survival food with ease.
Defend Yourself From An Attacker
If you’re able to get close enough to an attacker, you can wrap your leather belt around their neck to choke them. You can also hold the leather tip and try to whip them in the face (or other sensitive areas) with the buckle.
Sharpen Your Blade
If you’ve got a dull blade on your survival knife, it’s going to be a lot harder to cut anything effectively. Heck, even a dull kitchen knife will have a difficult time cutting through a tomato (let alone anything substantial).
That being the case, you likely won’t have an electric knife sharpener when you’re in an emergency situation. That’s why it can be a great idea to use your leather belt instead.
Fold up the belt a few times, and then take the knife and press the blade into the leather. Then, working at an angle, run the blade along the leather, working away from you.
Do this a few times on each side of the blade. The leather will be able to sharpen your blade, helping you get back to the task at hand.
**BONUS**
Surprisingly, these aren’t the only survival uses for your favorite leather belt – far from it. Here are a bunch more to help you prepare for an upcoming crisis. Remember – Prepare Now, Survive Later!
