MacGyver Survivor Challenge - Umbrella

While discussing/organizing BOB's with my wife she insists on including an umbrella, the small collapsible kind. To make a long story short she won the debate and it got me thinking...

In what unconventional ways could you use an umbrella either on its own or combined with common BOB gear in a survival situation? Either intact or just some parts.

So far I've only come up with two - and they're not very inspired...
1. Signaling device (if brightly colored)
2. Concealment (if some color/pattern that blends into the terrain you're in)

reply to post by RedParrotHead


Water capture when opened and set upside down
metal parts for fishing or trapping

reply to post by RedParrotHead


You could use it as a radio antenna.

If it is properly waterproof it can be used to capture rainwater.

Lined with Aluminium foil it can be used to focus solar energy as a heat source.

Cosmic..

I think it would boost your am radio reception if you attached a wire to the opened umbrella .you could make a minnow trap if you came across some screen or put small holes in the umbrella .

reply to post by RedParrotHead


Loves it!

It could be a makeshift basket/carrying bowl for fruits veggies picked, water collection when it rains, Closed and wrapped it can be a stuning weapon to ward off wild animals, and can also block entrances to caves and other places with single entrances from the elements and animals. And of course it will keep you guys dry when it rains lol.

I think one would be a good thing to carry in your BoB.

It could keep your wife from leaving you...for someone else who has one...

Wow, all great ideas so far, keep them coming!

Water catch and gathering bowl are probably ones I would use most...also the antenna idea is good thinking.

Here's some more I thought of
Depending on the material it's made of -
1. Water filter...probably not
2. Air filter - maybe
3. Cut into strips - braided into a bow string
4. Unwoven - thread for sewing or fishing
5. Bandage to stop/slow blood loss

Handle (spring-loaded variety that we have)
1. A weapon - remove the top and fold/cut metal at top to a point...a spring-loaded eye poker! Who knows you could get lucky!

After thinking of all those things listed above, my next thought made me giggle. A kite. Next, refashion the rubbings and make S hooks and cooking poles. To suspend a coffee can meal over a Dakota fire. Use the fabric in a makeshift windblock around said fire if it's a rough night and you gotta catch a meal somehow.

Open and close rapidly to function as a bellows to fan your embers back into a campfire

throw wet branches on your fire, now open and close the umbrella to send smoke signals

make a small hole near the center of the umbrella's fabric, near the pole. Upside down, it's now a funnel. If you have gasoline in a non-approved container, you can put the closed umbrella into the mouth of your car's gas tank, and use it as a funnel to pour (siphoned) gas into your car's tank.

a sun-shade

sharpen the center stake, and use it to gig frogs

use it against a snow background catch the attention of rescue air craft.

open it and attach a small float (like an empty grocery sack, tied shut) to either end of the pole. Now you have a sea-anchor. When towed behind your boat, it will keep you pointed into the current or tide.

reply to post by RedParrotHead


Depending on the strength of the umbrella you may want to open it up and use it to carry food or even some water.

Depending on size, it could be used as a wind break if you buried the handle and edges.

Part of the metal handle part could be broken up and used as spear/arrow heads.

The small spoke arms and nylon could be used for a variety of repairs for other items like your tent, your pack.

The small spoke arms could be used as makeshift welding rod.

Springs inside the handle could prove useful for repairing other mechanical items that also use springs, like a gun.

The spokes and nylon could be used to build a small windmill.

Along with some extra materials it could be incorporated into a sail/kite vehicle if you get tired of walking and have a lightweight vehicle to use.

Depending on the composition of the nylon it may melt down into a useful rubber cement when heated.

It could be used in a variety of ways as a decoy or part of a decoy using wind for movement.

You may want to bend the spokes into dowsing rods if you payed attention to Daddybear and learned how to do that.

The spokes could be sharpened and used as blow gun darts.

You could break the handle off and use it as a prison type shank (never know who's gonna attack and when right?)

You could take all of the metal apart and weld it into a small grill using one of the spokes as welding rod.

I think it's safe to say that an umbrella could be used for at least half a million Macgyver type fixes, and he should have been carrying one at all times.

I would also suggest having a small hole dug in the rough rough size shape of the umbrella top that way when you use it to capture water, the weight of the water doesn't do harm to your umbrella.

Here are instructions on a solar powered stove out of an umbrella:
planetgreen.discovery.com...

There was recently a survival thread on using a bottle of water to bring in light so if you do make a stove out of the umbrella, when done, having a flap that opens and closes towards the very top middle could allow you to use it as a 'stove' for one time, then it could enhance the light from the bottled water light.

Don't forget that, opened, it can be used as a flotation device or small raft.

Originally posted by DJW001
Don't forget that, opened, it can be used as a flotation device or small raft.

good point, but how effective would it be?

reply to post by xPico

good point, but how effective would it be?

Much less effective than a weather balloon or inflatable raft, but you could use it to float supplies across a river while keeping them relatively dry.

Originally posted by DJW001
reply to post by xPico

 

good point, but how effective would it be?

Much less effective than a weather balloon or inflatable raft, but you could use it to float supplies across a river while keeping them relatively dry.

oh supplies yeah, very good point - add that one to the list

I was going to say a floatation device for a person wouldn't work too well - almost as well as an umbrella parachute

ty for the clarification m8

I'm surprised that no one has mentioned the obvious





Actually, there are plenty of good bits in a collapsible umbrella that could be used for a variety of applications. However, I still find ponchos easier to pack and to use. Two sided ponchos offer Blaze orange or camo color options, Keeps you dry an still allows you to use your hands, pitch it as a tent or use it as a ground cloth etc etc.

Originally posted by jibeho
I'm surprised that no one has mentioned the obvious

Actually, there are plenty of good bits in a collapsible umbrella that could be used for a variety of applications. However, I still find ponchos easier to pack and to use. Two sided ponchos offer Blaze orange or camo color options, Keeps you dry an still allows you to use your hands, pitch it as a tent or use it as a ground cloth etc etc.

good point, how could i forget!

reply to post by xPico


Damn Penguin. I forgot about that one too. Classic

You could use the tips of the spokes to tip arrows, especially for bowfishing.

small sections of the middle can be used for nocks on arrows.

the frame could be an antenna.

the chrome can be used as decoy/lure for any uninvited guests - leave it twirling in the wind while you sit in a blind waiting for guests to investigate.

a makeshift blade (some of those pivot points are pretty sharp) to filet or gut fish/small game.

reply to post by RedParrotHead


get a pair of these:
www.pimall.com...




both of you are happy now