Know the difference

Modern Survival vs. Ancestral Lifeways

There are many outdoor organizations, with good intentions that tend to confuse ancestral living skills with modern outdoor survival skills. The Rule of Five Wilderness Company aims to change that. The differences could not be more extreme both in their intention and how the skills are executed. Add in the emotional component -- stress and fear – and a perfect storm is in the making. Know the difference and when to use each.

Yes, fire!

All Hail Fire

Building and maintaining a fire is one of the most important survival skills, as it often makes the difference between life and death in the wild. You learn how to build a fire pit, how to build a fire using a variety of methods and how to safely extinguish a fire.

Can't be without it

Gimme Shelter

We will give you the skinny on how to build an improvised shelter using items found in various outdoor environments in conjunction with tools found in your survival kit. We also go over what you should wear when you venture into the wild to prevent hypothermia and hyperthermia.

Tools, tools, tools

Before the Big-Box Store

For millennia, people utilized items found in nature, such as fire, stone, bone, wood, fiber and buckskin to create all of the items they used daily. You learn techniques to use natural materials to create items including cordage, deadfall traps and hunting tools.

Find yourself in

Natural History and Ecology

The Southwestern environment provides a diverse and beautiful landscape, featuring mountains, foothills, canyons, deserts, plains, rivers and more. We will take you on guided hikes during your trip, where you learn all about the surrounding nature and ecosystems. You learn how to plan your traveling for different environments and where to set up camp based on the landscape where you may find yourself.

Find, create and drink

Belly Up to Bad Water

Dead battery, broken screen

Technology Failure

You may have a phone or GPS, but what happens when those devices stop working suddenly? We teach you proper planning techniques, including how to read maps and compasses correctly and skills in land navigation.

Help!

Signaling for Rescue

In the event that something goes wrong in the wild, you need to know how to get assistance. We’ll show you how to yell “HELP,” using mirrors, sound, color and smoke techniques. You learn the basics of ground-to-air visibility, how and when to activate the Search and Rescue system, and how to plan correctly to minimize the need to use any of these resources in the first place.

Survival situation

Choices

Temperature and weather conditions can have a compounding effect on your physical and psychological states. You learn how to analyze them both to make the best decisions during a survival situation.

Learn how

Body and Brain

You learn the basics surrounding how your body reacts to a variety of outside forces. We discuss the basics of thermoregulation, or rather how the body loses and gains heat. We also teach you how to analyze your priorities in a survival situation and how to deal with fear and unpredictable situations.

What to carry

The Kit

You learn what a bug-out bag is and why you need one. We discuss what should and shouldn’t go into these survival kits and the differences between home, car, motorcycle and wilderness bug-out bags.

All about setting up camp

Camp Craft

This is all about setting up camp. You learn what to look for when choosing a campsite, including placement of your shelter, food safety, distances from water and where to “go” when nature calls. You also learn basic knife and ax safety.

Paramount to your success and safety

Expeditionary Planning

Whether you are going for a long hike or a weeklong backpacking trip, strategic planning is paramount to your success and safety. We go over gear lists for short and long journeys as well as the purposes of all necessary items. You learn how to pack efficiently with weight, durability and multi-use items in mind.