16 Survival uses of a leather belt

There are plenty of items out there that people don’t always consider to be survival items. One of these is a regular leather belt. Here are 16 ways you can use your leather belt in survival situations. (h/t to AskAPrepper.com)

To create a bundle

Thanks to your leather belt’s buckle, it can be used to secure just about anything. All you have to do is to take whatever you need to bundle up, like food, and wrap it inside a piece of clothing like a shirt or a coat before securing it with your belt.

To carry firewood

Similar to carrying a bundle, your leather belt can be used for carrying firewood. Wrap your belt around an armload of firewood to secure it. This will help you carry much more wood around.

To pull a stretcher

If someone in your survival group is injured or if you have to haul a big game animal, you can use your belt to pull the person or the animal around like you would if they were in a stretcher.

To rescue people

If someone in your survival group were to fall into a river or off a cliff and they’re hanging onto a rock for their life, barring the presence of rope, you can use your leather belt. Loop the end of your belt through the buckle and then throw it to them. They can then place their hand through the loop. The end of your belt will tighten up, which will make it more difficult for them to slip from your grasp as you pull them up.

As an emergency tourniquet

A belt is far from the ideal tourniquet. However, if it’s tightened up well, it can be good enough to prevent heavy blood loss until you can get the person professional help. To use, just wrap your belt tight right above the wound on the person’s limb. (Related: Survival first aid tips: Do you know how to apply a tourniquet?)

As a sling

You can use your belt better as a sling than as a tourniquet. Fasten the belt to make a loop and then place it over the head of the injured person. Then, place the injured arm through the loop and you have a makeshift sling.

To tie yourself to a tree

In some emergency situations, you might feel like sleeping in a tree is better than sleeping on the ground, whether that’s due to the presence of small pests or due to inclement weather. All you have to do is tie your legs around one of a tree’s branches to keep yourself from falling off.

To pull things up

You can also lift your items off the ground using your leather belt. Not only are leather belts strong enough for such tasks, but the buckle allows the belt to be fastened securely around whatever needs to be lifted.

Cordage

If there ever comes a point when your belt can no longer be effectively used, you can cut it down into strips to turn into cordage. Simply whittle it down with a knife into strips of different sizes. This cordage can then be used in a variety of survival applications, such as making shoelaces or a fishing line.

As a makeshift weapon

The belt can also be used as a makeshift weapon. Wrap the belt around your hands to use as improvised knuckle dusters. You can also wrap a rock around one end of the belt to use as an improvised flail that you can swing at assailants.

To tie food in trees

Wild animals are always looking for something to eat. They might be able to smell your food stores and be desperate enough to try and rob you of your food, or worse, attack you for it. Rather than leaving your food on the floor of the campground, place it into a bundle and tie it up in a tree, where nobody but humans can reach it.

As a strap or handle

If you want to make it easier for you to carry around some heavy piece of equipment that doesn’t already have a strap on it, you can fashion your belt into a makeshift strap. This can make carrying your rifle or your duffel bag easier.

As a replacement strap for your pack

After prolonged use, the strap on your backpack will inevitably break. Fortunately, you can tie or sew your leather belt onto the broken strap to fix it, making it possible for you to keep carrying your pack.

To sharpen your knife

Similar to how barbers swipe their razors against a leather strap called a strop to sharpen it, you can do the same with your leather belt and survival knife. This is a common way of keeping the edge of a razor or knife sharp.

Be warned though that this won’t work on edges that are dull. You’ll need a whetstone for that. But if your knife’s edge is already sharp, stropping will make that edge sharper.

To hang things from

One of the most basic uses of a leather belt is to hang some of your items from it while you’re walking. If you have a small firearm like a handgun or a small tool, you can easily strap it to your belt the way a carpenter or a police officer does the tools of their trade.

As a belt

In an intense survival situation, the number of calories you consume on a daily basis will most likely decrease, and the amount of energy you expend will increase. This can result in significant weight loss. If you aren’t able to find any survival uses for your belt, keep it strapped to your pants to hold them up.

These are just 16 ways you can use your belt for survival. In survival situations, multi-purpose tools like your belt can make the difference between life and death.

Sources include:

AskAPrepper.com

OffTheGridNews.com

ASGMag.com