Pine resin is the sap harvested from pine trees. It is perhaps one of the most useful natural ingredients that you could find in the wilderness at the time of survival. There are various types of pine trees all around the planet. So, if you are lost in the wild, there is a fair possibility that you will stumble upon a pine tree.
Pine resin has a host of survival applications such as, treating a wound, waterproofing your survival equipment and shoes, creating a heating and lighting source, gluing things together, igniting a fire, creating a moisturizer for rash treatment, treating a sore throat and so on.
In this article, I will extensively explain the 7 Survival Uses for Pine Resin. Knowing the proper use of pine resin could be the difference between death and survival in the wilderness. So, I strongly recommend you read the whole article to understand the different applications of it.
7 of the Best Survival Uses for Pine Resin
Pine resins have diverse roles in the medicinal, textile, and educational sectors. However, here, I will address just seven of the most valuable pine resin applications that might come in handy in a survival situation.
It Can be Used as First Aid
In the wilderness, you are most likely to be capped with some small wounds and cuts on your body. In such places, ignoring an injury can be lethal as an infection can be seriously life-threatening for you. In such situations, pine resins can be used to treat wounds and avoid infection if you don’t have access to first aid.
The best application of pine resin is to stop blood flow from a wound. First of all, sanitize your hands by washing them with boiled water. Then use your hand to apply pine resin all over the wound directly. The blood flow will stop almost instantly. It will work nearly as effectively as a stitch would.
On top of that, pine resin will effectively prevent bacterial disruption on the wound. In order to grow, bacteria require a moist surface and the adhesive nature of the pine resin will make the wound inhabitable for them. You have to keep the resin on the wound until it gets dried up and then peel it off very gently.
It Can be Used to Waterproof Survival Equipment and Shoes
Waterproofing the survival equipment and shoes can be crucial while hiking in the wilderness. And to do that, you won’t find a better natural element then pine resin. But you must closely follow certain precautions for successfully making your items waterproof.
- First of all, carefully collect pine resin on a pot. Try to avoid scratching the body of the pine tree and look for a broken branch. From there, you should see resin already dripping out.
- Then, heat the pine resin until it changes its form to liquid. But try not to make it boil. Now, the most important part of this process is to use a steel pot. Never use a plastic or wooden pot to heat the resin.
- Then using a spoon or a stick, apply the resin on the survival equipment and on the bottom of your hiking boots.
- Wait for at least 2 hours before using the waterproofed items.
Not only that, but pine resin can also be used to plug the void that you might have on your shoe or on other kinds of stuff. Just use the hot liquid resin to fill up the holes and then wait until it is dried up.
Creating a Heating and Lighting Source
If you are lost in the wilderness, spending nights in complete darkness is probably not a good idea. You can conveniently create a sustainable light source with the use of pine resin. Firstly, you will be needing a holed stone, a clamshell, or a pot. Now, heat the pine resin until it transforms into a liquid. Afterward, fill the pot with it.
Use a small piece of rope or cloth as a wick and place it on the top of liquid resin. Wait for about two hours to get it cool. After igniting the wick, the whole thing will work just like a candle. The brightness of the light won’t be much, but it is still better than sleeping in darkness.
Now, to make a heat source, you will be needing a holed steel container. Just place the container on risen and wait for roughly 30 minutes. The steel will absorb heat from the light source and emit it outside. The heat-induced isn’t much, but if you place the heat source near your room, you may find some comfort.
It Can be Used as Glue
In the wilderness, having glue can be very helpful in various situations. Surprisingly, you can make considerably strong glue using pine resin. First of all, heat the extracted resin until it transforms into a liquid. Then, mix some charcoal with the liquid using a stick. You can collect the charcoal from the fire you ignited to cook.
The amount of charcoal should be one-third of the total liquid. Don’t mess up the ratio otherwise, the glue won’t be as strong. Then cool it down and use it as you need. You can even save it for later, just heat the mixture for a while and again use it as glue. This glue will be useful particularly when temporary shelters are constructed.
It Can be Used to Ignite a Fire
Being able to start a fire is a fundamental thing for survival. But it is not an easy job, particularly in damp conditions. But, as I have mentioned before, pine resin is highly flammable and it can be used to spark flames even on a moist surface. First of all, you have to collect the dried resin from the pine trees.
Put the dried resin on the woods and try to ignite a spark. Now it will be much easier to start a fire than before. After the fire gets bigger, you can use other wet woods as the flame will be big enough now to burn them. This is one of the most significant applications of pine resin.
Can be Used for Rash Treatment
In the wild, having a rash is a very common incident. Fortunately, you can easily make a moisturizer for your rash’s treatment.
All you need to do is mix pine resin with oil and charcoal. Directly apply the paste on the rash 2 to 3 times a day.
Can be Used for Treating a Sore Throat
If you have a sore throat due to cold weather, then you can directly consume pine resin as a treatment. It will soothe the soreness within 5 days.
The essential oils in pine resin relaxes and soothes the skin and muscles of your throat and helps with reducing the soreness of your throat. This is a pretty commonly used home remedy for sore throat.
Caution While Using Pine Resin
While using pine resin, staying vigilant is absolutely essential. It can cause a serious accident if you don’t take precautions before using it. For instance, pine resin is highly flammable. So, you have to be very careful while heating it.
While applying the liquid pine resin on your survival equipment and shoe, be very cautious as the heated resin will burn your skin. I will suggest you use a long stick or a big spoon. Don’t use those items before 2 hours as it may cause some deformation to the equipment as resin takes some time to cool down.
Conclusion
As you can see there are plenty of uses for pine resin. In this article I’ve mentioned 7 survival uses for pine resin. But it is not limited to just these. Make sure you take the proper precautions before using pine resin as it is super sticky and highly flammable.
Thanks for reading this article till the end. I hope you enjoyed reading it and that it comes to your aid if you ever fall into a survival situation. Until next time, farewell.
