You wouldn’t think of the humble tee shirt as being a useful survival tool at first look, but there you’re wrong. From our friends at Survival Frog…

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1 – Protect Your Neck/Head

Sunburn can be extremely painful in a survival situation, especially if you forgot/ran out of sunscreen. In order to protect yourself, you can cut your t-shirt near the seam, making it one giant piece of fabric. Lay it over the top of your head and put your hat on to secure it.

If you don’t have a hat, you can easily cut a strip 2/3 of the way down each side of the fabric, and tie these strips around the back of your head to secure the shirt in place around your head.

2 – Secure Your Stuff

If your strap breaks and you need to attach smaller survival tools or bags to your bug out pack, a t-shirt can really come in handy. Simply cut the shirt into long strips and then loop one end through or around the item, and push the other end through a loop/attachment on your pack.

The flexible material of a t-shirt can really help keep your stuff together, at least until you can get your hand on a more durable piece of material.

3 – Pot Holder

Burns are NOT fun to experience, especially in an SHTF situation. Avoid burning your hands while cooking by wrapping your t-shirt around a pot handle and using it as a pot holder.

You can also wrap the shirt around your hand and use it as an oven mitt, or lay the shirt down underneath your pot to protect your cooking area from heat damage.

4 – Start A Fire

T-shirts can make for great kindling if you need to start a fire. To maximize your shirt’s potential, cut it into small pieces and use those for the fire. The fire will burn and you’ll be able to save the rest of the shirt for other projects.

5 – Remove Large Debris

If you’ve collected water that has a bunch of twigs, pebbles, and other large items in it, you can remove these by making your own water filter. Cut your t-shirt so it’s one large piece of fabric. Then tie the four corners to a few trees that are close together.

Place a pot or other container underneath the shirt, and then pour your water onto the t-shirt. The shirt will help filter this large debris out of the water, giving you cleaner water into the pot.

6 –  Make A Primitive Torch

This is one of my favorite uses! First, find a large stick; then douse your t-shirt with kerosene, oil, or other flammable material. Wrap the shirt around the stick, and then use your lighter to set the shirt on fire.

7 – Secure Your Shelter

If you’ve got a tarp with eyelets, you can use a t-shirt to secure the tarp to surrounding trees. Simply cut your shirt so it’s one large piece of fabric. Then cut the shirt into long strips.

Slip a strip (or multiple for extra strength) through an eyelet of your tarp and secure it to a tree nearby. Do this with each eyelet, and you’ll have a useful makeshift shelter to help get you out of the sun.

8 – Catch Dinner

If you’re in a survival situation and find yourself without paracord or rope, you can substitute t-shirt strips to tie your snare together.

9 – Make A Pillow

Using an intact t-shirt, you can tie off the sleeves and then stuff the main compartment with leaves, soft tree needles (such as those from Eastern White Pine, Canaan Fir, and Douglas Fir), or even extra clothing.

Seal off the opening and you’ve got yourself a comfortable pillow for the night.

10 – Carry Wood

If you need to carry wood for a fire (but don’t want to risk dropping them), simply cut our t-shirt so it’s one large piece of fabric. Then lay the wood pieces on top of the shirt, and wrap its ends around the sticks and tie them off.

Sure, you may have to carry smaller loads with this method, but this nifty idea will help you get your fire going without weighing yourself down or dropping sticks along the way.

This is why we need to look at items with an open mind. Definitely great if SHTF tool!

Here’s a bonus use for a tee shirt…

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