A relentless pandemic here, a continental war there… the world seems to have hung up its gloves only to swap them for a baseball bat and start cracking skulls. Where does that leave us? Well… surviving. If we adopt the attitude of “hope for the best and prepare for the worst,” it’s not a bad idea to gain a bit of information in advance. The web is full of sites, wikis, and libraries on the subject, but if you prefer something more portable, you can download very complete survival guides for Android.
Before you start
Two details, basically. The first is that most survival guides for Android are based on the US Army FM 3-05.70 manual, which you can download as PDF here but it’s 676 pages, and if you want a physical copy the ideal option to avoid depending on electronic devices and batteries, you’ll spend a good while printing.
The second is language. I won’t go so far as to suggest that English is a requirement, but you’ll be able to access a much wider amount of information if you master some basic concepts, enough to interpret the text correctly. That said, let’s begin…
Offline Survival Manual
The number 1 recommendation on the Play Store, prepared by developer “ligi”. As its name indicates, “Offline Survival Manual” does not require a connection, but it’s also free and open source, with its code available on GitHub, and an alternative copy distributed on F-Droid. Its content doesn’t disappoint: Energy, basic medicine, water, fire, plants edible and poisonous, plants, shelters, climates, and even camouflage are part of the list of topics. You can also mark chapters as read, adjust text size, and activate the beta internal search feature.
Supervivencia: Manual Militar
Fortunately, developer Lautaro Villarreal Culic' recognized the value of the FM 3-05.70 manual, and thanks to his effort we can access a high-quality translated version. The 28 categories of the manual are identified with special icons that are very easy to interpret, but this version also includes a compass, and a section for taking notes. Its interface supports dark mode, and it also doesn’t require connectivity (it doesn’t even have web access permissions). If English is not an option for you, start here.
Disaster Survival
The most graphic of the three survival guides for Android we’ll see today. Its categories are divided into Disasters and Survival, the first focused on natural disasters and accidents, while the second offers details like water purification, and a “72-hour Survival Kit,” by far the most interesting part of the whole app. The only problem is that several sections of its content are locked, and to unlock them the developer asks for a payment of $4. If you think the information and format are worth it, don’t hesitate.
Bonus track: Survivor Library
It’s not an app, but a complete website that we can access from any device. The most striking thing is that the information in the library is not aimed at helping us survive specific events, but rather at survivors who need to think in the very long term, and somehow rebuild their community.
