If you get lost in the wilderness, your hope would likely be that you have a full kit of gear to help you survive. However, if you are lost without gear, a simple pair of eyeglasses can make the difference between life and death. Here are some survival uses for eyeglasses.
1. Protection from the elements
One of the most simple and obvious survival uses for eyeglasses is as protection against the elements. Eyeglasses can protect your eyes from extreme cold, sun, dust and other environmental threats.
2. Starting a fire
You’ve probably heard about or tried the experiment where you use a magnifying glass to burn ants. Although, you don’t need a magnifying glass to harness the sun’s rays to start something on fire. The lenses in eyeglasses work the same way, by bending light into toward a focal point. Your glasses must have lenses to correct farsightedness for it to work and you may need to place a drop of water on the lens to further focus the light rays.
3. Signal for help
In the same way your eyeglass lenses can be used to harness the sun’s rays to start a fire, they can do the same to redirect the rays to signal someone. This can be especially helpful if you are in a heavily wooded area where it is difficult to see you.
4. Creating tools
One of the most important survival uses for eyeglasses is that they can act as a tool in a couple of different ways. You can sharpen the lenses on a rock to produce a cutting and digging tool. You also can fashion the frames into a hook to use for fishing.
5. Defend and fend for yourself
In addition to using the sharpened lenses as a tool, you could also use them as a weapon to defend yourself or for hunting. The sharpened glass can be affixed to a stick to use as a spear.
Related: 5 Survival Uses for a Bandana & 5 Survival Uses for Coffee Filters
Featured Image from Bud Helisson/Unsplash
