Why Most Trail Deaths Are Unprepared Hikers (Plus What to Do About It)

Every year in the United States millions of Americans take to the wilderness for a quick nature hike. We are blessed in this country to have several million miles of prime trails for the walking, and many of them begin close to home. There is, however, an ugly side to nature hikes – the fatalities.

You read that right… over the course of the average year, several hundred hikers die on our trails, national forests, and parks each year.

Here are the leading causes:

Dehydration
Disorientation, getting lost
Encounters with wild animals or snakes
Encounters with homeless people and fugitives
Hypothermia
And the most shocking statistic of all… most of these fatalities occur less than 5 miles from the trailhead!

Unbelievably, less than an hour into the hike, people die from lack of preparation. You’re probably asking yourself how this is even possible. Well, sometimes lack of preparedness will cause people to get into trouble from more than one cause.

For example, you could get disoriented, take a wrong turn, and encounter a wild animal. Or worse, take a wrong turn, get lost, and have to spend the night outside where you are at risk for hypothermia…

THE SOLUTION IS PREPARATION
The solution to most of the above situations is to be prepared, and that involves bringing some basic tools with you, such as a knife, a way to start fires, a walking stick to make your walk easier and scare off, and some other basic tools.

But who wants to carry all of that stuff? You’d need a backpack to carry most of that, and not all hikes are “backpack hikes”. Sometimes, you just want to walk the dog on the trail for a bit, not schlep a 20-pound pack.

WHAT YOU NEED IS A TACTICAL STAFF
If you had to grab one thing on your way out the door, that one thing should be the Tactical Staff, by American Family Survival. This might look like an ordinary walking stick, but don’t let its appearance fool you.

Made of machined 6061 aluminum and collapsible into sections that allow you to adjust the height to suit you, the Tactical Defense Staff contains some awesome built-in tools that will ensure you’re prepared for whatever comes your way. Built into the Tactical Staff is:

A harpoon point
A knife and saw
A firestarter
A fish scaler
A hammer
A glass breaker
Built-in internal compartments for carrying valuables

THE ONLY TOOL YOU’LL EVER NEED WHILE OUT FOR A NATURE WALK
The Tactical Defense Staff is a handy walking stick that will give you the utmost sense of security while out walking in nature. No more worries about weird homeless people unleashed dogs, coyotes, or snakes. No more packing survival gadgetry, anything you could ever need is contained within the Tactical Defense Staff.

What’s more, is that when not in use it collapses into its own custom carrying case (included) so *you don’t even have to let people know what you’re carrying. You’ll just be prepared for whatever comes your way with the Tactical Staff.

50% OFF FOR A LIMITED TIME ONLY
American Family Survival is having a limited time sale on the Tactical Defense Staff in an attempt to get as many of these life-saving devices into as many hands as possible. To that end, the Tactical Staff is 50% off for an extremely limited time. Claim yours today before quantities run out!

Tactical Defense Staff Tactical Defense Staff