Former Royal Marine shows brilliant drowning survival hack—all you need is a pair of trousers

Danger can creep in on us unexpectedly and while we should be prepared for it, sometimes we find ourselves stuck. During such unprecedented situations, being able to recall hacks and utilize the resources at hand to help can be life-saving. A man named Robin (@dutchintheusa) shared one such technique he learned in the military for when a person is drowning. Sharing the demonstration, the former Royal Marine noted that one can use a pair of trousers and easily create a device to stop oneself from drowning. Furthermore, he experimented with different materials to test the effect. 

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are an estimated 4,000 people who die due to unintentional drowning every year in the United States. The rate varies from state to state, and while children are more vulnerable to drowning, even adults have harrowing experiences. Robin noted that the first thing to do in case of an emergency like drowning is to remain calm. However, the immediate follow-up should be a concrete way to save oneself before help can arrive. If a person is struggling to float or stay above the water level, they can easily use their trousers to create a floatation device. 

Demonstrating the simple technique, Robin took off the trousers and buttoned them up. “This creates more volume inside the pants,” he explained. He followed up by tying together the ends of the pants. The last step is to hold the pants by the waist, take them behind oneself and throw them into the water to gather air inside them. Once the air is collected, the pants will look bloated, just like a float. Now simply put your head through so that the pants are surrounding the neck and chest area, just like a float would. Robin noted that it is a safety tip that can be extremely useful and is one that everyone should know. 

In a follow-up video, the man demonstrated the same technique with a pair of jeans to test the durability. He repeated the very same steps with a pair of denims and it worked just as perfectly. In yet another video, Robin tried the method one more time with a pair of yoga pants. He noted that these pants are more on the athletic end and were designed to let air out. This would be an issue in creating the well-known flotation device. When he attempted to follow the steps, though it did hold air in for a while, after a few seconds, it quickly fazed out. From the three trials, pants with a more sturdy material would be ideal in holding tight the air, thus giving the floating effect. 

Many people appreciated the simple technique and the dos and don’ts regarding it. @yukon.jack added that the method has been around for decades. “They taught us that when I was at basic training in 1985.” @amrbizness shared another useful tip of taking one’s shoes off if they are drowning. “I was thinking about this while watching a movie a few days ago. ‘Den of thieves 2’, they got dropped off in the ocean and the first thing one of the guys told the other was to take off his shoes because they would make him sink quicker,” the comment read.

You can follow Robin (@dutchintheusa) on Instagram for more content on lifestyle and hacks. 

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