What is a Survival Kit?

A Survival Kit is a specialized pack of tools used to survive in the event of an emergency situation. Most of these kits are geared for wilderness type situations where the person is isolated due to an accident like a plane crash, car wreck or separation from your group in an outdoor activity like hiking or rafting. ALL airplanes, boats and even spacecraft are required by law to carry some type of these kits. Many people also keep them in their vehicles as well.

TheyThese kits are designed to give you the tools to help you achieve success in surviving in an outdoor environment until you are rescued or find your way out to help. Knowing how to use these tools BEFORE you need them is what is most important. So as you design your own kit, you must evaluate your skill level of using them as having something you do not know how to use is not much help.

With that in mind, Survival Kits are very personalized to the individual like a Bug Out Bag. Organizing different items and carriers is a constant "hobby" for some people, while others will buy a prepackage one. Either way is fine, just remember that YOU need to know how to use it or it will not be any help to you when you need it.


Survival Reference Books:

TheirThere aare TWO definitive books that are general considered the best for survival reference.

TheyThese are:

U.S. Army Manual FM 21-76 "Survival, Evasion & Recovery" (link to download this manual for free)

S.A.S. Survival Handbook - by John Wiseman


These two books will help you plan and pack your survival kit, tell you what is important to do in a emergency situation and the order in which is should be done. They are invaluable references for anyone who THINKS they might get in a survival situation.


Building your Survival Kit:

When building your own Survival kit, there are several major elements of survival to consider when making your kit. These are not the only concerns, but that are generally excepted as the primary goals when you are in this situation.

They are: Shelter, Water, Fire and Food.

These are your primary concerns when surviving, but you have to remember these have to be considered in different types of environments like desert, arctic or woodlands. Each needs to be addressed WELL by the tools in your kit. Then you need a backup to that tool. For example carrying 2 or 3 ways to make a fire.


Common (Generic) Survival Kit Outline:

A Common Survival Kit or Generic Kit is an outline of CATEGORIES OF NEED for equipment that ANYONE can use to design and build their own survival kit. It is designed as a GUIDE to help you address all the necessities that you may need in a survival situation. What you use or don't use is left to your individual needs and skills. They will include some examples of each category below, but these are only suggestions as what you can use is only limited by what you want to carry or the space you have to pack it.

Here's the outline:

Here's a simpler outline of a kit using CATEGORIES OF NEED for your to address with your kit.

1) Fire Starting (2 min.)	5) Shelter	9) Food
2) Knife	6) Fishing/Hunting Gear	10) First Aid Kit
3) Water Container	7) Navigation	11) Signal
4) Water Purification	8) Lighting	12) Lashing

Examples of each category (and notes) below:

1) Fire Starters - Matches, Lighter, Metal Match, Flint & Steel, Fire Bow, Fire Piston, Binary Chemical, 9v Battery & Steel Wool

NOTES: Fire starting is one of the #1 things you need to be able to do to cook with, boil water to purify it, heat and general mental health. You should pack a minimum of TWO or more DIFFERENT types of items to do this.

2) Knife - Folding Blade, Fixed Blade, Razor, Scalpel Blade, Hatchet, Fillet, Kitchen, Ulu, Meat Cleaver

NOTES: This is your "sharp" tool and is one of the most important pieces in your kit. Get the best one in quality and size that you can afford. Physical size is an issue when packing into a small Pocket Kit (shown below), using it to clean small game or using it for large chopping chores. Remember: Get a good hand hold first and blade length second.

One knife RARELY does it all, so think about what you will need it for. Usually it will come down to two general categories: 1) fine cuts (camp chores); 2) large chopping (shelter building). For "Fine Cuts" you will generally need a smaller knife with a blade between 2-1/2" to 4" and this will represent 95% of your survival cutting needs. For "large chopping", you may want a large 8"+ blade or even a hatchet or machete instead. Many times you can avoid "larger chopping" needs by using other methods - like BREAKING a large tree limb instead of chopping it. "Chopping" also uses up a lot of energy too, so make sure you REALLY need something chopped.

For knife suggestions, see Best Production Folding Knives or Best Production Fixed Blade Knives.

3) Water Container - Plastic Bottle, Canteen, CamelbakCamelbak, Metal Container

NOTES: Coming next after Exposure, DEHYDRATION IS THE #2 KILLER OF PEOPLE IN A SURVIVAL SITUATION. You will need a minimum of 500 ml per day for the average person. Your water container needs to hold at least that much and more is preferred. What that container is made from is not important since it only carries the water (without leaking). Empty plastic soda bottles, mouthwash bottles, Ziploc freezer bags, Plastic jars, etc will work, but not all are durable when it gets banged around outdoors.

4) Water Purification - Treatment Tablets, Filter System, Metal Tin (to boil it)

NOTES: YOU MUST PURIFY ALL GROUND WATER BEFORE YOU DRINK IT! This must be done by either chemical treatment, filtered or boiled. Boiling is the cheapest and best way to do this. The water only has to be brought to a boil to kill any bacterias in it. A simple empty tin can or metal pot will work for this. If you do not purify your water you WILL get a nasty infection that will manifest itself first by diarrhea. Diarrhea leads to dehydration, loss of energy and death in a survival situation. It is TOO easy to avoid - just boil your water!

Also, I suggest you use TWO water containers: 1) Purified Drinking Water; 2) "Dirty" Water. By using these two you can use "dirty" water for cooling you off or getting water from a source on the run, then purify it later. This keeps your precious clean purified water for drinking only.

5) Shelter - Poncho, Tarp, Tent, Sleeping Bag, Emergency Blanket, Plastic Sheet - all with twine/rope & tent stakes

NOTES: EXPOSURE TO THE WEATHER IS THE #1 KILLER OF ALL STRAINED SURVIVALISTS. Making a shelter is the single largest energy consuming activity (next to gathering fire wood) you will engage in. It is too easy for you to carry a good USABLE shelter verses having to make one. Usable means one that will not be destroyed after a single night of use. There are hundreds of ways to make a quick shelter with any of the above mentioned types of gear, but think about things like Thunderstorms, Snow Storms, Rain, Intense Sunshine or Dust Storms. These are the types of weather that end up killing folks, so make sure you LEARN HOW TO BUILD A GOOD SHELTER.

Clothing is also part of your "shelter", so what you wear is as important as having a shelter. General rule for clothing is to cover the entire body at least once. Then add layers.

6) Fishing/Hunting Gear - Fish Hooks & Line, Spearhead, Bobber, Sinker, Snare Wire, Traps, Fishing Rod

NOTES: This is category covers those items to let you live off the land by fishing and hunting. That requires skill and training to do these activities. IF you don't have the training, it is unnecessary gear for your to carry. IF you do have the training and experience, you will spend a lot of time picking out the right tools for this and what to carry.

7) Navigation - compass, GPS, Maps

NOTES: This is another category that requires some skills to do well. Knowing which way is North is useless unless you know which way you WANT to go. A general rule of survival is to STAY PUT, unless you really know the way to help. Navigation or more accurately - Orientation, is a skill that is easy to learn if you put in the time and learn how to do it.

8) Lighting - Flashlight, Glow Stick, Candle, Penlight

NOTES: Having a mobile light source is important in many situations where you cannot carry fire or are outside the lighting radius of a fire. Also, many times you just need to see for a moment or two and starting a fire for that is impractical. Using your lighter or matches is a waste of your precious fire starting materials every time you need to see something, check your map, look into a cave or other darkened place.

9) Food (prepacked) - M.R.E.'s, Energy Bars, Trail Mix, Dried Rice Dinners, Candy, Coffee, Tea

NOTES: Food is NOT an immediate priority in a survival situation, but having a little available will definitely make things less stressful. Yes, you can go a couple of weeks without food, but then the ONLY thing on your mind (every minute) is eating. Having a FEW things to eat that you can ration out over a couple of days will make things easier for you in the long run and allow you time to assess your situation, build your shelter and orientate yourself to your surroundings. Use 48-72 hours as a goal for your rations.

Rations are just that - smaller portions of a fixed food supply that is divided and conserved over a period of time. These are NOT the same as "serving portions" or "servings per container".

Also, having something hot to drink in the morning after a cold night can be refreshing to your mental health as well. Tea bags are a wonderfully compact item to have in your kit - even if you prefer coffee.

10) First Aid Kit - Soap, Band-aids, Aspirin, Bandages, Prescription Medicine

NOTES: Most First Aid Kits are woefully inadequate for handling a real crisis. This is an excerpt from the Budget Survival Kit that says it all.....

"Most survival kits include some type of first aid kit, but what do you really need? First thing to do in any 'wound' type of emergency is get it CLEAN. Ask your doctor, nurse or veterinarian, if you don't believe me. That means wash it out with simple anti-bacterial soap and water. How many first aid kits have you seen with soap in them?

The next thing is to KEEP it clean by using clean bandage materials. Ok, now you are clean and your wound is taken care of. What happens tomorrow if you lose your bandage material while scrounging or your wound needs to be additionally cleaned each day? Most kits only include a few bandages. This is a problem that you don't need to deal with in a survival situation!

Also, instead of your 'traditional' one or two doses of aspirin, you have a bottle of 100 tablets. Most pain relievers last 4 to 6 hours. Then after it wears off, what do you do? Get a bottle, it costs about $1.00 and averages about 100 tablets. Now you have a good source and number for pain relief, enough bandages to last several days and soap to get the wound clean and on its way to healing – properly. Total cost: $2.60!"

SPECIAL NOTE: If you have special medicine requirements make sure you take a week's worth with you (on your person) when you travel - even for only a few hours or a day. The last thing you want to deal with is your medical condition when you're trying to survive.

11) Signaling - Whistle, Mirror, Orange Tape, Flashlight

NOTES: If you want to be found, you have to be seen or heard! A whistle is #1 signal device for responding to hails. A mirror is #2 and allows you to signal at a distance - IF YOU KNOW HOW TO USE ONE. (Here's how.) Everyone that travels or goes outdoors should learn how to use these simple signaling devices.

12) Lashing - Twine, Paracord, Rope, Fishing LineLine, Duct Tape

NOTES: I put this category in as an auxiliary category to remind you to pack SOMETHING to tie with. You will NEED it for many things, so having something to use IS important. The strength of the lashing does not have to be "incredible" like a full size 3/8" rope, so stuff like 18 lb test masonry twine or heavy duty fishing line will work for most lashings chores and come in good size spools of 100+ feet length. Paracord is popular with many people for it's strength and versatility, but buy the good military grade "550" type (7 strain) cord as it is very different from what value stores sell as "paracord".


Examples of Survival Kits:

Here are some examples of various Survival Kits:

General Purpose Kits:

Budget Survival Kit (by Ironhand) - If you're on a tight budget, here's a $25 kit that will do the job.

Tin Can Survival Kit (by Ironhand) - Not too big & not too small, this kit is the best mix of size and gear.

$10 x 12 Survival Kit (New! Workshop) - This is a month to month year long workshop building a survival kit using a budget of $10 a month. Discussions each month on the boards with talk about the gear, how to use it, why it was chosen, etc.


Pocket Kits (Micro):

Pocket Survival Kit (by Ironhand) - Micro-kit for daily carry.

LJ's Pocket Survival Kit (by LJ126) - Nice version put together with some things around the house.


Minimalist Kits:

"Basic 4" Survival Kit (by Ironhand) - These are the basic items you don't leave home without.


Specialized Kits:

Gentleman's Survival Kit (by StrykerPez) - A fashionable & discreet daily carry kit.


Kit making ideas:

Scrounging up a Survival Kit for Free (by REDBEARDtheWISE) - Survival minded individuals can pickup gear for a kit free if they know what to look for and where to look. Here's some ideas!


Survival Kit Rules:

Answer this: How to tell if your kit is TOO SMALL?

1) If your knife is a Scalpel Blade.

2) If your water carrier is a Condom.

3) If your tin to boil your water in holds only ONE mouthful of water.

: ) You get the idea!


Thanks for reading,



Ironhand