Stay Alive: Best Survival Kits, Lists and Ideas

93 Pages·2013·9.04 MB·English

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Commercial kits
There are many types of commercial survival kits available on the market today. Some of these
kits are well made and provide the basics, some are suffi cient, and most are lacking in serious
survival components. Although many of these kits provide the basics, the quality of the compo-
nents must fi t the selling price of the kit. I’m not opposed to commercial survival kits, but there
are three reasons I prefer self-made kits:
1. Oftentimes a commercial kit does not provide the highest quality components. Items are
not always selected because they are the best for your survival, but because they fi t a pre-de-
termined budget. I have always felt that you should spend as much as you can afford on the
individual components for your personal survival kit. After all, you might depend on your kit for
survival, and what is your life worth? This is no place to be frugal.
2. Design your kit on an item-by-item basis. This way, you are familiar with the individual com-
ponents. By packaging your own kit, you not only know what each item is (after all, you selected
them), but in an emergency you know where each item is located in your kit. When you buy a kit
that is pre-packaged, the kit is often tightly packaged to fi t in the selected container. You lose the
fl exibility of choosing a container that allows space for extra items you might want to add. If you do
purchase a pre-packaged kit, be sure you become familiar with it before you need it.
3. Making your own personal survival kit is not diffi cult. You can determine what you want
your kit to accomplish and design it around those requirements. You can chose your own con-
tainer, determine the specifi c components and customize it for your particular needs. It can be
If you buy a commercial survival kit, get one that provides high quality components designed for real survival.
(Photo courtesy of Survival Resources)
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the perfect survival kit for you, not one designed by a person who has no idea what your personal
needs are. Only you know what is right for you.
The basic functions
I am often asked how a person knows if they have all the required items in their survival kit.
Have they forgotten anything that is essential? I always ask them what type of activities might
they have to perform if they get in an emergency or survival situation. Although the components
are obviously important, don’t try to remember the actual component groups by name, but re-
member those important tasks you must perform. These tasks will remind you of the component
groups. As we all know, a fi re is an important aspect of survival. Therefore, you should have a
means in which to start a fi re.
When putting together a personal survival kit, keep in mind the basics. The basics identify
specifi c functions that will have to be performed in order to endure a survival situation. By
understanding the functions that must be performed, you gain insight into the type of items, or
components, that should be in your kit in order to accomplish those goals. The items in a survival
kit should allow you to perform the following functions:
- Build a fi re using more than one technique.
- Construct a shelter in various environments.
- Signal for help using more than one technique.
- Gather and purify drinking water and gather food.
- Navigate back to civilization.
- Carry out basic fi rst aid.
Your survival kit should be made up of components selected for the specifi c purposes outlined
above. The component selection process considers not only the use of a component, but also
the size. Obviously, if you are going to build a mini kit for a pocket, you would need to select
components that not only fulfi ll the required purpose, but are small enough to fi t into the desired
container.
Component groups
Once we know the types of activities we must perform in a survival situation, we need to select
components to provide us with a means to perform those tasks. In order to complete the predeter-
mined tasks, the following are the desired component groups for a survival kit, no matter the size:
Fire and Light Shelter & Personal Protection
Signaling Navigation
Water & Food Collection Medical
Knives & Tools Multi-Purpose Items
As you can see, if you have selected at least one component for each of the groups above, you
should be able to perform the necessary activities possibly required in a survival situation. In
some cases, I recommend more than one item from a component group. In the case of fi re, an
important task, I like to have at least three ways to start a fi re. Signaling might require a whistle
and a signal mirror. You never know what the situation may require, so having more than one
item from a group provides you with more options when you need them.
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The Four Ps of Building a Survival Kit
1. PLAN IT: This is an important phase of building a survival kit. Some-
times people just start collecting different things in hopes that they will end up
with a viable survival kit. This often results in kits not having some necessary
components. Before starting a survival kit, plan what you want it to be and
what you want it to do for you. Will it be a personal-carry mini-kit consisting of
only the basic components, or a full blown large kit with plenty of redundancy?
Know what you want the kit to accomplish. Will the kit supplement a larger kit,
or be your only line of defense? Spend some time on this phase and answer your
questions truthfully. Only you know what you will expect from your kit, so don’t
let yourself down by hoping for the best. Make it the best you can right from the
planning stage.
2. PICK IT: Take some time to determine the appropriate components
that will both fi t the size of the kit you desire and perform the necessary func-
tions. Remember, size matters. Don’t fi ll half the space of your selected container
with one component and then wonder how you will get the rest of the compo-
nents in there. Some items can serve dual purpose and meet the requirements
of more than one heading. An example would be snare wire (from the Water &
Food Collection heading) which can be used to obtain food, repair broken items,
make a fi shing pole, etc. Choose items that you are comfortable with. If one fi re
starter works better for you than another, and size permits, select the component
that works best for you. Trade-offs will occur, but are necessary to address the
size vs. usefulness dilemma.
3. PAY FOR IT: Determine a budget for your kit. This will help you
avoid ending up with one very expensive component, like a good quality knife,
with remaining items of lesser caliber, not suffi cient for the task required. Dis-
tribute your available funds to acquire components of somewhat equal quality.
As your budget increases, you can trade lesser-quality items for better ones. But
initially, don’t overlook component groups because they don’t fi t a budget. All
component groups are important, so address them all even if you need to reduce
the budget for each item.
4. PACK IT: Finally, package your kit. For me, this is the fun part, and
involves getting all the components you selected into the container you selected.
Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. This goes back to selecting the right
size items to fi t in the container.
Once you have packed your kit, you’re done and ready to carry it with you.
Remember to practice with it before you need it!
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Seasonal & environmental factors
Keep in mind that survival kits can also be based on seasonal or environmental factors. Of
course, we cannot always forecast the environment where a survival situation may occur. That is
why the basics always remain the same. However, certain additional items may be chosen for the
season or environment that you plan to be in.
Obviously, the type of shelter and clothes chosen for a summer hike will differ from those
chosen for winter activities, such as skiing or snowmobiling. This would be a seasonal factor. The
items chosen for a desert environment will differ from those chosen for a mountain wilderness or
jungle environment. An example would be choosing a machete as a tool for a jungle or tropical
environment, whereas an ice ax and folding snow shovel would be necessary for a snow envi-
ronment. A good knife and folding saw would be appropriate for a wilderness area. Keep these
variables in mind when designing your personal survival kit.
Sizing a kit to your needs
Personal survival kits can be broken down further into mini and small kits (which can be
carried on your person), medium kits (which can be carried in a fanny or small backpack), and
large kits (which can be carried in a large backpack, vehicle, boat, plane, etc.). The size of the kit
depends on what you are doing and how much you are willing to carry. Sometimes a combina-
tion of kits can be utilized, such as a mini kit in your pocket, a medium kit in your pack, with a
large kit in your vehicle. Even though I am an advocate of carrying items that are multi-purpose,
I also believe in redundancy.
Items chosen for a survival kit to be used in a wilderness area of the Adirondacks might differ from those
for a desert, tropical, or mountainous area.
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EDC: Every-day carry
Before we discuss the various
sized survival kits, let’s discuss our
real fi rst line of defense: you and
what you carry on you. This is nor-
mally referred to as “EDC,” or ev-
ery-day carry. These are the items
that you carry on your person every
day. Not occasionally, but every day!
They can be carried in your pockets,
on a key ring or other ways. I carry
the same items in my pockets every
day, no matter what I am doing.
The author’s front pocket EDC.
Therefore I always have the same
items with me and I don’t have to
think about it.
My left front pocket always has a
small BIC lighter, an ARC-AAA fl ash-
light, and the key ring for my truck
keys, which also contains a tube with
a $20.00 bill, a Leatherman Micra
tool, a Micron II micro-light, and a
mini-fl ash drive encrypted with color
copies of all my important licenses,
passport, and documents.
My right front pocket contains a
Zippo lighter, a space pen and a very
small Victorinox two-bladed knife. It
also contains a split ring that holds
Thirty-fi ve feet of parachute cord on right rear pocket pallet.
a mini folding saw, two Ferrocerium
rods, two strikers for the Ferro rods,
another Micron II micro light, a Fox 40 whistle, a small aluminum capsule with fi re starters and
a socket for a bow and drill.
My left rear pocket holds my wallet, which also contains a one-hand fi re starter and tinder, a
Fresnel magnifi er, some Band-Aids, a mini zip-lock bag of steel wool and a fl at fl oatable compass.
I wear a tactical nylon belt that has a zippered compartment in the back that holds a cable saw.
My right rear pocket always contains a small notebook, a bandana with toilet paper wrapped
inside and a Kydex pallet that is wound with 35 feet of parachute cord.
The left side of my belt holds a pouch which contains a Gerber Multi-Tool and a Victorinox
Farmer. The right side of my belt holds a fi xed blade knife and my Blackberry. I always carry a
small neck knife that has a Kydex sheath which holds braided fi shing line, fi shing tackle, a com-
pass and a fi restarter (this will be shown in the “Knife & Tool” chapter). I also carry a Benchmade
Griptilian folder.
As you can see, I probably carry more than most, but I have been doing it for as long as I can
remember, so it is normal for me. I unload and load my pockets the same every day. I am always
my fi rst line of defense.
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Supplemental kits
A couple of years ago I realized that even
though I carry the essential elements of a survival
kit every day, with redundancy, there were still
certain items from component groups that I was
not carrying if I did not actually carry one of my
mini survival kits. Because of that, I started build-
ing what I call mini supplemental kits. These kits
can be very small as they only need to carry the
additional items from component groups not car-
ried on your person. I include a small emergency
water bag with purifi cation tablets, snare wire,
magnetized needles, butterfl y bandages, antibiot-
ic ointment, a backup compass and, again, some
backup tinder. This kit fi ts almost anywhere and
when I go into the fi eld I grab and stick it in a
A mini supplemental kit supports your EDC.
jacket pocket.
Another supplemental kit I normally have with me when I go into the fi eld is a brimmed hat
that also has a fi shing kit, braided fi shing line and a fi restarter built in, and a button compass
cord lock on the chin strap. The hatband has been braided from parachute cord. I showed this
hat in my fi rst book and one of the most often asked questions was how to make the parachute
cord hatband. So I have posted a tutorial on how to construct your own parachute cord hatband
at www.SurvivalResources.com under Articles & Tips - Modifying Your Own Gear, Making a
Parachute Cord Hatband.
Mini survival kits
Mini kits are the easiest to carry, so there is really no excuse not to carry one. On the other hand,
they provide the least amount of survival equipment, especially shelter items. Therefore, select your
components wisely, always going for the smallest sized items and multi-purpose features.
This complete, hand-sized mini kit was built into a zippered Neoprene fl ash drive case.
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At least one item from each required component This mini kit, built into a small plastic tackle box,
group can fi t in an Altoids tin if the items are care- contains items from all the required component
fully selected and packaged. groups.
This mini survival kit was built inside a Witz ID The mini kit in the plastic tackle box fi ts into the
Locker that measures only 4.25" W x 3.25" H x .75" outside pocket of a small belt pouch. The back por-
deep. tion of the pouch allows for the addition of a survival
blanket, emergency poncho and a full size base plate
compass. The two side loops on the pouch allow
the addition of a small fl ashlight on one side and a
1/2" Ferrocerium rod on the other. It now becomes
a small kit!
Mini kits can be packaged in any small container, from an Altoids tin to a fl ash drive case.
If the container is small and will hold the items you want and still fi t in a pocket or small area,
you can make it work. You can also carry a mini kit in a small belt case and supplement it with
shelter items or other larger items like a full size compass. You can carry it as is, or always remove
the mini kit and stick it in your pocket. The photographs illustrate some of the various confi gura-
tions you can come up with.
Small & medium survival kits
Once you move from a mini kit, you get more room to add more components, such as shelter,
and larger items if you wish. There is nothing wrong with carrying a mini kit along with another
kit, or in the case of a small kit, using the mini as part of it and adding items, as described in the
mini kit section.
You will also fi nd that, as you use your kits, you will make modifi cations to switch out compo-
nents for new or better ones, or you might fi nd other ways to make your kit more user friendly.
I showed a small survival kit in my fi rst book that was built into a large tin, so I had a small
pot for cooking or boiling water for purifi cation. However, every time I wanted to use the tin as a
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This small tin kit was shown in Build the Perfect Sur-
vival Kit. The bag was made to hold the contents so
they could be lifted out to use the tin as a pot.
The small tin kit fi ts into a pouch which can be at-
tached to a belt.
pot I had to empty all the contents and, when done, pack them all back in. After examining the
problem, I designed and had my wife sew a small zippered bag that fi t perfectly in the tin. I could
then fi ll the bag with the survival kit components and just lift it out when I wanted to use the tin
as a pot. When fi nished, I could just set the bag back in the tin. I also got a small belt pouch that
the tin fi t in, so the entire kit could be worn on a belt.
Various pouches are available that are made to carry water bottles, cross chest, over one shoul-
der. These bottle pouches have various pockets on the outside or the ability to add additional
pouches. This makes them great containers for small survival kits, with room for the addition of
a water bottle and even a cup or pot.
Maxpedition makes one called the 10x4 Bottle Holder, and Condor makes one called the
H20 Pouch. It should be noted that Maxpedition, although very well made gear, has a propri-
etary system to attach various pouches to their products. The Condor products use the regular
MOLLE (MOdular Lightweight Loadcarrying Equipment) fastening system, which is being used
by the U.S. military, making the modular pouches of various manufacturers easily attached to
Condor’s products.
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The Condor H20 Pouch comes with a shoulder
strap for carry cross chest over one shoulder.
A MOLLE pouch has been added to the back
to hold an Esbit Folding Pocket Stove, and
another pouch on the side for a signal mirror
and mirrored compass. The large integrated
front pouch holds a survival blanket, emer-
gency poncho and a small survival kit in a
waterproof pouch. The large central section
holds a large titanium pot with a stainless
steel Guyot water bottle inside the pot. By
using a Nalgene cap on the Guyot bottle, in-
stead of the large cap that comes with the
bottle, a titanium mug fi ts upside down on
top of the bottle. A bail for the Guyot bottle
slides down the side of the pouch and the
entire rig makes for a good day hike or short
term survival kit.
I prefer the Condor H20 Pouch, as it is just slightly larger around and is less square than the
Maxpedition 10x4 Bottle Holder. This allows me to more easily get a pot, which fi ts over my water
bottle, out of the pouch when needed. Of course this is only personal preference and is in no way
meant to recommend one over the other.
I have built several different day-hike kits in these type of pouches, as they allow me to carry a
small survival kit with some minimal shelter items, as well as water, a pot, and, with a couple of
additional small MOLLE pouches, a small stove, a compass and signal mirror.
I am not a big fan of hydration bladder packs for survival, as I fi nd the bladders diffi cult to
keep clean in the fi eld. However, many people like them and they are especially handy for day
hikes. Many of these small hydration bladder packs are ideal for supporting a small or medium
survival kit with some additional shelter items.
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