An essential part of survival is planning. You must plan for potential emergency situations.
With this, you must perform proper preparation as you explore the wilderness. You can start by gathering items for your survival kit. In this article, we shall be identifying the most important things to have in a survival kit.
Survival kits for outdoor trips are mainly brought along for preparedness on emergency situations. The kit must include your basic necessities.
Since you will be traveling with this kit, it should not take up too much space. Whether you are planning to take a day hike or a week of backpacking, bringing along a survival kit is pertinent.
Must Have Items in Your Survival Kit
When exploring the wilderness, it is inevitable to encounter emergency situations that can challenge your survival. With this, it is pertinent to bring along items which can aid you in such circumstances.
Provided below are 10 things you need to survive in the wilderness. We recommend including these in your survival kit.
Map and Navigation Devices
Getting lost in an unknown location is not preferable especially if you are traveling alone. We recommend you include a map or any navigational device in your survival backpack essentials.
Emergency Kit
There are several items in your household that may be included in your basic kit for emergency. You must include tools and equipment that can help you fix any scratch or wound you may get in your trip.
These must be part of your “what to pack in a survival pack“.
First Aid Kit: what to pack in a survival pack
We suggest you to look for readily available emergency kits in your local stores or online. Instead of individually buying them, you can get all of them in one go.
Here are some of the tools that may be found on your emergency kit:
- Wire Saw
- Whistle or signaling device
- Emergency blanket
- Flashlight
- Tactical Pen
- Folding Knife
- Compass
- Fire Starters
- Batteries
When filling up your emergency kit, it is a rule of thumb to pack multi-purpose tools. We recommend you find tools such as army Swiss knife, tomahawks and multi-purpose tool in credit card format.
These are great to include in your survival tool kit list.
Shelter
Shelter is a basic necessity to keep your mind and body healthy. With this, it is pertinent to bring along portable shelter in your trip.
We recommend you look for sleeping bags and mattresses that can fit you and your companion well.
It must also be heat reflective as well as water proof. Furthermore, it should also keep you warm as you spend the night in the cold.
Blanket
A blanket can keep you want even on a chilly weather.
It is one of the products most emergency or survival kits already include.
When traveling on an unknown location, you can bring along multiple emergency blankets. In case you damage or lose one, you may have a back-up.
Emergency Blanket
Some thermal blankets come in single use. Depending on your purpose, we recommend you find one that can last you for a long period.
You can buy multiple thermal blankets in a pack. In this way, you can stock up on it on your car, bag and tent.
Food
A normal human being can live up to three weeks with no food.
Nonetheless, we do not want to experience this difficulty. It is pertinent to bring along emergency food on your outdoor trips.
Bringing
Emergency Food
does not mean you stock up a whole pantry on your backpack. It is recommended to bring only an amount which can help you last for another day or two. In case you get stuck or stranded in your camp site, you can survive for the next two days.
We recommend you also bring camping and survival tools to help you handle your food. These include but not limited to knives, can opener, portable stove and water filter.
Water
You may last for a longer time without food.
Nevertheless, you can only last for days if you do not drink water. One of the dangers in the wilderness is scarcity of clean water.
Hydration is important when trying to survive outdoors.
It is important to know that drinking dirty water is unhealthy and can cause sickness. It can also reverse the hydration effects because of the chemicals present in it.
With this, we recommend you bring along water filters. You should never go outdoors without this equipment.
Thus, it is pertinent to include this in your hiking survival checklist.
There are two water filter options – straws and larger filters.
Straw filters product clean water enough for a single individual. If you are preparing for a larger group, it is suggested to utilize larger filters. Some large filters include multiple filtration stages which produce water safe for drinking.
First Aid Kit
Among the survival kit essentials, a first aid kit is a top priority to bring along.
When traveling outdoors, you are prone to injuries and wounds. First aid kits can help you alleviate the pain or mend wounds as you travel. Moreover, it can save one’s life should there be life-threatening situations that may occur.
There are number of first aid kits you can choose from in the market.
Here are some of the items you can include in the kit:
- Hydrogen Peroxide
- Band Aid
- Gauze
- Alcohol
- Medical Tape
- Inhaler
These are just some of the first aid kit items you can bring. Should you need other things for special medical conditions, we recommend you also pack it up.
Portable Batteries
In today’s time, there are a number of portable batteries and charges in the market. They come in different sizes and capacity.
Moreover, they also vary in power source such as electricity and solar.
Solar Cells
Over time, the technology of portable chargers has evolved and the materials become cheaper. There are a wide variety of options equipped with different features. For example, there are portable chargers which offer waterproof capabilities.
If you are staying outdoors most of the time, it is preferable to get a power bank that has solar capabilities. It charges itself using energy from the sun. With this, you can use it in case of emergency even without electrical power source.
Communication Device
Most camp sites are equipped with cellular reception.
However, there are some which are unreachable by the cell towers. With this, you must come in prepared using satellite communication.
A good off-grid communication device shall aid you in using your mobile phone even with no cellular connection. There are good brands that offer this type of communication. It keeps your mobile phone’s GPS turned on. Furthermore, it permits you to send a text message wherever you are.
Using an off-the-grid network, it allows you in contacting nearby users in your location. Most communication devices are sold in twos. In this way, you can easily communicate with the members of your outdoor team should you separate from them.
Sanitation Equipment
When exploring outdoor areas, you are not assured with sufficient water and power source. Moreover, the site may not offer a sanitized environment. With this, we recommend you bring along sanitation equipment.
A good example of equipment to bring along is portable toilets. If you are traveling with a group, a portable toilet can be a good investment. It keeps your water free from contamination. Moreover, it eliminates the risk of spreading diseases.
These are just some of the things necessary for survival. We recommend you assess your potential needs to finalize the basic survival kit contents.
Importance of Bringing a Survival Kit
When dealing with emergency situations, you must be prepared and equipped with the proper tools. A survival kit is important to carry in your backpack. It amps up your preparedness level by a notch higher.
There are a number of survival kits available in the market. Nevertheless, you can customize your own according to your needs and the location requirements.
Learning how to pack a survival bag can make your life easier during a challenging or emergency situation. Should a major accident or circumstance happens, a survival kit can alleviate the concerns you encounter.
We recommend you know the most important items in a survival kit and bring it on your next trip.
As what other say, “It is better to be safe than sorry”.
