Friday, September 16, 2011

The basics of a survival kit

Are you prepared for the unexpected?  Do you have an emergency preparedness plan?  The importance of having a survival kit cannot be understated and can come in many forms, from a basic commercial survival kit to an ultra rugged and durable all-inclusive disaster kit like a survival package.  If you desire to build your own survival kit, there are basics that should be included in every emergency kit:
1)      Food and water – One cannot survive without food and water and cannot survive long term without the means of obtaining more safe and clean food and water down the road.  Your emergency kit should include some kind of water filter and water purification tablets to guarantee safe drinking water.  Trying to carry a lot of water can get heavy; however the filters and tablets themselves are not.  Your survival kit should also include a supply of emergency food bars or dehydrated food.  Again, carrying a lot of food might get heavy unless you plan to shelter in place.  You may need to be prepared to hunt or scavenge for your own food after a period of time.
2)      Shelter – This is another vitally important item for your survival kit.  In very poor weather conditions, a human will last only a couple of hours if they do not have a proper emergency shelter.  Popular shelters in commercial survival kits are the so called “tube tents”, these tents are compact, lightweight, and generally OK for a short period of time.  However, in poor conditions, you are going to want a sturdy 3- or 4-season tent packed away in your kit.
3)      Fire starting – Starting and maintaining a fire is an extremely important skill for outdoor survival if you are faced with many days out in the wilderness.  Carrying storm matches, flint starters, waterproof matches, and various forms of tinder is highly recommended.  Redundancy is the key as not all methods of starting a fire may work in adverse weather conditions.
4)      First Aid – Chances are when you are “roughing it” with your family, someone will eventually get hurt, sick, or injured.  Keep a quality first aid kit in your survival kit, one with enough supplies so that it can be used over and over again.
5)      Navigation – Carrying a compass, GPS, and/or local maps can mean the difference in staying out for a long cold night or being at home in a warm bed.  Make sure you are adept at using it before heading out.
6)      Light and Signaling – I recommend carrying some survival candles or lanterns, along with at least one compact and durable flashlight with a couple extra sets of batteries. Also, along with your campfire, carrying a small, pea-less whistle and a signaling mirror, it ideal for signaling and flagging down help.
7)      Communication – The obvious one is your cell phone, but what if the batteries go dead? or you are out of cell phone range?  Plan to take with an emergency radio as well, like the voyager radio.
8)      Sturdy Backpack or bag – All the contents of your kit should be portable and contained in 1 (or 2 if for a family) emergency backpack in case you need to evacuate or move locations in a hurry.
9)      Survival Literature – Keep survival books on general survival training or preparedness.  It is also wise to keep some kind of guide on what plants may be edible or could be used for medicinal purposes in your region.  It never hurts to have a quick reference guide handy as it can become hard to remember certain things when the mind is under stress.
If you wish to see any of the items we have for sale from the categories above, please visit our survival store at Shepherd Survival Supply.  If you wish to skip the hassle of trying to plan and prepare your own ultimate survival kit, we’ve already done the work for you; please visit our Survival Package page for more details.