Whether you spend a great deal of time in the outdoors or a just a few weekends a year, being prepared for survival is crucial. There are any number of things that could require you to rely on survival skills and tools to ensure your own health and safety when you’re out in the wild on your own. Take a look at our survival kit buying guide to make sure you have all the essentials!
Emergency Blanket
Exposure to the elements is responsible for many deaths of those who find themselves lost in the outdoors. Especially when you don’t have any other kind of shelter, keeping your core temperature up can mean the difference between life and death.
Emergency blankets, also called space blankets or survival blankets, are made from reflective mylar that traps your body heat inside and reflects it back to you, like a warm little oven. An emergency blanket is compact, lightweight, and inexpensive, so don’t leave it out of your survival kit.
Knife, Cutting Tools, and Paracord
A knife is a very important survival tool, for the many purposes it can serve, but a pocket saw, multi-tool, or a pair of EMT shears can be of further value if you need to cut wood or through a heavy duty object.
Paracord is the absolute best type of cordage to have in your survival kit, as it is extremely strong and can be broken down into the tiniest fiber for a large number of uses, as well as be reused many times over.
Water Purification Tablets
Water purification tablets are another small item that can make a huge difference in a disaster situation. Three days without water will have serious implications for your survival.
If you don’t have access to potable water, you will have to resort to drinking any water you can find, but contamination can kill just as easily as dehydration. Keep a few packets of water purification tablets in your survival kit.
Fire Starters
Whether it’s waterproof matches, a windproof lighter, a mag stick, a flint striker, or any other spark-producing gadget, always have more than one type of fire starter in your survival kit, as well as a tinder that will ignite even in wet and windy conditions. Shelter is definitely more important than fire, but having the means to create fire will improve your situation.
First Aid Kit
Bandages, alcohol wipes, antibacterial ointment, pain relievers, medical tape, needle and thread, sunscreen, and shears are just some of the important items to have in your first aid kit. Even small injuries can pose serious threats to your survival, so make sure you are equipped to handle them.
Signaling Device
A mirror, whistle, air horn, or GPS device will all improve your chances of being located should you become lost in the outdoors. Carry more than one kind of signaling device to avoid the possibility of weather conditions rendering one device useless.
Light Source
Scrambling around in the dark when you’re lost in the outdoors is sure to heighten panic and your risk of injury. A light source in your survival kit will be invaluable in helping you assess your environment, gather materials for shelter, hunting, making a fire, or signaling in the dark.
