The Importance of a Survival Kit

Next to planning, having a survival kit is probably one of the most important parts of surviving in just about any situation.

Most survivalists recommend having a few different kits. Keep one kit in your pocket at all times and the others can be placed at home, work, and in your vehicle. Preparing and carrying a survival kit is a crucial part of survival. Even the smallest survival kit, when properly prepared, is invaluable in a survival situation.

When picking the types of items you will need in your survival kit, knowing your environment is very important. It will dictate what items you should carry, and which items will be better off left at home.

The amount of gear in your kit will depend on how you carry the kit. A kit carried in your pocket is going to be a lot smaller than one that is stored in a vehicle. A good pocket survival kit should be about the size of an Altoids tin. In fact, my favorite kit is one that I made with an Altoids tin.

For the case, you can use anything from a metal Band-Aid box, a first aid case, an altoids tin, an ammunition pouch, or another suitable case. Your case should be:

• Waterproof. or Water-repellent (or vacuum sealed in air tight plastic)
• Easy to carry .
• Durable.

The contents of your case will depend on your location, but here is a list of the basics.

• Lighter (In a survival situation you will be very thankful for this one, remember your not trying to be mister outdoors your trying to survive! It is much easier to light a fire with a lighter than trying with a match or other fire starting techniques.)
• Backup Matches ( These should be the wooden stick type. Break the stick in half to fit more matches in your case, dip them in wax to waterproof, tear off the striker from the box, then wrap in plastic wrap.)
• Small Locking Pocket Knife
• String & Wire ( I would recommend some fishing line or another good alternative is to break open a cheap case of floss and put the whole spool of floss in there.)
• Tweezers
• Needle ( can be used with the floss or fishing string to sew)
• Fishing hooks and a few small weights.
• Tinder (shove cotton in to all the loose space in your case, this can be a big help when trying to start a fire.)
• Scalpel Blades
• Finger Nail Clipper
• Flint
• Whistle
• Small Signal Mirror
• Laminated Survival guide