After all the talk about putting together a survival kit, I decided to go spend some money to assembly one of my own. I spent about $40 purchasing the stuff I needed. Here is the rough list of what I bought:
Coghlans 46 piece survival kit ~$15
contents:
- Pencil
- notepad
- Needle
- emergency poncho
- Compass (this is a small cheap compass and I will replace it with a better one when I find mine in my camping gear)
- fish hooks
- 30 ft fishing line
- sinkers (fishing weights)
- 1 salt packet
- 2 fire sticks
- 1-5 hour candle
- 12 hour light stick
- signal mirror
- signal whistle
- 2 safety pins
- 2 razor blades
- small spool of thread
- 4 alcohol pads
- space blanket
- 3 ft snare wire
- 12 ft nylon rope
- book of Matches (non-waterproof, I will replace these with waterproof matches or strike anywhere matches in a waterproof case)
- 35 ft nylon cord
- 48 ft orange trail/surveyor’s tape
- 2-4″ adhesive strips
- 1- 3in X 3in gauze pad
- bandaids of various sizes
- waterproof pouch
To that kit, I added a few extra things:
- Leatherman Multitool (not sure of cost because I owned it before hand)
- a mini knife/fishhook sharpener ~$4
- Magnesium fire starter ~$7
- Moleskin (to put over hot spots and blisters) ~$3
- all purpose support wrap for knees, ankles, wrists, and elbows. (about a 24″ ace bandage with velcro on one end. Good for wrapping strains and sprains and achy knees) ~$4.50
- 1 roll 2″ gauze ~$1.50
- .35 oz of vaseline lip therapy (useful for chapped lips, dressing cuts, or starting fires) ~$1
Although I haven’t weighted it, this gear probably comes in at around 1 lb.
I still have a few things to add like a crank operated flashlight (don’t want to depend on batteries), sunscreen (travel size), water purifier, and a good topo map of the area. I almost forgot–FOOD!
Because it is winter, I will also carry a sleeping bag (0° F rated), a sleeping pad, a cooking pot (for melting snow to drink), and a small wood burning stove.
Have I forgotten anything?
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
i believe you did forgot something. you forgot radio. or ham’s radio or short wave radio. just incase communication towers is affected, you need a radio to find other people or to listen to what’s going on.
correct me if am wrong though.
A short wave radio might be useful depending on what you are trying to build a survival kit for. In the case above, I was trying to build a hiking survival kit (for getting lost in the woods) rather than an end of the world as we know it survival kit. In my case, I think the best use of the weight would be a personal locator beacon such as the one sold here at Sporty’s pilot shop. Giving Search and Rescue crews notice of your location within 100M