The first item you will need is something that will store your kit. For my own kit, I use a surplus German military ditty bag. It's durable, has pockets inside for organizing, and is water-resistant as long as it isn't submerged, and it was dirty cheap. I believe I paid $5 for six of them several years ago. If you don't already have some sort of bag or other container, take a look at Cheaper Than Dirt in the surplus military gear section, and if you're lucky, you just might find a deal. If you are building a survival kit for the first time, you should collect all the items you need, and then try to find an appropriately sized bag or other container to hold everything.
By far, the most important item you will carry with you is your knife, but it is the one survival item that won't be stored with the rest of the kit. With a good knife and the proper know-how, you should be able to improvise just about anything you could need. There are a lot of quality knives on the market, and I swear by my SOG SEAL Pup and, when in more civilized territory, my Ka-Bar Warthog. Ka-Bar knives can withstand more abuse than any other knife i have ever used. You don't have to spend a lot to get a great knife, though. For the budget-minded adventurer, the best knife that you can find, in my own opinion, is the Swedish made Mora knife
. It may look cheap with its rubberized handle and olive drab plastic sheath, but Frost Cutlery opts for functionality over looks with this model. Frost's Mora comes out of the box razor sharp, and it also has a full tang blade. That's a very important trait to seek in an adventuring knife. The blade is made of high carbon steel, which is a good and bad thing. The good side is that you can use it to create a spark for your fire, and it holds an edge very well. The bad side is that it is more brittle than some other knives and might not survive heavy chopping or prying, but don't let that deter you. It is a fantastic tool as long as you respect its limitations.
Next in your survival kit is actually a group of items - your fire kit. My fire kit is one of the only places I like to have a good bit of redundancy. Like the survival kit as a whole, you will need to use something to store it. I use an Esbit stove
, which also doubles as my pot stand while cooking with my Pepsi can alcohol stove. The Esbit stove is compact, rigid, and provides just enough room for everything you need to create fire. Inside, I have a lighter. A functional lighter in your kit should go without saying, but you might be surprised at just how often this essential item is left at home. Next, you need matches but not just any matches. You need the waterproof variety. You can either buy a box of waterproof matches, or you can save money and make your own by dipping the match heads in candle wax. When needed, simply scrape off the wax with a thumbnail, and they are ready to go. I also take the waterproofing one step beyond this by putting the matches inside a small 2"x3" zip top jewelry bag. These can be found in crafts and hobby stores, and you can get 100 of them for just a dollar or two. If you carry matches, then you also need a way to strike them. I carry the match striker torn off one side of a box of matches, but you could also pack a small piece of fine grade sandpaper. In addition to the lighter and matches, I also carry a piece of processed flint. You should be able to find something similar in any decent store's camping section. I use the small model put out by Swedish Firesteel
, but any similar product will work if you practice your fire skills. These things create a super-hot shower of sparks capable of igniting even wet tinder if used properly. I don't pack the included striker plate, however, because it's just extra weight to me. Instead, I use the back edge of my knife blade. Other good ideas to include with your fire kit are a few cotton balls saturated with petroleum jelly and a small tea light candle. The cotton balls will take a spark really easily, and the candle can keep your flame going if you happen to find yourself in a situation that makes fire starting more difficult. If you choose to add petroleum jelly soaked cotton balls, then be sure to store them inside something. A popular choice is a discarded 35mm film canister, but those are getting harder and harder to find with digital cameras taking over. You may be able to find some if you have a camera store in your hometown. I don't typically include a magnifying glass in my kit because I tend to find myself more often inside a heavily wooded area, but if you plan to be somewhere with open land and ample exposure to the sun, then it wouldn't hurt to add one to your kit.You should already have a primary flashlight, but this is one other area that redundancy is a welcome guest. Batteries have a way of dying when you need them most, so in my survival kit, I carry a small LED flashlight with the batteries reversed so that the power doesn't get turned on accidentally. My spare flashlight is about the same diameter as an ink pen and half as long as one. The light isn't bright enough to allow you to navigate in total darkness, but it will help if your primary light stops working and you need to quickly set up a shelter and get a fire started in the waning light of the evening. That particular light that I carry can double as a signalling device because it has a strobe setting that can be used to draw attention. In a real emergency, though, I wouldn't want to rely on an LED light to help someone find me. A good piercing whistle is much better, but depending on the situation, a signalling mirror may prove useful.
Another wonderfully useful item to include, which many people may not even consider, is an ordinary bandanna. It can serve a multitude of purposes from a basic water filter to a first aid sling or bandage to a head wrap to keep you cool. If you find a water source that is too shallow to permit you to submerge your bottle, then a bandanna can be used to soak it up and then be squeezed into your bottle. In a pinch, a dry bandanna can be shredded and used as fuel for a fire. It can even be tied into a bag to carry berries that you have collected, and if you have chosen a bright color, it can be used as a signal flag. You should be able to find blaze orange bandannas in your local hunting supply store without too much trouble.
Although I already carry a knife on my belt, I like to keep a multitool in my survival kit to take care of those small repairs on the go. Gerber makes one I really like called the Clutch Mini
that takes up almost no space at all, yet it provides you with a small pair of needle nose pliers, wire clippers, a knife, an assortment of small screwdrivers, a file, tweezers, and a bottle opener. It's a lot of usefulness hidden in a tiny package. It comes with a small split ring for easy attachment to a keychain, but I removed mine because it was just an unneeded accessory for me. Of course, the Clutch Mini isn't the highest quality. They generally run somewhere around $15 each, but they are an affordable alternative to those pricey Leatherman products if you're like me and don't like the idea of losing one of those in the woods.I will likely never need it, but I include a small coil of fishing line (about 20 ft. is plenty) and a few small fishing hooks. Think small. Big hooks catch big fish, but small hooks catch any fish. I take this a step beyond just fishing line and hooks and also throw in a few lead weights and a some fishing flies stuck into a foam block. They're virtually weightless, so there is little reason to leave them out.
No survival kit should be without a few safety pins of various sizes. This is another simple item that lends itself to multiple uses. Aside from the obvious fabric repairs and bandage securing purposes, they can also be used as improvised fish hooks. The sharp end can be broken off and used to make an improvised compass. Just rub the pin against your hair to give it a static charge and gently place it on top of a still container of water. The pin will align itself with the magnetic north-south line. Another possible use of the safety pin is for digging out splinters. Just be sure to sterilize it over a flame first.
Many people carry a wire survival saw in their kits. I have one in my own, but I have always been a bit skeptical of giving it any heavy use. I suspect that any vigorous use would heat the saw to a point where it can easily break. In my own opinion, it is much faster and easier to simply break your firewood into smaller pieces rather than chop or saw it. With proper technique, you can easily break a log 4-5" in diameter by slamming the log with a downward arc on the ground. With a sharp edged rock or even another log placed in the right location, you can use leverage to your advantage, and the striking end of the log will be traveling much faster than the end where you are standing with it hits the rock, causing the end to snap. If the log is too big and heavy for this, then you are probably better off burning it in half instead of wasting energy to create smaller pieces of wood.
A map and compass are two things that more and more people seem to be doing without either because they think they simply don't need them or they prefer to use a GPS device. I always bring them regardless of the situation because I just like to keep my skills sharp. There are a number of compass styles available, but I prefer an orienteering compass because they make navigation so much easier once you learn how to use them. Suunto makes good products, and you can get a basic model for under $20. For the majority of hikers, this should be more than adequate. As for maps, most of the park supplied maps I have seen are just awful, and if you want any chance at being able to identify prominent landmarks during your adventure, you will need a good topographic map. Some of the cheapest trail maps you can find while still getting a quality product are printed by National Geographic and can be found in stores like Bass Pro Shops and REI. They do, however, tend to be slightly outdated. If that is an issue, the you should definitely order yours from the USGS.
Two words: duct tape. Don't bring a whole roll, but a few turns of it around your water bottle or a pencil can have all sorts of uses on the trail.
And finally, it is absolutely essential that you cary some kind of first aid kit. It's best to not go overboard and carry one of those $20 kits that you can buy in stores. Instead, take only what is useful to you within your own abilities. Generally, it is cheaper to assemble your own first aid kit from things that are already sitting inside your medicine cabinet such as adhesive bandages, pain killers, antihistamines, antidiarrrhoeal pills, antibacterial ointment, alcohol wipes, butterfly sutures, and maybe a razor blade. I also include one large and one small needle and a small roll of dental floss. The floss can be used for sewing ripped clothing or a tent's rainfly. I usually carry iodine tablets for purifying water elsewhere in my pack, but they could also be useful here. Knowledge, of course, is your best friend in a medical emergency, so knowing how to handle injuries, infections, and the like is invaluable while on the trail.
In summary, you can't go wrong by building a survival kit with the following list of materials:
- fixed blade knife
- lighter
- matches
- flint
- tea light candle
- fire tinder
- magnifying glass (optional)
- small LED flashlight
- signalling device
- bandanna
- miniature multitool
- fishing line & small hooks
- safety pins
- wire saw
- compass & map
- duct tape
- basic first aid kit
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