Making a Personal Survival Kit
What to put in it?:Before making your list, here are some basic
considerations:
- Do I need a general purpose Personal Survival Kit or is my need specialised?
- Is my need specific to a geographical area?
- Is my need specific to special terrain?
- What are the basics I need to carry?
- Will my kit include basic First Aid supplies or will these be carried
separately?
- Will my Personal Survival Kit contain anything edible or perishable?
- How am I going to carry the Kit on my person?
- What's my budget?
A general purpose Survival Kit:
By definition, this Kit is designed to help you in almost any situation that may
occur if you have the survival skills and knowledge to back it up.
An example of such a use may be if your are in the military,
are a pilot flying regularly over wilderness, an extreme sports enthusiast
venturing into a remote area or just want to be prepared for anything, anytime.
Your Personal Survival Kit may contain these items, many of which
should also be duplicated in your main pack:
- A folding lock knife, several single-edge razor blades or scalpel blades.
- Two compasses. (Keep them apart from each other.)
- Means of attracting attention.
- Means of purifying and carrying water.
- Means of lighting fire.
- Miniature LED torches..
- Means of catching wildlife for food (covered in detail in my
Disasters Happen books).
- A Survival Bag or Blanket (probably will not fit in the tin but should be in
the carrying pouch).
- Sewing kit.
- Commando wire saw and a Hacksaw Blade.
- Multi-tool.
- Magnifying Glass.
- Food-grade water bags.
- Nylon Cord and Duck Tape (probably will not fit in the tin but should be in
the carrying pouch).
- Waterproof notepad and pencil. (probably will not fit in the tin but should
be in the carrying pouch)
- A Shemagh or Bandanna (probably will not fit in the tin but should be in the carrying
pouch).
- Pre-packed re-hydration mix and/or salt.
- Rudimentary First Aid supplies, including a pre-threaded suture needle and
forceps. (Best carried in the carrying
pouch for ready use, not sealed in the tin.)
- Insect repellent.
- Personal hygiene items.
- £50 ($100; €75 or other international currency) sealed in plastic.
To suit special terrain or geographical area:
An example of such use may be if you are likely to be in desert,
jungle, veldt, extreme cold, extreme heat, very wet, at sea, etc. Add items you may need and leave out items you are certain you will not need.
For example, if you do not need to carry insect repellent, a re-hydration
mix or a Shemagh, replace these items with other useful things. If you are going
into extreme cold do not pack a metal whistle, use plastic, as a metal whistle can freeze to the lips. If you are making a Personal Survival
Kit for use at sea, pack a couple of mini flares, forget the animal snares, make
sure everything that can possibly float does float and is unaffected by salt
water. Adjust your list
accordingly.
Other considerations:
Always make sure you are familiar with the use of each piece of equipment (Can you use a signalling mirror effectively?
Do you know how to stitch a wound using a suture? Do you know how to catch
animals for food and locate water? Can you make a temporary shelter?). Pack the Kit in an organised way, making sure the items
you may need first are handy. Think about what happens when you unpack your Survival Kit – how do you manage the many small items without losing them?
Commercially produced, vacuum-packed kits are notoriously difficult to repack once opened.
Carrying some international currency can be useful for the day you find your way back to civilization or
for buying food and help from locals who may not otherwise be
too willing to help you.
Carrying the bare minimum:
- A windproof cigarette lighter.
- Several Wetfire fire-starting blocks.
- A signalling mirror.
- A whistle.
- Miniature LED torches.
- Strips of foil-packed water purifying tablets.
- Some strong food-grade plastic bags for collecting, purifying and carrying water.
- Compass with lanyard fitted.
- Gerber Ultralight L.S.T. Knife.
- Assorted waterproof First Aid plasters.
- Three sewing needles, pre-threaded with strong thread.
- Survival bag or blanket.
- The longest length of strong cord you can fit into the tin.
All of the above items will fit into a container the size of the proverbial
tobacco tin, the survival bag being the bulkiest item; carry it separately if you need
to make the Kit smaller still.
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