Always be prepared. When you go venturing into the great outdoors, there’s no telling what might happen. If you’re on a camping trip say, and have gone on a long hike in unfamiliar territory, you could find yourself lost or stranded. And having the best possible survival kit can make all the difference in how that turns out for you.
We’re going to level with you – choosing a really good survival kit can be tricky and there’s a lot to think about and consider. But we’re here to make this decision easier for you. Coming up shortly we’ve got some reviews on our handpicked Top 5 survival kits, and after that there’s a handy buying guide where we’ve tried to include all the most important factors to consider.
Best Survival Kit – Reviews
- [250 in 1 Survival Kit]: Having an emergency kit is an important step to prepare and protect your and household for some unforeseen events. This emergency survival kit is specifically designed and...
- [Basic First Aid Kit]: Designed to stow conspicuously, the included first aid supplies are packed in a extra bright red bag. It includes essential items such as tweezers, scissors and pins, would pad,...
- [Portable Molle System Compatible Bag]: The 2022 Upgraded EMT bag was made of military grade water-resistant 1000D nylon with a size of 8” x 6.5” x 6''. You can attach it to other molle compatible...
- [2022 Upgraded Version]: Nobody can count on friendly weather during an emergency. This kit can help you to deal with the worst. It is the most multifultional survival kit in the market, contains...
- [Must Have Survival Gear]: All of the items have been tested to ensure they can withstand even the toughest emergencies and conditions, such as outdoor adventure, hunting, camping, hiking, travel,...
- Used Book in Good Condition
- Williams, Richard (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 392 Pages - 09/25/2012 (Publication Date) - Farrar, Straus and Giroux (Publisher)
- American Bible Society (Publisher)
- CONTENTS - With all the supplies needed for any wedding emergency, this kit contains a manicure set with nail clippers, tweezers, scissors, nail file, 4 hair ties, 8 bobby pins, paper clothing tape,...
- CLEAR FRONT - With a clear front it is easy to find each and every item quickly
- CONVENIENT- Vinyl bag is a compact size and won't take up too much room in luggage
- MEASUREMENTS - Adorable floral print bag measures 10.2”W x 6.7”H x 2.1”D
- PRACTICAL AND ADORABLE floral patterned wedding survival kit with items brides and bridesmaids need to ensure the wedding day goes smoothly
- Amazon Kindle Edition
- Haga, A. H. (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 261 Pages - 01/05/2021 (Publication Date)
- Kit Includes: Adhesive fabric and plastic bandages, antibiotic ointments, BZK antiseptic towelettes, burn cream packets, aspirin, ibuprofen, gauze roll and pads, wound closures, cold pack, and other...
- Convenient Packaging: Fabric case with clear plastic pockets for organization and easy access to first aid supplies in an emergency
- Compact and Spacious: Two separate layers with individual compartments make retrieval easy and quick. Soft sided, zippered case great for travel and on the go use
- First Aid Care Ideal For: First aid care for home, travel, and on the go use
- Amazon Prime Video (Video on Demand)
- Josh James (Actor)
- English (Playback Language)
- English (Subtitle)
- Filter over 1000 Gallons of clean Drinking Water with the included Multi Function Water Filter Pump, and Water Filter Bottle.
- Setup your campsite with the Hammock, and Large Mosquito Net.
- Hunting Cooking and Fire – 10 Piece Cooking Set, Folding Silverware, Rapid Fire, Ferrocerium Rod Fire Starter, Hatchet and Skinning Knife combo, Folding Shovel, Slingshot, Sharpening Stone, Hand...
- Never run out of Power with your Solar Flashlight, Power Bank Lantern with Emergency Beacon, Two Way Ham Radio with built in NOAA radio, 100 Hour Candle, and Inflatable Solar Lantern
- Your protected with Complete 70+ Piece First Aid Kit, Leather Gloves, Compass, and Camo Duct Tape. Take advantage of this SALE and Own the #1 Survival Kit in the USA today!
- 【Professional Camping Survival Kit】This professional package is for people who enjoy hiking, camping, fishing, outdoor sports and adventure. 38 pcs Multi-Function Accessories ,packed with gadgets...
- 【70L Large Camping Backpack】Camping backpack has a large capacity, and waterproof and cold. The main backpack can hold all kinds of camping equipment, with special pockets next to it for cell...
- 【Exclusive First Aid Kit】: With full range of high quality medical first aid supplies, essential items such as tweezers, scissors, tape, pins, bandages, would pad, bandage triangulaire, cotton...
- 【Travel Partner】: When camping or traveling outdoors, there are always some problems. This outfit will be a great companion on the road to help you solve problems. In the event of a survival...
- 【Best Gift】: This survival suit is definitely the best holiday gift you can give, whether it's a boyfriend or a dad.Use it for a more relaxing and safe adventure.The kit has been specially tested...
Best Survival Kit – Buyers Guide
Your starting point in deciding what kit to get should be based on what you can anticipate needing. You will need to determine what sort of uses you might have for it and take your decision from there, as this will inform what items you’ll need in the kit, and ultimately then which kit best suits your needs.
When you’re lost or in danger there are some things that become more important than others. You need food, water, shelter from the elements, ways of identifying where you are, and ways of alerting people to your whereabouts. Or if you’re hurt you will be in need of some first aid. If it’s dark, you’ll need a flashlight.
And on that note, let’s move onto our next section.
Items you may want to see included
One of the more central decisions to make is whether you want food and drink included in your survival kit.
When it comes to water, which is hands down an essential, a bottle of water, or several bottles, can at times be heavy to carry around, especially if you have a lot of other gear to carry. To that end you may wish your kit to include a water filtration system or purification tablets.
You may want to get a campfire going, whether to cook food or simply keep warm. Or you could perhaps have an emergency blanket to keep warm.
Or to protect yourself from the weather, you may make good use from an emergency tent, a fold-up emergency blanket, or ponchos.
In terms of first aid items, you might want to consider sterile gauze wound dressings, something to keep the dressings or bandages in place and antiseptic wipes to clean up any wounds.
With regards to alerting others to your presence and whereabouts for a rescue mission, your options include a good old fashioned whistle, or to be more visible, a flashlight would work well, or even a glow stick.
Many outdoor survival kits can also feature a compass, which can be super handy for hiking trips where there’s no GPS gadgets at hand.
Size and Weight
Ultimately the size of your survival depends on what types of emergencies you intend to prepare for.
If your survival kit is intended primarily for outdoor use, then you may also be concerned about the kit’s size and weight. You might want to fit into a backpack and/or carry it long distances on foot. Fortunately many survival kits are put together with this in mind, including several in our Top 5 picks.
If your emergency involves waiting out some sort of danger, while you shelter in an enclosed space, then again the size of your kit can also become a factor to consider, say if you were laying low in a camping tent not knowing if there are potentially dangerous animals in the surrounding area.
It goes without saying, the more people you have with you, the more items you may need in terms of food, water and shelter. But on the other hand, you also have more carrying power for any items you want to take or include. You could have one person carry the food and water and another carrying a first aid kit and an emergency tent.
Cost
Survival kits can vary quite considerably in their price point, but it’s important to note that cheaper doesn’t always mean better. Instead what you should focus on is ensuring that you have every item that you may need. In fact once you’ve found your ideal survival kit, you may also see fit to pay for one or two more things besides. Which brings us onto our next section.
Additional Items you may need that aren’t typically found in a survival kit
Certain modern items can come in very handy when you find yourself stranded outdoors, and you definitely won’t get them all in a standard survival kit.
To alert others to your emergency, a cell phone with a good signal can be a godsend. Similarly, to ascertain exactly where you are, a really good item would be one that features GPS tracking. It doesn’t need to be anything bulky, you can get some great watches that feature GPS tracking, often with other handy features for hikers. You may also be interested in a water filtration bottle.
When it comes to using modern gadgets outdoors, you may also want to think about whether they need a portable power supply, such as batteries. Or solar powered gadgets could be another alternative.
For hikers, we would also recommend taking a fold-up map of the area if possible, particularly if there are no GPS gadgets at hand.
