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Be Prepared: 15 Items That Every Survival Kit Should Contain
‘Be prepared’ is the motto of the Scout Association and with good reason. A small amount of preparation can make all the difference in a survival situation and help shift the odds in your favour. How can you be prepared though if you don’t know what lies around the next corner? The answer is to carry a few basic items of equipment about you whenever you leave home. The following items can all be fitted into a small portable container such as a tobacco tin and carried in a coat pocket; each item may be of more use in some situations than others, but they are all versatile enough to have multiple uses.
1. Flint and striker
Flints have the advantage of working even when they are wet and provide an almost limitless source of fire. It is worth purchasing a more expensive type that comes with a steel saw striker, as this will make it much easier to get a fire started in challenging conditions.
2. Needles and thread
Needles and thread are vital for repairing clothes or fabric based items of equipment in an emergency. A variety of needle sizes should be included to allow for the different widths of threads (or even sinews) that may be used in a survival situation.
3. Fish hooks and line
Fish provide an excellent source of protein but are difficult to catch using improvised equipment. Your chances of catching fish are much greater if you pack a small selection of hooks, fishing line and a few split lead weights. Small hooks are more versatile than big ones and can be used to catch fish of various sizes.
4. Matches
Matches are invaluable for making fire and are much easier to use than other methods. They can be made waterproof by dripping candle wax on the ends and can be split down the centre to double their quantity without taking up more space. Be careful not to leave matches exposed to the elements as they will quickly be rendered useless if soaked in water.
5. Candle
Candles provide a prolonged light and heat source, both of which are invaluable in a survival situation. A small candle can be fitted into your survival kit without costing too much in terms of space and weight.
6. Compass
A compass is a crucial piece of equipment for navigation. The most appropriate type for a small survival kit will be a liquid-filled button compass. Some types have a luminous face, making it easy to navigate at night. Check the compass periodically to make sure it is still serviceable and keep it away from magnets.
7. Guitar strings
Steel guitar strings are ideal for use as a snare wire. A couple of guitar strings should be enough to build a suitable snare for small to medium sized mammals.
8. Water sterilising tablets
In some areas it may not be possible to boil water in order to kill infectious microbes. Sterilising tablets can be used as an alternative to boiling water and are available from many camping stores.
9. Cotton wool
The large surface area of fibres provided by cotton wool makes it an excellent kindling material for building fires. It can also be used to protect other pieces of equipment or as a makeshift dressing for wounds.
Source: http://www.diyreport.com/2014/02/10/be-prepared-15-items-that-every-survival-kit-should-contain/
No we don’t need all these things. We have the government.
You’re so right. What was I thinking.
Thanks’ for these ideas AF. I hope you can come up with some more in the near future.
I’m sure that can me many other more included in the kit .. but i don’t know if they are of the same importance.
I hope we will never need this kind of stuff, but better safe then sorry right ?
Good content man.
Wow, this was going quite well, until we got to number 7, and the ‘guitar strings’ deal. They do NOT make good snares, not compared to just a cheap, simple roll of brass wire you can get at any hobby store. Brass wire does not rust, is easily bendable, is conductive (to make simple circuits, if you need to), and makes EXCELLENT snares for half the price.
Same with the ‘cotton wool’ on number 9. One of the best things to use for ‘emergency kindling’ is steel wool. Go to ACE Hardware and get a bag of it for a couple of dollars, and then go home, pack it into an old medicine bottle. When you need it, just pull out a bit of it, put it under the wood kindling, and stick a match to it. It burns like it’s made of oil-soaked pine. HOT AND FAST. My more-favorite kindling starter, is to go to the dollar store, get some 100-percent COTTON clothesline (read the bag it comes in to make sure, first), and a jar of vaseline petroleum jelly. Go home, get a small cooking pot, put a couple of tablespoons of vaseline in the pot and turn on the stove so that it is on a very low simmer. Melt the petroleum jelly in the pot, and having taken the cotton clothes line into one-inch (approx. 3-cm) strips, put them into the pot and use a spoon or stir to mash on the strips until they are fully saturated. Now, take them out (careful, they are HOT), and place them into a straight walled glass or plastic jar that fully seals. Within a few minutes, they will cool, the vaseline will ‘re-congeal’, and you can seal them and put them away. When you need them for kindling, simply pull one out, wipe it on a stick of wood (to reduce a bit of the vaseline content), take a lighter, light the small one-inch cord section (it will light and burn like a candle wick does), and place it under your wood tinder pile. The ‘wick’ will continue to burn, wet wood, dry wood, doesn’t matter, for about 5-minutes, and will get your fire started easily, wet or dry wood regardless. You have just made a ‘homemade equivalent’ to the expensive store-bought ‘fire starters’.
Again, several issues in this list.