Mountain-climbing expeditions, backpacking hikes into the wilderness, camping and fishing trips require pre-organized survival kits that include essential gear. Survival situations in isolated areas often arise for wilderness adventurers. A glance at newspaper headlines proves that disasters happen periodically. FEMA's Ready America website warns that "you many need to survive on your own after an emergency." Having the proper gear may save your life.
Types
Make your own survival kit with gear recommended by experts or buy basic, readymade kits. Purchased kits have the advantage of being lightweight and convenient, but often have only the barest key components, such as a whistle, fire-starter, instant-light tinder and a small mirror. Do-it-yourself kits, on the other hand, can contain the essentials or more elaborate survival gear, customized to meet various survival situations and weather conditions.
Features
Most survival experts agree on several pieces of essential survival gear, no matter what the survival situation. FEMA's Ready America website suggests that first aid kits, bottled water, area maps, matches in waterproof containers, whistles, hand can-openers, and flashlights need to be included in any basic disaster survival kit. In addition to those basics, add a compass, survival knife, fishing line, hooks, split shot leads, a small hand mirror, a candle, toilet tissue, braided nylon rope and an attention-grabbing orange poncho, says Allan Priddy, survival specialist at Idaho State University, for any planned camping trips or hikes into the wild.
Considerations
When planning trips by car, boat, small aircraft or on foot, consider the route and weather conditions before deciding how much room to devote to survival gear. On a backpacking hike, think lightweight and portable. The Climbing High website recommends adding a survival bag to the basic gear already listed. A bright orange survival bag designed for one person to crawl into for safety and warmth until help arrives offers more protection than a silver survival blanket. Add quick energy bars and water or water purification supplies to keep from becoming fatigued and dehydrated.
Expert Insight
In the event of a natural disaster, the Popular Mechanics website suggests having a backpack filled with survival gear, ready to go long before disaster strikes. Include cash, prepaid calling cards, extra sets of keys, important insurance and medical papers, prescriptions for medicines and glasses, fire extinguishers and jumper cables. Ready America also mentions adding a small container of bleach and an eyedropper to the survival kit. In an emergency, bleach can prepare water for drinking by "using 16 drops of regular household liquid bleach per gallon of water."
Benefits
Idaho State University survival expert Allan Priddy recommends making a do-it-yourself survival-gear kit "small enough that you'll actually carry it and not leave it home." A prepared survival backpack or a coffee can filled with essential survival gear, as Priddy suggests, buys time in a survival situation. Priddy also maintains that the first six hours are critical in a survival situation and often determine if a person can actually survive an emergency.
