Guide to Survival Essential Gear
142 Piece Emergency Kit on Amazon under $70 <<
Time’s up! Now is the time to gather your essential survival gear. Food, water, shelter, first aid and all the supplies you need in a crisis.In this guide we talk about some of the key survival essentials to have on hand.Over the past 2 years, people have come to realize that they must prepare for worst case scenarios. We have all seen food shortages, money collapse, pandemics, floods, fire and all types of natural disasters.
Without a preparedness plan the chances of surviving a crisis is slim to none. A crisis can strike at anytime and affect anyone. So it’s time to ask these questions: will you have enough food, what will you use for shelter? What tools do you have on hand.
If you are like most people you have very little means of family survival equipment. Most people lack the simple stuff, like a good know, a manual can opener or what about a first aid kit? All of the thing you use need to now be manual, small, light and easy to carry. In this guide we out together 7 family survival essentials to get right now!
That’s not the correct way to ensure you and your family are safe from harm in the event of an emergency. You want to start with these seven basic fundamental supplies and then branch out from there.
Survival Essential Buying Guide
Is Your Family Prepared to Survive an Emergency Situation
The thought of having to survive a crisis is a gloomy thought. But fail to prepare and it will be a heck of a lot worse. The truth is most people have no idea where to begin. To help take some of the fear out of surviving a crisis we put together a survival essential guide. This will give tips and ideas when it comes to the most important elements of survival prepping.
1. Lightweight Durable Bug Out Bag
Small Lightweight Sleeping Bags on Amazon <<
When many people think of survival, they immediately think of a scenario where they need to hunker down for a few days. But there will be certain times emergencies when staying at home will not be an option. It may be a case when you need to grab your go bag and leave. And to help you survive you’ll need to have all of your essential survival items in ready in a seconds.
One of the survival essentials is a sleeping bag. To save space and weight a small and lightweight bag is ideal for you and all of your family members. A good sleeping bag will provide warmth and comfort in times need.
2. Bug Out Bag to Pack Your Essential Survival Gear
Tactical Molle Backpack 3 Day Bug Out Bag With Bottle Holder $40 on Amazon <
Whether its a global event like war, a weather catastrophe, or something else, a good bug out bag can give you peace of mind when you need to make a quick escape.
Bug out bags are similar to hiking backpacks, but instead of holding only water bottle and snacks, you’ll fill it with your survival essentials. Use it to pack survival shelter, water, food, clothing, first aid, protection and more.
Prepare the Family Go Bags
You’ll want one for each member of your family. You can get different sizes for men, women and children to safely and properly carry during a bug out situation. Just make sure durability and waterproof features are intact.
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You want to remain stealth in a bug out situation to prevent your family from being targeted by others for supplies. So ignore the neon orange backpack in favor of a camouflage color.
Think of all of the supplies you want to pack and then make sure the bug out bag is equipped with plenty of organization features, like zippered pockets and MOLLE straps so you can attach even more supplies to your bag if everything won’t fit inside.
You can find some bug out bags that contain a bladder system in them. This is great for enabling you to carry more water without having to include plastic bottles or other containers.
3 – Shelter and Weather Protection
One of the first things you MUST do when you bug out away from your home or office in the event of an emergency is get to a secure location. This is where you’ll and set up camp. You need shelter from the conditions.
4 Person Waterproof Pop Up Tent
Shelter is key to survival from the cold weather rain, storms and snow. You also want protection from insects and animals while you are forced to live outdoors. And while the idea of camping isn’t for everyone you’ll be happy to have some form of shelter is an emergency.
A good pop up tent will give you basic shelter for you and your family. Keep it small and simple and pick one that fits all the members of your family (including pets). In addition there are other items like a camping hammock that keeps mosquitos and pests away, and allows you to stay off the ground. Or, you can buy a lightweight tent or tarp to offer some waterproof protection.
The same rule that you used for your bug out bag applies to your shelter. Use camouflage colors so that it’s not easily spotted from afar. In an emergency you want to blend in to the surroundings.
4 – Water Filters and Storage
Outdoor Emergency Water Filtration System
For survival, nothing is more important to your well being and ability to stay alive than water consumption. You can go longer without food than you can water, so staying hydrated is something you want to focus on when planning your supplies.
Get a Lifestraw for Your Go Bag
First, think of your on-the-go water gear that will help you stay hydrated whenever running water out of the sink isn’t an option. You can carry some water, whether it’s in a backpack bladder or in containers – but you can’t carry enough water to last you more than a few days.
Source of Water
You never know how long you’ll be on the run, so you need a way to get safe drinking water at all times. Make sure you have maps to locate water sources in the area you’re bugging out in.
That might be a river, lake, pond, or something else. You can’t just drink the water safely from the source, so you’ll want to have something to purify it with. For years, people have used simple water tablets or drops that made the water safe to drink.
These are great because they don’t take up much room in your supplies. But another option now is a purifying water straw that allows you to safely drink from the source through the straw.
Water Purification Pump on Amazon <<
Above is the FS-TFC 4-Stage Portable Water Pump. 0.01 Micron Water Purifier Gear Emergency Preparedness. Clean drinking water is crucial to your emergency preparedness plan.
Why You Need a Portable Water Purifier
These not only remove bacteria and parasites from the water, but also microplastics that have now polluted our water sources over the years.
Each straw can filter approximately 1,000 gallons of water, and if you’re drinking one gallon per day, that lasts you almost three years.
Besides your on-the-go water capabilities, you also want to plan for at home water storage in the event of an emergency. Even a temporary weather event like a freeze where the electricity goes off can cause water outages in some areas.
Water Bladders
In the event of water shortage you can buy temporary water bladders. These can fill up your entire bathtub and provide enough water for drinking, cooking and washing.
In addition there are large stackable water containers. If you buy blue ones they will help to block out light that can affect your drinking water.
Water Purifying Drops
You can add water purifying drops to the container before sealing them. This can help water last for 5 year or more.
Larger Water Containers
If you have animals make sure to have extra water containers on your property. This will help to water your survival garden or various animals you’re raising as pets or as food sources.
Rain Barrels
You can buy outdoor rain barrels to collect and hold water. They comes in a variety of sizes such as smaller 30 gallon sizes or larger barrels that hold 55 or more gallons.
5. Long Lasting and On-the-Go Food Options
Don’t wait until it’s too late. You need to get get your survival food supplies while it is still available. Your family will not need to go without if you act now. Get a stock of high calorie food; dry food is lightweight to pack and you can add water to make meals for your family in a crisis.
Food Storage Emergency Meal Kits on Amazon <<
Granola, Beef Jerky and Dehydrated Food
You can pack things like granola bars and beef jerky or dried fruit. Make sure they have plenty of calories to keep you going. Don’t pack diet food for survival purposes, because you’ll likely be expending more calories than you’re used to.
There are many dehydrated foods and lightweight pastas that you can simply cook by boiling water, so these are great options, too. If you’re working on at home survival food stores, you can plan a bit differently.
Since weight isn’t a problem, you can stock up on survival family food packages that provide 45 days or more worth of food for your family. You can also simply stock up on your family’s favorite foods.
Check out the wide variety of Augason Farms Survival Food Kits Here <<
Since you’ll probably be under a certain amount of duress during an emergency, you want to have some comforting and familiar foods, and not shock everyone’s systems and comfort with cheap, tasteless survival foods just because they’re labeled for that purpose.
Beans and Legumes
Some people like to plan for food they can grow themselves. You can learn how to do seasonal gardening, indoor container gardens and more. You can also grow your own animals for food, such as rabbits, chickens, cows and more.
Dried and Dehydrated Fruits for Emergency
You can plant fruit bearing trees and bushes on your property, too – and then make sure you know how to turn them into dried fruit or canned fruit that will store for months and years to come.
Don’t forget to store enough food for your pets, too. Your dogs and cats will need plenty of food as well, and you can buy containers that will safely store their (and your) food without it being compromised.
6. First Aid Kits for Survival on Amazon <<
Compact First Aid Kits on Amazon <<
Being in a survival situation is scary enough without having to worry about someone getting sick or injured. So whether you’re staying at home or bugging out you want to make sure you have access to a first aid kit.
Sometimes, even a small harmless looking cut can snowball into a nasty and life threatening infection.A first aid kit can mean the matter fon life or death, So make sure a first aid kit can handle small issues (as well as larger ones).
At home, you might have a thermometer and plenty of cough and cold medicine. You have access to fresh water to prevent dehydration. But, on the go you might not have these things on hand.
So make sure you have something to settle the stomach and avoid possible dehydration. Bandages for sprains, paracetamol for fever and so on.
See the First Aid KIts and Accessories on Amazon <<
Luckily, you can buy entire readymade first aid kits designed to help people in survival situations. You’ll find simple kits on the market. Many include things like Band-Aids for minor cuts, Tylenol for headaches, gauze and antibiotic creams.
But in a survival situation, you’ll want something stronger than this – something that can save lives in true dire emergencies. You ideally want a larger first aid kit that can handle small issues all the way to larger traumas.
These will include things like CPR masks, burn dressings, chest seals, tourniquets, nasopharyngeal airways, trauma shears and more. Of course, you never just want to own the kit without knowing how to use it.
Make sure that you, along with each member of your family, learns how to use the items that come in your first aid kit. Watch survival first aid videos or invest in a book that will teach you survival first aid.
Prescription Medication
If you or anyone in your family has a prescription or regular medication then make sure you have a supply of it on hand. This might include pills for blood pressure, insulin and more.
Pain Relieving and Anti Itch Cream
If your kit doesn’t include it, make sure you pack a pain reliever. Plus anti itch cream to help with things like poison ivy or poison oak, and Benadryl or similar in case anyone has an allergic reaction. That may include pets too.
In addition keep a stock of vitamins that can help you maintain good health and energy. Preparing now will help to build up your immune system if you get sick or you’re unable to get all of your nutrients from reliable food sources.
7. Survival Essentials for Home
If you’re in a survival situation at home, such as civil unrest, then you want to be protected as much as possible. This begins with you fortifying your home. Remember in a emergency situation don’t rely on a security company to come running if society fractures.
Strengthen Doors and Windows
You want to strengthen the doors and windows of your home so that no one can enter without your permission. There are extra locks you can put on exterior doors, but it’s also wise to have some for your bedroom doors, in case anyone breaches the outer area.
Make sure your exterior is well lit to prevent stealth entries, and if possible, have cameras positioned to show you what’s lurking outside of your home. This way, they will be unable to access you by surprise.
The next step is to plan for what happens if someone does break through the barriers you’ve set in place to keep them out. You want to ensure the safety of you and your family, so ideally, everyone will have some form of protection.
Depending on the laws of your state and country, you may want to invest in firearms. This will deter the intruder and keep you safe. If that’s not an option, then you want to have other forms of self-defense.
You never want to be forced to get close to an attacker. So having to approach them to hit them with a baseball bat or use a knife on them is not ideal, even though it’s a good last resort if you’re backed into a corner.
Make sure you have pepper spray that can temporarily blind and impede an intruder and give you time to escape the house and avoid a deadly confrontation. You also want to consider getting a stun gun that can deliver a painful shock to anyone who attacks you.
No matter what you’re using for self-defense, the first and most important rule of ownership is knowing how to use it. For some things, such as using firearms, you can take in-person lessons and learn how to shoot for survival.
8. NOAA Radio With Cell Charger
Hand Crank Radio – Weather Radio Emergency Solar Hand Crank Radio AM/FM/SW NOAA Alert Portable Survival Radio for Home and Outdoor Emergency with 5 Ways Powered, SOS Alarm, Flashlight, Reading Lamp, USB Charge (Green) on Amazon under $40.
For others, like knowing exactly where to use the stun gun on the attacker, you can simply do a quick search online for self defense coaches that can give you tips and tricks on getting away safely using your new gear and gadgets.
Make sure you safely store these items out of the way of children. You can get a quiet, quick access biometric gun safe that lets you get to your gun with an easy fingerprint scan instead of having to turn on the light and enter a code or combination, which could alert the intruders of your actions.
9. Solar Gear, Cookware, Lights, Generator
When it comes to survival, nothing can help you in a pinch quite like the sun. It allows you to return to have some of the conveniences you had before the electricity had not gone out.
Solar Generator – Allows you to power up the lights and the refrigerator if you are close to home.
A simple generator is capable of recharging your phone, while larger generators with additional solar panels can help to keep the household running well. The more you need, the more expensive it will get.
You can also buy simple solar phone chargers capable of charging a single phone or several at once. These typically fold up and become compact until you need to unfold them for the solar panels to access the sun.
A solar weather radio is a great option to have on hand in the even of a survival situation. You can not only get news about the weather-related events, but you can tune in to hear emergency news, too – such as if there is a war or civil unrest event.
Lights
Solar lights that you can charge during the day will help illuminate your house or campsite at night. Pick a collapse light which can pack easily into a go bag.
Flashlights
In any survival bag you will want to pack a good flashlight. One that is durable and gives off plenty of power.
Solar Cookers and Camp Stoves
If you’ve lost electricity a portable solar stoves make it easier to cook some food. They are small to pack away for storage afterwards.
Other Small Essential Survival Items
- Clothing – Pack small and lightweight clothes to layer. Consider rip stop clothes and water repellent gear.
- Good footwear- you may be hiking further than you imagine. Light, water resistant or waterproof shoes or boots are essential gear for the outdoors.
- Socks – Bring an extra pair of socks in case one pair gets wet
- Hat – and pack a hat to provide insulation for your body heat
- Thermal blankets- to keep your body heat in and the elements out.
Concluding Essential Survival Gear
Regardless of where you are on your journey as a survival prepper, you’re going to want to make sure you’re consistently addressing all these basic needs. You want to make sure you and each member of your family have enough supplies and the know-how to endure any kind of harsh situation.
Don’t forget that while survival includes the basics of food, water, shelter, defense and so on, you also want to make sure that you don’t forget to take care of your emotional health as well as that of your loved ones
