Survival kit

A survival kit is a package of basic tools and supplies prepared in advance as an aid to survival in an emergency. Military aircraft, lifeboats, and spacecraft are equipped with a survival kit. The US Army uses several basic survival kits, mainly for aviators, which are stored in canvas carrying bags. US aviators in planes with ejection seats have survival kits in the seat pan and the aviator's survival vest (SRU-21P) worn by US helicopter crews also contains some basic survival items. Civilians working in remote locations or regions with extreme climate conditions such as forestry workers, surveyors, or bush pilots may also be equipped with survival kits.

General contents

Survival kits contain supplies and tools to provide a person with basic shelter against the elements and keep warm, meet their health and first aid needs, provide food and water, signal to rescuers, and assist them in finding their way back to help. The specific supplies or tools that fit in each of these categories are listed below. Note that the list below is not the contents of an actual survival kit. Rather, each category lists some of the supplies or tools from which kit-makers choose when they are making a survival kit:

Shelter or warmth

• Reflective aluminum Space blanket to retain body heat
• Lightweight emergency poncho for protection against rain
• Emergency "tube tent", "bivvy bag" or tarp with grommets for attaching a rope
• Mosquito net, protection against mosquitoes, flies and other insects.
• Magnifying glass, magnesium, or tinder for fire-starting
• Magnesium Flint and Saw Striker
• Waterproof matches or lighter
• Esbit or heat tablets for starting a fire
• Dark-colored shoe polish (black preferred) for fire fuel. (It also gives off a smell that can repel animals and can be used for marking and camouflage)
• Cable saw for cutting wood (either for constructing a shelter or for a fire)

Health and First Aid

• First aid kit with bandages, sterile pads and gauze, first aid tape, tweezers, surgical razor, disinfectant pads, oxytetracycline tablets (for diarrhea or infection) and aspirin
• Insect repellent
• Soap
• Toilet paper
• Lip balm

Food and water

• Iodine tablets for emergency water purification
• Edible salt for food and also can be used for brushing teeth.
• Water in bottles or tetra blocs
• Collapsible (empty) water bags or containers
• Canned food, Ready-to-eat meals (MRE), or high-energy foods such as chocolate or emergency food bars.
• Fishing line, fish hooks, lures, and split shot leads
• Snare wire
• Tea, gum, and hard candy (as a morale booster)

Money

• A supply of money in small denominations and coins or credit cards in your kit to help for situations such as telephone calls (if the lines still operate) or vendors selling various goods, both essential and non-essential.

Signaling, navigation and reference

• Personal Locator Beacons (PLBs) send a distress signal that allows the beacon to be located by a satellite system (Cospas-Sarsat), minimizing the search and hastening the rescue. This distress radiobeacon could also be in the form of an ELT or an EPIRB.
• Candles, Torch (flashlight), or glow sticks
• Surveyor's orange tape (for marking location for rescuers)
• Pen and paper (for leaving notes to rescuers about direction of travel)
• Whistle, Signal Mirror, and/or smoke or illumination flares for signaling
• Compass, GPS navigation equipment
• Maps of the region
• Survival manual

Multipurpose tools or materials

• Swiss army style knife
• Gerber or Leatherman style multi tool
• sharpening stone
• Folding saw or cable saw
• Heavy-duty thread and needle (for repairing clothing and equipment)
• Plastic bags or trash bags
• Heavy-duty aluminum foil (for frying food, signaling, etc.)
• Sturdy cord or "550" parachute cord (for supporting a tarp, snaring small animals, etc.)

Lifeboat survival kits

Lifeboat survival kits are stowed in inflatable or rigid lifeboats or life rafts; the contents of these kits may be mandated by coast guard or maritime regulations. These kits provide basic survival tools and supplies to enable passengers to survive until they are rescued. In addition to relying on lifeboat survival kits, many mariners will assemble a "ditch bag" or "abandon ship bag" containing additional survival supplies. Lifeboat survival kit items typically include:

Safety equipment

• Life jackets
• Fire extinguisher
• First aid kit

Communications and navigation

• Compass
• Distress beacons (EPIRBs)
• Red flare, rocket parachute flare, and/or smoke signal flare
• Radar reflector (to help rescuers locate the raft)
• Lantern and fuel and/or searchlight

Food and water

• Emergency high-calorie rations and/or hard bread
• Fishing kit
• Rainwater collection equipment
• Seawater desalting kit
• Water (typically 3 liters/person)

Various tools and boating items

• Hatchet and knife
• Heaving line
• Ladder
• Sea anchor (also called a "sea drogue")
• Bailer
• Bilge pump
• Boat hook
• Bucket

Optional items for military kits

Survival kits for military aviators are often modified according to the environment of operations, as described below:

• In desert areas, survival kits may have more water and sunscreen, and have additional items such as shade hats and sun glasses.
• In tropical areas, a survival kit may have mosquito head netting, additional insect repellent, anti-fungal cream, and a machete.
• In arctic areas, survival kits may have additional cold weather clothing (winter hats and gloves), sleeping bags, chemical "hand warmer" packets, sun glasses/snow goggles, snow shoes, a collapsible shovel, a snare wire for small animals, a frying pan, a camp stove, camp stove fuel, and a tent designed for arctic use.
• For personnel who are flying over large bodies of water, a survival kit may have additional items such as flotation vests, fishing nets, fishing equipment, fluorescent sea marking dye, a flare launching gun and cartridges (and perhaps a revolver and tracer ammunition), a survival radio (e.g., a AN/PRC-90), a distress marker light, seawater desalting kit, a raft repair kit, a paddle, a bailer and sponge, sunscreen, and a sun shade hat.

Mini survival kits

"mini survival kits" or "Altoids tin" survival kits are small kits that contain a few basic survival tools. These kits often include a small compass, waterproof matches, a fishing hook and fishing line, a large plastic garbage bag, a small vial of bleach, a small candle, a jigsaw blade, an Exacto knife blade, and a safety pin. Pre-packaged survival kits may also include instructions in survival techniques, including fire-starting or first aid methods. In addition, parachute cord can be wrapped around the tin. The parachute cord can be used for setting up an emergency shelter or snaring small animals. They are designed to fit within a container roughly the size of an Altoids tin.

Other meanings

Bug-out Bags

The term "survival kit" may also refer to the larger survival kits prepared by survivalists, called "bug-out bags" (BOBs) or "Get Out Of Dodge" (GOOD) kits, which are packed into large containers or duffel bags so that they can quickly be loaded onto a van or truck in the event of a disaster or social breakdown. These bags contain supplies such as food, water purification equipment, power supplies, medical equipment, transportation and communications gear, and tools. Supplies and equipment are loaded into a van or truck with bicycle racks and an extra “reserve” gas tank. Some survivalists also carry a small (e.g., 250 cc) off-road-capable motorcycle in the van or truck.

Food supplies in the bug-out vehicle include hundreds of pounds of wheat, rice, and beans, and enough honey, powdered milk, canned goods, bottled fruit, vitamins, dehydrated fruits and vegetables, salt, pepper, spices, and oil for several months. In addition, the kits often contain high-calorie energy bars, a cooking kit, utensils, liquid soap, and towels. The water supplies may include bottled water, filtering kit, bottles, collapsible water containers, and chlorine bleach for water purification. Food preparation and washing equipment may include items such as a grain grinder, a bread mixer, a strainer, a manual can opener, a steam canner with canning jars and O-rings, cutlery, knives, an electric 12-volt cooler icebox, kerosene lamps and heaters, kerosene or propane stoves, extra fuel, a clothes wringer, a foot-operated treadle sewing machine, and an electric hot plate.

The medical supplies may include a blood pressure gauge, stethoscope, scissors, tweezers, forceps, disposable scalpels, two thermometers (oral and rectal), inflatable splints, bandages, sutures, adhesive tape, gauze, burn ointment, antibiotic ointment, aspirin, rubbing alcohol, ipecac syrup, sterile water, cotton rags, soap, and cotton swabs. The transportation items may include bicycles with off-road tires, emergency tools and spare auto parts (e.g., fuses, fan belts, light bulbs, head light, tire pump, etc.), and an inflatable raft with paddles.

In addition, the kits may contain typical individual “survival kit” items, such as nylon tarps, extra clothes and coats, blankets, sleeping bags, matches (and/or other fire starting equipment), a compass and maps, rechargeable flashlights, toilet paper, soap, a pocket knife and bowie knife, a fishing kit, a portable camping stove, a backpack, paper and pencil, a signaling mirror, flashlight, whistle, cable saw, bleach, insect repellent, magnifying glass, rope and nylon cord, pulleys, and a pistol and ammunition.

The communications equipment may include a multi-band receiver/scanner, a citizens band (CB) radio, portable “walkie-talkies” with rechargeable batteries, and a portable battery-powered television. The power supplies may include a diesel or gasoline generator with a one month fuel supply, an auto battery and charger, extension cord, flashlights, rechargeable batteries (with recharger), an electric multi meter, and a test light. Defense items include a revolver, semi-automatic pistol, rifle, shotgun, ammunition, mace or pepper spray, and a large knife such as a bowie knife.

Tools may include cutting tools such as saws, axes and hatchets; mechanical advantage aids such as a pry bar or wrecking bar, ropes, pulleys, or a 'come-a-long" hand-operated winch; construction tools such as pliers, chisels, a hammer, screwdrivers, a hand-operated twist drill, vise grip pliers, glue, nails, nuts, bolts, and screws; mechanical repair tools such as an arc welder, an oxy-acetylene torch, a propane torch with a spark lighter, a solder iron and flux, wrench set, a nut driver, a tap and die set, a socket set,and a fire extinguisher. As well, some survivalists bring barterable items such as fishing line, liquid soap, insect repellent, light bulbs, can openers, extra fuels, motor oil, and ammunition.

In-home emergency kit for natural disaster

The US government's Homeland Security website [1] provides a list of in-home emergency kit items. The list focuses on the basics of survival: fresh water, food, clean air and materials to maintain body warmth. The recommended basic emergency kit items include:

• Water, at least one gallon of water per person for each day
• Food, non-perishable food for at least three days
• Battery-powered or hand cranked radio and a Weather Radio and extra batteries
• Flashlight and extra batteries
• First aid kit
• Whistle to signal
• Dust mask, plastic sheeting and duct tape
• Moist towelettes, garbage bags and plastic ties
• Wrench or pliers to turn off water valves
• Can opener for canned food
• Local maps

Additional items that may be added to the emergency kit include prescription medications and glasses, infant formula and diapers, pet food, family documents (e.g., copies of insurance policies, identification and bank account records), cash or traveler's checks and change, a first aid book, and a sleeping bag or warm blanket for each person. For people in cold climates, additional clothing is recommended. Other items that may be useful include household chlorine bleach and medicine dropper, to use as a disinfectant and emergency water purifier, a fire extinguisher, matches, feminine hygiene items, plates and utensils, a paper and pencil, and activities for children.

See also

• Survivalism
• Survival skills
• Hiking equipment

External links

• www.ready.gov (kit)
• U.S. FEMA, Are You Ready - kit checklist