The Best Survival Kit List of 2013

Now is the time to prepare for a major crisis. The first victims during a disaster or a societal collapse are those who are not prepared at all. Recognize your surroundings, and assess the potential environmental risks and take that into account when protecting yourself and your family just incase the unthinkable happens:
 

FOOD Of course the best survival tool to have is, you guessed it, food. It can be anything from MRE packets, freeze-dried food, canned food, energy bars, or preserves. Anything high calorie and portable.

WATER Store filtered water in plastic bottles in plastic milk gallons or 2 liter soda bottles.. but what if you run out? There’s a technique called Atmospheric Water Collection where you collect water from thin air.

 

TOOLS

It’s best to use tools that are not only portable but have multi-purpose uses, especially if you’re out in the wild and have no permanent place to survive, or if you need to bug out in a hurry. You don’t want to be bogged down with excess weight:

Tarp - Can be used for shelter, carrying things, the uses are endless.

Shelter Hammock - Great to keep your stuff off the ground as well as keeping you off the ground.

Sleeping Bag - Must have.

Knife - A reliable pocket knife always comes in handy.

Compass - A small compass is a must have if you don’t have a GPS.

Rope Cord String - Paracord can be used for just about anything, use for bowstring, lashing, fishing line, snares, trap triggers, nets, tying down shelters, etc. String would also be very useful to have.

Iodine Tablets - If you need to purify dirty water, this is definitely needed, it can also be used for cleaning wounds.

Epicac - If you swallow something poisonous like wild berries, throw it up!

USB Solar Charger - Having a portable solar charger would be a nice addition to your survival kit, you would be able to charge your LED flashlights by using the sun, basically anything that has a USB connection (smartphones and tablets etc). I recommend either the sCharger-5 or sCharger-12 as they charge faster, durable and water resistant.

LED Headlamp - To use with a USB solar charger, a Petzl LED Headlamp will last a long time and has a USB connection so you can solar charge this device with a portable sCharger. This saves you room so you dont have to use batteries.

GPS Device - If you use a USB Solar Charger like the one I recommended from Suntactics, you can use a GPS device that has a USB connection.

Candles - Of course for light and heat, use melted wax to patch up wounds.

Fire - Matches and lighters are the worst especially when wet, I recommend FireSteel, they are strike-starters that you need to create a fire at night, you would need something soft and easily flammable like cotton. Also a magnifying glass, use those skills when you were a kid burning ants!

Cooking Material - A medium sized tin cup to boil food or water is needed, you can make a makeshift camp stove or make one using a large can.

Personal Protection - This could be anything from a concealed carry, bear mace, etc.

Lockpicks - Who knows where you need to go in a pinch.

Large Knives - A machete is always useful when chopping brush.

Saw - I recommend a SaberCut Saw for cutting wood, hatchets would be cumbersome to lug around so you need a portable chainsaw to cut wood.

Entrenching Shovel – I reccommend a Military Issue Entrenching Shovel, it folds up, compact and very reliable.

Firestarter - Could be a canister mixed with wax, vaseline, and cotton.

Water Container - A portable/collapsible container that’s light and easy to carry, like a large plastic bags, also can be used to collect water from the atmosphere. (see here)

Mirror - Good to reflect light, grab attention.

Multi-Tool - A Leatherman has just about everything you would want, pliers, scissors, files, etc. It’s a bigtime lifesaver.

First Aid Kit - Bandaids, wound bandages, aspirin, needles, sutures, disinfectant, etc. get a professional Medical kit! Must Have.

Toilet Paper - You know why.

Tape - The best tape is of course duct-tape, always reliable.

Aluminum Foil - Multi-purpose, can be used for cooking or collecting water from the atmosphere.

Flares - It’s good to carry a few signal flares at all times.

Other Stuff - Paper, pencil, needles, thread, hooks, eye dropper, whistle, plastic sheeting, can opener, tin sheers, etc.