A survival kit is simply a set of supplies that you have to get you through potential bad situations. Although it’s fun to think about and plan what we would do it aliens invaded, or during the zombie apocalypse, the most common use of such kits is much less exciting. A vehicle broken down on a snowy road or running out of gas in the desert are far more likely, but no less potentially deadly.
The primary difference between the survival kit and the bug-out bag is that the survival kit is more generally focused and the bug-out bag is a purpose designed survival kit to help you escape your home and/or place of work (also called a bail-out kit, if you are talking about boats) – and hopefully evade to a safer location.
Here are some of the basic elements of a survival kit:
Shelter – Since you could die of hypothermia in just a matter of hours, shelter is actually the most important survival element. A spare wool blanket in the back of your car, or a rain jacket or poncho to get out of a storm are good examples of shelter. A space blanket is an easy add to a backpack or shoulder bag and can fill this role.
Fire – Sometimes included with the above, fire is a multipurpose tool for warmth, cooking/purifying water, and a general morale booster. A campfire turns an unplanned overnight in the woods from a disaster into a primal experience. A lighter, matches, or strike-a-light (ferrocerium rod) are all easily carried sources of fire.
Water – You are made of water. You need a lot of it. Carry a water bottle and two ways to purify water – a small filter (like the sawyer model or surival-straw filters) are cheap, and easy to pack. Water purification tablets are small and fit well in any pack. Always pre-filter with a bandanna or shirt to extend the life of a water filter.
Food – Good, healthy, packable food can be energy bars, survival bread or biscuits, or stabilized pemmican. MREs are good, but not always tasty, and sure not good for you. Freeze dried foods can last for years, and although packable, may not be either good or healthy for you. A small steel pot to boil water, or cook food also makes the container for some of your stores.
Tools – The basic tool of survival is a knife – preferably fixed blade. A hatchet or axe and shovel, if room allows (i.e. in a vehicle-based kit), or a multiplier is a good nice to have, but if room allows purpose-dedicated tools are always superior.
First Aid – A well stocked first aid kit should over the basics of emergency care, including wound treatment (hemorrhage control, infection control, etc.), burn treatment, inspect bites treatment, and basic meds (anti-diarrhea, pain control (ibuprofen (muscles/anti-inflammatory), fever reduction), acetaminophen (nerve-based pain, fever reduction), antihistamine (for insect bites) or an epi-pen, if required. A saline rinse for the eyes or to irrigate wounds is good. I always like to also include PPE (personal protective equipment) like latex/nylon gloves, eye protection and at least an N95-rated mask. Also good is a mouth-to-mouth barrier mask for giving CPR. Good medical training (Wilderness First Responder, EMT-B, or just plain First Aid) is the best thing to “pack in your kit.”
Other categories can also include:
Signalling – a whistle (why not), a signal mirror, or flare gun and smoke grenades for the over-achiever.
Defense – not always included in your basic kits, defense items can mean anything that keeps you safe from four- or two-legged predators and other creatures with ill intent. In bear country, this can mean bear spray or a .44 Magnum, depending on your politics.
Based on your area of operations and the environmental factors you face, the contents of kits can be quite varied. For example, a survival kit in car can be a lot larger than one you are carrying in your pocket or in your work bag. A desalination kit is necessary on a blue water boat, but would be ridiculous in the desert.
Containers
The container used to hold your survival kit can be a variety of different sizes, based on the available space you have. A car or truck kit would be larger and hopefully include full-size tools like a boy’s axe, bow saw, and shovel. The reason why the Altoids tin survival kit is so popular is because it’s so easy to carry one with you.
If you carry a smaller survival kit on your person, make sure you can access its contents with either hand.
Injury
A lot of survival situations involve personal injury and people being stranded in an unexpected situation due to their injuries. Field & Stream magazine has a great monthly column dedicated to real-life survival stories and almost all of the stories involve some type of injury – accidentally cut by a knife, a wreck on an ATV, falling out of a canoe into ice-cold water, etc. In almost all of these stories, the people in question either didn’t have their survival gear, or were unable to access it due to their injury or the nature of the accident. This is a good lesson to keep in mind. Your survival tools should always be close at hand – i.e. don’t leave the backpack at base camp when you are heading out to hunt elk in unfamiliar territory.
Some of the coolest kits are survival kits designed for military aircraft, as they have to consider not only the basics of staying alive, but also evading or avoiding contact with the bad guys.
Wikipedia has a great article on survival kits.
See also “The Ten Essentials and then some” over at Orion Woods Brigade.