I was asked to put together written material that would cover the topics of my wilderness and urban survival kits. I am happy to do that here in about as much detail as I have ever put down.
What’s In My Survival Kit
I am always hesitant to show what is in my kit simply because it is MY kit and not yours. We often get too dependent and focused on gear rather than focusing on what our needs are. Some would say it is a philosophical difference that I have with most survival gurus out there today who are selling the next, best piece of gear. So before moving forward let’s make sure we all understand what our needs are in the order of importance:
- Personal safety. This includes ways to not be in trouble in the first place, and first aid gear.
- Core body temp. Items that will help us stay warm, clothes, shelter, and fire making materials.
- Hydrated. Anything that will help us stay hydrated. Carrying water itself, or water filters.
- Food. Calories are energy, they come in many forms, pack what you can comfortably carry.
Now that we have that in there, let’s make sure we understand something before we go any further.
The kits that I am describing for you here are MY kits. Keep in mind I live in a semi-rural area. That means I live in a neighborhood with houses, but also can be on wide open space in just minutes. So for me, I carry a rural kit (most often referred to as a wilderness kit) and then I have an urban kit as well. In the video below I detail it all extensively.
My rural kit is a pack, a modestly sized one for me. I then have my urban kit which is basically two small kits in one for urban use. All of the urban supplies I keep in a tool bag in my vehicle. In it I have the means necessary to take care of vehicle issues, and I also have a small bag of grab and go items. So if there is an instance where I will be abandoning a car, I will take only the grab and go items.
Wilderness (Rural) Survival Kit
- First Aid Kit
- Map and Compass
- Mountain Serape, Woobie
- Poncho
- Fire Starting Kit
- Garbage Bags
- Water Filter
- Water Tablets
- Metal Water Bottle
- MRE
- Wire Trap Snares
- Knife
- Large Cutting Tool (Ax)
- Hat Light
- Bandana
Urban Survival Kit
- destruction tool
- tools, serpentine belt, fix a flat
- bolt cutters
- knee pads
- notebook
- gloves
- dust mask
- solar/crank radio
- two way ham radio
- monocular
- multitool
- evacuation device
- lockpicking kit
- weapon
- hand sanitizer
These items are detailed in the video so please take the time to watch it as well. There is a considerable amount of information as to the why and what I am carrying.
As a reminder, this is my kit. If your area is different than mine, your kit might look quite different.
Please share any concerns, additions or subtractions for your kit in the comments area below the blog piece or in the comments section of youtube. As always with Nature Reliance School, come on, join in, let’s learn together.
