The right survival supplies on hand can save your life in an emergency, offer protection from the elements, as well as protection from dangerous animals or other people. Basic knowledge on how to use each piece of equipment is advised. Follow the links at the bottom of the article for additional tips and more in depth information.
Survival in any situation -- whether you find yourself in the mountains, low-land wilderness, desert, river, or even an urban environment after a natural disaster has taken place -- usually comes down to how much experience a person has in surviving, as well as what kind of survival supplies are on hand.
Shouldn't you have the best supplies?
What are the Top Survival Supplies?
Along with essential survival supplies, are basic skills that should have been learned and practiced well before hand. These basic skills are: Finding shelter, making fire, and finding / procuring water that's safe to drink.
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These are the first three things that a person should learn when tackling the subject of survival. These are three skills to teach your children when they're young, and you start taking them camping in the early years of their life.
What Are the Essential Tools for Survival?
As soon as disaster strikes, it's important to take stock of the situation. How much day light do you have? Is it safe to build a shelter where you're at, or should you move to higher ground? Where can dry wood be found? What is the easiest fire starter to be had?
Carry Two Lighters and Tinder in a Waterproof Container (#1)
If you're somewhat prepared, you should have fire starter (a good lighter, and tinder, as well as a back-up lighter). There are many methods for carrying tinder, typically finely shredded wood or even dried out moss and pine needles that is in a small water-proof container.
Before making a fire, you'll survey the scene and collect the most likely items that will burn (if in a dry environment, creating fire is usually very easy. But if it's been raining heavily, and everything is wet, you'll have some challenges). Once you get your first fire going (even using up most of your tinder if you have to) start the process of creating new tinder – which you'll need for the next fire later that day, or the next.
Cut small shavings of wood, collect moss, etc and lay them near the fire (close enough to dry out, but not close enough to catch on fire). Then when adequately dry, be sure to store in your waterproof container before this new batch of tinder gets wet (if raining).
Adequate Clothing for the Climate (#2)
If you leave your house on a drive to the mountains for a day hike, and it's 75 degrees and sunny, that doesn't mean it's going to be 75 when you get to mountains an hour a way, and clouds roll in or the weather system is simply different there.
Always have access to adequate clothing, including boots, gloves, and rain gear. If you do this you are ahead of the game. Having adequate clothing for the temperature and weather conditions can make survival pleasant, and keep you warm and relatively dry.
Are you taking other people with you into the mountains? Make sure they've also got adequate clothing as back up – including shoes.
Tarp, Rope, and Tent (#3,#4,#5)
Simply having a tent is no guarantee that you've got good shelter. What if the tent rips, or what if the rain is so severe that your tent just can't stand up to it? To avoid being soaked, be sure to pack an extra tarp or two. If there are more people in your party, have each one of them carry a small tarp also. Have a few lengths of rope, and practice improvised shelter making, and you can set up a weather proof base camp just about anywhere (that there is something to tie rope to).
Backpack and Sleeping Bag (#6, #7)
Whether you're going hiking, or simply in a city miles from home when a natural disaster strikes, having a backpack pre-packed with survival gear, clothing, and the right shoes / boots is advised, if a person wants to be prepared "at all times". Along with a good sleeping bag that is well put together, and has a cold weather temperature rating, you'll have a "survival pack" nearby when you need it. Be sure to store emergency food as well as drinking water, and a map or two, and other essential survival supplies, including medication (should you have any need for prescription medicine).
Water bottle and water purification tablets / water purifier (#8)
A good water bottle, such as the stainless steel water bottles seen in many stores nowadays, is a handy item when it comes to survival. Certain water bottles can be rigged to allow water to be boiled right inside the bottle – no need for a pot or tea kettle. Be sure to check whether a bottle is actually stainless steel, or if its made from aluminum, and also look up the brand to see what the manufacturer (or others) have to say. Kleen Kanteens and Guyout Designs are both have stainless steel bottles that are ok to use to also boil water in.
If you're in a hurry, and don't have time to boil water, or for some reason lose your fire starter, then having a few water purification tablets on hand is advised. Be sure to read ratings and reviews as well as understand how they work so that you can choose the correct tablets and use them effectively.
In addition, having a good water purifier on hand, means you can purify water for many days / weeks in the event of a disaster. As with the tablets, read ratings, reviews and of course become well familiar with how the one you purchase is used.
Self defense – Protection from animals and even other people (#9)
In a survival situation, especially in the wilderness, you may encounter wildlife that sees you as its next dinner. Heavy duty pepper spray (such as bear pepper spray) can be a good deterrent, but its advised that you become familiar with using it before hand. For those who prefer the security of a firearm, of course a gun can do the trick. How fast can you get to your gun though, before an animal strikes? Just like an old west gun slinger, you may want to practice how quickly you can get to your firearm, whether its a pistol, shot gun, or rifle. Now with that said, what are the odds of you actually hitting a charging animal (such as a grizzly bear)? This point is why a can of bear pepper spray is reported to be a safer choice. All it takes is pointing the can in the general direction.
Next on our list is the Taser. By now you've seen someone "tased" on TV, and if you're lucky maybe even in real life. This is a device you want to be well familiar with also, having practiced it a number of times, as well as understanding what it takes to keep a Taser properly charged, or simply loaded with fresh batteries, as well as having an extra set of batteries on hand. Don't count on using a taser on a wild animal, though it could work, but hitting a charging animal may be very difficult. Instead, the taser is for a survival situation where other people are the threat, such as in an urban area following disaster.
Finally, choose a good survival knife, even two. That way you always have one as back up. Survival knives are easily concealed, and can be used to deter an attacker. If its big enough, and you're tough enough (and even better, you're also "trained") just maybe you can fend off an attacker.
A Map (#10)
If you've ventured anywhere away from your home, you should always have a good idea of the layout of the land. For obvious reasons, when you are in the mountains or in a national park or forest, but also when you are miles from home in another city, perhaps just visiting family. If you study a map, and familiarize yourself with the landscape, you'll have a good idea of how to get home should disaster ever strike and the roads you traveled are no longer there. If a city of a few hundred thousand people (or a few million people) lies in the path of home, you should know the best way to detour around the city, because traveling through a large city that has been struck by disaster could be very dangerous. Rioting, fires... or terrorists that have struck with a dirty bomb. Yes, it's possible. That could be the next major event that Americans face somewhere.
Oh, and one more thing to add to your list...
Faith in God to deliver you
You're on a Christian website, so we're obviously going to throw this one on here. Even the most outspoken God-haters among us can find themselves thinking twice about their lack of faith in the midst of disaster – when they finally realize that they need God, and suddenly are willing to finally look for him on faith. Or they've believed in God all along, but chose to live for themselves rather than submitting to Christ and learning how to live for Him - as we are called to do in the Bible.
God has let many disasters strike throughout the ages, some just happen naturally, and some actually at the hand of God when he wants to reach a person or nation with his presence.
Could America be the next nation on God's time line that God calls to repentance, as he did many times in the Old Testament? Very easily. Why? We discuss these reasons on our Last Days survival page.
What's Next? Selecting Essential Survival Tools
What you've just read in the article above is a basic introduction to survival supplies. But there's more you should know, including recommendations for specific products that can save you money (over more expensive products) and greatly aid in survival. You don't have to spend top dollar on survival supplies -- there may be products right under your nose that will work great in a survival situation. See:
Top 10 Survival Gear
