Survival kits are a major component of a preppers preparedness strategy. Since they’re crucial for us on a regular basis to be prepared for the next natural disaster or emergency, we want the best survival kits for the situation we’re in so we can take care of the emergency and put it behind us.
If we’re going to do that, we need to prepare thoroughly and effectively. For the context of this post, we’re referring to all the different kinds of survival kits that we can prepare and use.
What is a survival kit?
A survival kit is a specific group of items and tools that are made for survival and tactical purposes. These items are usually multifunctional and serve many different uses and can solve multiple problems.
- Types of Survival Kits
- Essential Kits
- Essential Supplies
- Basic Survival Kit
- Basic First Aid Kit
- Emergency Car Kit
- Airport Go-Bag
- Dollar Store Survival Kit
- Canine Survival Kit
- Pandemic Survival Kit
- Bear Survival Kit List
- Blackout Kit List
- Home Survival Kit List
- Hiking Survival Kit List
- Family Survival Kit List
- Backpacking Survival Kit List
- Emergency Food Kit List
- Cooking Kit List
- Fishing Survival Kit List
- IPA Survival Kit List
- Winter Survival Kit List
- Fire Starter Kit List
- Unusual Survival Items Preppers Forget About
- Conclusion
Types of Survival Kits
There are many different kinds of survival kits ranging from EDC survival kit that we’ll use every day built for practicality and simplicity to a backpacking survival kit that’s geared more towards medical and first aid purposes. We’re going to cover nearly every kind of survival kit list so you’re aware of the all the different kinds and what their purpose is.
Essential Kits
There are a few essential kits that you should have prepped and ready to deploy if needed. And they include the following:
- Roadside Emergency Car Kit
- Backpack Survival Kit
- Home Survival Kit
- Backpack
The better prepared and stocked a survival kit is, the better prepared you’ll be to handle a crisis ad they come up.
It’s important.
Essential Supplies
In general, there are some supplies and items that are essential to have nearly any survival kit. Knowing how to choose items and which ones are more important than others is important.
The key to choosing items for your kit is to pick items that will serve more than one purpose for survival.
For example, your knife. How many uses do you think your tactical survival knife has? A lot. Dozens. In fact, you can use your knife for over 50 ways.
For a more detailed guide, read our post on the survival essentials.
After the essentials are packed and prepped, we can establish a basic survival kit for general disasters and emergencies.
Basic Survival Kit
If you’re looking for the bare bones minimum amount of items for a basic survival kit. These would be it.
The items for a basic survival kit include:
- knife
- Basic first aid kit
- Snare line for fishing
- fish hooks
- Compass
- Firestarter
- Water Filter
- Fold up tent
- Food procurement
- Solar blanket
What do you think of this basic kit? Is it too basic?
Basic First Aid Kit
Basic first aid kit list of supplies are:
- bandages
- rubbing alcohol
- Tape
Emergency Car Kit
Your roadside emergency kit should be packed with items that will help you for when you have a roadside emergency.
The most important item to have in your car is a glass breaker.
For your Survival kit for the cars include:
- Glass breaker
- Spare tire
- A jack
Airport Go-Bag
The airport is no place to show up unprepared. Every second count. I can’t count the number of times I nearly missed a flight because I didn’t take the time to properly prepare for all airport scenarios. Be a prepared traveler.
Dollar Store Survival Kit
See the checklist of survival items that you can buy in our dollar store survival kit guide.
Canine Survival Kit
Unfortunately, family pets can often get neglected in a crisis. They’re important for families, prepare ahead of time and get the right items for your dog.
For your dog Survival kit, the list includes:
- Dog tags
- Tic ointment
- Identification papers
- Vaccine documents
Related: Bug-Out Bag for your Hound.
Pandemic Survival Kit
For your pandemic survival kit, the items are for protecting you from airborne diseases. This guide was especially helpful for the recent coronavirus outbreak.
See our guide and checklist of items you need to survive an event like that at the pandemic survival kit guide.
Bear Survival Kit List
For your bear survival kit, there is only one item that you absolutely must have with you if you’re going to be in bear territory. Bear Spray.
This is also assuming you have a firearm or a bow as you’re probably hunting if you’re in an environment where bears are also in. Make sure you read the bear survival guide on how to survive a bear attack to get all the information you need on bears before going into bear territory.
Blackout Kit List
For when the grid goes down, this is the kit that will shine some light
We all know there is no such thing as a perfect survival kit. But, could you think of something to take away to add a different item that would be more beneficial for surviving long term?
For your blackout Survival kit, the list includes:
- flashlights
- batteries
See the full blackout kit guide here.
Home Survival Kit List
For stocking a home survival kit, keep it basic.
Click here for the complete guide on stocking a home survival kit.
Hiking Survival Kit List
You don’t need multiple kits for hiking
For your Hiking Survival kit, the list includes:
Family Survival Kit List
For your Family Survival kit, the list includes important papers and documents for each member of your family. This is important for I.D. verification.
Backpacking Survival Kit List
For your backpacking survival kit, your key metrics to keep in mind is weight. Since you’re carrying a backpack and likely nothing else, keeping the bag as light as possible is the goal. Easier said than done.
So knowing what items will be the most efficient and effective during your adventure will return your investment on time reading and researching different survival gear will more than worth it.
Emergency Food Kit List
Food that has a long shelf life stored in a proper location. Building a prepper’s pantry is ideal.
Cooking Kit List
For your cooking kit, be sure to pack:
- Lighters
Fishing Survival Kit List
For your fishing kit, pack at least these items:
- Hooks
- Aluminum foil
IPA Survival Kit List
This one is perfect to bring for your next fishing or hunting trip. There is only one item you need for this kit. See the IPA Survival Kit guide here.
Backpack Survival Kit
For your backpack Survival kit, the list includes:
- Communication Device
- Map
Winter Survival Kit List
Having the right tools in order to build your Winter survival shelter can mean the difference between freezing in the cold or not.
For your cold-weather survival kit checklist, go to our Winter survival guide.
Fire Starter Kit List
Have you ever learned how to make a fire starter kit? Being able to make your own fire kit is important. If you don’t have your lighter, you’re able to make a fire kit with items you would likely have around you.
You can see the checklist of items you need in our guide on how to start a fire without a lighter.
Altoid Survival Kits
There are a bunch of different mini survival kits you can make with simple Altoid cans.
How To Pack A Hour Survival Kit In An Altoid Can
Altoids Urban Survival Kit List
If you’re looking for an urban version of an Altoids kit, you can check out this checklist.
Unusual Survival Items Preppers Forget About
These are things Preppers usually forget, they’re not as exciting as packing a SHTF gun.
Most survival kit recommendations are all very similar. We’ve all seen them. We even have them here at Prepper Pride. They are all about the same in terms of the essentials.
There are usually about 10 items that every kit needs.
- Trash bags
- Binder clips
- Sewing kit
- Zip Ties
- Glow Sticks
- Insect Repellent
- Sunscreen
- Hat, Shades, And Gloves
- Shemagh Scarf
- Spices
- Phone Charger
- Cash
I want to talk about the items that are not so common in ever “essential survival kit items” lists we see over and over.
Such as:
- Tactical knife
- Food
- Water
…but this list is different.
Yes, we have read it hundreds of times. Yes, those are essential items for every prepper. But this is a list of the not so common items that you don’t normally see in kit lists. And they are still essentials.
All of the items are also small and lightweight so they’re easy to pack and carry in your kit.
Trash and Plastic Bags
Trash bags have dozens of uses for survival. Insulation and shelter are two big reasons to carry them.
Binder Clips
These clips are versatile.
Sewing Kit
Be able to patch up your gear.
Zip Ties
Zip ties can be used to tie basically anything you need.
Glow Sticks
Use these quickly and easily to send a survival signal, mark your path, or just to shine a little glow in front of you.
Insect Repellent
Essential if you’re going camping or fishing.
Sunscreen
Your skin is your largest organ. Take care of it and it will take care of your long-term survival plan.
Hat, Shades, Gloves
Especially in the winter.
Shemagh Scarf
Perhaps the ultimate tactical item to have in your kit.
See our post with the dozens of different Shemagh survival uses.
Spices
Carrying a little spice is very nice, even in the wild.
Phone Charger
Forgetting your phone charger is one of the most frustrating things. Carry multiple chargers in multiple locations.
Cash
Cash is king. Carry some in case of an emergency.
Many of these are items preppers forget about. They’re not exactly flashy or the more exciting items to lug around.
But all of these are small, lightweight, inexpensive, and have multiple uses for survival purposes.
Conclusion
No matter what kind of kit you need to stock or prepare, this guide will be a good resource for you.
If there is a specific kit that we left out of this list that you want us to include, let us know below in the comments.
We hope this article of survival kit checklists helped you with knowing which items to pack for which emergency. You may also want to see our guide on how to build a bug-out bag.
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Do you know any survival kits that we should add to this guide? Let us know below.