Survival Gear Guide

Emergency situations can happen anywhere, at any time. Some parts of the world are afflicted with bad weather and prone to natural disasters. But it doesn’t require a dangerous situation for an emergency to occur. Bad luck, bad timing and bad preparation are all it takes. Having survival gear on hand at all times keeps people safe.

By definition an emergency is ‘a sudden, urgent, usually unexpected occurrence or occasion requiring immediate action’. Emergencies come in different sizes, different styles, and last for different durations. Bad weather can turn worse and become hurricanes, tornadoes or flash floods. Good days can become bad ones by sudden fires, car accidents or simply with a person getting lost.

You never planned to get lost, the first time it happened. But that should have taught you to always have a map on hand of where you’re going, and make sure people know where you intend to be, at what time. If you don’t check in, they’ll know when to start to worry and where to look. A GPS receiver would help to have on hand, but you should also have a compass in your survival gear with your map. Keep a flashlight on hand. If you end up staying out after the sun sets, you’ll need light to keep from falling and hurting yourself. Emergency food rations will become important too, as time passes between your emergency and the last time you had a full meal.

What about extra clothing? You might think that what you have on is perfectly fine for a day of adventure. However, if there is an emergency, you might need the extra clothing. Even deserts get amazingly cold late at night and wearing layers is a good thing. You can use clothes for other purposes too, if the need arises. You have to stay warm and dry as much as possible. Rain gear can protect you from the wind as well as the rain, and can double as an insulating blanket or a shelter in a pinch. Sunglasses too are part of survival gear. How many times have you tried to see into the distance, in the direction of the sun, and found yourself blinded by the light reflecting off snow, water or fog? You have to be able to see clearly because your rescue could be right over that next hill.

You might hurt yourself more than you realize when you start to get desperate. Fear sets in and people start making mistakes. Thorns on shrubs we pass could scrape or prick the skin. Be sure you pack a first aid kit in your survival gear, complete with bandages, antiseptic creams and ways of helping cover burns and cuts. What about your multi-purpose tool? It might be a little knife with a corkscrew and a pair of pliers on it but it’s a tool, and you might find yourself in desperate need of one later. You’ll also need the tools to make a fire. Pack a lighter, water proof matches or a ferrous rod that will spark easily onto some sort of fuel like tinder or grass.

You’re lost. And you’re getting thirsty. You find some water and you want to drink it. Don’t. In your survival gear, you packed at least one method of disinfecting water and making it safe to drink. There are chemical disinfectants you can add to suspect water to make it drinkable. Another item you can pack is a whistle. The sharp shrill noise will be heard over long distances and if you fell and hurt yourself, the whistle may bring your rescuers to you, instead of you hoping to make it to them.

An emergency shelter doesn’t have to be a big tent that takes up a lot of room. A simple tarp or space blanket can be made into a shelter using branches and logs, rocks to hold the corners down, or even pressed against a snow shelter for extra dryness and insulation. Add to the list of necessary items twenty five feet or more of cording. This can be parachute cord or simple rope but it’s a must-have for survival gear. The fourteenth item to add to an emergency kit is insect repellant of some kind. No one wants to be lost forever and eventually there will be a return to civilization. If its possible, avoid mosquitoes and ticks that might be infected with parasites or other diseases, by packing bug spray.

The fifteenth and most important thing to pack into a kit full of survival gear is something a person can’t pack at all. That’s their will to survive. All of the above fourteen items are worthless if a person doesn’t have that will to live. Sometimes emergencies happen out of the blue. Having survival gear packed and ready for any situation that might arise will save a person’s life. But having the will to think smart, think ahead and be prepared is the most important survival tool of all.

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