# Prepping / Emergency Preparedness > Bags, Kits and Vehicles >  My Survival Kit

## Billy13426

I would like some suggestions on the kit. Anyone please feel free to add your two cents. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yD74wrU3iI

Thank you, your time and suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

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## Billy13426

Oh I also forgot to mention my leatherman sidekick and a whistle.

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## MrFixIt

I'll check it out when I get to a computer Billy (on a dumb phone ATM).

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## hunter63

I prefer pic's and a list...
Modem too slow for vids most of the time.

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## welderguy

Checked out your video, Now I may have missed it but is the lighter in your canteen pocket your only fire source? If you have a chance and care to , maybe you could post a list of items.

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## wilderness medic

Agree with Welderguy. You look like you have most stuff covered but that extremely cheap lighter isn't good. Better quality and a couple would be nice. You have all that other heavy stuff a couple more isn't a big difference. Also not planning on needing a compass isn't good. I'd get one you at least know works.

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## hunter63

You can add a stove to your canteen set up....those are still the best compact, light, set up I have ever used.

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## welderguy

As you browse around this forum you will see that most if not all have a huge redundancy factor to there kits. For example, I carry a lighter in my pocket, have a dedicated fire starting kit with a lighter, magnesium and ferro rod, strike anywhere matches, steel wool and a 9v battery. plus matches and a lighter in my mess kit.

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## Billy13426

I carry a lighter in my canteen case and another in my fire kit i will start working on a list soon of everything i carry. And wilderness med i do know that the compass works I have used it several times and it works just fine. The only reason i dont feel i need a better one is the cost and I know that it works.

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## Billy13426

My fire kit is a bic lighter, strikeforce ferro rod, magnifying glass, fatwood (courtesy of Mrfixit), wood shavings, matches and cotton balls

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## MrFixIt

Pretty good set up Billy.
Look into a good headlamp, WalMart has a real nice inexpensive one that is very bright and has a couple different modes.
I would change the puck to a diamond stone. Less weight and smaller.
What about an emergency food source, like a few Clif bars, beef jerky or trailmix?
You seem to have a good start and it can only get better with experience.

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## Billy13426

I forgot to mention my small sharpener to the puck is mostly for the machete. And I always pack food when I go out i just didnt show any in the video. I will have to look out for the headlamp as well. Thank you for the suggestions

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## crashdive123

I haven't watched the entire vid yet, but I will.  Your wool blanket looks like a moving blanket (used to pad things in a moving van).  If it is - be careful.  They don't like to get wet.  They tend to smell badly and kind of fall apart.

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## Billy13426

they are the cheap ones but i plan on upgrading them soon with the harbor freight ones

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## crashdive123

> they are the cheap ones but i plan on upgrading them soon with the harbor freight ones


I can honestly say that I have never heard that statement before.  It did give me a chuckle.

You could also look into lightweight sleeping bags.

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## hunter63

> I can honestly say that I have never heard that statement before.  It did give me a chuckle.
> 
> You could also look into lightweight sleeping bags.


Bhohahaha....Ya beat me too it....I would have never guessed in a 1243 days I would ever hear that statement.....

Man,..... send that to Harbor Freight and be the company spokesman......

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## welderguy

Harbor freight sells wool blankets??

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## hunter63

http://www.harborfreight.com/60-inch...ket-92625.html

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## welderguy

> http://www.harborfreight.com/60-inch...ket-92625.html


Wow never knew that !!!! I wonder what else I missed in that store !!

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## Billy13426

i do have my 0 degree mummy bag for the winter but in the spring and fall i take the wool blankets and a light sleeping bag and in the summer just 2 wool blankets

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## welderguy

What Im getting from the video and the posts is this is more than a survival kit its more of a bob or an inch bag ?

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## hunter63

> Wow never knew that !!!! I wonder what else I missed in that store !!


Follow the kerosene smell.....

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## welderguy

> Follow the kerosene smell.....


hahaha true

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## Billy13426

i guess it could be called a bug out bag. I dont normally label my kits with names just bags o' gear for the most part.

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## hunter63

> i guess it could be called a bug out bag. I dont normally label my kits with names just bags o' gear for the most part.



Aw, man you gonna spoil it........LOL

All of us guys that been coming up with all these names (made otta letters) for too many bags, for a long time......So then we try to carry waaaay too much stuff, only to find what you needed was at home anyway.

Naming them give a air of importance, to spend time and money.....and not have your sanity questioned.

I have "bags of gear" as well.....and the BOB, might be just that, or a camping bag, or a get home bag.

My Bug out is geared to moving fast to a safe location for both DW and I, kept by door.......not a lot of long term camping stuff bag.

That said, vehicle contains camping, living off the land stuff......repair, and get out of trouble truck stuff.
Also hunting/day pack, good for a night out, maybe more depending on weather.

Hunting trip bags.....and fishing tackle boxes also have redundant gear.

Add pockets of pants, jackets....and EDC stuff, and EDC pouch.

So lots of stuff.

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## crashdive123

Your 0 degree bag is probably smaller and lighter and can be used as a blanket.

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## madmax

You guys are mean.  Crash has seen me dirtbag it by the fire with just about nothing.  Maybe next year I'll do some cheapo equipment camps just to... oooo a Harbor Freight Camp. Oh yeah.

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## jester573

Great video, but where's your T.P.?  :Big Grin:  I always carry a travel pack of sanitary wipes, or T.P.. Sometimes, it's the little things, ya know? Your kit will change and grow/shrink as time goes on. How much does your pack weigh, do you know?

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## hunter63

[QUOTE=jester573;457638]Great video, but where's your T.P.?  :Big Grin:  I always carry a travel pack of sanitary wipes, or T.P.. Sometimes, it's the little things, ya know? ................QUOTE]

Just wear long socks and long sleeves.....Just saying.

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## finallyME

What is the purpose of this bag?  On youtube you call it a bushcraft kit, and on this thread you called it a survival kit.  It is a good start on a bushcraft kit.  I don't think it is a good BOB or survival kit.  You need to define it's purpose, and then putting stuff in it is a little easier.

Stansport tents are really good at being too heavy and leaking water when it rains.  Keep that in mind.  I would replace your self inflating mat for a closed cell foam one.  It will be lighter and more durable.  

Repackage the duct tape.  You don't need the whole roll.

Again.... define the purpose of the bag.  That will help you decide what you need for it.

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## jdbushcraft

> they are the cheap ones but i plan on upgrading them soon with the harbor freight ones


If you are going to use them in the house they are OK.  HF wool blankets are not up to cold weather outside use
.  we made the mistake of washing one that had cider spilled on it.  Still picking up little gobs of wool .  it pretty much self destructed in the washer.  About half as thick now as it was.   It is a $10 wool blanket and you get exactly that.  Sorry.  I thought I hit the jackpot of cheap wool too.  Not so much.  It might be ok for summer use, but in general I really think most people are better off going with a good sleeping bag.

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

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## hunter63

PS......The Harbor Freight wool blankets are made for dryer lint.....and smell like kerosene to cover up the dog hair smell...(in our dryer lint)

I would shop around....Sportsmans Guild, has a larger selection of low buck blankets......
Even Walmart sell lower cost blankets as well
Examples....
http://www.walmart.com/c/kp/wool-blankets

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## hunter63

> You guys are mean.  Crash has seen me dirtbag it by the fire with just about nothing.  Maybe next year I'll do some cheapo equipment camps just to... oooo a Harbor Freight Camp. Oh yeah.


Sound like a fun challenge....for Florida.....LOL.

So all y'all RATTW grab your HF survival knives, blue tarp and painter drop cloth....and report back.

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## welderguy

[QUOTE=hunter63;457673]


> Great video, but where's your T.P.?  I always carry a travel pack of sanitary wipes, or T.P.. Sometimes, it's the little things, ya know? ................QUOTE]
> 
> Just wear long socks and long sleeves.....Just saying.


TRAVEL PACK!!??!! I carry a couple rolls just in my bag

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## madmax

Great.  Now I got to fly back up north and freeze my azz off.  So I can git credit.


I got a big mouth...

...just a thought.  C'mon down to FL.  Bring a Pot and a Machete and the clothes on yer back.  3 days out there.  Woo Hoo!

Not being a weiner here.  It's all in fun.  (But you're welcome next winter to join us.)

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## Zack

> they are the cheap ones but i plan on upgrading them soon with the harbor freight ones


If you're willing to pay a little more ($5-10 more), you can get Red Cross relief blankets for low prices.  They're not super warm in the winter (as I found out last December), but they would work in the summer and roll up to be pretty compact.  Just a thought.

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## Auban

i think your kit has damn near everything i could possibly want, besides food in it.  i took a lot less with me back when i decided to stay out in the wilderness for a few months...  though i did take food with me.  

i would add iodine tablets, a nine volt battery, some steel wool, and one of those little containers of mechanical pencil led.  the lead heats up with in contact with both terminals of the battery, just like steel wool.  and it doesnt rust.  

i would also add toilet paper of some kind.  you dont absolutely need it, but you will wish you had it if you dont...  just trust me on that one.  i left the swamps ten days early because i caught something nasty that caused me to blow my brains out my backside.  i would have loved to have had some rags that i could wash and dry...

other than that, get a topographical map if you can.  and know how to use it.

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## Billy13426

I will be sure to add some tp and some better wool blankets lol.

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## welderguy

> I will be sure to add some tp and some better wool blankets lol.


I found that if you take the cardboard tube out put it in a good zip lock baggie and suck the air out it flattens down to nothing , two rolls take up very little space in the bottom of my bag

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## hunter63

Before you add so much stuff you can't pick it up....take it out and try it....

Then you will know what you have to bring......(core)...then extra stuff then you want to bring.....

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## Auban

That brings up a good question...  how much does it weigh?  

I know from experience that I can carry a 45 pound pack indefinitely,  but I could probably carry a 35 pound pack much faster and longer.  

I would ruck it around for a while just to find put how fast it wears you down.

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## hunter63

We all do it....one more thing-ites....Just one more thing, just one more thing.....

Go on the forum....and find one more thing.....Aw, man, throw it in the truck (Deploy), and start another bag...call it something different.
Never keep all your stuff in one spot....that way no one know what you have.......

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## finallyME

That is why you need to define WHAT the bag is for.  Is it a survival bag, or a bug out bag, or a bushcraft bag?  If it is a bushcraft bag, then you can make it as heavy as you want, the purpose is to go out in the woods and play with nature.  For a survival kit, you want it very small with stuff that WORKS with minimal effort.
In a bushcraft bag.. in your fire kit...you might want to put some real flint, and a piece of steel.  Maybe some stuff for a bow drill.  Put in that steel wool and a battery.
In a survival bag, you don't want any of that stuff.  You want storm proof matches, a few lighters, a ferro rod, wetfire tinder or cotton balls and PJ, and maybe even a road flare.  
Different stuff for different bags.

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## Billy13426

ok i will be testing out most of the gear friday night and throughout spring break. Me and a buddy are doing some survival camping and are going to be staying out for a while. This reminds me does anyone know of a public place where I can spend the night and not get arrested for loitering?

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## Auban

not in Michigan i dont.  in north carolina, i know of a thousand acres that you could do it on, land my wifes family owns...

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## Billy13426

sweet we only have 14 acres here sadly.

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## MrFixIt

Good luck on your excursion Billy, have fun and be safe!

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## jdbushcraft

Make a good mental note of what you do and don't use from the pack so you can adjust the load out.  I found that I really needed a second container/pot besides my coffee pot for cooking.  I could get by, but  the small addition made life much easier.  

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

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## hunter63

> Make a good mental note of what you do and don't use from the pack so you can adjust the load out.  I found that I really needed a second container/pot besides my coffee pot for cooking.  I could get by, but  the small addition made life much easier.  
> 
> Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk


Good feed back...that's what it's all about.

Build it for you, for your area, for what you want to do.....then try it!

You will be doing his for the rest of your life.....

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## Billy13426

I just got back from an overnighter and realized how little of the gear I actually needed. I will be taking a lot of gear out and probably be moving into a smaller backpack

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## hunter63

> I just got back from an overnighter and realized how little of the gear I actually needed. I will be taking a lot of gear out and probably be moving into a smaller backpack



Congrats on a major step in your journey..........

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## Auban

you could do a hybrid type setup...  a pack within a pack, if you will...

basically, carry a bunch of stuff out there and set up a smaller pack to carry and use the items you would most likely need.  you could put the smaller one in the larger one.  

then carry the small one when you think you wont need the other stuff, and use the larger pack as a sort of bug out bag.  truth be told, i always want more gear.  and i always carry more than i need...  but i know how my body will react to the weight.  i can carry half my body weight for a few days, non stop, without extra food or water(i carry some).  i can carry my full body weight for about two days non stop without extra food or water.  not fast.  and the blisters will take a week to recover from.  


but to be honest, i dont know what my ideal survival pack would weigh.  i have never built a pack solely for wilderness survival.  its always been stuff to keep me alive, but not for living in the woods.  when i stayed out in the wilderness for a few months, there were a lot of things i (secretly) wished i had.  if i were to do it again, i would carry more than i need and set it down once i make base camp.

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## Billy13426

Yeah i already started moving into a small tactical bag and I think it will hold more gear than I will need anyway

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## Wildthang

For Petes sake dont forget coffee!I can do without a lot of things but I have to have my cup of coffee in the morning!

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## Billy13426

I dont drink coffee so no need for that.

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## kyratshooter

> For Petes sake dont forget coffee!I can do without a lot of things but I have to have my cup of coffee in the morning!


In a post apocalyptic world the last guy with a large economy size jar of instant coffee wins.

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## hayshaker

Amen to that tasters choice french roast.

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## Rick

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Just sayin'.........

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## el-amigo

I wish it was available here.  :Frown:

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## hunter63

> Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.
> 
> Just sayin'.........



Yeah!.....Greatest thing since slice bread and bottled beer......Plus 1

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