Survival kits, how to make

For the car, woods, or home
Updated 8-31-08
This doc will show you how to make a survival kit for just about any situation in North America in a freshwater situation. The kits are made by taking the Basic Kit and adding situation specific materials to it. The basic kit can be kept in it's own container, while the add-on kits can each have their own container. When going out, grab a basic kit and the other appropriate kit for your situation.

Table of Contents

  1. Basic kit
  2. Containers
  3. Forest kit
  4. Car kit
  5. Home kit
  6. How to build a fire
  7. Links

Basic kit

Minimal items you will need in a survival situation. This is not intended to be used by itself, but is combined with other kits to make a full kit.

  1. Pocket knife. If it has a screwdriver, all the better.
  2. Dental floss. Can be used for a variety of things, like tying light items together. Strong. Use for: fishing line, shoe laces, tying shelter.
  3. Fishing line and hooks. Fishing line can be used for fishing, or tying things together.
  4. Pain medication. This includes aspirin, tylenol, ibuprofen, or naproxin sodium. Get about 5 doses (about 10 tablets/caplets).
  5. 3 small bandaids, 6 larger bandaids (like 3.5" wide).
  6. Anti bacterial spray, cream, gel, or wipes. Good for cuts and such. Also, clean hands are very important.
  7. Tweezers.
  8. Scissors.
  9. Lighter or matches. KEEP THE MATCHES DRY. Even a dead lighter's sparks will light up cotton.
  10. Tinder. This includes cotton balls. KEEP THIS DRY.
  11. Whistle. Used so searchers can help find you.
  12. Small flashlight. I love the LED flashlights, especially the mini ones on keychains. Though they could cost $10 to buy, it may cost you $8 to put new batteries in them. But they use very little power and are very tough. Remember, night is often when you are in a pinch and need your kit.
  13. Candle. Long-term light source. Heat source is neglible. Make sure it is wind-proof.
  14. Water bottle. Fill this the day you leave, especially if you are in a hot climate. Potable water is critical to survival.
  15. Safety pins. These have a lot of uses also, like pinning a tool to your clothes, etc. You can take one large safety pin and put the point through the loop of several medium pins, and it will hold them all together.
Optional items.
  1. Paper and pencil. To help you map where you've been so you don't go in circles.
  2. Razor blade. Can be used to perform minor injury maintenance if needed. Or to dress animals. A utility knife is also good. Don't get the cheap, all-plastic ones, they break easily. Get the metal reinforced ones.
  3. Make an old bicycle inner tube into thick rubber bands by cutting it into 1" circles. I have seen whole inner tubes at the dollar store for $1us.

Containers

What will you store your survival kit in? There are several types of containers that can be used, the best is water tight so no moisture rusts any metal parts and the medicines don't go bad.
  1. 35mm film canister. One of the most popular containers for kits, but they are a bit small. Alternatively, put meds and things that need to be kept away from moisture in a film container and put that in a bigger container.
  2. Small Tupperware container. Tupperware does make some containers that are waterproof but a bit bigger than the film container.
  3. Sucrets box. These are plastic now and are a great size.
  4. Mint box. Those mint boxes are usually metal and are also a good size.
  5. Shoe polish box. These are also metal, but may rust.
  6. Floss box. These are plastic but not moisture proof, and they are small.
  7. Sealing jar. What is this? I don't know what it is really called, but it is a plastic, glass, or ceramic jar with a matching top, that has a rubber seal in the rim, and when you pull a latch over the top it seals tightly. Spreadable cheese used to come in the crock types. And some stores sell them empty. Some dollar stores also have them. Look around.
  8. Salsa or spaghetti jar. These have lids that can seal tight, but are usually made of glass. The salsa jars are often shorter.
  9. Sample makeup containers. Some sample makeup containers are small glass jars which are fairly tough. These could be useful for keeping meds in. If you really want to seal them, put a small piece of plastic wrap over the top of the jar before screwing the lid on.
There are lots of containers out there. Look in your food isle at the store, or other isles. Or you can buy something made for camping or hunting. I prefer something that's big enough to hold what I need, is plastic, and is moisture proof.

Forest kit

Add this kit to the basic kit to get a kit suitable for a forest or camping.
  1. Fish hooks and 20' of line. Plus 3 sinkers. Use wood onsite for a float/bobber by tying a slip knot in the line and tightening around the wood. Use dead wood.
  2. Signal mirror. Here in the US there are not too many situations which demand use of a signal mirror to signal a search plane overhead. Thus, when I go on short trips fairly clost to home, I leave this out. If I'm lost, it's more likely I will find a road before a search plane is even launched.
  3. Wire saw. For cutting firewood or wood for a shelter.
  4. Parachute cord (aka "para cord"). Can be used to build a shelter, bind a limb, etc. Get about 30' or so.
  5. Dry condom. These can hold 2-3 liters of water. Good for carrying "dirty" water to the campsite, or using to take a shower. (2 liters is a little more than a gallon.) The condom would be used to carry "dirty" unpurified water. Have your drinking bottle hold the potable water.
  6. Water tablets or water filter. Water is essential for survival, even more than food. So getting safe drinking water is critical. Or you can boil water for 10 minutes.
  7. Snare wire. Used to make snares. This can be picture wire, electrical wire, or something else just as strong. I think the green flower wire sold in garden shops will work here also.
  8. Compass. Just a small one will do, to help get your bearings.
  9. Metal pan. For cooking and boiling water. You might want to have 2, one for water, one for cooking.
  10. Wood or alcohol stove. Make these out of a juice can or large fruit can. Plans on the internet are common. Also plans on www.instructables.com.
  11. Straw, plastic. Used for drinking or getting water from tree bags or holes in the ground.
  12. Plastic bags, 2-3 gallon, 2 each. Used for catching transpiration from tree limbs for water. Use straw for drinking water in bottom.

Car kit

  1. Hand sanitizer. Can be used to wash hands or light fires outside.
  2. Blanket. Many situations occur during the winter when a car gets stuck in the snow. Get a foil-like emergency blanket (they really do work) or a nice wool blanket which keeps you warm even if it's wet.

Home kit

This section assumes you lost power at home and have other items to use for helping yourself. Get one or more of these in your blackout kit.
  1. Candles. Used for light mostly.
  2. Alcohol stove and cooking set with 2 pots. Use one pot to boil water and the other for cooking dinner. There is an East German surplus at Cheaperthandirt.com which I bought for about $13. It looks pretty good and it all stores inside the pots.
  3. Kerosene lantern. A single kerosene lantern is safe to use indoors, but it might generate mild kero fumes. Stop using if you feel dizzy, confused, numb extremeties, or other abnormal symptoms.
  4. Propane light. Not safe to use indoors. Very bright.
  5. Hand crank radio. The ideal radio could have a solar power, or hand crank which recharges the batter. It would receive AM and FM to get news on your situation.
  6. Wool blankets. These are very warm, and if the heat goes out in the winter, you'll need at least one of them per person.
  7. LED flashlight. Good for light and the batteries last 100+ hours, much more than the 10 hours for a regular flashlight. Go to a camping store to find an LED headlamp, then you can keep your hands free for other tasks, like reading. Or order online from http://superbrightleds.com/led_prods.htm. They have a keychain LED light for $3.

How to build a fire

This section tells a novice how to build a fire outside. Fires should not be built inside a car, even in a metal container. Fumes will build up which could kill the occupants. Fires in a building could get out of control. But if you are careful and make the fire in a metal container, you could make it work. This is, after all, an emergency situation.

Important points to remember:

  1. Fire rises, so does heat, therefore place your unburned logs above the place that is currently burning and they will light also.
  2. Fire needs oxygen to burn so don't place so much wood over your fire that it goes out.
  3. Small diameter wood burns faster. Larger wood burns smaller.
  4. Practice practice practice. It gets easier with experience.
  5. Wet wood does not burn well, so try to find the dryest wood you can.
Finding tinder

  1. Find a place for the fire. On top of bricks, in a metal container, or in a pit dug in the earth will contain the fire. Remove any flammable materials from within 2' of the fire pit/place.
  2. Gather the materials you will need. Matches, tinder (cotton ball or similar), kindling (small sticks of wood from pencil-size to thumb-size), firewood (larger pieces of wood for the longer-term fire).
  3. Feather out the tinder. That means take a piece of cotton ball (a half should do well) and pull it apart so it is thin and gauzy. A big fluffy cotton ball burns better because more oxygen can get to it. Do not pull it into pieces, just stretch it out in all directions.
  4. Place the tinder in a dry place in the fire pit. If the pit is not dry, use a dry leaf on which to place it.
  5. Now place kindling over and around the back of the tinder. Make sure when you light a match you can light the tinder. You do not need to use lots and lots of kindling, but use say, 10 pieces of 12" long kindling should be enough to capture the fire from the tinder. The shape of the kindling pile does not matter. What matters is when the tinder is lit, the flames should go upward and light the kindling.
  6. Light the tinder with a lighter or match. On a windy day, kneel close to the fire BUT NOT OVER IT. Fire and smoke go up and you don't want to be in their path when the fire lights. Shield the tinder with your hands or some other container until the file is going well.
  7. Once the tinder is lit, watch it so that the flames are going into the kindling. Move kindling if some of them are not catching the fire. If some of them will catch the fire, leave it alone.
  8. Add larger pieces of wood after 1-2 minutes, when the kindling is really burning well. Let the wood start burning for 2-3 minutes before you put a larger piece on.
  9. Now your fire should be going well with wrist sized pieces on fire, and starting the larger pieces on fire.
  10. That's it! Oh, put away your tinder to keep it dry.
If your fire goes out, like if you went to sleep (and you cracked a window, right?), restart the fire like this:
  1. Gather some kindling and larger logs. You might need tinder also.
  2. Find the hottest part of the fire. Blow on it to blow away ashes and you will see where the red embers are.
  3. Place a handful of kindling over these embers. Let the kindling touch the embers if necessary. Now take a deep breath (away from the fire, you don't want a lungful of smoke) and blow slowly but firmly on the embers below your kindling. It should be a long but firm breath. If that doesn't work, repeat.

Misc tips

Plant food

Out in the wild in North America there are many edible plant foods, especially during the summer. This section deals with plants found during the summer months. When in doubt about the safety of something, cook it. Cooking it kills many bacteria and toxins. Plants may have been sprayed with pesticides or may contain dangerous fungal toxins. Always wash with fresh potable water before cooking or eating them.
Acorns
Another very common item, which is the seed of the oak tree. It is a round nut which comes to a point on the bottom, and the top has a "cap" which attaches to the tree. These nuts have a lot of tannic acid in them so they must be shelled, smashed, then boiled in water before they can be eaten. Change the water 2-3 times at least. The mash can be eaten cooked or dried and made into flour. The only hazard is too much tannic acid could give you a stomach ache.
Burdock
This is a weed found in many lawns. It has an oblong almond shaped leaf. Some leaves have warped edges and are called "curly dock" (see curly dock here).
Carrot, wild or "Queen Ann's Lace"
This is a tricky one, since it is VERY similar to the killer wild hemlock. The leaves look like typical carrot leaves, with a small root, which is usually white. Wild parsnip also looks like this. But I can't describe the differences between this and hemlock. I would just avoid it for now.
Cattails
This is probably the most common and most easily identifiable plant in North America. Cattails grow on the edges of swamps and lakes and rivers. They have long, flat leaves. When they flower they have a cylindar-shaped brown fuzzy mass on top of a round hollow stem. Some cattails have a point that comes off the top of the brown mass. Many parts of cattails are edible. The shoots grow below ground and can be boiled and eaten. The brown mass can be chopped, mixed with water, heated and eaten. Even when the brown mass turns to fluff that can be eaten.
Dandylion
The leaves can be eaten, though the milky sap may taste bitter. Flowers may also be eaten. The leaves are oblong getting very skinny towards the plant center. The leaves often have small points going around the edge of them. There are also weeds which have leaves similar to dandylions. These leaves are often deeply cleft. These plants are often wild lettuce, whose leaves can also be eaten raw.
Nuts
Nuts are also common. All these are edible: walnuts, chestnut almonds, butternut, beech nut and many other tree-growing nuts. They can be eaten raw. Some nuts, like walnuts, must be speciall processed before being eaten or the person may get sick.
Onion, Wild, chive, garlic
The difference between wild onion and chive is the size of the root. A larger root bulb indicates an onion. And a garlic bulb smells of...garlic! These are easily identified because they are just small versions of our store bought onions. They have a hollow stalk, grow about 6" high, and they like wet shady places in the woods (that's where I've found them anyway) or 5'-10' away from the edge of water (lake, stream, etc). Break off a stem and smell it, if it smells like onion, you can eat it. Eat it raw or cooked. Eat the root too, or use it to flavor other dishes. They tend to grow in groups but can be found alone.

If you want to grow your own chives, buy a pot or plant them from seed. They are very hardy and will come back every year, after a very cold winter with lots of snow! Caution: They spread a lot because the seeds grow so well.

Pine nuts
Pine nuts are the seeds you find in pinecones, which are from pine trees. Pull off a "leaf" from a brown pinecone that has opened. Look at the end of the leaf you just pulled out and there should be a nut which is easily pulled off. I'm sure there are pine nuts from some trees which taste better.
Plantain
Plantain leaves were eaten by the Pilgrims. They actually raised them as a crop. Now they are nothing but weeds in someone's lawn. There are 2 kinds. These are the plants where, if you pull out a leaf, you can see the leaf veins hanging out where the leaf broke off. Check these links for pictures. http://www.wellesley.edu/Activities/homepage/web/Species/pplantainenglish.html, http://www.wellesley.edu/Activities/homepage/web/Species/pplantaincommon.html
Puffball mushroom
This is probably the only mushroom you should eat as it is easily identified. When it goes to seed, children jump on them and a cloud of spores come out. Puffball's have a very small (less than 1/4") or no stemp. They are very round, white on the bottom to light or dark brown on top. Get them before the go to seed. Slice them and fry them in oil or butter. There are some puffballs which are all white, and they have flakes of skin on them which seem to be peeling off. When crushed they also give off a strong foul odor. I would avoid these, they just don't look right.
Raspberries, blackberries, etc.
Raspberries grow on tall, canelike stalks with leaves that contain rough edges. Stalks usually 3' to 7' long, bent over, but can be longer. Fruit usually red when ripe, sometimes black. Stalks contain lots of thorns, like roses. Blackberries have similar leaves to raspberries, but they grow low to the ground. Fruit looks like raspberries but is usually black. Unripe fruit is red. Has smaller thorns on stems than raspberries. Also called brambles, they will often get caught on your jeans as you walk through them.
Strawberry, wild
These are small versions of our commercial strawberry. They usually grow in sunny patches, they are low to the ground. The red berries are about size of a nickel or smaller.
Tree fruits
There are many wild tree fruits, but I'll cover a few here. Mullberry: has yellowish bark with oblong fruits which look like a raspberry. Berries are edible raw. Cherries can also be eaten but the fruit part is often small compared to the size of the pit.
Fish
This is why you brought the fishing line and hooks. You did bring them, right? Use for bait: worms, insects. Look under logs or stones. Use for float: driftwood or other piece of wood. Tie and slip knot in the middle of your line and put the wood through it.
Mollusks, clams
Clams are found in salt or fresh water. Clams should not be eaten raw, they should be cooked thoroughly. Before harvesting a clam, smell it. If it smells even faintly rotten, it may be dead or have an infection. Do not eat it.

Links