Southern Living

A disaster - whether it is a natural disaster or a man-made event - learn more about option gray can strike anytime and anywhere. An empty Band-Aid box or even a soap dish works well for a basic survival kit container. Depending one how much room you have in your bag, water can be as simple as bottled water, or carrying sealed water pouches. Personalize this 72 hour kit list for your family.

An absolute must for any bugout bag is a complete first aid kid. If you have one, a backpack makes an excellent container for your emergency supplies. You should know which is the best prepped food to store for an emergency situation and for that, you can take a look at our in-depth article about this.

Just remember that you may be carrying this bag for several miles so don't overpack it. Once you get it together, take it out for a walk. Some people like to pack wind proof matches; I cannot see any advantage in carrying a source of ignition that can only be used once.

An emergency kit is essential for short term survival providing vital items for you, your family or household. If you choose to make your own survival kit and are going into seriously adverse terrain, or are on active service in the military, use a waterproof bag like the Blackhawk escape and evasion drop bag (photo, left).

He said PLBs are expensive — they can cost several hundred dollars — but are an excellent investment for those planning on spending a lot of time in the backcountry, especially people who go solo. But that said, there are some core survival essentials that you should always have available in your survival kit.

It will sit in the bottom of a backpack, potentially for years, encased in a waterproof vessel of some sort, lightweight and out of the way. The first thing I would do is ensure personal safety for my family, then food, water, and shelter. Assuming you are not injured, your basic needs are shelter, fire, water and food, not necessarily in that order.