How to: Put together a Survival Kit

By George Nikolakopoulos

A survival kit is a small kit kept in a pouch or pocket that contains items that can help you survive in case of losing or ditching your gear. It is the last line of defense in such a difficult situation. Survival kits are used by Armed Forces members, like pilots or special forces operators worldwide. There are also survival kits on ships or boats but are larger than the portable kits issued to the soldiers. The kits don’t have a particular pattern, they change and evolve depending on the location and the activity. What they do have in common is the covering of the basic needs to help you survive.

Basic Needs That Must Be Covered

The stepping stone to start building your kit is to understand the basic needs that you have to cover; fire, water, food, and shelter. 

·     Having the means to start a fire is crucial. You can cook, stay warm, and boil water for disinfecting purposes. Also, fire is a great moral boost. A lighter, matches, ferrocerium rod will all start a fire.

·     Water is also very important. We cannot last long without it. So, you need to have a way to carry water and filter it. You can either boil it over the fire, use purification tablets, or if you have the knowledge, make a water filter.

·     To cover food you need to include items that can help you catch animals. You need calories to survive. This can be a small fishing kit, a few feet of rope, or even a small roll of wire to make snares. You can also include some emergency rations but that will make your survival kit bigger.

·     Shelter offers protection from the elements; sun, rain, and cold. The first line of defense is your clothing. Then you must seek natural cover and eventually make a shelter.

Another key factor, you have to consider is adding a couple of tools to help you achieve your goal easier. You should add a knife to your kit, either folding or fixed. It is not necessary for it to be a large knife. Even a small blade will suffice in an emergency. Some survival kits have a wire saw. I don’t like to use them. It takes quite some time to learn how to use it properly and it expends a lot of calories. They are not good for medium-diameter logs either. On the other hand, it is a great material for snaring animals. A small roll of duct tape, a sewing kit, or just a sail needle can be your repair kit. For general direction orientation, a button compass will do the trick. You can also add a whistle and a small mirror to signal the rescue team.

My Survival Kit

For my survival kit, I chose a waterproof Plano box, which can accept more items than a smaller tin box. Still, it fits in a jacket pocket or a medium-sized pouch. This survival kit is nesting in a pouch on my belt, alongside other items. This survival kit is part of my SERE kit and stays always in that pouch and is tailored for my environment.

To cover the need for fire, I chose to include a small ferrocerium rod, a couple of waterproof matches with their striker paper, and a small tin of manmade tinder. The matches are tried and true and perform flawlessly. Once lit they hold the flame in the wind or even if dumped in the water. A plastic zip-lock bag is my water container,  matched with purification tablets. A small fishing kit with extra hooks and sink weights is one of my food-gathering means. The other is a small roll of snare wire. For the repair kit, I have a small spool of bank line, a roll of duct tape, a sail needle, and a few large safety pins. I can also use the safety pins as improvised fishhooks, the duct tape as bandages or fire starters, and the bank line as cordage if I have to. A small button compass is used for general orientation. A magic compressed towel is also kept for cleaning purposes.

The knife I chose for this kit is a Woods Monkey friction folder. This folder comes with 1/8 thick A2 tool steel. The blade edge comes in a scandi grind and measures 5cm in length. The overall length of the folder is 18cm with the blade open, and 13 cm when it is closed. The handles are 3/8” thick, green canvas micarta. That thickness gives you a good feeling of the knife. It fills your hand. A small sharpening stone and a P38 can opener comprise the rest of my tool kit. I did not include any signaling device; if I have to, I can always make a fire beacon.

Keeping in mind the basic needs you can create your own survival kit, or even modify a ready-made one, to suit your area of operation. It is not hard to do it and it is a fun project. Bear in mind that every item you want to put in your kit should be tested prior. That is a principle that should follow you in every aspect of gear preparation. Test and train with your gear.

George Spent nine years in the Greek Army Raiders where he learned survival skills. Since being honorably discharged, he has been working in the tourism industry. After every season ends, you will find him at his olive field harvesting olives to make oil. In his free time, George loves spending time outdoors hunting, camping, and practicing traditional archery. He enjoys writing articles, sharing his experiences of his trips to the woods, gear reviews, recipes and survival tips. George was a a contributing writer to Self-Reliance Illustrated magazine and has a YouTube and Blog under the name Mountain Raider. 

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