If you’re preparing for a possible wilderness survival situation, you need to create a set of essentials that can fit in a pack. You can keep the pack in your vehicle for emergency situations or on you during outings into remote areas.
Knowing what’s essential can be hard if you’ve never faced such a situation before. So what do you bring? First off, we need to keep things lightweight. Just fitting your items in the bag isn’t enough. You should still be mobile and not expend too much energy lugging your pack. Plus, you want to maximize the amount of situations you’ll keep your pack on you, to be best prepared.
Some key things to keep in mind:
- The average survival situation lasts 72 hours.
- Your goal is to be found, not to blend in, so choose bright items over camo.
Click here to download an editable Excel spreadsheet or printable PDF of the essential survival pack gear list
The Wilderness Survival Gear List
Pack
Your pack should be tough and easy to carry. Your best bet is a backpack, which will provide the most comfort and allow you use of your entire body. You’ll want something comfortable and versatile. Look for features like hip straps and hip padding. These make a tremendous difference in comfort when lugging a bag over long distances.
For a max-comfort, lower-profile bag option, check out the
Geigerrig Rig 1600 Hydration System.
For a more robust pack with plenty of space and organization, try the
Maxpedition Falcon II.
Hydration
Hydration is essential. That’s why the two packs listed above are also hydration systems. Water purification tablets will make water you may encounter safe to drink.
If you’re not using a hydration system, you can find water bottles with built-in filters. Filter straws are also a popular, lightweight, cheap solution. However, these may only be viable in areas that have easy access to water sources.
Knife
Next to hydration prep, a knife is the most important thing to have in your pack. Something with a fixed blade is best, for durability and tougher cutting tasks. Their uses in survival situations are limitless. You can use them to cut rope, create fire starters like bow drills, assist in building emergency shelters, cut cloth for bandages, and so much more.
A sturdy and reliable option for a survival knife is the
Boker A-F Combat knife with sheath. Because combat knives stay sharp and are made to not break, they are ideal in a situation like this where a knife is an indispensable tool.
Flashlight
Battery life is the essential factor here. While high brightness might seem attractive, it will kill battery life. Search and rescue teams aren’t likely to be around at night, so using your flashlight as a signal isn’t as great an idea as you might think. Go with an LED in a tough casing for a practical survival light.
A product like the
Surefire EB2 Backup is a sturdy, low-profile option that is sure to last. With a tactical runtime of 2.25 hours and a stunning 500-lumen maximum output, it is perfect for any dark situation you may find yourself in.
Rescue signals
Signal mirrors are great for long distance signaling when rescuers are in sight but out of earshot. They’re only useful when the sun is out, but worth hanging on to at night due to their low profile. You’ll also want to get a high pitched whistle, and maybe some orange flagging to mark your trail. You can even get a marker to mark your name, and the date/time you left the flagging to assist rescuers.
Shelter
If you’re spending a night in the wilderness, some type of shelter is crucial. Again, light weight and low volume are key. An emergency bivouac sack or bivvy may be your best option, but a simple, lightweight tarp can be used in conjunction with paracord to make a simple A-frame.
Fire starter
Being able to start a fire is important for a number of reasons. Even if you are in an area where the need for warmth isn’t a factor, you may end up needing to dry your things quickly. Leaving them near a fire can help. If your survival situation runs over, you may need to start improvising traps and planning to cook. Redundancy is key here. You’ll want a lighter, stormproof matches, and a metal match.
First Aid Kit
Keep it simple and know where everything is. You’ll want bandaids, antibiotic salve, gauze, Povidone Iodine solution, butterfly bandages, sewing thread, and two large sewing needles. Those are the essentials. Add more, such as pain pills, at your discretion.
Paracord
This has numerous uses, and being lightweight and easily stashed away, you have no excuses not to have it. It’s good for traps for hunting, hoisting food to keep from animals, building emergency shelters, making splints, fishing line, attaching gear to your pack, and a lot more.
Map and Compass
In order for these to be useful you should actually know how to use them! But even if you aren’t a professional tracker, if you take note of where roads and civilization are before you head into the unknown, you can still utilize a compass to keep you moving in right direction.
Change of clothes or layers of clothes
At least one change of clothes is important, in case you get wet. This way you can change, start a fire, and work on drying out your first pair. Synthetic clothing is best, as it will keep you driest and dry the fastest. If we’re talking about colder climates, extra clothes should just be extra layers you can add as temperatures drop. But when it’s raining, rainproof items and a poncho will go a long way
A few last items to consider when packing your extras:
- Beanie cap to keep your head warm, and padded while you sleep
- Trash or ziplock bags to keep things dry
- Duct tape for patching things, making rope for a bow drill, etc.
- Knife sharpener
- Fishing kit
Editable Spreadsheet
Printable PDF
