How to Make A Simple Survival Kit for Hiking

According to the National Park Service, 41% of the people they rescue started out hiking. Most hikers only plan to spend a few hours on the trail and don't carry a first aid or survival kit. Many kits contain very cheap and unnecessary products. Many don't have some of the most important tools and items you'll need. This hub will help you make your own survival kit for the outdoors and can dramatically improve your chances of surviving other disasters. Feel free to print this hub to use as a checklist and modify it however you like.

Ask any experienced enthusiast this question and you're likely to get a dogmatic answer. But, it simply comes down to your preference. Let's take a quick look at the pro's and con's of each.

The typical survival knife kit. Pros: usually has fishing hooks & line, water'proof' matches, compass, and sharpener conveniently stored in a comfortable handle. Cons: Many are cheaply made, fishing hooks are too small, compass breaks easily, you get funny looks from other day-hikers. United Cutlery makes one of the better survival knife kits on the market mostly because of it's metal handle and detachable handguard. The Tom Brown Jr. Tracker is the best stand alone survival knife that I've used to date.

The Multi-tool. Pros: It's small and light, should have a set of pliers, file, blade, serrated edge, and saw blade making it much more versatile. Cons: Not as good for prying, chopping, or skinning, and usually causes hand fatigue faster than a knife. After 20 years of backpacking and minimalist survival trips, I still prefer my Leatherman Charge TTi (I like to have scissors) to a survival knife if I have to choose.

In general, take a multi-tool when hiking and both when backpacking.

With the hard choice out of the way, let's round out the rest of our survival kit.

• Laminated topographical map of the area, hole punched and on keyring for quick reference.
• Lensatic Compass. Learn how to use it BEFORE you leave.

-OR-

• High quality GPS with topo maps and extra batteries. I still prefer a laminated map as GPS units have proven unreliable and difficult to read in direct sunlight.

• Sweedish Firesteel fire starter or a high quality butane lighter. BlastMatch just isn't worth the price difference to me. Never risk your health or life on water'proof' matches. (Unless you know how to start a fire from scratch)
• 1 small, 1 medium, and 1 large fishing hook
• 20 or 24 gauge brass wire if you have a multi-tool with wire cutters or 20 feet of heavy fishing line if you only have a knife. This has too many uses to list.
• 3 butterfly bandages
• 1" wide roll Co-Flex elastic bandage. This is a first aid essential in every kit I own. You can also find it at feed, pet, and vet supply stores. Bright or florescent colors can also be used for marking your trail, signalling, and marking improvised animal traps.
• Antiseptic wipes
• Trial size bottle of mosquito repellent (or wipes).
• A solar rechargeable L.E.D. key chain light. I rarely pack a flashlight as it's unwise to travel at night whether you have a flashlight or not, I don't like carrying spare batteries, and firelight is free. But, that small L.E.D. light is visible for over 2 miles.
• Always bring a steel water bottle. This will allow you to boil water at the edge of your fire without having a pot. Just make sure you don't melt the plastic cap.
• Aquamira brand water purifier tablets and Frontier model emergency water filter. Together, they weigh less than 2 ounces and treat up to 20 gallons of water.
• Emergency poncho. This usually costs under a dollar at major retail chains and is one of the most useful items to pack. It can keep you dry and help prevent hypothermia, can be used to carry water, and can collect rain water or be used for a solar still.
• A fair length of biodegradable toilet paper. It's amazing how many people overlook this when assembling a simple survival kit. Besides it's most obvious use, a single square is great tender for starting a fire.
• A signal mirror and whistle have traditionally been used to draw the attention of rescuers. But, I urge you to consider an emergency strobe light or handheld EPIRB (radio transmitted distress beacon). I can specifically recommend the SPOT Personal Tracker as the single most important survival tool. It is more likely to save your life than any other item. Whatever you do, please don't count on your cell phone.
• Always carry a carbohydrate rich energy bar.
• Extra prescription medicine or injections.

All of this should easily fit in a belly pack or storage pocket of a hydration pack. No one wants or needs a 50 lb survival pack. Amazon.com and ebay.com often have the best prices. But, a good military surplus or outdoor sporting goods store will work in a pinch.

After the essentials, you might like to add few other things according to the trail environment and your own skills and preferences.

• A light folding shovel. Use it for digging holes for human waste, fire pits, or pit traps to catch small animals in survival situations.
• Snakebite kit in areas with a high concentration of poisonous snakes.
• Small first aid kit.
• Folding saw or high quality survival chain saw.
• Small sewing kit.
• 20 feet of parachute cord (aka: paracord). Many people consider this a staple in their survival kit. Camalo117 does a great job showing how to make your own survival belt out of 100 feet of paracord.

You may not want to spend $100 to $300 putting together your hiking survival kit or carry around another 2.5 to 3.5 lbs. of gear. But, if your own negligence got you in trouble, being rescued can be more expensive. If the National Park Service has to rescue you, you may be:

• Cited and possibly found guilty by a federal judge for "creating a hazardous condition" that endangered the lives of your rescuers or others.
• Required to pay restitution.
• Required to submit an article to the NPS summarizing your experience to help others from making the same mistakes.

Although it is uncommon, some have ended up paying over $900 in fines and restitution for their rescue. Whether it's your fault or you're forced from the trail by nature or wildlife, your life is worth the cost.

All of the best survival gear can't save your life if you don't know how to use it. Before you take off on your next adventure, please take the time to practice using everything in your survival kit.

You may also consider learning survival skills that don't rely on tools at all. You don't want to bet your life on whether you left your Swedish Firesteel at home when it's fairly easy to learn how to start a fire without matches. Taking a primitive living skills class in your area may be well worth the money.