DIY Survival Gear - Building a Survival Kit - Part Eight

In Building a Survival Kit - Part Seven, first aid items in the form of band-aids and alcohol wipes were added to our survival kit. The final item will now be added to our survival kit.  This final item will give us the ability to seek out help if necessary for our survival. With this final addition, our goal of building a quality survival kit is now completed and ready for our use.

The final gear item that will be added to our survival kit is a compass. In the majority of cases, you will almost certainly be better off to wait for someone to find you when you become lost. Otherwise, you will find yourself walking in circles and going nowhere fast. You may even be decreasing your chances of being found by continued movement. Try to avoid those small button compasses as they are not always accurate or reliable.

There may be times when it is necessary for you to travel and without a compass this can be a difficult task to accomplish. You could even wind up making your situation worse than it originally was before you started out. You will also want to make sure you read and understand the directions for the use of your compass. This final gear item adds $ 5.00 to the cost and approximately one ounce of additional weight to our survival kit.

After being weighed, the weight of this kit now stands at 16 oz.  It also has a cost of slightly less than $ 40.00 when the exact amounts were calculated. The cost could be even lower if you use some gear items you may already have at home.

Here are some of my final thoughts on a survival kit:

1. This is not a cheap survival kit. Cheap gear may get you killed because it may fail you at the worst possible moment.

2. There is no food in this survival kit. You can go several days without food before you are at risk. If you want food, carry a lunch box!

3. There are only minimal first aid items in this kit. If you think you’ll need more, carry a small first aid kit in addition to your survival kit.

4. You should always carry plenty of water with you or a means to obtain water that is separate from your survival kit (water bottle, hydration pack, personal water filter). You can still survive if you lose your survival kit but you can’t survive without water.

5. A good survival kit is worthless if you don’t keep it handy (purse, glove box, console, fanny pack, day pack or whatever). If you’re going on a hike or going to be gone for an extended period of time, make sure to take it and keep it with you.

6. A good survival kit is useless if you don’t know how to use its contents. Make sure you are familiar with the gear items in your kit and the proper manner for their use.

7. A good survival kit is for your personal use and the use of your family. Don’t be afraid to make changes to accommodate your needs and the needs of your family.

8. Always check your gear items periodically to make sure they are still functioning properly.

9. Increase your knowledge base as much as possible to minimize your need for survival gear. 

10. Know more, carry less.

Don’t forget to leave a comment. Thanks.

Got DIY Survival Kit ?

Staying above the water line!

Riverwalker