Survival Gear

SURVIVAL GEAR YOU MIGHT NEED

If you're going to be out in the wilderness, building shelters and hunting wild game, you'll need some tools in your gear kit. Don't be stupid. During all but the most drastic of emergencies, police are still on the job. Whatever you do for the tools and weapons area of your bug out bag, make sure you follow the laws of your region. Don't carry anything that you are not legally authorized to carry. Plan for the worst, but don't use that plan to its full extent if it's not necessary. Otherwise, you're just asking for trouble.

That being said… having a plan for defending yourself, and keeping all the necessary tools you might need for bugging out, is important. Some items you may consider for your bug out bag are:
Knife
Pistol
Rifle
Multi-tool
Axe, Hatchet, or Machete
Screwdriver – may be on multi-tool

Each one of those listed is a tool that can be used to make your bug out experience more comfortable, and they can also save your life if faced with danger. In a survival situation, you will probably have to do things you don't normally do in your day to day life. That's when these tools will come in handy. Tasks you might find yourself having to do include: Digging, chopping, hunting, building shelter, and fighting. That's not an all inclusive list by any means, but it's there to show you that you should be prepared to do some things you don't normally do. Having tools and weapons ready to go can save your life. Keep that in mind.

The Knife
In my opinion, there has been no invention more significant to the development of man than the knife. A knife can do many things for you. It can help you hunt, make shelter, create splints and bandages, make tools, and even save your life. A good knife should be a staple in any bug out bag. An example emergency situation where a pocket knife would be useful is a car accident. If a seat belt gets stuck, you're stuck. What if you're not the one who's stuck, but your spouse or child? What if the car is on fire? You have got to get out fast, so the ability to cut through a stuck seat belt would be handy. For your bug out bag, you might want to consider also packing some type of fixed blade field knife. Again, nothing fancy, but it should be sharp and very sturdy. Make sure this knife has a full tang blade construction (the blade goes all the way through the handle) and its steel is at least 440 stainless. That particular metal is relatively soft, but it's the minimum necessary to be a serious knife. A fixed blade knife will be used more as a tool in a survival situation. A folding knife is handy, but sometimes you need something more substantial. When making tools, a sturdy, heavy knife will make the job easier. For example, you can use a knife as a spear point for hunting or defense. Tightly strap your fixed blade knife to a staff, and you've got a usable spear.

Watch this survival gear video:

Guns
Firearms are a tricky subject. Not everyone has a firearm, and in some countries civilian ownership is not allowed. If you can't have guns in your area, then this section won't apply to you directly. However, you should still read it and think about it because there are some valid survival issues I'm going to bring up. There are two reasons why guns are an important survival tool: Defense and food. Emergencies make people crazy, so you might find yourself being attacked by someone else with a firearm, machete, or baseball bat. Being able to sufficiently defend yourself is the first step when faced with such a confrontation. During an extended bug out scenario, you may run out of supplies. If you live in a region with sufficient wildlife, you have a readily available source of food and a way to harvest the food. Whatever you may think about hunting in general, if you run out of food, you may need to kill and eat animals to survive. If you eat a hamburger, you should have no problem killing and eating a deer, wild pig, rabbits, squirrels, and so on. If you find yourself in a situation where society has crumbled (unlikely, but possible), at least in your region, you'll still need to eat. When there's nothing else, hunting becomes a viable, life sustaining option. Some people choose to keep tactical style weapons with their bug out gear, to be taken if the need arises. Others prefer hunting weapons. What you pack, if anything, is up to you and your assessment of your particular situation. Sometimes, packing a gun in your bug out kit is not only stupid, but illegal. Make sure you follow local, state, and federal laws (or your legal system's equivalent setup). If you decide that putting firearms in or with your bug out kit is something you want to do, talk to your local gun dealer about it. Assess your particular needs and get advice on the subject. If you want something for defense and something with which you can hunt deer, you might get a 9mm pistol and a 7mm bolt action rifle. Don't break the bank, and don't break any laws. If you decide to get something, make sure it meets your particular needs. Guns are tools, and like any tool, you only use them when you need them.

Multi-Tool
A multi-tool is an item that contains many commonly used tools in one compact device. They come in a few different shapes and sizes, with an assortment of tools, and some even take attachments. In one little package, you can have several common tools strapped to your belt. Many knife companies have jumped into the multitool market. It exploded after Leatherman hit the scene. Even though the multitool has been around for a long time in the form of the Swiss Army Knife and variants, the Leatherman set multitools apart from the knife world. A typical multitool will have some of these items, and maybe some more: Pliers, wire cutters, knife blade, saw, file, Phillips and flathead screwdriver, and a case. My multitool has more – each brand and model is different. Why do you need to pack a multitool into your emergency pack? Because tools are handy things to have, and a multitool is a small, light tool package. Small and light means it's not going to take up much room in your bug out bag. When selecting a multitool, pay attention to quality. There are many multitools out there in the market, some priced quite cheaply. They are priced like this because they are cheaply made and, therefore, may break under normal conditions. If you are thinking of getting a multitool that costs $9.99 or $14.99, or something similar, stop. Most good multitools run at $50 or more. You can get a few basic models for less, buy they may not have all the features you're looking for. The number of tools you need is relative to what you're going to be doing in an emergency, and somewhat dependent on personal taste. Just keep all of that in mind when you are shopping around for a multitool. If it is cheap, it's probably cheaply made, and you don't want that kind of thing in your emergency survival kit.

Chopping with a Machete or Hatchet
Chopping is an important task in many survival situations, so a hatchet or machete may be something you need in your emergency kit. Cutting firewood, making shelter, and clearing paths for you are just a few of things you might find yourself doing when in some type of wilderness survival situation. A tool tailored to those activities will come in handy. A hatchet is a small, handheld axe that is commonly carried on camping trips. It's small enough to fit on your belt, but big enough to be useful when you need to cut something. It will take you longer to cut up a large log with a hatchet than it would with a full size axe, but you can still get the job done. Hatchets also go by different names, like camp axe or hand axe. Any sporting goods store should have a selection of handheld axes. They are priced relatively cheap because they are just a hunk of steel on top of a wood, plastic, or steel handle. You won't need anything really complex, so you won't have to spend a lot of money. That will leave you more money to spend on a quality multitool or field knife. Machetes are another option. A machete is simply a large knife (more of a small sword, actually) that was designed for managing brush and various vegetation. A machete is great for chopping. If you are going to be out in the wild for any length of time, having one of these can be handy. If you buy a machete that is sturdy enough, you can use it to cut down a tree. Sure, it will take longer than using an axe, but it can still be done. I've done it once myself. Machetes are useful tools, but they are not for every emergency situation. Take a look at your needs and pick one up if you think it might help.

Tools to Meet Your Needs
Whatever you decide to put in your emergency preparation kit, make sure that it meets your individual needs. First you need to assess your needs. Ask yourself questions like, "What's my local environment like?" and "Where am I going to go in an emergency?" Likely, an urban bug out scenario will mean a different tool setup than a rural plan. The main thing you want to be able to do is survive. Your goal here is not to pack as many tools as possible into your bug out bag. Everything in your kit should have a purpose. You have very limited space and weight for your gear, so be selective. Don't carry a machete and an axe unless there is a specific reason to do so. Likewise, if you pack three pistols, a scoped rifle, an M-4 variant, and 1000 rounds of ammunition, where are you going to put your food and water? Think about your plan and your likely environment, and then plan your gear accordingly. If you don't do this, one of two things may happen. You can pack a backpack too heavy and wear yourself out carrying all this gear you really don't need. Or you can pack a fast and light bag only to find out that it's missing several tools you could use out in the field. Asses your plan and likely situation, pack accordingly, and you'll be better off in an emergency.