What Is The Best Survival Kit?: A Comprehensive Guide [Updated 2023]

Lisa Vargas

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Last Updated on April 24, 2023 by Lisa Vargas

You’ve no doubt ran across several survival kits online if you’ve been involved with the prepping scene for any length of time. You hope that you don’t have to ever use one, but if you do, how do you know which survival kit is the best for the situation you are in at that particular time?

Did you know that in 2018 it was reported that 41% of Americans stated they were not prepared for a natural disaster? That’s a lot of people! I imagine this number is getting lower by the minute with everything that has been happening around the world since then, but it still is a reminder that we should all be diligent at preparing for short-term and longer-term emergency situations.

Today I’ll take you through some of our top picks for different emergency situations you might find yourself in. Of course we will never be able to predict what will happen and when, but you can gain the upper hand by preparing based on location or weather where you live, for example.

So let’s go ahead and take a look at the best survival kits in various categories below and answer the question of “what is the best survival kit?“

How To Choose The Best Emergency Survival Kit

When choosing which emergency survival kit for you and your family, there are a few things to consider when answering the question of “what is the best survival kit?“

Where Do You Live? – Do you live on the east coast, the west coast, or in the midwest? This will determine the probability of events such as natural disasters that can occur.
How Many People Are In Your Party?– Many of the emergency survival kit brands will make various sizes of survival kits. This allows you to find a survival kit that will cover all of the members in your party.
Potentially How Long Will You Need To Survive?– I know this seems like a tough question to answer, but try and think in your mind the likelihood if you will have to survive more than a week with a survival pack. If you think it will be longer, the emergency survival kits reviewed in the below post is just a starting point for you and your family.
Do You Live In The City Or The Country? – Depending on if you live in the country on a farm, for example, or in an apartment in the city, the type of emergency survival bag you choose will be a little different.

Emergency Survival Kit Shelf-Life

I wanted to make sure to mention a few important things about emergency survival kits in general. I’ve seen a lot of complaining online about survival kits not having long enough shelf life in terms of the individual items that are contained within them.

Here’s something you have to think about. If your emergency survival kit includes food ration bars, for example, those food ration bars typically will last you about five years before you have to replace them.

Instead of worrying too much about it, just make sure you take inventory of the items that are in the emergency survival kit when you get them, and check the shelf-life dates and simply rotate the items if needed as the years go along.

Most of the survival kits will have a water supply that has a 5-year shelf life, so you have to pay particular attention to these pre-packaged survival water items. They are extremely useful in a survival situation, just make sure you are rotating them as necessary.

You may also want to think about adding any personal medications to these emergency survival bags or any other items that may be of use to you. Just because these survival kits comes with already-chosen items from the manufacturer doesn’t mean you can’t personalize them with other items of your choice, as long as you have the room for the additional items.

What Is The Best Survival Kit?

As mentioned above, you are never going to be able to predict the situation that you and your family land in. You could find yourself stuck out in the mountains because you twisted your ankle while hiking.

Or, if you live in California like myself, I’m more prone to leaning towards survival kits that cater to earthquake help.

If you live in Florida, where hurricanes are more likely, you need to find the best kit that suits your needs for hurricanes. As you can tell, there will be various scenarios that you can be better prepared for.

Below I have done my best to analyze and review the best emergency survival kits for a variety of situations based on quality, items, and practicality. This blog post is about the “best” in class per say, but for each category of emergency survival kit, you will find a link to more survival kits within that same class.

So have fun and dive as deep as you would like into the world of emergency survival kits and my hope is to help you find the best one that suits you and your family’s (if you have one) particular needs.

Best Earthquake Survival Kits

This Everlit Earthquake Emergency Kit is a fantastic survival kit that will support you and one other person for 72 hours. It has everything you need to get through loss of power, being without a home, or any downtime that may occur.

This is uniquely customized by US military veterans and designed to get you well prepared for emergency or disaster situation. The bag contains upgraded first aid supplies, must-have water & food, essential survival gears, and safety protection equipment.

Emergency Earthquake kit has over 200 pieces.
5-Years Shelf Life Water & Food Approved by U.S. Coast Guard, Water Filtration Tablets
Multi functional Tactical Military Grade Backpack
60-days hassle-free return on all of their products.
3 in 1 Hand-Crank flashlight, combat tourniquets,thermal blankets, food and water packs, and much more.

I can’t imagine needing much of anything else with this earthquake survival bag. We loved the fact that the folks at EverLit truly thought of everything when they put this bag together.

There is a fire starter, a glass break device, a compass, 100 ft. of paracord, an emergency blanket, face masks, safety goggles, a wire saw, a pocket multi-tool, a pair of pliers, and emergency poncho, and a lot more. You can’t go wrong with this survival kit and this is why we chose it as our top pick to have for earthquake preparedness.

Best 72-Hour Emergency Survival Kit

You will overwhelmed when you start getting into the 72-hour category of survival bags. We’ve studied and looked at a lot of these bags and the best 72-hour emergency survival kit that we feel is The Essentials Complete Deluxe Survival 72-Hour Kit

This 72-hour emergency bag includes survival tools such as food, water, first aid supplies, multi-tools, sanitation and hygiene supplies, a charging device, flashlights, shelter supplies, and much more.

This 72-hour emergency survival kit works perfect for any situational disasters such as hurricanes, earthquakes, floods, or tornadoes.

Kit designed for 2 people.
Includes survival tools, first aid supplies, water filtering straw, water packets, lighting, and much more.

Overall, The Essentials Complete Deluxe Survival 72-Hour Kit is an excellent choice for anyone looking for an all-in-one emergency preparedness solution. With its multi-purpose design, inconspicuous red backpack, and high-quality supplies, this kit provides peace of mind in even the most unexpected emergency situations. With the assurance that you are well-prepared, you can focus on keeping yourself and your loved ones safe in any situation.

Best Family Survival Kit

When it comes to protecting our families, I’m sure it goes without saying that we would do anything for them. This is why you should spare no expense when it comes to having the right family survival kit during an emergency such as this Sustain Supply Co. Premium Emergency Survival Bag.

When disaster strikes, the first 72 hours following are usually the most harrowing, stressful, and dangerous. You might be dealing with prolonged power outages, washed out roads- even a lack of running water.

Emergency workers in your city are working tirelessly to help people affected, but reaching everyone takes time. That’s why having a family emergency survival kit is extremely important to making it through the aftermath of a severe event.

This bag is designed for 4 people to survive for 72-hours. It comes with a Sawyer Water Filtration system (may be different then what is in the kit, but similar) so you assured to have clean drinking water.

This family emergency kit includes 1 Large premium backpack, 24 servings of food, 4 Aqua Literz waters (33. 8oz refillable cartons), 1 Sawyer Squeeze, 8 Cyalume Snap Lights, 2 LED lanterns, 2 flashlights, 1 fully stocked First Aid Kit, 4 emergency blankets, 2 bath wipes, 1 portable stove, 4 bowls and utensils, 1 MoraKniv knife, 1 Ferrocerium rod, 4 InstaFire tinder, and 4 whistles.

Superior Quality Supplies
Premium Go Bag Design
Essential First Aid Items
Don’t Be Left In The Dark – This pack contains 3 light source options – a flashlight, Ferro cerium rod, Snap Lights and an LED lantern to help

This family emergency survival kit has so many essential items that really help to secure everyone during a crisis. The first aid items are especially important because at any time someone could get hurt and with an emergency it can be difficult to find a medical professional to deal with wounds.

If you are not accustomed to carry your own IFAK pouch, this premium 4-person emergency go bag contains all the basic first aid items you might need such as a variety of bandages, pain relievers, ointment, gauze & tape, sanitary gloves, and a first aid guide.

Best Hiking Survival Kit

When you’re hiking or backpacking you need something light. That’s always the rule of them. This Outdoor Survival Kit For Hiking by EMDMAK makes for the perfect addition to your hiking gear because it’s small, compact, and has all of the important items you will need if you get stuck in an emergency.

This amazing little hiking survival kit has a lot of tools packed into a small, compact case such as a stainless steel versatile tool card, fire starter, compass, wire saw, emergency whistle, multi-functional pliers, and an emergency blanket.

6 in 1 waterproof case – 5”X 3.5”X1.6”,
Weight – 6.8oz
Rugged and durable survival kit with all of the essentials.
High-quality multi-survival tool.
Well-made, high-quality survival kit that that is shock-resistant and water resistant.
Multi-function Flashlight Pliers

The steel tool card in this survival hiking kit is a multi-tool, including can opener, knife edge, screwdriver, ruler, cap opener, 4 position wrench, butterfly wrench, saw blade, direction ancillary indication, 2 position wrench, and a key ring holder.

The survival whistle that comes in this emergency hiking kit is very loud and includes a key ring on one end. The compass is compact and flexible and easy to use. There is even a wire saw which has sharp and smooth blades that won’t hurt your hands and can cut through small things fairly fast.

One of the most important items in this emergency survival hiking kit is the fire starter. If you don’t have matches and need to start a fire without matches, a fire starter is vital to have. In my opinion,being newer to using fire starters, the type of fire starter that is in this hiking survival kit is one of the easier ones to use, as opposed to using a flint and steel fire starter kit such as this one.

Flint and steel fire starter kits are awesome, don’t get me wrong, but only if you’ve done some practice with them. But the fire starter kits with the ferro rods like this one are easier, as mentioned in my own experience.

Best Survival Military Kits

If you’re looking for a more military-style survival kit check out the Escape and Evade Tactical Military Kit. With over 35 emergency survival tools, it will have you covered in any situation. It was designed for the U.S. forces as well as civilians so you will get a lot of advanced military-type items in this military survival kit.

The survival military kit has you covered when it comes to shelter, food and water, navigation, survival tools, signaling tools, and medical supplies. This comprehensive military survival kit can be put in your car or you can have one in your camping gear, for example.

You may find some others that are on the market for a little cheaper, but when it comes to survival tools, you don’t want to skimp on quality. All of the survival items in this military kit are top-notch. You need these tools to last and most importantly, you need them to be reliable so that if you find yourself in an emergency situation, the tools will actually work!

Designed for U.S. Forces of all branches & Civilians who want a more tactically-based survival kit or bug out kit.
Over 35 survival tools and redundant systems.
Fits in uniform thigh pocket or cargo pocket.
Tactical Water-resistant Ultralight Outershell contains entire kit.
Under 1 lb

When reviewing the best military survival kits, this one stood out because of its quality, the contents it provided for the price, and the size of the actual carry pack. If we look at some of the items in this military survival kit you will find fire starting tools such as as lens magnifier, flint and steel fire starter kit, survival matches, and Wet Fire tinder cubes. (To read more about the best tinder for starting fires, you can it here on my site)

This military survival kit has one of the most impressive arrays of survival tools that come with it including a fishing and sewing kit, BCB Cammando Wire straw (similar or equal to this one), snare wire for trapping small animals, duct tape, paracord, and several other items that will come in handy in a survival situation.

You will also find a high-quality Silva Polaris Baseplate Compass (you can read more about compasses here), and emergency whistle, a signaling mirror, and a survival blanket.

You can’t go wrong with this military survival kit!

Best Outdoor Survival Kit

There are certain things that you are going to want to have in your outdoor survival kit if you find yourself stuck in the wilderness. That’s why are top pick for the best outdoor survival kit goes to the Sustain Supply Co. Premium Emergency Survival Kit/Bag.

This outdoor survival kit is designed to sustain two people for up to 72 hours. This is the perfect time frame because hopefully by this time, someone is already out looking for you if you’ve been gone that long.

Designed for 2-people
72-hour survival essentials
Outdoor Survival bag dimensions: 20in Tall x 16 in. long
Rugged and sturdy designed bag

The items that are included in this outdoor survival kit include 12 Wise Company food servings two Liters of Aqua Water, two Sustain Survival Straws. four Cyalume SnapLights, one Morakniv companion knife, one LED lanterns, one flashlight, one fully stocked First Aid Kit, two emergency blankets, one bath wipes pack, one portable stove, two bowls and utensils, one ferrocerium rod, two InstaFire tinder, and two emergency whistles.

As you probably know, the number one most important human need is water. What I like about this outdoor emergency survival kit is it comes with two emergency drinking water cartons in it along with two water filtering straws to ensure that you always have clean drinking water. These straws can filter up to 396 gallons of water and remove almost all bacteria and protozoa.

What is also nice about this outdoor survival kit is that it has its own emergency portable stove so that you can heat the water that can be used for the Wise dehydrated foods that are included in the outdoor emergency kit. Emergency survival food kits are plentiful in the marketplace and make for fantastic survival food, and that’s why this outdoor survival pack uses these dehydrated food items.

As you can see from the list of items above, it truly has the outdoor enthusiast in mind. All of the essentials are in this pack and for the price, you can’t go wrong. It’s a very rugged and sturdy pack that will go a long way in keeping you alive in an outdoor emergency situation.

Best Survival Kit For The Car

We spend a lot of time driving to and from work every day in our cars. That’s why it’s always a good idea to have an emergency kit for your car. One of the best kits I’ve seen is the Always Prepared Premium Emergency Roadside Safety Assistance Kit.

The focus of this kit is on staying visibly protected, staying prepared, and staying safe. This car emergency road kit includes special and standard items including battery booster cables, reflective safety vest and warning triangle, self-powered flashlight, two light sticks, emergency rain poncho, and mylar blanket, and a whistle.

125-piece essential roadside safety kit
Life-saving battery cables
Small and compact and can easily fit into the trunk of you car.
Weight – 6.3 pounds

If you wanted to go with something a little bigger, you could go with the GetReadyNow Personal Emergency Car Kit, but its completely up to you and how many people you are typically carting around.

This is a great little emergency roadside survival kit for your car that can help get you through a rough patch if you break down or get caught in a blizzard.

Best Survival Kit For Pets

Our pets are like our children. And in the event of an emergency our pets will ultimately go along with us, especially dogs. Below are our top picks for best dog and cat emergency survival kits.

Best Survival Kit For Dogs

Dogs can provide protection from predators and can be used as watch dogs. This can be extremely useful if you and your family are forced out onto the road.

But if something goes wrong and your dog gets injured you are doing to need to have a special survival kit for your dog such as the Working Dog’s Canine First Aid Kit by Adventure Medical

Patch serious wounds in the field when far from medical care.
LED headlamp allows you to administer first aid to your dog easily.
Reduce swelling of sprains and strains with the emergency cold pack.
Easily wrap injuries with this self-adhering bandage which doesn’t stick to fur
Includes guidebook that provides instructions on the basics of emergency pet care

Best Survival Kit For Cats

Cats are a little easier to evacuate if you have to get the hell out of dodge quickly. That’s why I love this Cat Evacuation Kit by Ready America.

This survival kit for your cat is designed to sustain your cat for up to 72 hours. The pet emergency survival kit includes 5 Year Shelf Life Cat Food, 3-Water Pouches 4.225-Ounce, Pet Water Bowl, Cat Collar with Toy Mouse, Cat Treats, Cat Litter Pan, Bag of Cat Litter, Litter Scoop, Pet Wipes, Pet ID Tag, 3-Antiseptic Cleansing Wipes, 1-Inch Gauze Roll, Triple Antibiotic Ointment Packet, 1 Pair Nitrile Gloves, and the Pet Carrier.

Product Dimensions: 16 x 10 x 10 inches
High-quality cat carrier. Better than most.
Opens with two parallel zippers then it securely fastens with a velcro-fastened flap.
Has shoulder strap so you can carry bag over the shoulder.
Sturdy wire frame in bag to keep bag from dipping in the center.

One of the best parts about this cat survival kit/bag is the carrier itself. The fabric is really thick and tough, which is very important if your going to be moving your cat in and out and all over the place using this carrier.

The first aid kit that comes with this cat survival kit is standard and will only be good for treating minor cuts and scrapes. If you want something more heavy-duty for addressing trauma you should check out the Wildcow Pet Emergency First Aid Kit For Dogs, Cats, and Small Animals.

Both of these kits are wonderful for your cat that should give you the peace of mind knowing your beloved cat will be taken care of just in case something happens.

Buyer's Guide

when you are looking to buy a survival kit, you will need to determine what you are planning for. For example, do you live in an area that is prone to earthquakes or hurricanes? Your first 72 hours are going to be vital to your chances of surviving or dying.

You should have a game plan already in place and know exactly what you need to have in order to survive. This is exactly why having a 72 hour emergency survival kit is extremely important. If you are out in the wilderness, it’s going to be a different bag, then if you are an urban prepper.

So let’s look at some of the tips below to help you find the best survival kit for you and your situations:

Size

Survival kits are going to vary in size. Don’t let this confuse you when picking the right one for you and your family. Where are you going to store the survival kit? Will it be under your bed or will it be in a closet?

How many people are you going to be providing for in those critical 72 hours? Will there be one bag holding 72 hours worth of supplies for three people, or will each of you have your own kit/bag?

The beauty of the survival kits that you can find online is that these concepts have already been thought of by the manufacturers, and you can usually buy them in various sizes to provide what you need for your situation.

Primary Plans

I mentioned this above, but the bag you choose is going to depend on where you live and what your plans are for your survival kit. If you live in the Midwest, you no doubt are challenged with a lot of snow. If I were you, I’d find a survival kit that is prepared for both summer and winter months.

I live next to the Sierra National Forest, and I know that I would go straight to the mountains if chaos was to ensue in my town. I would get as far away from town as possible so my 72 hour kit would need to take my destination into consideration.

Also remember that you don’t have to limit yourself to what comes in these prepackaged survival kits you buy online. If there is enough room in the survival kit bag, you can add things to it based on your situation.

A good exercise might be to make a list of items that you think would come in handy for your situation then make sure that they are included in the survival kit, then add them if they’re not. You can never be too careful.

Cost Of Survival Kits

Cost is no doubt going to come into play when you buy trying to determine what is the best survival kit. You’ll notice that some of the best survival kits can cost upwards of $500. And believe it or not, there are several more that can range above $500 (but I didn’t list those here).

If you’re on a budget, I love the fact that Blackhawk Survival’s 72 Hour Deluxe 2 Person Kit lets you make payments. That might be an option for you if you’re on a tighter budget.

Just remember that you always get what you pay for. A survival kit isn’t something that you want to necessarily skimp on.

Final Thoughts

The goal of this post was to help you find the best survival emergency kit for your needs. You can dive deeper into the survival kit world, but one thing is for certain. Never sacrifice quality. Many of the best survival kits on the market are the most expensive but there is a good reason for that.

In the survival and preparedness world, you don’t want to have anything break or something malfunction, or not even work altogether. Let us know in the comments below if you have your own favorite survival kits and how they work!

Learn. grow. survive.