Making a Survival Kit

Outdoor activities are no fun when someone gets lost. Adequate preparation will usually keep this from happening, but some simple equipment can prepare a family member to survive if he does get lost. This activity will teach family members to make a lightweight survival kit that they can easily carry with them.

Activity

First make sure that family members understand a few simple rules:

1. Wear a shrill whistle around your neck when you are hiking or fishing in an isolated area.

2. Tell someone where you are going and when you are coming back. Don’t leave the camping area by yourself.

3. Orient yourself to the area and do not explore longer or farther away than your family feels is safe.

4. Remember when you are lost to—

   • Keep calm, find a sheltered place, and stay put. Get out into the open if planes are overhead.

   • Build a fire if possible, conserve your heat and energy.

   • Mark your location. Move out from it to seek familiar landmarks and return to it.

   • Shout, use a whistle, and concentrate on being found—not on finding someone.

   • Prepare for the night, gather wood, build a shelter before dark.

Then have all family members help construct a survival kit. Make sure they know how to use each item. The following items can be put in a 2 1/2-by-4 1/2-by-16 1/2-inch (6-by-11-by-16-cm) leather pouch and will weigh less than one pound (.5 kilograms).

Survival Kit
Item	Uses
Pocket knife with cutting blade, can opener, leather punch	Carving, cutting, spearhead
Metal canister 1 1/2-by-3 1/2-by-4 1/2 inches (4-by-9-by-11-cm). Many of the following items can be put in this canister.	Cooking pan, reflector, cup
Surgical tubing, 40 inches (100 cm)	Drinking tube, tourniquet, flipper
100 halazone tablets	Water purification
Six small cotton balls	Swabs, pad, dressing
1/32-inch (5-mm) twine, 96 inches (30 meters)	Fishing line, snare, sewing
Aluminum foil, 12-by-18 inches (30-by-45 cm)	Cooking, heat reflector
Wire survival saw 15 inches (36 cm)	Sawing
Three razor blades	Cutting, snares
Twelve safety pins, 1 inch (1.5 cm)	Repairs, clothespins, securing shelter to rope
Six No. 12 fish hooks and 12 feet (3.5 meters) of line	Fishing, snares
Three balls of steel wool	Tinder for fire in wet weather
Waterproof matches, candle, metal match	Fire
Metal whistle	Signal, reflector
Small sharpening stone	Striking matches, sharpening
Pencil and paper	Leaving notes or directions
Twelve heat tablets	Cooking
Electrician’s tape, 120 inches (3.6 meters) (wrapped around canister)	Repairs, fastening shelter to rope
Six small band-aids	First aid
Card showing ground-air signals	Giving directions, sending distress signals, signaling location
Six bouillon cubes, dried soups	Food, morale, body heat
Two plastic sheets 9-by-12-feet (2.6-by-3.6 meters)	Shelter, ground cloth, water collection
1/8-inch (2-cm) nylon cord, 12 feet (3.5 meters)	Shelter rope, snares
Sewing kits: two needles, three buttons, 6 feet of thread (1.8 meters)	Patches, first aid
Small compass with mirror on back	Directions, signaling

Additional Activities

Try each component in your backyard or on a simulated exercise to prepare yourself and your family for possible use.