How to Build a Better 72 Hour Emergency Kit

As you might remember, I was on a kick last year to get our emergency supplies in order.  Well, the busy-ness of life happened and our preparedness plans kind of fell to the back burner for a bit.  That is, until now.

Since I covered EDCs, EDC Bags and a Work Emergency Kit last year, I figure the next step is to talk about a 72 hour emergency kit (also known as a Bug Out Bag, Go Bag and Get Out of Dodge Bag).

Last Christmas we were given this 72 hour emergency kit for four. The purpose of a 72 hour emergency kit is to help you and your family get through a 72 hour period if you have to evacuate your home.  It is essentially a short term kit that holds some food and water and a few other essentials.

Let’s look for a moment at what came in our kit, then we’ll look at what can be easily added to make this basic 72 hour emergency kit  better:

• Backpack
• 4 – 2400 Calorie Food Bars
• 4 – Solar Blankets
• 24 – Pouches of Water
• 4 – Dust Masks
• 4 – Ponchos
• 1 – Flashlight
• 2 – Alkaline “D” Batteries
• 1 – 2 Person Tent
• 1 – 50′ Nylon Cord
• 1 – 12 Hr. Light Stick
• 1 – 54 Piece First Aid Kit
• 50 – Water Purification Tablets
• 50 – Waterproof Matches
• 1 – Utility Knife
• 1 – 5 N 1 Whistle/Compass
• 1 – AM/FM Radio with Batteries
• 1 – Camper’s Stove
• 1 – Pair Leather Palm Gloves

Problems I see with this kit:

• The bag all of the stuff came in was itself, not very exciting due to the fact that it has SURVIVAL KIT right there on the bag!  I mean, really, if the shit hits the fan, I don’t really want or need to announce that I’m carrying an actual survival pack to everyone under the sun!
• All in all it is a good starter kit (especially considering the price), but there are definitely a few items that can be added to it to make it better. Keep in mind, you may already have some of these items in your EDC Bag, which would be grabbed in the case of an emergency as well.

How to make it better:

• A bigger, nondescript backpack
• Extra batteries
• Another flashlight (and/or a headlamp or small LED flashlights like the ones in the picture above, under the batteries)
• A better compass
• Duct tape
• Paracord
• The weapon of your choosing
• A multi-tool
• A Lighter
• A more extensive First Aid Kit
• Extra clothes (preferably layer-able)
• Bungee cords
• A couple of bags of nuts
• Ziplock bags
• GPS/maps/atlas
• Mobile phone
• Hat/gloves/sunglasses
• Hygiene items (wipes, soap/hand sanitizer, sunblock, deodorant…)
• Copies of identifying information (IDs/passports, Birth Certificates, etc).  Hard copies or scanned in and on a zip drive.
• A small sewing kit
• A notepad and a pen
• Cell phone and charger

Keep in mind that some of the above items (and more) might already be in your EDC Bag.

Also remember, your 72 hour emergency kit is meant to help you and your family through an emergency situation for a few days, not forever.  Keep it full of necessities and easy to pack items that aren’t too heavy or frivolous.  Keep it simple and accessible.  If possible, keep a few of them (one for the car, one for home, one for work) so no matter where you are when/if SHTF, you are prepared.

Now, please tell me about your 72 hour emergency kit.  Have I forgotten anything you might consider essential?

xoxo,
M