Wow, we looked at a bunch of stuff regarding survival gear. My biggest surprise was just how bad the food tasted. Sorry folks, but there’s got to be better versions out there. The ones I tried (food bars) were too sugary and loaded with carbs. Instant energy boost, but a big energy drop-off.

The dehydrated packs were okay, but too much salt and processed for sure. Me? I think you can save a ton of money by putting together this stuff yourself and checking your pack once a year. Clean out (eat) the old food and replace it with new ones.

I agree with the posted commentary on how food crazy our culture has become. It’s not a bad thing, but it’s too much processed pre-cooked junk! We should be eating healthier and I’m sure we all want to, but it’s not easy in this society. You’re bombarded with food ads everywhere. Sure, it’s not all their fault as we’ve all lost our sense of self control somehow. Still, the food industry has to take some ownership of it.

I’ve realized that I need to get my outdoor skills back into shape. I used to camp and hike a lot, but somehow in my work filled life, I’ve forgotten about it and let those skills just go to waste. I’ve decided to pick-up climbing and hiking again. Nothing extreme to start, but eventually taking a few survival courses and going neo-naked camping. I think that’ll be fun. The real magic act will be getting the boys to join me on it (whimps!).

What’s in my emergency pack? The only things that I added from what we tested were the water filter and the drinkable water pouches.

Here’s what I’ve got in my emergency pack:

• Extra water proof clothing (mostly workout clothes made of water proof shells)
• 2 packs of emergency blankets (picked up at the camping store for $2.99 each)
• water filter and iodine tablets
• Zip-top bag sealed 10 pouches of powdered Gatorade (to kill the iodine taste in the water)
• Clean stainless steel 32oz water jug (good for boiling and carrying!)
• One vacuum sealed sleeping bag (in one of those space saver bags)
• Folded 4″ knife with sharpening stone
• 12 pouches of water
• 5 bags of instant oatmeal packed in zip-tight bag
• Emergency radio and pocket CB with emergency fire and police channel
• Extra batteries in zip-tight bag
• One Leatherman multi-tool (I love this!)
• 1 can of mixed (no salt) nuts, unopened and still sealed
• Weather-proof matches
• Butane lighter, with extra butane can (new, sealed zip-tight bag wrapped in temp resistant bag, thanks Dad!)
• Duct tape
• My own first-aid kit, including special stuff for us girls (pills, etc.)

That’s it. All zipped up tight in a simple, water-proof back-pack. Nothing fancy and I estimate less than $50 worth of stuff there. Most of the stuff I buy anyways for around the house, so I just re-purposed them. Amazing what you can put together without having to buy any extra pre-packed stuff.

Share on Facebook