Recommended Prepping Gear
This is a list of some of our most recommended prepping gear. We chose each piece for its overall quality and value. It’s not the most expensive and it’s not the cheapest, it’s what we think will get you started on a solid footing if things ever get really bad during a natural or man-made disaster.
Best Premade Survival Kits
These kits are all reviewed in our Best Survival Kit article. For a more in-depth look at them, head over there and check it out.
Keep in mind that each of these kits should have a quality first aid kit added to it. It’s an extra cost that’s absolutely worth the expense.
Premium Family Emergency Survival Kit – The Premium Family Emergency Survival Kit offers plenty of name brand items inside and actually can provide for four family members, unlike a lot of kits that claim they have enough food for a certain number of people but really don’t come close. As far as we’re concerned, this is the best overall kit on the market.
GetReadyNow 2+ Person Deluxe Car Emergency Kit – The GetReadyNow 2+ Person Deluxe Car Emergency Kit is one of the best car survival kits on the market. You’ll definitely appreciate the quality when you see it in person. This kit is the most versatile of our line up. Packed in a heavy-duty dry bag, you can toss this kit just about anywhere and know that you’ll have an emergency kit available at a moment’s notice.
It would be perfect for a boat or to have on hand in a hunting cabin. This would win our vote for the on the market if we were looking for something to throw in a vehicle next to our road kit and first aid kit.
Mayday Earthquake Kit Deluxe – The Mayday Earthquake Kit Deluxe is a great emergency kit to put in your basement or the bedroom closet. The whole kit comes packed in a 5-gallon bucket that doubles as a chemical toilet.
If you add some plastic sheeting and duct tape this kit would make a great shelter in place kit during an emergency.
Limitless Equipment MARK 1 Survival Kit – The Limitless Equipment MARK 1 Survival Kit is the smallest kit in our lineup, but that doesn’t mean that it isn’t a full-fledged survival kit in its own right. Each piece of this survival kit is well thought out so it can fill multiple roles.
This is a great option for anyone looking to add a survival kit to a backpack or briefcase.
Best Knives for Survival
Condor Bushlore – With a strong hardwood handle and a blade that is 4-5/16 inches long, the Condor Bushlore camp knife is perfect for everything from cutting meats and vegetables to cutting rope, leather, and wood. If you’re an outdoors person, you’re going to want this knife. It’s the perfect size and made to last through anything you throw at it.
Best Hatchets for Survival
Gransfors Bruks Wildlife Hatchet – The Gransfors Bruks Wildlife Hatchet is one of my favorite ever! It’s hand-forged and looks almost too good to use. The hatchet stays sharp and cuts like a much larger axe.
Fiskars X7 Hatchet – The Fiskars X7 is a great little hatchet (almost as good as the Gransfors) that puts most hatchet 2 or three times its cost to shame. If you’re looking for a quality hatchet that won’t break the bank this is it.
Long Term Food Storage
My Patriot Supply Long Term Food Storage – My Patriot Supply is a great option for long term food storage. Not only is it right in line in price with every other manufacturer out there, but it also tastes great and comes with free 2-day shipping. Most other companies out there aren’t going to get you your food for up to a month. They really shine in this department.
You can read our review of some of their new Ready Hour Emergency Food here.
Seeds
Survival Garden Seed Vault – You can’t just store a ton of food in the basement and hope that it’ll last you until the grid comes back up. The truth is that if there ever is a societal collapse, we may never get back to where we are today. That’s why you should have seeds that you can plant so you can start growing your own food as soon as possible.
This little packet 32 types of non-GMO, heirloom seeds. It has instructions on how to plant each one so for those that aren’t the best in the garden have some guidance.
My Patriot Supply Seed Vault – You can also check out My Patriot Supply for seeds. They have a great selection of seed packages that range from medicinal herbs to culinary spices.
Emergency Candles
Emergency candles are important, even today when we have access to a wide range of flashlights and lamps. Either one of these is going to be great for any emergency and should be all the light you need for a small room.
Survivor Series 3-Wick 36-Hour Emergency Candle – The SE Survivor Series 3-Wick 36-Hour Emergency Candle is a great emergency candle if you prefer normal wax style candles. Each wich is designed to burn for 12 hours. You can light all three for more light but this reduced the burn time of the candle to 12 hours.
Sterno 115 Hour Plus Emergency Candle – The Sterno 115 Hour Plus Emergency Paraffin Candle is a purpose-made emergency candle made for extremely long burn times.
The liquid paraffin fuel is held in a sturdy plastic container. The wick can be extinguished to allow the candle to be used later.
GPS
Having a quality GPS is essential today. I’d highly suggest that you get one and learn to use it. There’s a little bit of a learning curve to a GPS if you haven’t used one before, but they’re a game changer once you learn how to use them!
Garmin Foretrex 601 – The Garmin Foretrex 601 is a hands-free GPS navigator designed for outdoor activities of all kinds. It’s popular among hikers, mountain bikers and military personnel. It can run for up to 48 hours in continuous tracking mode with 2 AAA batteries.
Garmin Foretrex 401 – The Garmin Foretrex 401 is a hands-free GPS navigator designed for outdoor activities of all kinds. It’s very similar to the Garmin Foretrex 601 and is available for a little less if you can find them in stock. I’d suggest going with the Foretrex 601 since it’s pretty much better across the board, but if you looking to save a little money, the 401 will still serve you really well.
Water Filters
There is almost nothing more important to survival than clean drinking water! These water filters should be at the top of your list when you start looking for ways to filter pollutants and bacteria from your drinking water.
LifeStraw Personal Water Filter – The LifeStraw is the original straw-style water filter designed for hikers, bikers, and other people that enjoy the outdoors. Don’t think that LifeStraws are gimmicks just because they aren’t really expensive. They remove 99.999% of bacteria, parasites, and microplastics.
Survival Bows
Many people overlook bows as legitimate hunting or defensive weapons, but you shouldn’t be so quick to dismiss them! Bows and arrows have been used for hunting and self-defense for much longer than firearms and they have the added advantage of being nearly completely silent.
SAS Tactical Survival Bow – The SAS Tactical Survival Bow is a foldable bow that is designed to fit in most backpacks where a traditional bow just can’t fit. It can be used in either hand without any modification needed.
- Length: 21″ folded 61″ unfolded
- Weight: 2.2 lbs
- Draw Length: 28″
- Draw Weight: 45, 50 or 55 lbs
Samick Sage Takedown Recurve Bow – The Samick Sage is a classic recurve bow that offers an amazing cost to performance ratio. The price and design of the Samick Sage make it great for both bow hunting and recreational archery.
- Length: 62″
- Weight: 3.5 lbs
- Draw Length: 29″
- Draw Weight: 20 – 60 lbs
