REAL-WORLD SURVIVAL TIP #1: Never buy premade survival kits or Bug Out Bags*
99% of them are junk. They’re made by people looking to make a buck off you. It’s not about survival for them, it’s about money.
Most of the premade kits are made with cheap gadgets and novelty level low quality products.
They are not real survival tools, weapons and gear. Buy real gear! Make your own Bug Out Bag!
Or make one from a list of TRUSTED brand name manufacturers that you know and are familiar with.
If you want a survival kit or bug out bag, make one yourself with proper high quality gear.
Why would you ever trust your life to cheap gear? Buy the best you can possibly afford!
REAL-WORLD SURVIVAL TIP #2: Never trust someone else’s survival kit with you and your family’s lives!
Because that’s what you’re doing when you buy a premade survival kit or bug out bag.
Are there survival kits and bug out bags out there for sale that have good gear? Some. But they’re few and far between and if you don’t know what you’re looking for you’re not just going to get ripped off you’re putting yourself and your family in potential danger if a survival scenario or emergency situation.
“But…having a kit is better than no kit.”
Maybe, maybe not. What if that one piece of gear you absolutely need breaks because it’s cheaply made with low quality materials? Are you going to trust your life and the lives of your partner or kids with an Amazon special discount price survival kit advertised as “Everything you would ever need!”, because that’s just stupid.
Make your own kit with a tried and true list of gear!
Here’s a list: https://offgridlivingsurvival.com/9-must-have-survival-gear-items-for-a-lost-hiker-scenario/
And another: https://offgridlivingsurvival.com/zombie-apocalypse-survival-kit-checklist-emergency-preparedness-101/
And another: https://offgridlivingsurvival.com/off-grid-survival-gear-12-things-you-need-to-survive-anything/
And this is just the start. This stuff might work for your situation, but keep in mind, different survival scenarios require different gear. Build your kit with that in mind.
REAL-WORLD SURVIVAL TIP #3: Know your gear like your life depends on it—because it does.
Buying the right gear is only half the battle. The other half?
Knowing exactly how to use every single item in your pack.
If you’ve never used a ferro rod, don’t expect to start a fire in the rain when it’s 40 degrees and your fingers are going numb.
If you’ve never set up that fancy ultralight tent in the dark during a storm, good luck figuring it out when the wind’s howling and you’re exhausted.
Practice with your gear. Train with it. Break it, fix it, and understand its limits.
If your life depends on a tool, you better treat it like your best friend.
Familiarity and muscle memory will save your life. Wishful thinking won’t.
REAL-WORLD SURVIVAL TIP #4: Skills are more important than stuff.
All the gear in the world won’t save you if you don’t have the skills to back it up.
Can you build a shelter with just a tarp and paracord?
Can you filter water without a $400 purifier? Can you stay calm when you’re lost, hungry, and cold?
Gear gives you an edge. Skills give you survival. In a real-world emergency, things go sideways fast.
Gear gets lost. Batteries die. Blades dull. Skills don’t. Invest in training.
Go out in the woods and get uncomfortable. Learn how to get warm, stay dry, and keep moving. That’s survival.
REAL-WORLD SURVIVAL TIP #5: Customize your loadout for YOUR life.
Your bug out bag isn’t supposed to look like anyone else’s. You’re not them. You don’t live where they live. You don’t face their risks.
A single mom in the suburbs has different needs than a rancher in Montana.
A city dweller escaping civil unrest doesn’t need the same kit as someone prepping for backcountry isolation.
Pack for YOUR climate, YOUR geography, YOUR body, and YOUR plan. Don’t carry gear you’ll never use. Don’t copy someone else’s list because it looks “cool.”
This isn’t cosplay. This is survival. Customize your gear. Make it real.
REAL-WORLD SURVIVAL TIP #6: Test your bag. Then test it again.
Bug Out Bags are not “set it and forget it” kits. You don’t build it once and shove it in a closet.
Load it. Put it on. Walk ten miles. Sleep outside with it. Use every piece of gear in it at least once.
Figure out what works and what doesn’t. Is it too heavy? Are your straps digging in?
Do you actually know how to use that tourniquet, or is it just YouTube knowledge?
Your gear should be second nature. If you haven’t tested your pack in the real world, you’re playing pretend. And when the real world hits, pretend gets people killed.
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*Never buy premade survival kits or Bug Out Bags UNLESS you buy kits that are made with of trusted brands and quality gear.
