Whenever you go into the wild, it’s always good to be prepared. You could get lost at any point, causing you to be in a survival situation. Of course, that means you need to have some essential wilderness survival gear to stay alive.
However, survival does not necessarily mean you’ll be in a bad way on a camping trip. You could get lost due to having car trouble and deciding to leave and get help. You could even just go on a regular hike and get turned around.
When we say there are many ways you could get lost and put in a survival situation, we truly mean it. As a result, you want to be sure to always keep a few things on you or at least close by where you can get them if you need to.
Some of these survival aids will not exactly be something everyone will have in their car, office, home, and sometimes not even in their camping gear. However, we’d advise adding them. Let’s get started!
Table of Contents
Fire Starting Source
There are many ways one can start a fire. Of course, on this website, you’ll notice a few articles on how you can start them. Yet the most popular way is via lighter or matches. It’s always good to have these as they will be a much easier thing for you to use should a survival situation arise.
However, having a Ferro Rod or Flint will work just as well if not better than those. Why? They are not always victims to the weather nor will things like snow or wind get in your way. Plus, they can be used for a long period of time whereas matches are only good for one use.
On top of this, lighters run out of fuel eventually. Therefore, you need to be prepared for however long you’ll be in the wild.
Fires help you in several ways, of course. You can use one for warmth and cooking, even helping you make water safer to drink. The smoke from fires keeps bugs away while ash from fires works a lot like hand soap for you.
Various animal predators that could attack you also fear fire. Finally, they can be great for signaling help, especially then helicopters might be sent. Smoke travels and can be seen quite well. Therefore, you want to have one present or have a fast way to make one.
As you can see, items to make fire are essential wilderness survival gear that you should not leave home without.
Water Purification Product(s)
It is true that water might be the most valuable thing you can have in the wild, but it will be the death of you if you drink water that’s contaminated with disease, bacteria, etc. This is why you want to have a possible way to purify it.
Even boiling water will not completely get rid of everything. This is why experts recommend at least two things for you to use. The first is a Lifestraw, which can allow you to drink water from moving streams or from a possible pot. It helps to remove bad contents from water for you.
It is also recommended to use Water Purification Tablets. The best are known as Aquatabs, and just one tablet is good for up to 0.75L of water, which is nearly 1 complete liter.
Both are incredibly cheap and well worth having at least one or more around. It can’t hurt, as they are too cost-effective to not have one in places you might need them most.
Of course, if neither of these happens to be available you can use certain cleaning products. Bleach for example can clean water, but you need to be careful with how much you use. Around one to two drops can be enough for roughly 1 liter.
We recommend familiarizing yourself with emergency water disinfection techniques. You can do just that by checking out this guide by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. It goes over several different things you can use to disinfect water from the stuff we referenced to Iodine, Granular Calcium Hypochlorite, and many more.
Bag
When we reference a bag here, we do not mean the little plastic or paper type you get at your local supermarket. We mean a backpack but for ladies, a purse can be just as useful too. Of course, men should not be above using a purse if that is all that is available to them.
This is literally about survival, so check your male pride at the door. In any case, you want something like a backpack due to the ease of travel it allows. You can put a lot in it, and the straps will make it comfortable to walk around with.
This can be a huge asset as many backpacks can help you store food, for example. It can cut down on how far the smell travels, keeping possible animals away.
Plus, while you’re traveling around you can use your hands for other things rather than hold a lot that will make your hands tired or prevent you from possibly protecting yourself faster. If you have to escape from a place, running with things in your hands can often result in those items being left behind or falling. In a backpack? Not so much.
You have no idea how valuable a backpack becomes in survival until you’re attempting to survive and do not have one. Trust us on that one. They are basically survival gold.
Layers
Clothing may seem obvious to have in the wild, especially while trying to survive. However, when we say layers we mean something like a jacket or even a flannel shirt that you will have over your shirt. They can each be essential wilderness survival gear items.
Why is this useful? Simple. Have you ever been caught in the rain? Even during the summer, you can cool down significantly when the rain comes in. Having something that can help you deal with that is useful.
It is also a proven fact that layers even during the Spring & Summer period can be useful for hydration. Remember, you’re going to sweat but once you do, your sweat will evaporate when exposed to the sun.
Meanwhile, you’ll sweat under a flannel shirt too. The difference is that the shirt will absorb this and allow it to go right back onto your body to keep you cool or put hydration back in you. It does this by touching your skin which can then basically absorb water.
Try being a little dehydrated and getting in the shower or pool. Your body will begin to feel hydrated and as weird as it sounds. We know what some might be saying. “You can’t absorb water through the skin.”
We know this, but while you’re not absorbing the water, you are absorbing chemicals, nutrients, and minerals from it. You know, the good stuff.
It’s still recommended to drink water to keep from dehydrating but the ability to absorb this can keep you alive. On top of that, sweating is an evolutionary thing meant to cool you down. It no longer works like it did when we were far harrier. That is due to most people not having the arms you’d see an ape have today.
However, the extra layer acts almost like that extra hair surface. Therefore, it’ll actually cool you down when the shirt absorbs the sweat. Then, of course, keep you warm in the colder periods.
Knife
We are not sure if we have stated enough on this website how important a knife can be. On just a random camping trip, you can get a lot of use out of a knife. Yet this is just a camping trip where you’ll use the knife for all of its normal intended purposes.
In a survival situation, the knife instantly becomes your best friend and THE most important possession you have on Planet Earth. Well, at least at the time. Your knife will work just as a normal knife works on your camping trip.
However, in survival, it also becomes a tool. It becomes a hammer sometimes while also becoming a weapon the next. It is your best crafting instrument that’ll help you make literally everything you need.
At the same time, it’s your possible surgical instrument that’ll help you take care of others or even yourself should it be needed. It’s the ultimate peacemaker while it’s also the ultimate bringer of war.
The use of a knife is endless, which is why it’s the most essential wilderness survival gear item you could possibly have.
Everything
When we discuss the most essential wilderness survival gear, we’re bringing up some of the important items you need. However, we should not limit you to these items only. Literally, anything could be used in times of survival.
Regardless of what that item is, there is a use for it. You can check out several articles on our website that discuss this exact topic, as we break down random items you can use in survival at any point.
Of course, things like your cell phone can be great to use just as an example. Even if the service does not work due to being out of range, many towers (even defunct ones) are up across the planet. Many in the middle of nowhere. This allows cell companies to ping your phone, allowing a person to be found as long as the phone remains on.
Therefore, even something this small can be an asset even when you think it isn’t working.
