Why a 72 hr kit and what to pack it with

Every Prepper/Survivalist and every Regular Joe needs to have a 72 hour kit. It's a requirement in today's information and high tech age. Yet, I still talk to so many people everyday who just don't have one. They don't have a home kit, a car kit or a travel kit of any kind to help them get through a disaster. The other problem is the perspective thanks to Hollywood and CNN where a disaster has to be world ending catastrophic to be considered a disaster. This just isn't true. Take a look at the water contamination in West Virginia back in Mid January 2014. It was a chemical spill that cut off all drinking water for hundreds of thousands of residents. Ladies and Gentlemen, that's a huge catastrophe.

Another example is the recent snowstorm in Alabama. Just a few inches of snow coupled with freezing temperatures took out a huge section of the population in a matter of minutes leaving them stranded, freezing, hungry and many times in tears. One story was of a Neurosurgeon who had to walk 6 miles in the freezing cold storm to perform a life saving surgery. Unlike him, most of the other stranded individuals just tried to hunker down and hope for help. The truth is that help didn't come quick enough for most.   "At least a dozen deaths have been blamed on the storm, including five traffic fatalities in Alabama."   To me this is sickening. Many of these deaths, as well as countless injuries could have been avoided simply by having a 72 hour kit or something like it. So this blog post is dedicated to creating your own pack. I'll list my ingredients as well as go over some best practices I've found and resources I've found from the experts out there.

My 72 hour kit... (more like 96 hours for two)

I have a smaller pack than I'd like, but I chose this one because it has really comfortable shoulder straps added webbing and most importantly a waist belt. I tried a bag from Emergency Essentials 72 hr kit and it felt awkward at best. Same thing for Thrive's 72 hr Kit. So I took the best of what came in my Thrive kit and moved it over to this bag.  It's the start of what I refer to as my EPIC survival kit. It's more than 72 hours, more like 96 hours when I added everything together. When the crap hits the fan, I'd like to make sure I have more rather than less. I keep this bag at home for the most part and carry my sprint pack primarily. However, when I travel more than 45 minutes from home this bad boy comes with me. Combined, I have more than enough food in the two packs to last me 4-5 days or more if I need to go sparingly.




Let's start off with a list of what I found most necessary where I live. I'm at an elevation of about a mile above sea level and we have all four seasons in all their glory and terror. So I packed not just enough for me, but enough to get myself and one other person through a few days if necessary.

Ingredients:
1. Aforementioned Bag
2. FEMA handbook (great resource for disaster prep and plans after an "event"
3. Work Gloves (2 count)
4. Glow Sticks (3 count)
5. Poncho's (2 count)
6. Headlamps (2 count)
7. Sanitation Kit with soap, tooth paste, 2 brushes, comb, nail clippers and shampoo
8. Toilet Paper and wet wipes
9. First Aid Kit (complete with bandaids, ace bandages, pain pills, stitch kit, sling and first aid field guide.
10. Duct Tape (50 ft)
11. 550 Paracord (100 ft)
12. Spork utility set (spoon, fork knife in one)
13. Extra paper
14. Extra carabaners (2-3)
15. AM/FM Radio (hand cranked)
16. Emergency Blanket (2 count)
17. MRE's (4 count, aprox 1,250 cal each)
18. MRE Deserts (3 count)
19. SOS Ration Energy Bars (2 count, 3600 calories each)
20. Water box's (12 count, 10 oz each)
21. Nalgene 2 Qt Bottle of Water)
22. MSR Water filtration pump
23. Survival Straw (filters up to 240 Gallons)
24. Swiss Army Knife with can opener
25. Flint and Steele and water proof match set
26. Hand Sanitizer, Hand Soap and washclothes
27. Marmot Shell Coat with hood
28. Change of clothes (two pairs of wool socks, cargo pants, t-shirt, and fleece jacket)
29. Air Filter/Face Masks (2 count)
30. Back up water bladder (100 oz)
31. Shovel/Pick w/ compass
32. portable sola recharging pack with 4 AA rechargeable batteries
33. Emergency Tent
34. 10x10 Tarp
35. Emergency sleeping bag (wife has one in her kit too)

Additionally to this list, my wife has her own bag with a lot of repetition including food, water (200 oz), feminine hygiene products (this is essential!!!), additional cleaning supplies and her own change of clothing and additional blankets, headlamps, gloves, and a pack of playing cards and coloring books with crayons. She also carries our topographical maps and bug-out instructions in case of zombies. Okay so we don't believe in zombies, but we wanted nice water proof maps so we can make our way to family to make sure they are okay (both of our parents are older and would need assistance).

At the end of the day, having something is better than nothing. I have researched a lot of different packs and there are thousands of items that you may prefer in your location. However, if you don't have a bag, you are endangering yourself and your entire family. I recommend creating a small pack for each child as well as pets so if a disaster does hit your area, you will be able to hold out as long as necessary for life to return to normal. According to the experts, that means 72 hours.



What other items do you have in your pack?
Do you think my pack is crazy or genius?

Please leave comments below to help out our readers.

Thanks,