When you’re out in the wilderness, there are a few key things you’ll want to have on you at all times. A survival kit is essential for anyone who spends time in nature, and it should include items like a knife, a fire starter, a compass, and a first-aid kit. Here are four more things you can find in a survival kit that could come in handy in case of an emergency.
1. Hygiene Supplies
A survival kit should be small and portable, which means you probably won’t have room for your house-sized shampoo bottle. However, essentials like deodorant and toilet paper will come in handy if you’re camping or stuck somewhere without a shower. You can check out a review website for all the best survival kits out there to choose which one is best for your expeditions. Don’t forget things like sunscreen and bug spray to protect yourself from environmental hazards.
2. Ferro Rod
A Ferro rod, also known as fire steel, is an excellent survival tool. It can be used to start fires in all conditions and it is more reliable than matches or lighters. Fire steels are typically made of metal alloy which produces sparks when scraped against the side of the rod with a sharp edge. The sparks ignite tinder which can then be used to light kindling for larger fires. Ferro rods are similar to flint sticks because they both create sparks for fire starting purposes. However, Ferro rods are reusable and last longer than traditional flint sticks – two extremely beneficial qualities for a survival kit. You can use a Ferro rod to start a fire pretty much anywhere, and you won’t have to worry about it wearing out on you after one or two uses.
Fire-starting tools have been around since early humans first learned how to control fire, but modern versions were invented by Swedish scientist Gustaf de Laval in 1867 who was looking for better ways to boil milk without using open flames that could scorch his product or lead to dangerous situations if the milk boiled over onto the stove. De Laval was able to harness the heat energy of a red-hot poker and focus it to create sparks which sparked his idea for creating an improved fire starter. Since then, several different types of fire steels have been invented with varying degrees of effectiveness to assist individuals in high-stress situations.
3. Knife Sharpener
If your survival kit doesn’t come with a knife sharpener, bring one from home before venturing into the wilderness without one! You might think that all of your knives are sharp enough as-is, but when you’re out doing things like chopping wood, scaling fish, and carving arrows, their blades will become dull very quickly. Bringing a knife sharpener along will allow you to keep all of your blades in prime cutting condition whenever they need to be used for anything even slightly difficult.
Knife sharpeners work by allowing you to easily and conveniently pull your knife through a sharpening material (like the ones on the bottom of most common pocket knives) which shaves off little bits of metal from either side of the blade. Eventually, these metal shavings fill up the grooves that are cut into the sharpening material, and it’s time for you to rinse and repeat the process. If your knife is in really rough shape, you may need to use a fine grit sharpening stone in addition to or in place of a basic pocket-knife sharpener.
4. Batteries
Batteries are not a necessity for survival in the wilderness. However, they can sometimes come in extremely useful when it comes to certain scenarios (such as using your flashlight or radio). If you haven’t already, consider putting batteries into your survival kit. You never know when they might be of use. They come in handy for a variety of different things. For example, if you need to send an SOS signal, a flashlight is vital for this process, so if you don’t have batteries for your flashlight, you can’t send out an SOS signal.
Your survival kit may contain all sorts of items, but these are some of the more common ones you’ll find. Be sure to add them to your survival kits and use them when you need to. Survival kits can come in extremely helpful and save lives in a variety of different situations so long as they’re built correctly and filled with the right things. If you’re looking to build your survival kit, make sure that it contains all of these items and more. You never know what you might find yourself in need of.