Urban Survival Kit

An urban survival kit ought to be a handy emergency supplies kit for the urban city dweller. A survivalist may be well prepared in the aftermath of a natural or man-made disaster, but if he or she lives outside a city or town, and is in the city at work, an urban kit will help him or her reach home and family.

A survival kit for the city dweller should contain the necessities, which will help him navigate through the city. It has to be within easy reach, because if your kit is in your car, for example, you would have to reach the parking area first, so it may not be of use to you. If you use public transport to get to work, it has to be small enough to carry or to keep in your desk drawer, if you are at your desk all day. It obviously cannot be as big as an apocalypse survival kit, because a working person cannot carry around a huge kit with him.

Whether you are caught in a hurricane, a fire, a building collapse, a power outage or whatever, you need to be able to get home or to safety, using what you have at your disposal at that point in time. While nobody can really anticipate a disaster, it does happen and, for such a situation, you need to have your kit. If family members are going to be at different places, they may need their own small survival kits, which can help them, reach home safely.

Urban Survival Kit Contents

In order to keep all the items of your survival kit, you need to select a strong, but lightweight bag, which can be a haversack or backpack and must be waterproof and it could contain:

• Water
• Food bars
• Flashlight
• Water purification tablets
• Rain gear
• Matches/lighter
• Solid fuel
• Personal hygiene items, including paper soap
• Map with all the routes clearly marked
• Sturdy shoes, in case you wear formal shoes to work
• Extra batteries
• Radio
• Some cash, including change
• A whistle
• An essential tool kit
• A first aid kit
• Duct tape
• Gas mask
• A knife
• Rope
• A lightweight sleeping bag

These are the very basic items, and you may want to add to them or even subtract a few items you may not regard as essential. If you were to pare down the list of items in your urban survival kit, remember that you would need water, food, fire, medicine, first aid kit, rope and a knife at the very least. Some survivalists like to add a gun to this list for protection, but that could be an issue in the workplace.

Getting Your Kit

After you have made your checklist of items that you ought to have in your urban survival kit, you can go ahead and shop for them. Most items are available online and you should assess your personal circumstances to determine what items are essential for your situation. You should also get hold of a haversack or backpack, which is easy to carry, with lots of compartments, is waterproof and adjustable. When you store items in your survival kit, make sure to check them from time to time as food, water, medicines and batteries can expire.

Nobody wants a catastrophe to happen, but nature can strike at anytime and anywhere, and sometimes without any warning. Manmade disasters, too, are common enough and nobody can anticipate the future. A well-prepared person has a better chance of survival and your urban survival kit can keep you safe in such a time.