10 Best Survival kits 2024 in the United States

On November 20, 1983, ABC aired a made-for-television movie, “The Day After”. The movie depicted a fictional nuclear war, showing the grim situation of the survivors scavenging for food and other necessities. Although the movie was fictional, that doesn't mean that people never find themselves in emergency situations. We witness hurricanes, earthquakes, and even terrorist attacks, that leave people without electricity, food, or running water. Also, hikers or travelers sometimes can find themselves stranded, down to bare necessities. There are numerous survival kits that have been made to prepare for such situations. What should these kits contain? Here is a guide to some of the best survival kits on the market.

• First aid survival kit: These provide means of dressing wounds: antiseptic wipes, tweezers, gauze bandages, surgical tape, and ointment. Some even have supplies for stitching serious wounds.

• Natural disaster survival kit: These are for instances such as earthquakes, hurricanes or tornadoes, that can leave a person without food, water, or means of heating or cooking. They will provide:

  • Water or water purification kits. A person needs approximately gallon (= 3.8 liters) of water per day, for drinking and washing. You can store water in gallon containers. If you didn't store water prior to the emergency, water can be disinfected (with caution) with household bleach: two drops is enough to disinfect a liter of water. The water must be filtered from any sediments and impurities. It is also possible to purify the water by boiling it in a plastic bottle. The bottle will deform slightly from the heat of the fire, but will not melt as long as there is water in the bottle and you maintain a distance of 5-6 inches from the flame.

  • Food bars to provide energy for up for three days,

  • Hand-powered generators for powering cell-phones, flashlights and radios,

  • Light sticks that can provide illumination up to 12 hours, and emergency whistles to notify rescue personnel,

  • Respirator masks to keep you from breathing in germs and dust,

  • Special blankets and sleeping bags that retain body heat,

  • Multi-function knife, which can also have a means to start a fire (magnesium strips, flint stone, etc.), as well as other tools: work gloves, pry bars, duct tape, etc.

  • Personal hygiene materials, for disposing of waste, toilet paper, etc.

• Car survival kit: You might find yourself in a situation where your car breaks down, or it gets stranded due to heavy snow or flooding. Survival Kits Online makes a kit that includes flat tire fixers, jumper cables, basic tools like screwdrivers and wrenches, as well as the paraphernalia from the other survival kits: manual-powered flashlights and power supplies, light sticks, first-aid supplies, etc.

Based on all the consumers' reviews we've scanned, these are the top things they mentioned about their new stuff:

• Do-it-yourself kits: Some customers noticed that the common items, like first-aid supplies, can be significantly less expensive if you buy them yourself and stock up on them. On the other hand, there are survival kit items, like light sticks, Swiss-Army knives, and special solar blankets, that are more economical when purchased in a kit.

• Not just for emergencies: Since some of these kits also contain fishing gear (in an emergency situation without any food, you may be able to fish), outdoors-people find many of these kits to be surprisingly handy and compact. Sharp Survival's kit can fit in a bag or pocket, and offers you a full set of fishing gear (except for the rod).

• Kits for more than one person: You will find survival kits that provide for 2, 4, or 10 people, or even an entire classroom of students.

• Shelf life of the kit: It's important that you check the shelf life of the perishables in the kit, such as the food, water, and medical supplies. The food bars in the kit sold by AmericanMedSupply.com has a five-year shelf life.

• Duration of emergency situation: Most kits will have a means for providing necessities for three days (72 hours).

• Compact kits: There are kits that are amazingly compact. Gorilla Survival Gear and Sharp Survival have “bracelets” that have 8 tools, and “grenades” that house up to 17 tools, including a compass, fishing equipment, safety pins, first aid supplies, razor blades, and a paracord that can support 550 pounds of weight.   

Sharp Survival—is an Amazon brand making survival equipment. They make compasses, tents, multi-tool bracelets, survival watches, “bracelets” and “grenades” that hold a set of survival tools.

AmericanMedSupply.com—is located in St. Petersburg, Florida. They make and distribute defibrillators, medical response equipment, and disaster preparedness/first aid kits. They also train people in CPR and first-aid. They have kits for preparedness against earthquakes and other natural disasters.

Holtzman's Gorilla Survival—are makers of survival tools and kits. They make a utility bracelet that includes a cutting tool, an emergency whistle, a flintstone to start a fire, and compass and cutting tool. They also make multi-tool knives and compact credit-card size knives.

Survival Kits Online—has dealt with medical relief and emergency and disaster preparedness since 1986. They sell first-aid kits, survival kits and emergency supplies. They also offer information for assembling supplies for emergency situations: earthquakes, hurricanes, fire, and more.