Outdoor & Survival
This is our military-style survival gear: the field-proven basics for water, food, shelter, light, navigation and repair. Most items follow the pattern of equipment U.S. troops have carried for decades, so they are simple, rugged and easy to repair or replace.
- Food & water: 1- and 2-quart canteens and covers, canteen cups and stoves, hydration bladders, purification tablets, Datrex rations and XMRE meals.
- Campsite: poncho liners, wool and survival blankets, cots, hammocks, mess kits, lensatic compasses, binoculars and fire starters.
- First aid & safety: zipper and MOLLE first aid kits, a tactical trauma kit, tourniquet pouches and sewing repair kits.
- Knives: Ka-Bar fighting and utility knives, boot knives, Smith & Wesson folders, machetes, sheaths and sharpeners.
- Lighting: G.I. anglehead and D-cell flashlights, rechargeable headlamps, chem lights, lanterns and solar panels.
- Paracord & rappelling gear: Type III 550 cord on spools, bracelets, carabiners, figure 8 rings and rappelling rope.
- Tools & equipment: tri-fold shovels, pick mattocks, wire saws, hatchets, multi-tools and 100 mile an hour tape.
A note for service members: your unit, school or training packing list controls what you bring to the field, and basic training bans items such as pocketknives. Check your list before you buy, and treat these commercial items as personal gear, not issue replacements, unless your leadership says otherwise.
How to Build a Survival Gear Kit
Survival instructors teach priorities, and the order is a useful shopping list: protect yourself from the weather, then sort out water, then food. Light, navigation, first aid and a way to cut and repair things support all three. Buy the basics in each area before adding a second knife or a bigger light.
Water and Food First
A G.I.-style 1-quart canteen with a cup and cover is the classic starting point. The cup nests under the bottle and doubles as a pot, and a canteen stove turns it into a small kitchen. Add purification tablets or Chlor Floc packets for questionable water, and a few Datrex bars or XMRE meals for emergency food. Our food and water page goes deeper.
Shelter and Sleep
The campsite section covers the sleep system: a poncho liner or wool blanket, a foam pad or cot, and a Polarshield survival blanket as a lightweight backup. Mosquito head nets and a free standing mosquito net tent matter in buggy country.
Light, Navigation and Signaling
Carry two light sources, such as a headlamp and a flashlight, and spare batteries or a way to charge. A lensatic compass and a pace counter let you navigate when phones fail. Signal mirrors and whistles are cheap, light insurance.
Cutting, Digging and Repair
A fixed-blade knife, a folding shovel, a few hanks of 550 cord and a roll of 100 mile an hour tape fix most problems in the field. See knives, paracord and tools and equipment.
First Aid
A general purpose kit handles blisters and cuts. A trauma kit is a different tool, built around bleeding control, and it is only as good as your training. Our first aid and safety page explains the difference.
Survival Gear and Military Rules
There is no single regulation for survival gear. What you may carry comes from your packing list, your installation and your chain of command.
- Basic training: Military OneSource lists pocketknives among items recruits should not bring, along with lighters and food. Leave the survival kit at home.
- Field training: follow the unit packing list. Many lists call for items like a canteen, a poncho liner or a red-lens light, but the list is the authority, not a store page.
- Carrying bags in uniform: DA PAM 670-1, paragraph 20-2.b, requires bags carried with the ACU to be black or a color from an authorized camouflage pattern, carried by hand, on one shoulder or on both shoulders, never slung diagonally.
- On post: installations set their own weapons rules, and some cover knives. Check with your installation before bringing blades on base.
Survival Gear for Everyone Else
The same gear works for hunters, campers, scouts, preppers and anyone who keeps a kit in the truck. Issue-style designs have a practical advantage: parts are standard, so a canteen cover, cup and pouch from different years still fit together.
Store survival gear where you can grab it fast, check batteries and expiration dates twice a year, and practice with each item at home so nothing is new to you when you actually need it.