Peter Kummerfeldt’s Survival Kit List for Beginners
Forward by Leon Pantenburg
When it comes to wilderness or urban survival, a set of the proper tools is absolutely critical. If you’re considering (I hope!) about putting a survival kit together, here’s how to start.
If this is your survival situation, you need specialized tools in your survival kit!
Begin with the Ten Essentials, the basic list of what you need to have. Virtually every organization has some variation of this list, and it doesn’t really matter whose you follow. Your best bet it to make your own survival kit, based on your needs and skills, because you control the componants’ quality. Don’t buy a commercial survival kit, toss it in your backpack or rig and think you are prepared. Above all, don’t let your survival kit give you a false sense of security!
Then give your proposed homemade kit some thought. Be open to new ideas and technology, but avoid gadgets or expensive, trendy doo-dads that promote the Gee-Whiz factor.
As you assemble your kit, ask yourself these questions:
- What are my wilderness and/or urban survival skills levels? (Be honest!)
- Will I be improving my skills level by taking a legitimate wilderness survival class? (Again, be honest. And the “survival” or “reality” shows on TV are not a substitute!!!)
- Where will I go going that I need a survival kit? (Answer: Everywhere. But the desert, swamps, mountains or arctic all have very different environments, and you need to plan accordingly. Because I live in Central Oregon, I need a desert, mountain, and winter snowcamping kit. I love it! That’s one reason I live here!) Leatherman 830039 New Wave Multitool with Leather Sheath
- Will I commit to learning how to use my survival kit tools? (If not, the kit will be useless, and you don’t need to read any further. )
Your survival kit should be in a state of constant evolution as the componants are upgraded. Don’t assemble a kit and then ignore it. And get rid of one of the most deadly attitudes: The idea that you know it all, and don’t need to continue your wilderness survival education!
I met Peter Kummerfeldt several years ago at the Descutes County Sportsmans Show. He was presenting a seminar on “Survival Myths,” so I decided to sit in. Even though Peter’s credentials were incredibly impressive, I wondered, privately, how much I could really learn.
I’ve been a Boy Scout volunteer instructor for the wilderness survival merit badge, backpacker and big game hunter for
A survival situation in this environment also requires specialized tools and knowledge!
years, and had spent considerable time in roadless, wilderness areas. My wilderness experiences ranged from backpacking in Death Valley, CA, to a long trip through the Okeefenokee Swamp in Georgia. I already had a very comprehensive survival kit, I thought, that would enable me to handle just about any wilderness emergency.
But years before SurvivalCommonSense was established, I already knew that knowledge is what keeps a person alive in emergency situations. I would go hear this Kummerfeldt fellow, and hope to learn something.
After Peter’s seminar, I pestered him with questions at his booth, then went home and threw away or replaced about half of the stuff in my survival kit. I trashed the flimsy mylar blankets, and replaced them with large, tough plastic bags. I tossed one butane lighter, and instead got a magnesium stick, cotton balls and petroleum jelly. I threw away my metal match case and got a more easy to open orange plastic one. I added a Moro knife, (knife accumulators are always looking for an excuse to buy another knife. Besides, I loved the design!) My first aid kit was also worked over and updated, Coleman Base Camp First Aid Kit
and I added a flexible splint. SAM Splint
I added two more Platypus collapsible water bottles Platy Soft Bottle with HyperFlow Cap
and more duct tape.Duct Tape – 2″ x 60 Yard
Today, my many survival kits are in a constant state of flux as they are made better.
This information from Peter Kummerfeldt is a good place to start your survival kit.
by Peter Kummerfeldt
Survival kits should:
- Be light weight and compact
- Be with you when you need it
- Contain equipment that you can rely on
- Be adjusted according to the season and the expected weather
- Include the equipment you will need to survive a night or two in the season
Basic survival kits should contain:
- Shelter material
– Large, heavy duty, orange, plastic bag
– Plastic or fabric tube tents
– Mylar survival bags
– Sheet plastic
– Parachute line
- Fire Starting Materials
– Matches contained in a waterproof case
– Cigarette lighter
– Metal match with a scraper
– Vaseline impregnated cotton balls in a waterproof container
– Candle
- Signaling equipment
– Whistle with a lanyard
– Glass, or good plastic, signal mirror with a lanyard
– Fluorescent plastic surveyors tape Flagging Tape 1-3/16″ wide, Solid Colors, 14 to choose from
– Brightly colored fabric
In addition to the basic three categories of equipment also consider the following equipment:
- Additional clothing for warmth and protection from wind and wet
- Sturdy fixed or folding blade knife
- First Aid Kit
- Metal cup
- Flashlight with a headband and spare bulbs/batteries
- Food bars high in carbohydrate
- Water purification tablets Potable Aqua Purif Tablets
- Folding saw
- Compass
Additional thoughts on survival kits:
- Periodically check the serviceability of all survival kit components
- It’s no good to you unless you have it with you when you need it
- Each person in a party should have their own kit
- Commercial kits compromise the quality of the components in order to keep the overall price of the kit down — it’s better to build your own.
REMEMBER — THE PURPOSE OF THE KIT IS TO KEEP YOU ALIVE WHILE YOU SIT OUT A STORM OR NIGHT OUT UNTIL YOU CAN BE RESCUED!
Good luck – these materials could save your life!
- Peter Kummerfeldt has walked the talk in the wilderness survival field for decades. Peter grew up in Kenya, East
Peter Kummerfeldt has taught wilderness survival for more than 40 years.
Africa and came to America in 1965 and joined the U.S. Air Force. He is a graduate of the Air Force Survival Instructor Training School and has served as an instructor at the Basic Survival School, Spokane, Washington; the Arctic Survival School, Fairbanks, Alaska, and the Jungle Survival School, Republic of the Philippines. For twelve years, Peter was the Survival Training Director at the United States Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colorado. He retired from the Air Force in 1995 after 30 years of service.
In 1992, concerned with the number of accidents that were occurring in the outdoors annually and the number of tourists traveling overseas who were involved in unpleasant and sometimes life-threatening incidents Peter created Outdoorsafe.com
He is the author of Surviving a Wilderness Emergency
Recommended Reading:
Build the Perfect Survival Kit
Basic Essentials Wilderness First Aid, 3rd (Basic Essentials Series)
Surviving a Wilderness Emergency
For more related SurvivalCommonSense.com tips and stories, click on the highlighted words:
- STOP: Use this exercise to reduce stress and focus your thoughts.
- Write a note to let people know where you went, before you left.
- Take your Ten Essentials on every outing.
- Dress with the right fabrics.
- Have a plan to make a tarp shelter.
- Carry lightweight, compact firestarter.
- Find the most effective fire ignition system.
- How to make charcloth, a material that can catch a spark from any source.
- Use charcloth as an effective method of catching a spark to make a fire.
- It can kill you: Hypothermia
- Hardtack: A great emergency food
- About Leon Pantenburg
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