Car Bag/Pack
The headlines in the winter of 2006 were dominated by the tragedy of the Kim family, who spent six days huddled in their car in the Oregon wilderness. At that point, the father, James Kim, decided to set off in search of help. Two days later, his wife and two daughters were found alive in the family car. Sadly, Mr. Kim’s body was found two days later.
What happened to the Kim family is a heartbreaking tragedy that serves as a powerful reminder of the need to always be prepared to face a survival situation. What could the Kims have done differently? Having the right gear in the car could have helped them get through this awful ordeal. It’s also important to remember to anticipate the weather you may encounter. Study the route you will be traveling and stick to the main highways and thoroughfares during adverse conditions. Side roads, shortcuts, and less-traveled roads are the roads that will be cleared last, if at all. Better to stay on a major highway and close to gas stations, stores, towns, and cities. If you get in trouble you can call or signal for help, but you are less likely to encounter other travelers on a side road. Stick to busy roads in bad weather; it may be slower and more tedious, but you don’t want to get lost and turned around in bad conditions. Bad can go to much worse very quickly.
If the Kims had an emergency car kit with a beacon, it could have proved helpful. Even without the beacon they could have still survived with extra clothing, fire-starting material, extra fuel to retrace their route, and food and water to help them get through the worst of the storm. In many survival situations, it is best to stay with your vehicle or mode of transport, especially if it is well equipped with gear to sustain you and keep you alive until help arrives. The emergency car kit will help you weather a storm, an accident, mechanical failure, and aid you in getting help and staying warm, dry, well fed, and hydrated.
The items listed in this kit are a good place to start and build upon. Pack your kit according to the environment you are in or will encounter. For instance, if you are going to be driving through south central Texas in the middle of summer, you won’t need four sleeping bags. Regardless of the weather, you will definitely need water, some type of water container, water purification, and fuel. From there, you will need to consider other items appropriate to the area, season, and terrain you are traveling in and through.
You want a hip pack that can carry and hold most of the kit. Although it is recommended that you stay with your vehicle, if you need to move, you’ll have a bag that you can carry your kit in. The limitation for how much gear you want to have in your emergency car kit is up to your imagination and the size of your vehicle. Consider how much space you need in your trunk, seating area, or storage areas on a daily basis. From there, you will know how much room you have available for your emergency car kit. If you travel a lot for your job and you are in your car all time, you might want to stock up more than the average Joe who just drives to and from work, the grocery store, and the movies. If you might get stuck in your car for days, you want to have food, water, fire-starting material, warm clothes, and some security items in your kit. Make sure your emergency car kit is right for you, the environment you’ll be in, and your hip pack.
If you can fit a case of bottled water in your vehicle, put one in there. In addition to the case of water, have some water purification tablets or drops so you can still make water drinkable if you go through the case of water. Save the used water bottles to collect water from rain, creeks, streams, lakes, ponds, or potholes. If you can carry a filtered water bottle, put one of those in your emergency car kit as well. Redundancy with your gear still applies here. In fact, it applies even more for car kits because you are packing the gear in your vehicle, which allows for more room for these extra measures.
Car Bag/Pack
Water and Food
Have a supply of food that can last a minimum of three days. The food needs to be calorie dense and, if needed, can be stretched for as long as six days. Energy bars, nuts, seeds, trail mix, soup or broth, and jerky are all good options. You can even pack some dehydrated food. You should have some extra space in your vehicle and you won’t be putting everything on your back unless you have to move, so make sure you have a good supply of food and water.
Make sure you have a poncho and heavy blanket, preferably a wool blanket. Wool blankets are durable, they wick away moisture, and they keep you warm even if they are wet. Also, have a reliable bivy sack, a large roll of duct tape, and cordage in your car kit. You might have to construct some type of makeshift shelter if you can’t sleep in your vehicle. Again, it’s better to have than be without, especially when the gear is in your vehicle and you are not necessarily hiking or carrying it around.
Wool Blanket, Extra Clothes and Boots
Matches and WetFire Tinder
Pack some extra clothes, especially during the winter months. If you have to go out and forage and survey the area in the rain or wet snow and get drenched, you want to have something dry to change into, including extra socks, pants, shirt, an extra coat, boots, or shoes.
Make sure you have fire-starting tools in your kit. You can also start a fire with the cigarette lighter in your vehicle and use the battery leads to make a spark. You also have combustible items in your vehicle: gas, oil, lubrication, interior insulation, carpeting, and seat padding. These are all good items to use as fire starters and kindling. Still, pack some reliable stormproof matches and WetFire Tinder Cubes in your emergency car kit. The matches will give you the flame to get a fire started and the WetFire Tinder Cubes will burn and allow you to add more fuel to the fire. Both of these or items similar to them should be in your kit. Think about what the Kims could have done if they could have built themselves a roaring fire to stay warm, melt snow to drink, and give them security and piece of mind.
Light, Multitool and Compass
A good multitool, compass, a light in the form of a headlamp or flashlight, pepper spray, insect repellant, and a first aid kit are necessary items for your bag. All of these can be used in a survival situation even if you are with your vehicle.
You’ll also want to have items in your car that will make being in the car easier and safer when driving.
Fix-A-Flat
Motor Oil, Tool Kit, and First Aid Kit
Jumper Cables and Handsaw
This minikit should include any items you might need to work on your car, including:
A cell phone with car charger, CB radio, and an emergency beacon can potentially save your life if you are stranded in a remote location. Just about everyone carries a phone and keeps a charger for their phone in their car. However, a CB radio is another option, especially for long, cross-country trips. Both of these options will allow you to communicate, check weather or road conditions, and call for help if needed. An emergency beacon, if you can afford it, should be in your car kit. Just like a concealed weapon, you might never need to activate your beacon, but if and when you do, you don’t want to be without it.
If possible, don’t do things alone when you are in a survival situation. There is power in numbers, and two heads are often better than one. It is good to have someone to watch your back, bounce ideas off of, as well as to use each other as support.
Ideally, there will be someone like-minded and with a similar skill set with you. Better yet, their survival and preparedness skills complement yours. Try to train together. Practice shooting, land navigation, hiking, camping, and preparedness exercises together. You want to develop your communication skills with your partner or team. Learn how to anticipate each other’s moves and begin to rely on one another just like you would in a real survival situation. Many have survived being alone, but it certainly helps when there are others involved.
If you are going to go it alone, make sure you let someone know what you are doing, where you are going, what your anticipated time of return is, and what to do if you don’t make it back by your estimated time of return. Plan for contingencies when you are out alone. Let someone else know your intended route if you are traveling or if you are camping or hiking in the woods. Make sure the information you leave behind is easy to understand and your tentative route is easy to follow.
Our modes of transportation are often taken for granted. We assume our vehicles are going to be reliable and get us to and from our destinations daily. As someone who is preparing for and expecting the worst, your vehicle is a great option for you to add an extra layer of protection against the unexpected. Sacrificing a little trunk space can have you outfitted and ready for any situation. With some ingenuity, imagination, and your emergency car kit, you and your vehicle will be ready for anything that gets thrown at you.