Tested: The Best Survival Kits For At-Home & Off-Grid Emergencies

For the most part, nobody expects to be caught in a dire survival situation. Unfortunately, it’s not really up to us to decide when, where, and if emergencies fall upon us. As such, it’s always a better idea to be ready for such an outcome, just in case. And while you can mentally prep yourself for disaster, there are also real-world physical steps you can take to keep you and yours ready and safe should you need it.

Perhaps one of the best ways to do this is to keep a survival kit on hand. Sure, you could go through the motions and build your own to your specific desires and needs, but that takes a lot of time and dedication. If you want a simple, quick, and effective solution, however, we suggest picking up one of the best pre-built survival kits — which we’ve tested in the following guide.

How We Tested

With tons of survival kit options out there (truly, there are so many), you won’t want to shell out your hard-earned money on just any ol’ bag filled with supplies. Sorting through the sea of survival kits on the market can be a daunting task. Luckily, we’ve got you covered. After years immersed in this space, we already had our eyes on a few favorite survival kits for this guide but continued to scour the space a bit more for other options as well. Along with brand reputation, we looked at supplies, capacity, weight, durability, and other various features.

After sourcing our products for testing, we spent a considerable amount of time with each. Seeing that we (fortunately) weren’t involved in any emergency/survival situations during that time, we focused more on practicality with the following kits. This includes the function of the bags/kits themselves, their weight, and the type and amount of supplies inside. The results are detailed below.

What to Look For

From first aid to off-grid applications to emergency roadside use, modern emergency kits are produced in a wide array of forms, all made to address specific situations and scenarios. This can make shopping for a survival kit a bit tricky. Recognizing this reality, we’ve whipped up this condensed guide to the main areas to consider when purchasing a new survival kit.

Intended Use: The first thing to think about when buying a survival kit is your intended use — more specifically when and where you’ll be using this kit, as well as how many individuals will be utilizing it. Helping to massively narrow down your search, these parameters will allow you to hone in on the type and size of kit that will best suit the needs of you and your group/party.

Included Items: The single biggest factor that impacts the overall quality and efficacy of any emergency or survival kit is undoubtedly the items that comprise said kit. When it comes to outdoor survival and emergency kits, some of the most commonly-included essentials are items such as can and bottle openers, compasses and other navigational/directional equipment, sewing kits, LED flashlights, fire starter kits, wire saws, tackle kits, and first aid kits, just to name a few. It’s also pivotal to pay attention not only to the particular items that are included, but also the number of each item, and, even more importantly, the general quality of each item, element, or addition — areas that will also play a significant role in determining each kit’s pricing.

Size & Weight: As touched on above, survival kits can vary pretty significantly in terms of size, and while this is an important area to take into consideration, you’ll also want to review the level of compactness on display, as some kits manage to cram an impressive amount of gear into small footprint.

Vessel/Bag/Container/Case: In addition to the items that collectively comprise a contemporary emergency and/or survival kit, you’ll also want to consider if said kit comes with an included carrying case, backpack, or storage vessel. Like the actual emergency kits themselves, the cases and containers that they come in can massively vary in terms of both shape, size, and overall quality.

Price & Value: In the same way survival kits can hugely vary in terms of size and compactness, they can also massively vary in regards to their price and the level of bang for your buck that they offer. As a result, we urge readers to scrutinize not only the number of included items and amenities that are in a kit, but also the general level of quality on display — as both these elements will play a pivotal role in each kit’s overall efficacy and user experience.

Organization: Modern survival and emergency kits are often comprised of well over 100 different items and elements. As a result, one’s ability to organize and access this kit becomes monumentally important. As such, we recommend examining a kit’s primary storage vessel, along with whether it features any number of additional compartments, zippered pockets, or slips. What’s more, it’s also not uncommon to see survival kits that contain one or more removable pouches that themselves can serve as secondary mobile carrying cases.

Supplementary Selections: Despite some models and kits already being incredibly robust, it’s worth pointing out that you can always supplement an emergency kit via hand-selected additions such as SOS beacons, MREs, and other essentials. And, while a major selling point of these kits is their convenience, we’d still urge you to rack your brain to ensure your emergency kit isn’t missing any vital elements.

EVERLIT Essential Survival First Aid Kit

Best Budget-Friendly Survival Kit: Not every survival kit has to break the bank or be a massive addition to your adventure loadout. You’ll notice most of the packs on this list are quite pricey and cumbersome, but not Everlit’s Essential bag, which combines a survival kit with a first aid kit. Most importantly, Everlit was founded and is operated by military veterans, giving each of its products an extra edge backed by experience. This particular bag features 250 items, including disinfectant supplies, wound care, a fire starter, a tactical knife, a tactical flashlight, a paracord bracelet, two 12-hour glowsticks, and an assortment of first aid items. Lastly, every one of its bags and emergency kits comes backed by a lifetime warranty.

The Good

The obvious selling point with the Everlit Essential kit is its small size and low cost. At only $40, the bag is a great deal, whether or not you need a simple survival kit or a first aid kit. The housing here is 1,000D water-resistant nylon which is incredibly durable and seems to be well-stitched for durability. There’s plenty of MOLLE webbing on the outside and the pouch has the capability of attaching to another bag.

While the interior organization could’ve probably been better, I was highly impressed with how much stuff could fit into such a compact kit, which never feels overstuffed or becomes difficult to close back up. As a superfluous bonus, the exterior currently comes in six color options, including red, camo, and green.

The Not So Good

Mainly for camping, this particular survival kit won’t serve you as well at home, seeing that it does lean into the first aid side a bit more than the survival-exclusive side. As such, it’s missing things like an emergency radio, food, water, a multi-tool, and a shovel. These things obviously add a lot to the cost of a survival kit and you actually do save money buying them separately. Likewise, it’s also important to note that this is one of the few survival kits that doesn’t come with a pickaxe, which might be a dealbreaker for some.

Verdict: Small and compact, Everlit’s Essential Survival Kit proves that you don’t have to be outrageously pricey to get the job done. While you won’t get some of the more unique survival kit staples, this isn’t just a basic first aid kit; you’ll also get things like a firestarter, a flashlight, gloves, a knife, and more. Stuffing 250 items into an easy-to-carry bag, this kit is never overstuffed, although it could probably be organized better.

My Medic Recon Emergency Medical Kit

Best First Aid Kit: If your primary concern in an emergency is your ability to dress and treat any and all kinds of wounds, then the MyMedic Recon Kit is probably the emergency survival pack that will speak to you most. This comprehensive kit is focused specifically on first aid and comes loaded with literally dozens of supplies ranging from bandages to splints and everything in-between. Plus, the whole thing comes in a tactical-style durable Cordura nylon backpack with MOLLE webbing for modular attachments. Perfect as a comprehensive medical kit to go along with a set of rations, shelter and bedding, and other emergency survival supplies, this is a triage kit that will inevitably come in handy, especially during more serious emergencies.

The Good

You’ll notice the similarities between the My Medic Recon Kit and Everlit’s Essential bag above. Both lean into the realm of first aid and carry 250 items, however, My Medic –– a brand known for its intuitive and meticulously designed kits –– seems to offer a bit more organization, which isn’t a surprise if you’ve ever perused their other bags. More than just a first aid kit, the Recon Kit does have an edge for survival scenarios with items such as a tourniquet, a paracord, instant cold packs, a light stick, hydration packs, sprain/fracture stabilization, and a couple of nasopharyngeal airways.

Like their other kits, these items are color-coordinated well and distributed among three separate zipper compartments. There’s also a bonus zipper pocket that keeps an attachable shoulder strap, in case you’d rather carry this bag across your body rather than on the back like a backpack. Also, there’s room for a few additional items if you want, and yet, it’s still small enough that you can wear this in addition to your regular backpack. Lastly, I appreciated the dual zipper for times when I didn’t want to unzip the entire expansive bag just for one item. Likewise, I loved that you could theoretically access any of the items easily when it’s only halfway unzipped.

The Not So Good

Certainly heavier than your average first aid kit, the Recon Kit’s weight is something to take note of, relatively speaking. It still only weighs around 6.7lbs. Also, at risk of burying the lede, the bag doesn’t carry things like a knife, pickaxe, multi-tool, and the like. It’s almost exclusively for medical survival, which allows it to fall into this category but you should still note this caveat. This will be notably more expensive for a standard first aid kit. However, this isn’t your standard first aid kit; it’s worth every penny.

Verdict: Leaning into the medical survival precept, the My Medic Recon Kit continues the brand’s legacy of offering meaningful and well-organized kits; this isn’t just a pool of Band-Aids. We loved the dual-carrying options and the color-coordinated supplies. Albeit relatively heavy at around 7lbs, the bag allows for supplies to be added or swapped out, and never feels overstuffed.

Uncharted Supply Co. The Seventy2 Pro Survival System Backpack

Best Overall Kit: If you’ve heard of any of these pre-built survival kits before — or at least the brands themselves — it might very well be this one from Uncharted Supply Co. This particular kit made the rounds a few years back, as there wasn’t anything quite like it on the market at the time — a two-person, fully-equipped, survival kit in a backpack, so to speak. Oh yeah, and its housed in a 600D dual-coated tarpaulin pack with welded seams. Their initial launch was so well-received, in fact, that a slew of copycats popped up. However, Uncharted is still going strong as one of the best. Perhaps that’s because they’ve managed to imbue their kit with superb styling. Although, it’s likelier that this 72-hour survival kit is loaded to the teeth with a supremely impressive array of supplies in the realms of first-aid, rations, tools, face masks, and so much more.

The Good

Despite its heaviness, the Uncharted Supply Seventy2 Pro is a really great survival kit. Capable of being worn as a backpack, the survival supplies can be removed entirely, which is great if you want to use the bag itself as a normal backpack with a dry bag closure. Also, the supplies feature a wide range and are all intuitively organized by type inside of Velcro pouches with large block letters denoting what’s in each. While most of the pouches are black, things like the first aid kit and the water filter are in red and blue, respectively. Meanwhile, the flashlight, multi-tool, and water thermos are inside separate, easy-to-access elastic straps.

Most items are from either Uncharted Supply itself or more generic brands. However, the matches are high-end fire starters from UCO, which is one of our favorite fire starters around. The flame on these lasts 25 seconds and they come in a waterproof container. Also, this bag has an emergency radio which not every survival kit comes equipped with.

The Not So Good

My main issue with the Uncharted Supply bag is how impractically heavy it is. Weighing 16lbs altogether, the bag fortunately can be worn as a backpack but if you’re doing that, you also can’t wear a regular backpack. It’s not like there’s much extra room to keep other gear, aside from a couple of mesh pouches and a single zippered pouch on the outside, which is medium in size.

Also, perhaps for shipping reasons, the flashlight came with the batteries separate. This isn’t a dealbreaker but just something to note if you want it to be ready out of the bag.

Verdict: While it’s admittedly heavy, the Uncharted Supply Seventy2 Pro is a very good survival kit with a wide range of supplies organized intuitively with easy-to-read labels. If you like the backpack it comes in, you can remove the supplies all in one piece, and then use the outer shell as a dry bag, however counterintuitive that may be. After all, although this is a middle-range option on this list, it’s still nearly $600.

Echo-Sigma Get Home Bag: SOG Special Edition Emergency Kit

Best Tactical Kit: If you’re of a tactical inclination or you just really enjoy and appreciate the work of SOG as a brand, then you’re going to immediately want to look further into the Echo-Sigma Get Home Bag: SOG Special Edition Emergency Kit. Billed as a “midsize disaster preparedness kit,” this offering comes in a modular tactical backpack, includes up to three days’ worth of water and food, has a fully-equipped first aid kit, and features five different exceptional SOG tools — including a multi-tool, fixed and folding knives, and a pickaxe. It also even comes with 50 feet of military-grade 550 paracord, which might actually be the single most useful thing you can have in an emergency (outside of sustenance). There’s also a non-SOG edition, but you lose some of what makes this bag so special.

The Good

If you’re worried about not having everything you need with some of the above kits, Echo-Sigma ensures that you won’t be longing for anything with its Get Home Bag, including the aforementioned SOG knives and multi-tools. There’s also a 350-lumen flashlight from Fenix, which is one of our favorite lighting brands, and a tube tent. This is also the only survival kit we tested with a drinking hose attached to a water reservoir. I really liked that the bag came with several types of fire starters so you’re not just stuck with one if it doesn’t work. This includes a ferro rod and waterproof matches.

The heavy-duty backpack includes two large main zipper compartments and a small pocket for the first aid kit in front where it can be accessed easily. Inside these compartments, the supplies are either stuffed into mesh pockets or placed within even smaller zippered pouches. Each small pouch is designed to be carried either separately or inside the backpack. You can remove one or two if you wish and put some non-survival supplies or gear inside the backpack too.

The Not So Good

There’s almost nothing I would have included here, and that’s why the biggest flaw of the Get Home Bag is that it’s a bit overstuffed. It doesn’t help that the plethora of hydration packs come inside of a cardboard box rather than a separate pack. Upon opening up the kit, I would take only what you need, depending on how many people you’re traveling with and how long your journey is. This will save a ton of room. And it will also help mitigate the whopping 20-pound weight in the process. This guy is heavy! But unlike the Uncharted Supply above, you can easily shed some weight here.

Verdict: Echo-Sigma gives its tactical-minded Get Home Bag: SOG Edition the works with a slew of SOG knives and tools. Leaving almost no stone unturned, the survival kit is one of the most quintessential options we found, with a rugged backpack to boot. It’s admittedly pricey –– and heavy! –– but you get a ton of stuff in the process, even to a fault. Fortunately, you can remove some items to help with the weight as well.

Preppi The Prepster Advanced Fireproof Backpack

Best Made-in-the-USA Kit: While Preppi may have positioned itself as a “luxury” survival kit, there’s more to it than that. Based in Southern California, the bootstrap company has simply elevated the idea of a survival kit by starting with its function and practicality, first and foremost. For instance, if you need to grab your bag quickly in an emergency situation, The Prepster is attractive enough to be sitting in your living room — not tucked away in your closet; you don’t have to try and find it amidst old boxes and backpacks that look just like it. Fire resistant up to 700ºF, it’s made in the USA and features premium materials that actually serve a purpose, including ten servings of water, three days’ worth of food, a deluxe first aid kit, a tube tent, a headlamp, duct tape, candles, and more. You can also get a satellite messenger or solar panel with add-on options.

The Good

Simply put, the Preppi Prepster Kit is just better than all the others I tested. While it addresses the seriousness of a survival situation with its superior material choice and thoughtful construction, it also includes things like a deck of cards and premium tea so you’re able to try to take your mind off of the emergency at hand once things have settled down. After all, you may have to wait hours or days before you can find help. There are even some fun items such as chocolate, a whiskey flask, and astronaut ice cream. After all, being in an emergency situation is stressful enough; you shouldn’t be forced to forego all the pleasures of life. For the more practical items, Preppi taps fan-favorite brands like BioLite (for the LED headlamp), Leatherman (for the Wave multi-tool), Field Notes (for the notepad), and Malin+Goetz (for the self-care essentials kit).

In terms of its weight, the 13lbs is just about right considering all you get. It falls right in between the heavier 16- and 20-pound options, but also doesn’t eliminate too many items to make it as light as the smaller bags here.

The Not So Good

While I personally loved the silver “spacesuit-like” exterior, some of my colleagues weren’t fans. However, this does serve the purpose of standing out in a crowded closet or house. Also, it’s more noticeable from the birdseye view when rescue arrives. My main complaint was the comfort of using the Prepster as a backpack. Not only is there no padding on the backside but the straps themselves are incredibly thin and uncomfortable.

There’s also the matter of the $1,000 price tag, which is completely justified when you look at the material construction and the premium supplies that go into making this pack. I’m honestly surprised it doesn’t cost more.

Verdict: Understandably the most premium option around, the Preppi Prepster will cost you a pretty penny, but you also get some top-shelf items inside. We loved the selection of supplies in this survival kit, which also includes fun things like a deck of cards, freeze-dried ice cream, and premium tea. The divisive silver exterior is more than just a design choice; it helps you and others find this when disaster does strike. On the other hand, we only wish this were more comfortable as a backpack.

Survival Kit Comparison Chart

Honorable Mentions

Not everyone needs the works when it comes to survival kits — or has the budget for it — so Go Time specializes in affordable yet quality survival gear. Their S.O.L. Scout is comparable to the Everlit above, which we loved for its variety and durability.

JUDY’s The Mover Max Go-Bag is not only a submersible dry bag but a all-around great survival kit, with over 50 items divided into three sections to make finding what you’re looking for easier. This brand has been rather trendy in recent years but we simply couldn’t get hands-on with a unit for testing.

The ESEE Knives Mini-KIT is an interesting minimalist tin kit that features items like a compass, ferro rod, razor blade, fishing kit, and some other less-crucial essentials. Nevertheless, this can be a good supplementary kit for a backpack.

Solkoa’s Pro Survival Kit is a pretty popular choice but we just loved the look of the comparable kits above over the blase appearance of this one, giving those an edge in our guide.

Balancing value with supply variety, Ready America’s 72-Hour Deluxe Emergency Kit is a solid choice for camping or roadside situations. However, as a survival kit, it didn’t do anything above and beyond compared to the options above.

Tested: The Best First Aid Kits

If survival kits are too much for your current situation, you should at least have a first aid kit at hand during any adventure. Check out our recent guide where we test out the best options around.