This is SO important!  Having the right things in your pack is comparable to wearing the right shoes in a race!

You wouldn't run a race in ski boots and you need to take what you are putting in your pack very seriously.

There are essential things that you need to consider.  Let's break them down.

Things you NEED to have:

• Something to provide shelter such as a tarp or additional clothing to keep you warm
• A means of fire starting
• A means of boiling water or purifying water
• A Knife or Multitool

These are of utmost importance.  You can only go 3 days without water and it is not safe to drink water without purifying it.  Without a way of keeping your body warm, your core temperature will drop and hypothermia will set in.  You can go longer without food, but with a sharp tool you have a way of harvesting food and also processing it, if need be.

Our family has two different packs, our pack we carry all the time which is a short term pack and would get us by for 3+ days with the supplies as well as our knowledge.  We also have our long term pack which is equipped with not only our necessities, but additional items to prolong our stay in the elements.

In the video below, I will talk to you about what I carry in my short term pack and why:

Contents of my short term survival pack:  http://youtu.be/5_b6Rq6eajU

We put a great deal of thought into our packs and we will discuss that further in my post titled – How We Choose The Right Gear.

But for now, let's discuss our essentials as broken down in the video.  I carry multiple knives, fire starting devices, and tools because for one they are essential items, if one fails I have multiples and often my items are multi purpose which we will discuss further, but can be utilized in varying ways.

You never want to be stuck in a situation without a knife, a way of making fire or a way to sterilize water.

So if you get in the habit of carrying a lighter, a pocket knife, a paracord bracelet or a small roll of paracord in your pocket and your water bottle of choice is either stainless steel (recommended) or aluminum you are set at all times.  They do not need to be top of the line and expensive items, but those are my daily tools no matter where I am.

Now, even since my video I have added a couple of things to my short term pack as well as my long term pack because I feel they were necessities to me.  I have added 8 to 10 small vials of essential oils for health and medicinal purposes and heirloom seeds.  You will find, the more you are in the woods and you ponder what you would need in a long term situation and you will be able to focus on what things could even add more stability to your livelyhood.

We forage from the wild currently so eating will not be problem for our family and we will discuss that more in my post titled How To Utilize Bushcraft Skills and Forage From The Wild, But since I cannot randomly find a tomato plant in the wild I thought I would pack some seeds with me.  The benefit of heirloom seeds in a survival situation is that if your short term situation becomes a long term situation you have seeds that will provide you food for your family and you can save the seeds from your harvest and have new seeds to plant again next season.  It is an item that will keep on giving and keep on providing and they will be things that you would not be able to find readily in your surroundings.  In addition, they do not take up much room in your packs and they will provide additional nutrition for your family.  Something else I added to my pack since this video is my Mountain Man's invention and multi-purpose fire piston called the MultiFlame Tool or MultiFlame Mini Tool.

So now you know what I carry in my short term pack and dependent where you are or your desires you may include different items.  I hope this has helped you in establishing some of the essentials for wilderness survival and in my next post we will dig even deeper here How We Choose The Right Gear.

Here are some stores that I recommend purchasing from:

Alaska Guide Creations – Bino Pack by Jaret Owens:  http://alaskaguidecreations.com/blog/store/

Trayer Wilderness:  http://www.trayerwilderness.com/

Self Reliance Outfitters:  http://SelfRelianceOutfitters.com

L. T. Wright Knives:  http://www.ltwrightknives.com/

Camping Survival:  http://www.campingsurvival.com/

Wilderness Innovation:  http://wildernessinnovation.com

Be sure to join us and subscribe to our YouTube Channel at TrayerWilderness.

I hope you gained something from this post…

What is your favorite piece of gear?

Do you need help choosing gear?

Thanks for joining the Prepared Bloggers as we work our way through 30 Days of Preparedness. September is National Preparedness Month so you will find everything you need to get your preparedness knowledge and skills into shape.

Take one post each day, learn as much as you can about the topic and make it a part of your preparedness plan.

Day 1 – Ready, Set, Get Prepared! Welcome to 30 Days of Preparedness from PreparednessMama
Day 2 – The Family Meeting Place and Escape from Laughingbear Adventures
Day 3 – I'm Safe! How to Communicate with Family in an Emergency from PreparednessMama
Day 4 – Does Your Family Have a Fire Escape Plan? from Home Ready Home
Day 5 – Preparedness For Pets from The Busy B Homemaker
Day 6 – The Escape Exercise from Laughingbear Adventures
Day 7 – It all Falls Apart Without Mental Preparedness from PreparednessMama
Day 8 – It's a Matter of Emergency Kits from A Matter of Preparedness
Day 9 – Nine Great Emergency Light Sources Other Than Flashlights from Food Storage & Survival
Day 10 – Cooking Without Power from Mama Kautz
Day 11 – The Importance of a Shelter & Staying Warm and Dry from Trayer Wilderness
Day 12 – The Importance of Having The Right Tools In Your Pack from Trayer Wilderness
Day 13 – Practice Living Without Electricity from Food Storage Made Easy
Day 14 – How We Choose The Right Gear – (including the MultiFlame Tool) from Trayer Wilderness
Day 15 – Water Storage & Purification from The Busy B Homemaker
Day 16 – Food and Water for a 72 Hour “Go Bag” from Homestead Dreamer
Day 17 – 8 Foods You Should Be Storing and How from Melissa K Norris
Day 18 – Planning Your Pantry from The Organic Prepper
Day 19 – Stocking Up on Non-Food Items from Living in Rural Iowa
Day 20 – Dutch Oven Cooking: Off-Grid Before Off-Grid Was Cool from The Backyard Pioneer
Day 21 – Pressure Canning the Harvest from Timber Creek Farm
Day 22 – Personal Protection & Awareness from Living in Rural Iowa
Day 23 – KISS First Aid from Herbal Prepper
Day 24 – Mommy, I have to go Potty! from Mom With a Prep
Day 25 – Fire Starting 101: The Why and How of Lighting a Fire for Survival from Food Storage & Survival
Day 26 – How to Filter and Purify Water from Prepared Housewives
Day 27 – How To Make A Shelter from Trayer Wilderness
Day 28 – Put Your Preps to the Test with 24 Hours Unplugged from The Organic Prepper
Day 29 – What Is Char and Why You Should Have It To Start A Fire from Trayer Wilderness
Day 30 – How To Utilize Bushcraft Skills and Forage From The Wild from Trayer Wilderness