What are the ten most important items in your bag, pack or kit?

I'll start off:

1. Water purification tablets and nalgene bottle
2. KaBar knife
3. Swedish firesteel
4. Tinder (preferably vasaline soaked cotton balls in a waterproof container)
5. Cammenga Lensatic compass
6. First aid kit
7. Leatherman Wave
8. signal mirror
9. Boonie Hat
10. Mess kit

What are your most important items?

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If it's in your pack, but you don't know how to use it...it's useless. So, always test your skills as a form of preparation...Don't wait until your life depends on it. That's a lesson you don't want to learn the hard way.

That's certainly a nice top 10...Hard to argue with many of those items. Though I did notice that there was no food items listed. I might also swap out an item or two for things like an emergency blanket or a signal mirror.

These items are very important for me.

1. cellphone
2. knife
3. lighter
4. chocolate bars
5. medical supplies
6. flashlight with batteries
7. fish hooks
8. canned food
9. compass
10. global map

Top 10 items in my bugout bag
1. Extra ammo for .40 caliber pistol and .22 rifle
2. Water purification filter
3. Waterproof matches
4. Knife
5. Fishing line / hooks
6. Flashlight
7. First aid kit
8. Small tarp
9. Signal supplies - flare, mirror, whistle.
10. GPS

I have a lot more stuff in my bug out bag but these were my priorities.

Top 10 items in my bugout bag are

1. cell phones
2. Notebook computer
3. GPS
4. Pistol 40 mm
5. Swiss army knife
6. First aid kit
7. Canned food
8. Toilet paper.
9. Flash light with batteries
10. portable cooking stove.

What the heck kinda pistol is a 40 mm? I've never heard of such a thing! That would have to be huge!

I hope these are the most important things that one must carry:

Waterproof matches
swiss Knife
Fishing line
Flashlight
First aid kit
water purifying tablets

Some of the items, which I feel is essential are:

knife
lighter
compass
first aid kit
watch
water purifying tabs

Here's my top 10.
1) 4 surplus canteens (2 2qt. 2 1qt with canteen cups.) filled with fresh water.
2) 3 days supply of food
3) Ammo for my carry guns. 100 rds of each.
4) Fire starting gear consisting of: Fluid & flints for Zippo lighter always carried on me, 6 pk Bic Lighters, Magnesium fire starting stick, dryer lint for tinder.
5) navigation gear: GPS unit and batteries (batteries also fit flashlight always carried on me), Lensatic compass, maps for whatever area I am in.
6) Goretex rain suit.
7) Change of shoes with 3 pr regular and 3 pr cold weather socks.
8) water purification filter and tablets.
9) 2 survival blankets
10) 1,000 ft roll of 550 para cord.

There is actually more in my kit, but if I had to survive for 72 hours, this along with what is always carried on my person will get me by for 72 hours with no problem.

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Hope for the best, but plan for the worst.

NRA Certified Instructor for Basic Handgun and Personal protection in the Home.
V.F.W. Life Member
NRA Member
U.S. Army Veteran

1.) extra water.
2.) extra Mountain House meal (eggs usually)
3.) 2 extra lighters, and a couple bottles of butane gas
4.) smoke bomb- useful for starting fires, or signaling
5.) compass
6.) pen and paper- paper can be used to start a fire, take notes of where I'm heading, or on a pinch, leave a note for rescuers.
7.) extra ammunition
8.) extra knife- I lost a knife once, and didn't have a backup knife. Live and learn.
9.) water purification tablets/electrolyte tablets.
10.) small medical kit

This all fits into a backpack, and weighs maybe 5 lbs or so. Small enough to always carry. The key with a survival kit is to have it on you always- that way you aren't lost in the woods, and can't find your survival kit!

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