Last month we started out by picking up a container to keep the contents of the survival kit together and easy to transport. This month we are going to start filling it.

Ever heard of the survival rule of threes? It basically goes like this: One can survive for:

• three minutes without air (or in icy waters),
• three hours without shelter,
• three days without water,
• three weeks without food.

With that in mind, I’m going to build the kit by adding items that help deal with situations that may pose a prioritized risk to survival. So first things first, lets add something to help deal with the lack of air.

The lack of air is often overlooked. However, it only takes a little bit of trauma to cause some bleeding that unchecked will diminish the delivery of oxygen to the brain which will lead to a loss of consciousness which could result in death… in three minutes. From my point of view, the first items added to a survival kit should help prevent or help the response to such a threat.

The first item I’m going to add is an Adventure Medical Kits Trauma Pak with QuikClot. The retail on this kit is $24.99 which completely expends the $25 per month budget. However, you get quite a bit for that. The kit includes a bandage, a couple of dressings, some nitrile gloves, 25 grams of QuikClot, a trauma pad, a couple feet of duct tape, a bandage, and an antiseptic wipe.

I personally keep one of these kits in the glove box of our vehicles, the range bag, the get home bag, and the bug out bag. Now, it’s a nice addition to the budget survival kit. While it’s not an ultra tactical blow out kit, it does provide quite a bit more capability than the typical boo boo kit (a first aid kit stuffed with bandaids and antiseptic wipes) for a fraction of the price.