Winter Vehicle Survival Kit

What should be in my car survival kit during the winter?

A vehicle kit has the advantage of having more space available such as your trunk or under the seats. You should take advantage of this extra space to store away some heavy duty blankets to stay warm. If you have to leave you can always take them with you as well.

A Wool blanket still retains 80% of its insulating value even if it gets wet. You have the space in a car so you may as well put some good blankets in there instead of only space blankets. A plus about space blankets is that they completely block the wind. The wind does not pass through the polyethylene material so no chance of the wind hitting your skin directly. A lightweight addition to a wool blanket.

Get yourself a light, preferably a head lamp. You will need to be able to see when it's dark. The reason for a head lamp is so you can still use both hands. They have an adjustable headband so it will fit comfortably around your head while you get other things done. Holding a flashlight can get frustrating if you need to use your hands.

For tools, you need to have a way of getting a fallen tree out of the road so you can continue driving. If that is all that's stopping you, you can end your survival situation by getting the tree out of the way. A chainsaw would be perfect in that situation but who's going to keep a chainsaw in their vehicle except maybe tree cutters.

There is a pocket sized chainsaw that does this job, but you have to provide the fuel. Those two things coming out of your shoulders will have to do the work to cut through the log. However, the saw does the job perfectly and you'll soon be on your way.

A shovel and an axe may come in handy for your setting up your winter vehicle survival kit. Shovel for digging out of mud or snow and an axe to help with trees or processing firewood. Both of these can find a small spot in your storage areas and may be very useful to you in a dire situation. Stock away a pair of work gloves too.

Even if you always have a lighter or other means of starting a fire with you, you should still put together a fire making kit for your car or truck. Fire can keep you warm in bitter cold and can purify water so you can stay hydrated.

Fire provides warmth and comfort.

A vital component to any type of survival kit you have is the means to create fire. You need a ferro rod to generate sparks and you'll want some tinder for actually catching fire. You can find thicker sticks (kindling) and larger pieces of wood to sustain your fire but getting that first fire going is most important. You want a sure-fire way of getting this going.

In order to easily boil water, you need a metal container. You can set the metal container either on or right next to the fire and can purify your water fairly quickly. You'll wait longer waiting for it to cool down than you did for it to boil. A 32-ounce water bottle made of metal is recommended. The reason for the 32oz is because most, if not all, water purification tablets are measured to be used in either a quart or liter size. If you already have the correct amount of water, you can use the tablets as specified - one table to one quart or liter of water.

If you are in a long term survival situation, you will need to drink water so make sure you have a way of purifying it. Giardia and Cryptosporidian are the things you need to watch out for along with other bacteria and viruses. Boiling water is the one sure way to kill off anything that can hurt you or cause you to be sick.

You're rather be found alive and sick than be found dead. Drink water.

While thinking about water, a nutritious bar for calories is prudent as well. Add to your kit things you will eat. A favorite snack bar or something nutritious. You can go with block emergency food or even camping meals where you just add water. Go a step further and get a stove with fuel tabs. You have a platform and 15 minutes of burn time. More than enough time to boil water.

Any or all of these take up little room in a special kit designed to help you should you be stranded somewhere.

The purpose of a winter vehicle kit is to stay alive during a survival experience. In order to make them effective, you must put them together by thinking worst-case scenario.