There are many different ways to go about creating one of these pieces of clothing, and the way you would go about creating one for extended outdoor or survival situation use is going to differ greatly from making one that appears historically accurate for a Civil War reenactment or anything like that.  There’s no brass buttons and the uniforms don’t have to be made of dyed wool, although a plain sheet of thicker wool is not a bad place to start at all.  In fact, many individuals prefer this to a large sheet of leather or cloth.

While I’m not going to go into the full process of creating these from scratch – I’ll let the debates continue to rage on various survival or reenactment forums on the best way to go about designing these pieces of clothing.  However, I will offer some common tips I’ve received from others with just as much or more experience with this topic than I have.

1. If you’re going for a belt as opposed to buttons, then “ripping” the belt from the blanket often results in a better and more natural straight line than trying to cut it.  Many experts insist this leads to less fraying issues long term, as well.
2. If in doubt, use extra material.  You can always cut away more later if you have too much, but too little you can’t work with.
3. Trace before making cuts.

Part of the reason that determining use is so important is that you have different options when creating an emergency 3 day kit for your home and in creating one that must be portable, say for your vehicle.  The reason that so many people focus on this element of time is simple: it takes time for search parties to be organized in the wilderness, and it takes time for a disaster relief response to be set up by the government.  If you are a complete beginner to survival, emergency preparedness, or any related topic then I strongly recommend Neil Strauss’s book Emergency.  If nothing else, his description of how the government views disasters and what basic “truths” come with survival training are eye opening.  The long and short of it?  You’re on your own for 24 to 72 hours.

That’s a sobering reality and makes picking the right 3 day survival kit critical.  You have to assume that you’re on your own in the beginning, so you need kits that are practical, complete, and can help you stay alive and safe for as long as possible to give you the best chance of surviving and to give you the best chance of either being found for rescue or for being in good shape when help finally comes from disaster relief.

So step one to finding a good 72 hour survival kit is simple: Are you looking at a home survival kit or travel survival kit?

This is a critical question because there is going to be a huge difference between the two.  A home survival kit should be a lot more than just a kit.  Think giant tote filled with survival gear.  This doesn’t mean you can be wasteful – quite the contrary and especially if you have a family.  You want three days of water (think a gallon per person per day), portable toilets for disposing of waste, and many other items that would not go with a portable kit.  While people’s needs are going to be a little bit different, consider this checklist for home kits:

• Minimum three days water for everyone, more if room allows
• Portable toilets
• Medical supplies
• Propane or kerosene camp oven for preparing food
• Canned goods or MREs (make sure to rotate out old canned goods for new ones before expiration dates)
• Water purification tablets
• Heavy duty flashlight with extra batteries
• Knife
• Defense materials

While some of these items are important in wilderness survival, as well, you’re not going to have 20 gallons of water stuck in the back of your car every time you have a road trip.  However the best 72 hour traveling survival kits will include first aid items, multi-use survival tools, a good survival knife, as well as matches and materials to purify water.  Consider things like trash bags and emergency mylar blankets which can be condensed to take up very little space but which can be huge for building shelters, keeping warm and dry, and strongly increase your strength and chance of surviving in time for help to arrive.

Keep these things in mind when choosing your 72-hour survival kit and you’ll be happy that you did if the time ever comes to survive through an emergency.

The first step is to cover many of the basics that should be included in any survival kit:

• Blank waterproof paper with pencil
• Lighter or waterproof matches
• Mini waterproof flashlight w/ extra batteries
• 50 feet fishing line and treble hooks
• 50 feet stronger fishing line for snares or knot tying for shelter
• Fire starter
• Tin cup
• Water purification tablets
• Knife
• Compass

These are basics that make sense for any improvised survival kit, and even with the fishing line you can begin to see the importance of items which can be used for a wide variety of situations or needs.  Space in any survival pack is critical, and so having items which can be used to help in a wide array of situations.  Another item that surprises many people is the unlubricated condom.  Aside from the obvious use, these can be blown up and used to carry fresh water in the wild. Or they can be tied off and used to carry matches or other items which need to be protected from water.

Duct tape can be used for setting up shelter, putting together tools, or even stopping bleeding from a wound.  Ziploc bags are also exceptional for carrying survival gear or a survival pamphlet, storing drinking water for drinking, or keeping materials dry when surrounded by water.  Doing even just a little bit of research and looking around can make it easy to put together a good improvised survival kit from your normal household items.

That being said the first and possibly most important of the winter survival tips is to dress for the occasion.  Layering clothing helps to trap air to your body, and the pockets of dead (nonmoving) air heat up keeping you warm.  Gore-tex or other waterproof lines of clothing have stood the test of time in providing durable outdoor gear and are good for your exterior layer.  A waterproof pair of 40 gram or heavier winter gloves will keep your hands from freezing as a good pair of Sorels will keep the feet from freezing.

Winter survival tip number two is of a similar concept of shelter.  Check the ratings on your backpack and tent to find out how they handle the conditions you’re walking into.  In addition to the camping or backpacking gear you bring keep on you at all times a pocket survival kit, in which contains a space blanket.  This is effective for emergency shelter as reflects back over 90% of your body heat.  It also contains fire starting materials, but be familiar with using them before venturing out as starting a fire in the winter can be quirky.

Carry enough supplies with you to last for at least three days and winter survival tip number three is to tell someone your itinerary.  Tell them when you leave, when you expect to return and the route you plan to take.  These key pieces of information can greatly narrow down the search area if rescuers are sent to find you.  Hypothermia is one of the most efficient killers of winter and while it can be easy to avoid it isn’t as easy to reverse.  Though these three winter survival tips are not intended to cover every scenario their purpose is simple; stay warm and stay dry to stay alive, and never be afraid to spend a little bit extra on a quality emergency winter survival kit.

The majority of the survival packs on the market abide by a law of three.  Each survival pack will provide basic accommodations for each person for three days.  The contents of most survival packs also have a 5 year shelf life if not longer.  Typically for home or office use these survival packs are stowed in five gallon, sealable buckets.  For automotive use or for more portable needs smaller versions can be stowed in backpacks.

Basic survival packs generally contain food and water rations, water purification tablets, supplies for emergency shelter, duct tape, work gloves or vinyl gloves, dust masks, light sticks, shake flashlights, portable radio, safety whistle and a basic first aid kit and sanitation supplies.  More comprehensive survival packs might also contain respirators, anti-radiation medication, NBC (nuclear, biological, chemical) suits and gas masks are also available to the public to add in to their survival packs.

Though no survival pack is going to make surviving a disaster easy, they are designed to lessen the blow to you and your family by providing the basic needs of food, water, shelter, and light that can quickly be taken away in an emergency.  When evacuation isn’t an option survival packs can help you weather the storm and keep you and your family safe until help can come to you.