Survival Kit Maintenance – Check Your Survival Gear Checklist

If you’ve already made a survival gear checklist, that’s great! Being prepared for unexpected emergency situations is a smart idea and making a survival gear checklist is something everyone should consider doing sooner rather than later. But unless you’re in a very volatile environment, or are just unlucky and run into trouble on a regular basis, you probably won’t have to use your survival kit very often. It’s all too easy to simply leave your survival kit stored away safely, and forget to check or update items on your survival gear checklist on a regular basis. However, survival kit maintenance is important, as there is little point to having a defective or useless kit of survival gear that fails to serve its original purpose or does not include everything on your survival gear checklist. So here are some simple tips to follow on how to keep your survival gear checklist up to date.

How to Keep Your Survival Gear Checklist Ready and Current

Because it is easy to simply forget to check your gear, set a regular date for when you should go through your survival gear checklist – try to check through your survival kit at least once every six months. You can add a reminder in your calendar or phone to help you remember, or set the date to a memorable day, like a birthday or anniversary. If you do go hiking or camping, it’s also worthwhile having a quick check of your kit before you head off to make sure everything on your survival gear checklist is included and is functional.

Once you’ve remembered to check through your survival kit, you’ll need to take your kit and your survival gear checklist and run through each item on the list. Check that each item is included in the kit, and that it is still functional and performs its specified task. Here’s some tips on what to look for when checking specific items on your survival gear checklist.

First Aid Kit

A first aid kit is one of the essential items that every survival gear checklist should include. Your first aid kit may also come with a list of contents that you should run through. If you have used any of the items like band-aids/plasters, make sure you add new ones to replace what is missing. Check the expiry date on any medications, ointments and other perishable products. Everything should be neat and clean, so if there are any bandages that need re-wrapping, do this now, and pack everything neatly back into the first aid kit.

Knives and Multi-tools

Your survival gear checklist will usually include a knife and/or a multi-purpose tool. Have a good look at your knife – is it rusty? If it is, you can often remove the rust by either using a rust-removal cleaning product, or if there is a lot of rust that is difficult to get rid of, you may need to try something stronger like soaking the blade in WD-40 followed by a good scrub with steel wool. Once any rust has been removed, you’ll need to sharpen your knife using a sharpening stone.

Food and Water

With long-life food and water supplies, you’ll need to to cross check the quantities you have in your kit against what you have on your survival gear checklist. If you’ve used up any of the kit supplies, make sure you replenish them. That way in a real emergency you won’t get caught out thinking you’ve got sufficient supplies for the first three days, only to find you’ve got half the water you should have. Check the expiry dates on everything, and discard any products are damaged or perished.

Blankets and Sleeping Bags

Emergency blankets or sleeping bags are common items to have on your survival gear checklist. Check that any emergency blankets or sleeping bags are clean and without any damage. Make sure you check the labels on everything before washing or cleaning them. Where possible, any holes, rips or tears should be repaired sooner rather than later so they don’t get worse. Make sure any blankets or sleeping bags are fully dry before packing them back into your kit, as moisture can result in mold and mildew.

Radio and Flashlight

If your survival gear checklist includes a radio and/or flashlight, check that they are both working. Replace any broken bulbs on your flashlight, or opt for an LED lamp. If you need batteries to operate your radio or flashlight, check if these need replacing as batteries can quickly run flat or expire. It is a better idea to choose devices that are self-powered using a crank or hand-winding mechanism, as this eliminates the need for batteries entirely and makes maintaining your survival gear checklist easier.

If Your Needs Have Changed, Update Your Survival Gear Checklist To Suit

Finally, always make sure your survival gear checklist and the gear in your survival kit meets your current needs. Ensure that you have the correct amount of gear on your survival gear checklist to sustain the current number of people in your family or workplace. If you have recently taken up any new outdoor activities or increased the extremity of any hiking or camping expeditions, always take this into account as you may need to add additional items onto your survival gear checklist. Remember – an expedition to a remote, uncharted area is a much more extreme scenario than a hike on a well-trodden trail in a populated area. Always be prepared as best as you can by having a suitable survival gear checklist, so you can enjoy your activities knowing you’ve given yourself a good chance of surviving in any unexpected emergency.

I am Douglas Jhon. I love to write and it is my passion.