The Emergency Pack - Download the customizable list


If you are interested in doing any public land hunting that will put you in the back country or just walking back into the woods a short distance on a private piece of property, a small emergency pack is a good thing to carry with you.  Most of the time you will not go digging through it each time you are out but occasionally you will need something in it and when worse comes to worse, you will be glad it will give you an extra edge to survive.  I move it from pack to pack for hunting, fishing, camping, hiking or mountain biking.

Since the deer season has ended here in North Carolina and I am doing inventory of all my equipment, I would like to review what I have in my emergency pack and provide a printable and editable check list for you.  It is available to download at the bottom of this page.  Use it to modify or build your own list and emergency kit for upcoming trips.

Get the downloadable list here or at the bottom of the page.

When you review these items, keep in mind that you may want to add or subtract items you want to have with you as “emergency” items that don’t take up to much space.  It has a general purpose and so it will require tailoring for your own needs.

As for the pack I store everything in a 3 zipper, 4 pocket pack that I got at Goodwill for $0.99.  It was made so it has two of the pockets on one side and two on the other. It can straddle a branch or tree stand bar when I am accessing things in it while hunting and stays in place.  For size reference, I have shown it hear on the The Complete Guide to Hunting, Butchering and Cooking Wild Game Volume 1 and 2 for your reference, each book is about 8" x 10" x 1". Click this link to go find a place to buy the guides.



Inside the pack, I store groups of items together in different zip lock type bags.  This also keeps things together and safe from getting lost in the bottom of the pack.  You can see I have 4 plastic bags and an extra flashlight in there that isn’t in a bag.  Everything together weighs about 2 lbs 6 ounces.

The bag labeled A consists of two smaller bags, one that is mostly my first aid kit and another that I put my license/tags in.  The first smaller bag contents are shown in the next photo.


Bag A Contents

(2) Antiseptic Towelettes
(2) 2g Blood Clot Packs
(2) 2” x 2” Gauze Pads
Several Bandaged of varied sizes.
(2) 0.9g Burn Creams
(1) Ibuprofen
(2) Sting Relief Medicated Pads
(2) Alcohol Swabs
(1) Emergency Blanket
(5) Water Purification Tablets
(1) Signal Mirror (with protective plastic)


The bag labeled B is mostly my fire-starting kit. You see a recycled container that I use for storing dryer lint wrapped with duct tape.

Bag B Contents

(1) Container of lint or fire-starting aid
Stick Matches
Match Striker in Plastic
All weather matches
Duct Tape Pouch for matches
Lighter with duct tape
Lip Balm that can be used for fire starting.



Bag C Contents

(4) Zip ties held together with wire twists
A Set of Foam Ear plugs
(1 Set) Extra Batteries for Head Lamp
(2) Head Lamps – One is battery powered, one is a rechargeable headlamp
(1) sharpening stone in part of the plastic to prevent the edges from tearing the plastic bag.
(1) Multitool
(1) Fishing Kit
                The fishing kit is contained in a recycled plastic container.  The treble and single hooks, 50’ of line and weights are wrapped in a piece of old t-shirt.  I wrap it up this way so it doesn’t bang around and get all tangled up.  The small bobber fits right inside the plastic container.  The plastic container also has another 50’ of fishing line wrapped around it and is secured with a piece of duct tape.






Bag D Contents

Bug Repellent Wipes (3 or 4 wipes)
(1) Compass
Partial Roll of Flagging for Off Trail Marking
30’ of Extra Paracord
(1) Small Tree Cutting Cable
(2) Set of Hand and Feet Warmers
(1) Small Container Anti-Chaffing Powder
The only un-bagged item I carry in the emergency pack is the flashlight.  I normally carry one in my pocket and have a head lamp on when I walk in the woods.  This un-bagged flashlight is my backup hand held flashlight that I can find in the dark if needed.



Other Items to be included:

A few stick-on targets if you are on a multi-day trip and need to re-sight a rifle.
Back-Up specialty medication that you normally take.  I would not count it when I pack just in case something happens to my toiletries pack (which is where I would keep daily medication)
Petroleum Jelly
Fire Starting Cubes
Salmon Eggs for the Fishing Kit

The organization method you use is completely up to you for both location of the item and packing space.  Use the downloadable list below to build your own or modify the list to suit your needs.

Click here for the downloadable list.

Be sure to put comments for additions or modifications to the emergency pack.

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