As a preparedness expert, I get asked a lot of questions. Such as, How much water do I really need? and, What do those survival bars taste like? When should I stay put, and when should I go? These are all good questions.
Today I want to answer one of the most common questions I get as far as home preparedness goes. And that is: Are those store bought or pre-made survival kits any good or all I need to survive?
What I tell people as a general rule is that if you haven't started or taken any preparedness steps yet, they make an excellent starting point, or starter kit. They are not generally good, if you just buy them, stick them in the closet, and that is the end of your preparations.
I'd like you to take a moment to look at this video from DadLabs titled: Is Your Family Prepared for Disaster?
This video does an excellent job of driving this point home as any I have ever seen. In case you missed it, Those premade kits just don't have enough items for you and your family to make it through a disaster.
Sure, they may be good during a brief power outage or get you through a single night, but for a real disaster, they don't even come close to what you would need to get by.
Most local, state, federal, and even non-profit agencies will tell you need at least three days worth of food and water to survive a disaster. The key to this phrase is "at least" and most people tend to think if they have three days worth of these items they will be fine.
In fact I think this statement does more harm than good, since the average household is unprepared and when you hear three days worth people tend to think, well - I have enough food stocked up to last that long. The truth is when you really get down to it, you don't have enough to make it that long.
The whole idea of where the three days comes in is that is how long these agencies estimate it will take for government aid to reach and rescue people in the affected area. As we have seen in past disasters, this may not always be the case.
So if you prepare as if you are going to be on your own, and for an extended length of time, the store bought kits are no where near enough to sustain you and your family for three days or longer.