Bug out bag list: enough for 72 hours, as FEMA advises. Pack water plus a filter and tablets, three days of no-cook food, an emergency blanket and bivvy, matches and a lighter, a flashlight and headlamp, first aid and medications, a multi-tool, a crank radio, a whistle, a map and compass, document copies, cash and hygiene basics.
Our core list below weighs 17.2 lb, and half of that is water. Every line is matched to the Ready.gov, FEMA and American Red Cross kit lists, with a typical weight from the maker of our pick. Add-ons for sleeping outdoors or wilderness travel come after the core items in each group.
If you’d rather buy one ready-made, our guide to the best premade bug out bags compares them. Check any kit against this list before you rely on it.
What should be in a bug out bag? The full checklist
Pack the Core items first: they’re what the agencies list, plus what it takes to make that work on foot. Add-ons are for sleeping outdoors, cooking or wilderness travel. A dash means the maker publishes no weight, or its site blocked our check.
| Item | Core or add-on | Why it’s there | Weight | Our pick |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | ||||
| Water to start with | Core | Ready.gov: one gallon per person per day, for drinking and sanitation. Carry what you can, then treat more (see below). | 8.7 lb (3.9 L in the two containers below) | Bottled or tap water from home |
| Wide-mouth bottle | Core | Fills fast from a tap or stream, and its quart size makes tablet doses easy. | 6.25 oz | Nalgene 32 oz Wide Mouth Check price |
| Hydration reservoir | Core | Carries the bulk of the water low and close to your back. | 6.5 oz (3 L) | Platypus Big Zip EVO 3 L (sold out at Platypus; the 2 L is in stock) Check price |
| Water filter | Core | You can’t carry three days of water. Sawyer rates it to remove bacteria and protozoa. | 2 oz | Sawyer Mini Check price |
| Purification tablets | Core | Kill the viruses a filter lets through (CDC). Iodine isn’t for pregnancy or thyroid problems. | — | Potable Aqua with PA Plus Check price |
| Food | ||||
| Three days of no-cook food | Core | Ready.gov favors food that needs no cooking or water. 400 kcal a bar, packed to last 5 years. | — | S.O.S. New Millennium Energy Bars Check price |
| Freeze-dried meals | Add-on | Hot food for morale. 18 servings, about 1,700 kcal a day; needs boiling water. | 3.6 lb (3-day kit) | Mountain House 3-Day Emergency Food Supply Check price |
| Stove and fuel | Add-on | Boils water for meals and for treatment. Outdoors only, as Ready.gov says of camp stoves. | 10.3 oz (stove 2.9 oz, full 110 g canister 7.4 oz) | MSR PocketRocket Deluxe Check price |
| Pot and mugs | Add-on | A 1.4 L pot with two mugs and two bowls nested inside. | — | GSI Halulite Microdualist Check price |
| Spork | Add-on | Titanium, 6.7 in long. | — | Light My Fire Titanium Spork Check price |
| Multivitamins | Add-on | Only matter if an evacuation runs well past three days. | — | Animal Pak Check price |
| Fishing kit | Add-on | Wilderness only. 50 ft of line, hooks and jigs in a 3 × 4 in pack. | — | Best Glide ASE Compact Survival Fishing Kit Check price |
| Snares | Add-on | Wilderness only, and trapping rules vary by state. Two small-game snares. | — | Thompson Snares Survival Snare Kit Check price |
| Slingshot | Add-on | Quiet small-game hunting; check your state’s rules. | 4.5 oz (frame) | SimpleShot Scout XT Check price |
| Shelter and warmth | ||||
| Emergency blanket | Core | On the Red Cross list. Reflects up to 90% of body heat; the pack holds one per person for five. | 1.7 oz each | Titan Emergency Survival Blankets, 5-pack Check price |
| Emergency bivvy | Core | A reflective sleeping sack that stays around you at night. Comes with a whistle. | 4.7 oz | Survival Frog Tact Bivvy 2.0 Check price |
| Change of clothes, rain gear, sturdy shoes | Core | Ready.gov lists clothing “appropriate for your climate and sturdy shoes”; the Red Cross adds rain gear and a hat. | — | Your own (see our rain poncho guide) |
| Bandana | Add-on | Sun cover, sling, or a cloth to strain water before you treat it. | — | Levi’s cotton bandana Check price |
| Hand warmers | Add-on | For cold-weather evacuations. Up to 10 hours each. | — | HotHands Hand Warmers Check price |
| Ground blanket | Add-on | A dry, 63 × 44 in place to sit or lie down. | 3.9 oz | Matador Pocket Blanket Check price |
| Sleeping bag | Add-on | If you may sleep outdoors; Ready.gov lists a sleeping bag or warm blanket per person. Rated 20°F (−7°C), synthetic fill. | 2.5 lb | Klymit Wild Aspen 20 Check price |
| Sleeping pad | Add-on | Stops cold ground from draining heat; R-value 7.3. | 15.5 oz | Therm-a-Rest NeoAir XTherm NXT Check price |
| Tarp | Add-on | A roof over a bivvy or hammock, 10 ft 6 in × 6 ft 4 in. | 22 oz | ENO ProFly Rain Tarp Check price |
| Hammock system | Add-on | Hammock, bug net, straps and the ProFly tarp in one kit. | 4 lb 3 oz | ENO OneLink Hammock System Check price |
| Tent | Add-on | A one-person tent, for open ground with no trees to hang a hammock. | — | ALPS Mountaineering Lynx 1 Check price |
| Fire | ||||
| Waterproof matches | Core | Ready.gov: “Matches in a waterproof container”. These burn up to 25 seconds each; 12 in the case. | 2.0 oz | UCO Titan Stormproof Match Kit Check price |
| Lighter | Core | A second way to light a fire, in a case built to last. | 1.95 oz | Zippo Classic windproof lighter Check price |
| Butane insert for the Zippo | Core | Swaps the wick for butane: up to 100 five-second lights per fill. It ships empty, so fill it before packing. | 1.76 oz | Zippo Single Torch Butane Lighter Insert Check price |
| Ferro rod | Core | Sparks wet or dry, for up to 3,000 strikes. | 0.95 oz | Exotac nanoSTRIKER XL Check price |
| Tinder | Add-on | Cotton balls with petroleum jelly catch a spark; the jelly also soothes chapped skin. | — | From home |
| Light and power | ||||
| Flashlight | Core | On every agency list. 15 to 1,500 lumens, on one 18650 or two 123A batteries. | 6.5 oz with battery | SureFire FURY IntelliBeam Dual Fuel Check price |
| Headlamp | Core | Hands-free light. 40 lumens on two CR2032 coin cells (included), sold as an emergency headlamp. | 0.9 oz (26 g) | Petzl e+LITE (no longer on Petzl’s US site) Check price |
| Spare batteries | Core | Ready.gov: “Extra batteries”. Match the flashlight, radio and anything else you pack. | — | Any |
| Phone, charger and power bank | Core | Ready.gov: “Cell phone with chargers and a backup battery”. | — | Your own |
| Rechargeable lantern | Add-on | Lights a shelter; recharges by hand crank or USB and can charge a phone. | 1.1 lb | Goal Zero Lighthouse 600 Check price |
| Emergency candles | Add-on | Light with no batteries, 8 to 10 hours each. Never leave one burning unattended. | — | Coghlan’s Emergency Candles, 2-pack Check price |
| Light sticks | Add-on | Mark your spot at night: green for 12 hours, with a 5-year shelf life. | 0.7 oz each | Cyalume SnapLight 6 in, green Check price |
| Folding solar panel | Add-on | Recharges a phone or power bank; it needs bright sun. | 1.48 lb | BigBlue SolarPowa 28 Check price |
| First aid and health | ||||
| First aid kit | Core | On every agency list. Rated for one or two people for up to 4 days. | 5.8 oz | Adventure Medical Kits Ultralight/Watertight .7 Check price |
| Medications, glasses, sunscreen | Core | The Red Cross says a 7-day supply of medications, plus items like glasses and hearing-aid batteries. | — | Your own |
| N95 mask | Core | Ready.gov lists a dust mask “to help filter contaminated air”. A NIOSH-approved N95 has a TC-84A number printed on it. | — | Any NIOSH-approved N95 |
| Insect repellent | Add-on | 20% picaridin; the lotion lasts up to 14 hours against mosquitoes and ticks. | — | Sawyer Picaridin Insect Repellent Lotion Check price |
| Trauma kit (IFAK) | Add-on | Tourniquet and pressure bandage for severe bleeding: worth carrying if you’re trained to use them. | — | Lightning X IFAK Check price |
| Trauma shears | Add-on | Folding shears with a strap cutter, ring cutter and glass breaker. | 5.8 oz | Leatherman Raptor Rescue Check price |
| Tools | ||||
| Multi-tool | Core | The Red Cross lists a multi-purpose tool; Ready.gov, pliers to turn off utilities. This one adds a saw, ferro rod and whistle. | 7.5 oz | Leatherman Signal Check price |
| Duct tape | Core | Ready.gov pairs it with plastic sheeting to shelter in place; it also patches gear. A 1 in × 30 ft roll. | — | Gorilla Tape To-Go Check price |
| Plastic sheeting, garbage bags, zip ties | Core | All on the Ready.gov list, for shelter and sanitation. | — | From home |
| Work gloves | Core | On the Red Cross list, for debris and broken glass. | — | Mechanix Wear M-Pact Check price |
| Paracord | Add-on | Tarp lines and repairs: about 45 ft of 550 cord wrapped around a small survival kit. | — | Holtzman’s Paracord Grenade Check price |
| Pocket knife | Add-on | A backup blade if the multi-tool goes missing; 3.45 in blade. | 3.88 oz | Benchmade Griptilian 551 Check price |
| Knife sharpener | Add-on | Carbide and ceramic slots plus a fold-out diamond rod. | — | Smith’s Pocket Pal PP1 Check price |
| Folding saw | Add-on | Clears fallen branches and cuts firewood. | — | Bahco Laplander Check price |
| Hatchet | Add-on | Chops and splits wood; full tang, with a belt sheath. | 20.8 oz | Gerber Pack Hatchet Check price |
| Machete | Add-on | Clears brush; a 14 in parang blade. | 1.28 lb | CRKT Halfachance Check price |
| Folding shovel | Add-on | Digs, clears debris and makes a latrine. | — | SOG Entrenching Tool Check price |
| Sewing kit and safety pins | Add-on | Quick repairs to clothes and straps. | — | From home |
| Navigation and communication | ||||
| Crank or battery radio | Core | Ready.gov lists a hand-crank or battery radio with NOAA weather alerts. This one also charges a phone. | 1.7 lb | Kaito KA500 Check price |
| Whistle | Core | Ready.gov: “to signal for help”. Rated 118 to 120 dB, and it works underwater. | — | Storm All-Weather Safety Whistle Check price |
| Paper map and compass | Core | Ready.gov and the Red Cross list local maps. A compass works with no signal or battery. | 2.65 oz (compass) | Suunto MC-2 G Check price |
| Two-way radios | Add-on | On the Red Cross list. GMRS needs an FCC license, and Midland says range averages ½ to 2 miles. | — | Midland GXT1000VP4 Check price |
| Signal mirror | Add-on | Flashes sunlight toward rescuers; 2 × 3 in glass. | — | Coghlan’s Signal Mirror Check price |
| Signal flares | Add-on | US Coast Guard approved, burning up to 3 minutes each. | — | Orion Locate Basic-3 Handheld Flares Check price |
| GPS watch | Add-on | Navigation with no phone signal: up to 40 hours of GPS, 130 with solar. | 1.8 oz (52 g) | Garmin Instinct 3 Solar, 45 mm Check price |
| Compact binoculars | Add-on | Check a road or crossing before you commit to it; 10×28. | 12.7 oz | Steiner Tactical 10×28 Check price |
| Documents, cash and family | ||||
| Copies of documents | Core | The Red Cross lists passports, birth certificates, proof of address, deed or lease, insurance policies and a medication list. Ready.gov: in a waterproof container. | — | A zip-top bag from home |
| Digital copies | Add-on | Ready.gov also suggests saving them electronically: on a card, or in the cloud. | — | Samsung EVO Select 64 GB microSD (out of stock at Samsung US) Check price |
| Cash | Core | On the Ready.gov and Red Cross lists. Small bills, in case card readers are down. | — | — |
| Contacts, plan and spare keys | Core | The Red Cross lists family and emergency contacts and spare car and house keys; Ready.gov, paper and pencil. | — | From home |
| Baby, pet and comfort items | Core, if they apply | Both agencies list formula and diapers, pet food and a leash, and games for children. | — | From home |
| Hygiene and sanitation | ||||
| Wet wipes | Core | Ready.gov: “Moist towelettes”. Individually wrapped and fragrance-free. | — | DUDE Wipes Travel Wipes Check price |
| Hand sanitizer | Core | Ready.gov lists soap and hand sanitizer. 70% alcohol gel. | — | PURELL Advanced, 2 fl oz Check price |
| Toilet paper | Core | For sanitation away from home; keep it dry in a zip-top bag. | — | Coleman Camper’s Toilet Paper Check price |
| Toothbrush, toothpaste, feminine supplies | Core | Ready.gov: “Feminine supplies and personal hygiene items”. | — | From home |
| Liquid soap | Add-on | Washing when water is short; 3.4 oz is the smallest bottle. | — | Dr. Bronner’s Peppermint Pure-Castile Soap Check price |
| Quick-dry towel | Add-on | Microfiber, in a zip case. | — | 4Monster Microfiber Towel Check price |
| Personal protection | ||||
| Bear spray | Add-on | Only where bears live. 44 ft range, 10-second spray. | 13.3 oz | Counter Assault 10.2 oz with holster Check price |
| Stun gun | Add-on | Laws vary: the maker won’t sell to Hawaii, Massachusetts, Michigan, Rhode Island, Wisconsin or DC. | — | Vipertek VTS-989 Check price |
| Full-face respirator | Add-on | For chemical, biological or radiological hazards; NIOSH CBRN approved with the right filter. Most disasters don’t call for one. | 1.1 lb (490 g, mask only) | Avon Protection C50 Check price |
Items and quotes: Ready.gov Build a Kit (updated July 2026), FEMA and the American Red Cross; water treatment: CDC. Weights and specs: each maker’s product page, October 2026. Water: 1 L weighs 2.2 lb. Dash: no maker weight published, or the maker’s site blocked our check.
What do FEMA, Ready.gov and the Red Cross say to pack?
None of the three uses the term “bug out bag”, but all three describe one. Ready.gov’s evacuation advice is to prepare a “go-bag” you can carry “when you evacuate on foot or public transportation”. The agencies agree on the basics:
- How long: enough “to last for at least 72 hours” (FEMA). The Red Cross says a “3-day supply for evacuation, 2-week supply for home”.
- Water: “one gallon per person per day for several days, for drinking and sanitation” (Ready.gov).
- Medications: a “7-day supply” (Red Cross), plus glasses, hearing-aid batteries and other medical items.
- The rest: food that keeps, a radio with NOAA alerts, a flashlight, a first aid kit, batteries, a whistle, a mask, a multi-tool, maps, documents, cash and sanitation supplies.
Our list adds what those home-kit lists leave out for someone on foot: a way to treat water, shelter for a night outdoors, fire starters and a compass. Ready.gov’s evacuation page also warns that “your evacuation route may be on foot depending on the type of disaster.”
How much water do you need in a bug out bag?
By the agency rule, three gallons per person for three days. That’s more than most people can carry. A gallon of water weighs 8.3 lb, so FEMA’s three-day ration is 25 lb per person before you pack anything else.
Did you know? Three gallons of water weigh 25 lb: about three times the 8.5 lb of everything else on our core list put together. Carry the full ration and the core bag weighs 33.5 lb instead of 17.2 lb. (Our arithmetic: 3 × 3.785 L × 2.2 lb per liter.)
Ready.gov’s gallon covers drinking and sanitation. On drinking alone, “a normally active person needs about three quarters of a gallon of fluid daily”, and “in very hot temperatures, water needs can double” (Ready.gov).
So our list carries 3.9 L in a bottle and a reservoir, about a day and a half of drinking water at that rate. A filter and tablets then turn streams, ponds and taps of doubtful quality into more. If your route has no water on it, carry more and cut weight elsewhere.
Ready.gov’s advice for the trip itself: “Never ration drinking water unless ordered to do so by authorities. Drink the amount you need today and try to find more for tomorrow.”
Why carry a filter and tablets?
Filter, tablets or boiling: boiling is the surest way to kill germs, and both Ready.gov and the CDC put it first. The CDC names filtering and then disinfecting as the next best option, because “most portable water filters will remove parasites, but not viruses”. Tablets kill viruses but are weak against some parasites, so the two cover each other.
The CDC adds two cautions. Iodine tablets, like the Potable Aqua pick, aren’t for anyone who is pregnant, has thyroid problems or is sensitive to iodine. And chlorine dioxide tablets are only “somewhat effective” against Cryptosporidium, which is why the filter comes first.
Ready.gov is stricter. For treating water in an emergency it says to use plain household bleach, and that iodine or camping-store treatment products “are not recommended and should not be used” (Ready.gov).
We follow the CDC’s filter-then-tablets advice for a bag you carry, because tablets are easier to dose on the move. To follow Ready.gov instead, swap the tablets for unscented household bleach and a dropper.
If anyone in your household can’t use iodine, Potable Aqua also makes chlorine dioxide tablets, which the maker gives a 4-year shelf life. For more filter choices, see our portable water filter roundup.
How heavy should a bug out bag be?
As light as it can be while still covering the core list. FEMA, Ready.gov and the Red Cross set no weight limit for an adult’s bag; FEMA asks only for “easy-to-carry containers”. We found no authoritative body-weight rule for adults, so we don’t give one.
For children there is a figure. The American Academy of Pediatrics says backpacks shouldn’t weigh more than 15% of a child’s body weight. It’s written for school bags, but it’s a sensible ceiling for a child’s go-bag: 9 lb for a 60 lb child, about the weight of our water alone.
Here is what our checklist adds up to, using the makers’ weights:
| Part of the bag | What’s counted | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Water | 3.0 L reservoir and 32 oz bottle, full (3.9 L) | 8.7 lb |
| Food for 3 days | Mountain House’s 3-day kit, the only 3-day food weight a maker on our list publishes | 3.6 lb |
| Core gear | The 15 core items with a maker weight; the 1.7 lb radio is the heaviest | 4.9 lb |
| Core list | Water + food + gear | 17.2 lb |
| Core list with FEMA’s full water ration | 3 gallons (25.0 lb) instead of 3.9 L | 33.5 lb |
| Add: sleeping outdoors | Sleeping bag, pad and tarp | +4.8 lb |
| Swap the tarp for the hammock system | OneLink (it includes the tarp) | +2.8 lb |
| Add: wilderness tools | Hatchet, machete and pocket knife | +2.8 lb |
| Add: power and light | Solar panel and lantern | +2.6 lb |
| Add: protection | Bear spray and respirator | +1.9 lb |
| Add: everything else with a weight | Stove and fuel, binoculars, GPS watch, trauma shears, slingshot, ground blanket, one light stick | +2.5 lb |
| Every item with a maker weight | Core list plus all add-ons | 34.7 lb |
Our arithmetic from the checklist weights (makers’ figures, October 2026). Water: 3.946 L × 2.205 lb per liter = 8.7 lb; 1 gallon = 8.34 lb. Core gear: 6.25 + 6.5 + 2 + 1.7 + 4.7 + 2 + 1.95 + 1.76 + 0.95 + 6.5 + 0.92 + 5.8 + 7.5 + 27.2 + 2.65 = 78.4 oz (4.9 lb). Core list: 8.7 + 3.6 + 4.9 = 17.2 lb. Add-ons: 40 + 15.5 + 22 oz = 4.8 lb; 67 − 22 oz = 2.8 lb; 20.8 + 20.5 + 3.9 oz = 2.8 lb; 1.48 + 1.1 lb = 2.6 lb; 13.3 + 17.3 oz = 1.9 lb; 10.3 + 12.7 + 1.8 + 5.8 + 4.5 + 3.9 + 0.7 oz = 2.5 lb. Rows are rounded, so they add to 34.6 lb. Not counted: items marked with a dash, and the pack itself.
The radio is the heaviest core item. At 1.7 lb, the Kaito is over a third of the core gear’s weight, so it’s the place to look if you find a lighter NOAA radio you trust.
What should you cut first?
Carry the full bag on a walk of a few miles, wearing the shoes you’d evacuate in. If it’s too heavy, cut in this order (our order, by weight saved for the least lost):
- Duplicate cutting tools. The Signal already has a saw. Keep one of the hatchet, machete or folding saw at most: dropping the hatchet and machete saves 2.6 lb.
- The hammock system, if the bivvy and tarp will do: 2.8 lb.
- The solar panel and lantern. The radio cranks and charges a phone, and the headlamp lights a camp: 2.6 lb.
- The hot-meal kit, if you pack no-cook food: the stove, fuel, pot and spork.
- The respirator, unless you live near a specific chemical hazard: 1.1 lb.
Don’t cut water treatment, first aid and medications, a light, a radio, document copies or the emergency blanket. Apart from the radio they weigh little, and they cover the problems the agencies list first.
Bug out bag vs home emergency kit vs get-home bag: what’s the difference?
All three hold the same basics, sized for a different job. Ready.gov and the Red Cross treat the first two as one kit in two sizes: the Red Cross calls it an “easy-to-carry emergency preparedness kit that you can use at home or take with you in case you must evacuate.”
| Bug out bag (go-bag) | Home emergency kit | Get-home bag (work or car kit) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Leave home fast, perhaps on foot | Stay home without power or running water | Get home, or wait it out, from work or a stranded car |
| How long it covers | 3 days (Red Cross); at least 72 hours (FEMA) | 2 weeks (Red Cross) | At least 24 hours (Ready.gov, for a work kit) |
| Water | What you can carry, plus a filter and tablets; the full ration is 3 gallons (25 lb) | 14 gallons per person (117 lb) | Ready.gov lists water but gives no amount |
| Weight | Carried on your back: our core list is 17.2 lb | Not carried far: Ready.gov suggests plastic bins or a duffel bag | Light enough to carry home; no agency figure |
| Where it’s kept | A set place everyone in the house knows (Ready.gov) | A designated place at home (Ready.gov) | At work in a “grab and go” case; in the car |
| What’s different | Water treatment, shelter, fire starters, map and compass | Wrench or pliers for utilities, plastic sheeting and tape, can opener, fire extinguisher | Comfortable walking shoes (work kit); jumper cables, flares or a reflective triangle, ice scraper, blanket, map, cat litter or sand (car kit) |
Sources, October 2026: American Red Cross (durations); Ready.gov Build a Kit (home and work kits, storage); Ready.gov Car Safety (car kit); FEMA (72 hours). Water weights are our arithmetic at 8.34 lb per gallon. “Get-home bag” is preppers’ term; Ready.gov’s work and car kits are the closest official equivalent.
If you only build one, make it the bug out bag and keep it by the door. It covers the first three days at home too, and the home kit can grow around it into the two-week supply.
How do you keep a bug out bag ready?
- Check it every year. Ready.gov’s rule: “Replace expired items as needed,” and “re-think your needs every year.” A change of season is a good reminder to swap clothes.
- Rotate water. Water you bottled yourself “should be replaced every six months” (Ready.gov). Store-bought water stays in its sealed original bottle, somewhere cool and dark.
- Know the shelf lives. The makers give 5 years for the S.O.S. bars and Cyalume light sticks and 4 years for Potable Aqua’s chlorine dioxide tablets. Mountain House gives its 3-day kit a 30-year taste guarantee.
- Tell everyone where it is. Ready.gov: “Make sure everyone in your household knows where the bag is stored,” and who is responsible for it.
- Pack one per person. Each adult carries their own water and food; split shared items like the radio and stove.
What kind of bag should you pack it in?
A backpack, because Ready.gov’s go-bag has to work on foot. For a home kit, Ready.gov suggests plastic bins or a duffel; for a bag you may walk with, pick one with padded shoulder straps and a hip belt that carries the weight. Pack the full core list plus your add-ons before you buy, so the bag fits the gear.
Keep the water low and close to your back, and the radio, light and first aid kit where you can reach them. Our guide to types of backpacks explains the options, and a waterproof backpack keeps documents and the sleeping bag dry.
Should you build a bug out bag or buy one?
Building lets you pick each item, know how it works and keep the weight down. Buying is faster, and a good premade bag gives you a starting kit in one order. Either way, check it against the core list above: most premade kits still need your water, medications, documents and clothes.
Our premade bug out bag guide covers the ready-made route. For the individual pieces, our roundups go deeper on emergency radios, survival blankets, bivy sacks, emergency whistles and ferro rods. If you add a sleeping bag, our guide to choosing a sleeping bag explains the ratings.
How we built this list
This October 2026 rebuild (edited by Brian Hamilton) started from the earlier version of this page and its picks. We matched every line to the Ready.gov, FEMA and Red Cross kit lists, then marked as add-ons the items those lists don’t include.
We re-checked every pick on its maker’s own site and kept the ones still sold. Retired models were replaced with the maker’s current version, and picks whose makers have disappeared were dropped. Weights and specs come from the makers’ pages; where a maker publishes none, the table shows a dash rather than a guess.
We haven’t tested the new picks in this update, such as the Instinct 3, Lighthouse 600 and Pack Hatchet; they’re here on their makers’ specs. The water and weight figures are our arithmetic, shown in the table notes.
