Survival Gear

Survival gear, sorted by the job it does

Most of the survival gear here covers one of a handful of jobs, so work out which one your pack is missing and start there. For cuts and blisters, our first aid kits are the obvious first stop. The outdoor one packs bandages, gauze, tweezers and a whistle into a case of about 350 g.

Cord is the next thing people run short of. Our paracord comes as loose lengths for guy lines and tie-downs, or as a bracelet or keyring you unravel when you need it. The bracelet is woven from 550 cord and gives you 3 metres once undone. The 4mm tent cord has reflective strands woven through, so your lines show up in low light.

Lighters and fire starters

Lighters make up the biggest part of the range, and many of them are jet lighters with a blue flame. The windproof torch lighter has an adjustable flame and a side window for checking the gas. For your keys, there's a matt black keychain lighter with chrome accents, or a bullet-shaped one you light by hand with no batteries involved. A few, like the gold lighter with its engraved body, belong on a display shelf more than in the bush. Fire starters sit in the same section for when you'd rather not depend on gas at all.

Holding onto body heat

The reflective blanket is double-sided aluminium film, gold on one face and silver on the other, and at 210 x 160 cm it wraps a whole adult. It weighs 70 g in its pouch, so it can stay in a daypack all year. The emergency bivvy bag is one you climb inside. Its PE film is water resistant and keeps you off the damp ground, and the camo print is low-key in the bush. For car camping, the puffer blanket and camping quilt are proper insulated layers.

Finding your way and digging out

The marine compass is made to mount on a dashboard or a boat deck. The round compass sold with a map is pocket-sized and slips into webbing for route finding on foot. Folding shovels are worth keeping in the 4WD for sandy tracks or for scraping out a fire pit. Black leads the colour range, with army green and grey for a low profile. If you'd rather not build a kit piece by piece, our survival kits bring a mix of pieces together for you.