What to Include in Your Emergency Kit

Intro

We want you to be prepared whenever you go hiking in Montana’s parks, forests, and wilderness areas. everyone’s emergency kit varies in contents, but we wanted to go over some of the essentials. You could buy a pre-packaged emergency kit online, or make your own. We’ve each made our own that is kept in a plastic ziplock bag. If you plan on making your own, take a read through this article and consider adding these to your emergency hiking kit!

Compass. You should become familiar with how to use a compass. Especially in accordance with using it with a map to navigate in emergency situations.

Bic lighter. Or at least have some sort of fire starter. Bic lighters are light and make it easy to start a fire.

Some sort of tape (Duct Tape, Medical Tape, Electrical Tape). Tape can be used for repairing or protecting sensitive skin to prevent blisters.

Water treatment tablets. Treat your water against viruses, bacteria and Giardia using these so you can drink from nearby water sources safely.

Emergency whistle A lot of backpacks have this on the chest strap, but if yours doesn’t – it would be a good way to grab someones attention.

Pain relievers like Tylenol and Ibuprofen. Relieve minor pain, reduce fever, and reduce inflammation by adding these to your kit.

An assortment of bandages (Band-aids, butterfly bandages, knuckle bandages, gauze). Each of these can be good for a variety of minor cuts.

Emergency blanket. Good for preventing hypothermia in winter hiking and for added warmth just in case. We bought ours in orange to improve visibility.

Pocket knife This is really a must. Bring a knife with you just in case!

Cordage. You can find lots of uses for cordage (rope). A very handy item to include in your emergency kit.

Antiseptic wipes. Just in case you get a cut that needs to be cleaned before bandaging.