72 Hour Kit

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Why Do I Need a 72 Hour Kit?

Everyone  should be prepared and keep a 72 hour emergency kit in their vehicle preps for survival, no excuses.

Having a 72 hour kit in your car is definitely a strong recommendation for those living in Earthquake country, who could find themselves stranded during a major earthquake, or maybe not able to make it back home due to infrastructure damage. One could think of many scenarios whereby having a 72 hour supply of food and water in the car could be a lifesaver, or a great convenience if nothing else.

Most of the day, people are at ‘work’, having used their vehicles as transportation to get there. If while at work there was some sort of regional or local disaster, you could potentially become stranded, or even if you manage to get out and on the road, having a three day supply of food and water will assure your survival. Most emergencies are relatively short in duration based on the odds of a given occurrence, and three days of supplies should be enough insurance to get you to a destination, be it home, or a pre-determined bug out location.

There are lots of different opinions regarding what to keep in your kit, and in my opinion, so long as you have put something together, it is better than nothing at all! Once you have a basic kit put together, it is fun to tweak and adjust it as you read and  learn more about what others are doing.

The basic idea here is to keep enough food, water, and basic supplies.

What Food Should I Store In My 72 Hour Kit?

The short answer is, store ‘enough’ food for three days, which equals about 6,000 calories. Include a variety and store foods that you normally eat. Ideally you want foods that are dense with calories so as to save space, especially if you find yourself strapping on a backpack and hoofing it to your destination.

Choose foods that are already cooked (many canned foods) or foods that do not require cooking (should go without saying). You also want to consider foods that won’t spoil quickly in the heat that can develop inside of a car under the sun. Speaking of which, keeping the food in a typical cooler is a great idea and will help keep the heat out.  Here are a few food ideas for your 72 hour kit.

• Power Bars – 200 calories
• Chocolate Bars – 200 calories
• Canned Beef Stew – 400 calories
• Canned meat (Turkey, Chicken, Beef Brisket) – 400 calories
• Peanut Butter – 3,000 calories!
• Beef Jerky snacks – 70 calories

Most important, do not forget to keep a supply of drinking water in your vehicle. I prefer to keep a case of plastic bottled water because managing the bottles is much easier than gallon jugs, especially if you must travel on foot with a backpack.

Remember to count the calories of your food storage and be sure that it totals at least 6,000 for each person that you are planning for. If you are a family of four, plan for 24,000 calories. Here is a food storage inventory calorie counter spreadsheet that will indicate the number of survival days depending on what foods you enter.

Other Items For 72 Hour Kit

Storing non food items with your vehicle emergency prep kit could arguably become a long list! The question is, what emergency supplies are the most valuable to your circumstance within a three day window. That is the logic to use.

Unless you are planning for a long escape route beyond three days (which will likely be unsuccessful due to lack of fuel and the ramifications of a disaster of that magnitude), simply think of it as supply for only 3 days. Here is a short list of items good to have, but of course more would not hurt provided you have the room.

• First Aid Kit
• Toilet Paper
• Blanket (for each person)
• Back Pack (for each person)
• Twine – Cord for tying items to Back Pack
• Rain Gear – Seasonal Jacket
• Hat – your head loses the most heat from your body
• Sneakers or comfy walking shoes / boots, with extra socks
• Pocket Knife
• Spoon – civilized eating
• Can Opener (if you have canned food)
• Maps and Compass (know how to read a map!)
• Flashlight (LED’s consume very little battery power)
• Lighter, Matches
• A Plan – phone numbers, pre-planned destination options
• Cell Phone (you probably have this on your person regardless)
• Pepper Spray (protect yourself), Firearm even better where legal

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