Andrew Wirtanen is a usability specialist in Cary, NC More »

72-Hour Survival Kit

The Haiti Earthquake and this article on Make got me thinking again about emergency survival kits. Thankfully, I don’t have to worry much about earthquakes and hurricanes in Raleigh. But we do have the threat of tornadoes, and there was a touchdown in 1988 not far from where I live. It turns out that 72 hours is the magic number for being rescued after an impact.  Here’s a handy guide if you want to build your own kit (it’s very comprehensive).

There’s also a nice 72-hour kit you can buy from 4 Survival To Go for $99 (pictured). They’re donating 20% of online sales before February 5th for the entire months of January and February to Haiti. If you buy it, make sure to rotate out the Aqua Blox every five years and check the food.  4 Survival recommends you have one in the home, office, and car ($300 per person!). This does look like a very handy kit for the car though, since there’s no way I could carefully fit everything in a compact bag.

Hi Andrew- thanks for posting the information on 4 Survival To Go. Just to clarify, 4 Survival To Go will be donating 20% of sales for the remainder of January as well as the entire month of February (not just until Feb. 5th)to the Athlete Relief Fund for Haiti, which goes directly to Project Medishare. If you have any questions or would like a copy of the entire release, please let me know. Warm regards, Karen Webb

Thanks Karen! Fixed. (I skipped over the comma on your site banner).

Andrew- thanks so much for correcting the donation dates. We are so thrilled you covered the bag and are hoping for big sales so we can send more help to Haiti!