Backpack Survival Kit

Backpack Survival Kit Tips from the Blizzard Wizards

Courtesy of teacher Laurie Herlson's 4th Grade Class at Kennedy Elementary

We are the “Blizzard Wizards” from Butte, Montana. We researched emergency events and found that a severe winter storm is the second most likely disaster that could occur in our community. No matter what type of emergency occurs, it is important to be prepared. We’d like to recommend that every family prepares an emergency backpack that follows the recommendation of the Disaster and Emergency Services Division and Montana Department of Transportation. We think that a fully stocked backpack is important because it could be taken out of the house quickly in case of emergency. A backpack could be taken on car trips and would be important in case of getting lost during severe weather on hunting, skiing, hiking or sledding trips.

Backpack Survival Kit

No matter what kind of skill you have as an outdoors person, whether you plan to be gone an hour or all day, you must be prepared to stay the night. Many of the survival items you should have in your car can be transferred to help in a time of need. Your outdoors kit should be carried in a backpack. At a minimum, you should carry:

  • Winter survival handbook
  • Matches (in a waterproof container) and a lighter
  • Candles
  • First aid kit
  • Lightweight tarp or plastic 
  • Space blanket
  • Handsaw or hatchet
  • Canteen of water – U.S. Army type has a nice metal cup for heating water and cooking
  • Whistle
  • Signal mirror
  • Compass and topographical map
  • Commercial fire starter
  • Surgical tubing – good for drinking from streams 
  • All purpose knife
  • Rope
  • Tissue or paper towel
  • High-energy food – sugar, candy, raisins, trail mix, soup, hot chocolate mix, and bouillon cubes
  • Tape
  • Cell phone


Emergency management content on the Butte-Silver Bow website was developed drawing heavily from and updating the excellent resources offered on the Ready Illinois website produced by the Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA) and partner organizations.