Camping Gear that Doubles as Emergency Preparedness

One great thing about being a camper is that you are automatically equipped for emergency preparedness to some extent. It’s like a two for one, you buy gear knowing it will be fun and useful while camping and that it will also serve you should times get tough. I have personally gone without electricity and water after hurricanes and my gear came in very handy. I think we are all very aware of how fragile things can be since the COVID-19 crisis. Since it’s summer and a lot of people are spending time outdoors instead of traveling, it’s a great time to grab some gear, enjoy the outdoors, and build a high quality emergency kit without feeling like a doomer. Here are some awesome things to get you started. *Disclosure: Affiliate links below. I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you, if you purchase via one of these links, thank you, this helps keep my website running!

Water Purification for Emergency Preparedness

I consider water THE most important thing in your emergency preparedness kit. You can’t survive without it for longer than about three days, it’s high priority. Definitely store a few gallons of ready-to-drink water, but you also need filtration. MSR has two excellent systems and it wouldn’t hurt to have both. The Home Emergency Water Filter is for use on your home spigot, and this is sort of a best case scenario where you still have access to water at home, you just need to filter it. This filter just connects to your outdoor faucet and filters water as it streams through, protecting against bacteria, protozoa, and particulates. It’s that simple. Ingenious, right?

If you need to get water from a creek, lake or other wild source, you can still filter the water with this MSR Guardian. This will get you through back country camping, but serve you well if you no longer have access to water at home. Some day I’d like to have a rainwater catchment system (you still need to filter it), but for now, I have some compact systems to see me through good times and bad.

Platypus GravityWorks Filtration System

Platypus has a new gravity purification system that is perfect for a multi-person set up. This pump-free Gravityworks Filtration System has a two-bag, six-liter (12-liter total) capacity. Committed to quality taste-free filtration. It comes with its own pouch to keep everything together and organized.

Camp Chef Pro 60X Camp Stove

Food is my next priority after water. Shelf stable food that doesn’t require refrigeration or cooking is great, but if you have a camp stove, you can cook. With the Camp Chef. Pro60X Camp Stove, you can cook anything. And I mean ANYTHING. You can mix and match with different accessories that allow you to cook all sorts of food. With all that is going on right now, this is an awesome thing to have for camping and even backyard fun.

I’ve been using this for about three weeks straight, to the exclusion of my in-house kitchen stove. I’ve made pasta dishes, omelets, stir fires, curries, BBQs and my favorite: pizzeria quality brick oven pizza.You can’t go wrong with this, it’s so versatile. You have to get the Pizza Oven and the BBQ Grill Box. Then your options are endless. You do need propane to run it. I recommend having at least two tanks on hand so that if one runs out, you have a backup. Depending on your storage options, you might want more for emergency prep.

Solo Stove Camp Stove for Emergency Preparedness

Now, if you run out of propane, or don’t have access to any, you’ll need another way to cook. I really like the Solo Camp Stove for this because it doesn’t require fuel. Most of my camp stoves do, and once it runs out, you’re out of luck. With this, you just forage for twigs, tinder, and wood, and you’re cooking! I also love this stove because it accommodates a cast iron skillet, my all time favorite cooking method.

Solo Stove Bonfire

If you like the concept of the low-smoke stainless stove, you will love the Bonfire. People are doing backyard camping right now because the campgrounds that are open are still completely booked solid all summer. This is a great way to enjoy a campfire without annoying your neighbors with billowing smoke. Also, look at it. It is gorgeous. I love the sleek, clean, minimalist design. Same for the stove–these are beautiful utilitarian items, functional art.

Field Cast Iron Skillets

I am still obsessed with my Field Skillets. My food has never tasted so good and I can’t imagine my kitchen without them anymore (read my full review of the No. 8 HERE). I have the 8 and the 6 and they are perfect for emergency cooking because you can use them over an open flame. Admittedly, I baby my skillets because they are my favorite thing in the kitchen and I bristle slightly at the thought of exposing them to open flame, but they are made for that. They’re tanks. You don’t need another pan, these do it all and they last forever making them an ideal post-apocalypse tool. The 6 works great with the Solo Stove, and the 8 works great on the Camp Chef.

Snow Peak Trek Cook Set

I like to keep a small cook set in my emergency kit. The Snow Peak Trek Combo is a four piece titanium cook-set perfect for backpacking. Titanium is super light weight at 13 oz for the whole set, and the whole set nests inside itself like a Russian doll puzzle. This set is wonderful to make meals for two or more campers. I love making elaborate meals while I’m camping and this is a great set allowing culinary versatility even while backpacking. It’s also nice to have a small set for car camping too, and in your emergency preparedness kit (more on that later).

Big Agnes Soul Kitchen Table

Extra compact tables and chairs are nice to have for both camping and emergency preparedness. Light weight, ultra compact ables are little harder to find. The Big Agnes Soul Kitchen Table can be used as a food prep space, dining table, card table, or space to hold your beer and snacks by the campfire. Lots of uses for this guy and they did a great job with the aesthetics in charcoal grey and copper.

BioLite Solar Starter Kit

Solar is a great thing to have on hand for both camping and power outages. The BioLite Solar Starter Kit offers an entire system that you can light up a base camp, cabin, or small space. It includes a radio/control box, and three lights, all powered by a six watt solar panel. The control box also houses a light, so you have four big, dimmable hanging lights connected to this system. Everything is easily movable, so you can arrange things the way you like them, and take them down quickly to move to another site. A 21 ft. cord connects it to the solar panel for continuous charging.

I really love the SunLights. They are reliable, and simple to use, and as an added bonus have different color options which is not only fun, but will let your camp mates sleep should you need to be up and about. If you charge everything ahead of time, it will be ready to go when you need it.

Gerber Freescape Camp Saw & Hatchet

A hatchet and saw are nice for camping, but become much more important for emergency preparedness. You want to be able to chop wood and this Gerber Freescape Hatchet is perfect for making wood small enough to fit into that Solo Stove or Bonfire. The Freescape Camp Saw is a nice compliment to the hatchet, and what I love the most about it is that it collapses into a compact rod that fits in a backpack. Bright green accents make these easy to find, especially at night.

Klean Kanteen Insulated TKWide 64oz

If you have an insulated canteen like this Klean Kanteen TKWide, you can preserve the temperature of your beverage thereby saving energy. This bad boy keeps your drink hot for 38 hours and cold for 135! This will save fuel if you’re cooking or making hot drinks and it will keep your water nice and cool. Everyone should have a couple of these for daily life and emergencies I think, they’re so handy and useful. I also really like the wide mouth for cleaning. They come in black and stainless.

Adventure Medical Kit and Trauma Pack Pro

Last but definitely not least is good first aid. You have to have a medical kit. Preferably, you have several stashed in various places. One in the house, one in the car, and one in your emergency kit. I like Adventure Medical Kits because they have kits that are activity specific and geared for different purposes. I lean towards the Mountain Serious because I like the contents the best. The Guide is a well rounded med kit that includes After Bite for bug bites and stings, bandaids, thermometer, GlacierGel for burns and blisters, basic medicines like acetaminophen for inflammation and fever, and an instruction booklet to help you in a pinch. Internal pockets are brilliantly organized by injury, so you can quickly find what you need for your situation.

You also need the Trauma Pak Pro that is specifically for stopping bleeds with Quick Clot and Swat T tourniquet. This could be a potential life saver until you can get to professional medical help, I think it’s worthwhile to have one of these included with all of your first aid kits, even one that already has Quick Clot, ideally one for each person.