Here at The Bug Out Bag Guide we strive to build the best survival kit using a philosophy of practicality and efficiency. An excellent way of practicing this mindset is to utilize multi purpose survival gear to meet the needs of our Bug Out Plan. Multi purpose survival gear items improve our survival kit in multiple ways:
- Save Space – Why bring 3 items when you can use 1 do do the same jobs? Consolidating items to save space will free up room in your Bug Out Bag to carry other useful survival tools or more food and water.
- Save Weight – We have covered at length the perils of weighing yourself down with everything plus the kitchen sink, and have even built a tool for you to check your own Bug Out Bag’s weight. Reducing the number of items you carry will pay increasing dividends the longer you have to travel.
- Increase Simplicity / Reduce Clutter – The more items you pack the harder it will be to find what you need. Stick to the essentials – Pack less and improvise more for an efficient survival kit.
Our Picks for Multi Purpose Survival Tools
We have researched long and hard and compiled a list of the best multi purpose survival tools below. For most categories, there are a great many options of items to consider while building your best survival kit. We have made a recommendation of the best we could find where applicable for those who do not have the time or inclination to search on their own based on utility, size, and weight. However as always, you need to choose the best items for YOUR survival scenario.
Survival Hatchet
These come in many flavors but most of them will do the jobs of a hatchet (obviously), pry tool, shovel, and wrench. We should look for any opportunity to remove high weight to volume ratio items such as steel tools to build the best survival kit, so being able to leave behind any of these is a good step. For more info check out our in depth reviews of the BEST survival tomahawks here.
Survival Whistle
These are generally quite cheap and are cover a lot of the basics. Most survival whistles combine a compass, dry container with the whistle and some even have a fire starting flint within.
Multitool
Anything with both the words “multi” and “tool” in it is worth having a look at. There are a great many options for multitools – focus on weight and practicality when looking. Are you going to really NEED the one with the allen key and corkscrew? Stick to the basics of a straight blade, saw, and can opener (like this one here) and add what few other options you see fit. Some bonus items that are rarely thought about are a magnifying glass and USB stick. These come on some multitools and can be used to start fires and store important family records, respectively. If you want to learn more about choosing the right multitool for survival, you can check out our article here.
Tarp
There is so much you can do with a tarp, it is a multitool all in itself. Besides the obvious of keeping gear dry and being used as a shelter, they can also be used for signaling and be easily turned into a stretcher to carry injured party members.
Plastic Bags
It is good to have a few of these as they have many, many uses and are very light and small. Plastic bags can be used to carry water, keep clothes and fire starting kits dry, store food, and organize small items.
Survival Knife
We covered Survival Knives generally in our Bug Out Bag Essentials post but they are so useful it is worth re-hashing here. Generally you are better off getting a solid, full tang knife from a trusted knifemaker such as Ontario, Camillus, Becker, or Gerber. Stay away from hollow handled survival knives if at all possible. The small amount of storage space will not make up for the overall inferior build quality. For more information on choosing a good knife for any outdoors situation, check out our comprehensive guide by CLICKING HERE.
Duct Tape
Good old duct tape, where would the world be without it? Duct Tape can be used as an emergency bandage, to secure a splint, to reinforce or repair waterproofing, as a rope replacement for shelter building, and taped over sore spots to prevent blisters.
Bandana
A bandana can be moistened and tied around the neck to help keep you cool, be used to filter water, will protect you from the sun, be used as a bandage, be utilized to tie on a splint, or be a replacement for rope in tasks such as shelter building.
Paracord
This is a small, strong cord that can be used in shelter building, ascending or descending inclines, as a clothes line, to fasten a splint, or to build a snare. Read out article about paracord uses and storage here.
Sanitary Pads/Tampons
These are often overlooked but are highly versatile. In addition to its intended use, a sanitary pad can be used as a bandage, it can be shredded and used as tinder, and it can be used to filter sediment from water.
BONUS: Your Brain
I know this is a list of the Top 10 Multi Purpose Survival Tools but this is really worth mentioning. Your own brain is the most valuable multi purpose survival tool that you have. Your mind contains the willpower to persevere in a dire survival scenario, and as importantly, the ability to improvise and modify your Bug Out Plan to overcome unforeseen problems. Rely on your own thinking before any of these other tools we mentioned, it will get you out of most sticky situation.
Top 10 Multi Purpose Survival Tools
We have build the table below to help you consider multi purpose survival tools when planning your bug out bag list. You will see in there Our Picks for the best items that meet our basic survival needs. If you click on the image for any of these, you will open up a window to Amazon.com where you can conduct further research on this item or others like it to see what best meets your needs.
| Multi Use Item | Our Pick | Items it can replace | Uses | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Survival Hatchet | Ontario SP16 Spax Tool  | Hatchet, Pry bar, Shovel | Cut, Pry, Break glass, Punch holes, Open/close fire hydrants and gas mains, Open manholes, Self defense |
| 2 | 5 in 1 whistle | SE - Whistle - 5-in-1  | Fierstarter, compass, waterproof container, matches, lighter, signal mirror | Signalling, navigation, firestarting, dry container |
| 3 | Multitool | Leatherman Sidekick Multi Tool  | knife, saw, can opener | Cut Wood, Clean animals, Harvest plants, Slice rope, Shelter building, Self devense |
| 4 | Plastic Bags | Whatever is in your kitchen pantry | Dry Bag, Fire starting kit container | Backup water container, Dry bag, Store food, Organize small bits of gear |
| 5 | Survival Knife | Gerber LMF II Infantry Knife  | Camp saw, hatchet, can be used for nearly any bushcraft task. | Food gathering, First aid, Shelter Building, Navigation, Fire starting, Self defense |
| 6 | Duct Tape | 3M Utility Duct Tape  | Rope, Bandages | Emergency bandage, Repair waterproofing, Shelter building, Prevent blisters |
| 7 | Bandana | Head for Survival Triangular Bandana  | Triangle Bandage, Hat | Emergency Rope, Wet it and tie around your neck to keep cool, Sun Protection, Arm sling, Compression bandage, Filter sediment from water |
| 8 | Paracord | Army Universe Nylon Military Paracord  | Rope, some first aid items | Shelter building, Climbing/descending, grapelling hook, Tie on a splint, Build a snare |
| 9 | Tarp | Heavy Duty Tarp  | Emergency Shelter, Signal Mirror | Keep items dry, Keep you off the ground when sleeping, Made into a stretcher, Used as shelter, Used for signaling |
| 10 | Sanitary Pads/Tampons | Whatever is already in your hygiene kit | Bandages, Tinder | First Aid for bleeding, Start fires, Emergency water filter, Femenine hygiene |
Conclusion
There are many multi purpose survival tools that can be utilized to save space and weight in your Bug Out Bag. Carefully consider the pluses and minuses of each when building your Bug Out Plan and Bug Out Bag Contents List in order to build the best survival kit for YOUR survival scenario.
Your Thoughts
If you thought this post was helpful, please Like, +1, or Share it using the social media buttons at the top of the page! What do you think of these multi purpose survival tools? Is there an additional use for any of them that you know of? Is there any other survival gear that you would recommend? Please let us know in the Comments Section below, thanks!
Do you think buying survival kits from store is a good idea or build a custom one according to need?
Hi DJ,
Making your own custom kit is always better in my opinion. However, if you are inexperienced or do not have time, buying a premade one can be a good option.
Chris
Hi DJ. Building your own custom BOB is the best. Why? Because you can get the wide variety of supplies and tools in the quality and quantity you want. But then again, you have to ask yourself if you know what your doing. I spent 8 years teaching military survival skills at HAAF. And from what I see available on the internet, most stores don’t know what they need to offer or do not have enough background to know how or what to offer. They are there for the money. Period. My BOB is 72-hour ready for basic survival and then some. My locker box BOB is a full months worth of viable and versatile supplies, food, water and equipment that everyone should have for survival and rescue. No one, I repeat no one, offers the full kit I do! My personal locker box has cost me over $2,400. But thats with weapons, ammo, and gear most people won’t need. Look for S6A online within the next few months. Im a veteran owned, survival specialist at spooler6actual.
choosestoreboughtkittobeabletosurvivebutithinkitwouldbebesttocreateyourowntobeabletogetallthatyouwantorneedbecauseitisimportanttouseupeverythingassoonaspossibleinorderforittonotgobad.
I really appreciate the thoroughness of this article, but I have to call you out on the survival knife choice. United Cutlery makes stainless steel p.o.s knives. I own that very model shown and the blade wiggles badly in the handle. This is because it has no tang to speak of to accommodate a hollow handle.
You need to get a 6 to 10 inch, full tang, carbon steel knife that has a blade no thinner than 1/8 of an inch. Many Ontario knives meet these requirements, and Ontario’s knives are just as tough as their Spax. You can get knives by cold steel, buck, and scharade that are also bullet proof and wont break the bank.
Hollow handle knives are a gimmick, and the paltry amount of gear that they hold cannot make up for their weak construction. Don’t bet your life on a Rambo wannabe blade. Get something that you can rely on with your life.
I agree with Mike in his statement that United Cutlery is a very substandard company. Also, the ONLY decent quality hollow handle survival knife that I’ve seen is made by Randall and costs several hundred dollars. I would never choose a hollow, storage handle knife for main line survival purposes. You are definitely best off purchasing a quality carbon steel blade by Ontario, Camillus, Becker, Cold Steel, etc. Also, while some stainless steel alloys are excellent for knife blades, generally speaking they are subpar when compared to carbon steel. Rust is not an issue to those who know how to maintain a blade and good carbon steel has far superior edge holding ability.
Jerry,
Thanks for your feedback and I think you and Mike are right. I have updated the article to remove reference to hollow handled knives and encouraged people to go for a full tang, well made blade.
Thanks for your input and for sharing your knowledge, I appreciate it.
Chris
You were doing great, up until you specified carbon steel knife only. There are many great stainless steel knives also.
I have to agree. Carbon is popular, but it rusts too easily for a survival knife. The amount of care you’d need to spend on it under poor conditions is too high. Consider some of the new high-end like elmax or m390. There are better steels than carbon.
Just an observation.
You list a saw as an item/tool for the Leatherman Wingman Multi Tool under the Top 10 Multi Purpose Survival Tools. As far as I can tell, the Wingman does not come equipped with a saw. The next comparable model with a saw would be the Sidekick.
Thanks Alois, I have changed it to the Sidekick.
I greatly appreciate your feedback and input, thank you.
Chris
NAILS! They can do wonders to fish hooks building pins for traps etc
water- gonna need that at least a lifestraw in the kit
What about the bag itself? Needs to be durable and strong, but lightweight. Any recommendations?
Great question. We’ve got you covered. Have a look at our guide to picking out a bag, along with our recommendations.
This is a helpful article overall, but let me suggest one thing: if you are going to keep tampons and pads on hand, whether for menstrual needs or otherwise, make sure you don’t get scented ones. Scented menstrual supplies have a very strong chemical-floral smell, which isn’t something that should be around personal regions to begin with, but which also isn’t particularly helpful for wounds or good to burn. That stood out to me more than the hollow handled knife, maybe it’s obvious, but not everybody knows that those products can even BE scented.
WHere can i go to be safe incase of a zombie outbreak? I do not want to die!!!