What is the best survival kit in the UK?

The one that covers everyone in your home for the days you're planning for, with food you'll eat, light for a whole home, a safe way to cook, and someone keeping it in date. For most homes that means a three-day home kit first, then a grab bag.

What should a UK survival kit contain?

Water (three litres per person per day), food that needs no fridge, head torches and a lantern, warm layers, an outdoor stove, power banks, a wind-up radio, first aid and medicines, hygiene products, cash and copies of documents.

Are survival knives legal in the UK?

You can own one, but carrying a knife in public without good reason is an offence unless it's a folding pocket knife with a blade of 3 inches or less. Locking knives aren't included in that exception.

How much does a survival kit cost in the UK?

From a few pounds for a basic tin to thousands for a complete family kit. T-MINUS T+3, three days for a family of four, is £4,500, and installed kits run to £250,000.

Survival Kit UK: How to Choose an Emergency Kit for Your Home

Decide what it's for

There are three kinds of kit, and most people need the second one more than the first.

A grab bag (also called a go bag or bug out bag) is for leaving home in ten minutes: a fire, a flood warning, a gas leak. It's light, and it lasts a day or three. Our bug out bag guide covers what goes in one.
A home kit is for staying put while the power, water or signal is off. That's what the Government's Be Ready campaign asks for: enough to look after your household for three days. Most British emergencies, from storms to cyber-attacks, are spent at home in the dark, not on the road.
Installed resilience is backup power wired into the house, stored water and a stocked provision room, for weeks or months.

What a good kit contains

Whatever it costs, a kit should cover every system a home loses when the power goes, for every person, for the whole time it claims to.

System	What to look for
Water	Three litres per person per day, the Government's figure, which is 36 litres for a family of four for three days, plus a filter.
Food	About 2,000 calories per person per day that need no fridge and little or no cooking.
Light	A head torch for each person and a lantern for the room you'll live in.
Warmth	Most gas boilers stop without electricity. Sleeping bags, wool and down matter in winter.
Cooking	A stove for outdoor use only, with fuel. Never use one indoors.
Power	Power banks at least, and a solar-charged power station for anything longer than a weekend.
News	A wind-up or battery radio, because mobile networks fail in a long power cut.
First aid	A proper kit, and a week of everyone's medicines.
Hygiene	Wipes, sanitiser and a plan for the toilet if the water stops.
Cash and papers	Notes and coins, because cash machines have no battery backup, and copies of documents in a waterproof bag.

The full list, with quantities for your household, is in our UK emergency kit list.

UK rules that American kits ignore

Many kits sold online are designed for the US. In the UK it's an offence to carry a bladed article in public without good reason, with an exception only for a folding pocket knife with a cutting edge of 3 inches or less (section 139 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988; see also GOV.UK). Locking knives don't count as folding knives. Pepper spray and other self-defence sprays are prohibited weapons under section 5 of the Firearms Act 1968. A kit that comes with a "survival knife" or a defence spray may be fine to keep at home, but not to carry out of the door in a grab bag.

Five questions before you buy

How many people, for how many days, really? Count the litres of water and the calories, not the number of items. "72-hour kit" sometimes means 72 hours for one person.
Would you eat the food? Ration bars keep for years but nobody wants them for three days. Expedition meals that need only hot water are far better.
Is there light for a home, and a safe way to cook? A torch for the drawer isn't enough when it's dark at 4pm in December.
Who keeps it current? Food, batteries, water and medicines all expire, usually in the cupboard you forgot about.
Is it legal to carry? See the rules above.

You can put the basics together yourself from a supermarket for much less than any kit costs. What a kit buys is the choosing, the packing and the keeping up to date, so it's all there on the night.

Our kits

T-⁠MINUS kits start from the Government's checklist and are assembled to order in London. T+3, The Go Bag, three days for a family of four, is £4,500. T+7, The Household, a week at home with power, heat and cooking, is £12,500. T+30, T+90 and T+365 go from a month to a year, installed. Every kit pays for Neighbour Packs for families who can't afford to prepare, and the Rotation keeps it current from £295 a year.

Survival kits in the UK: how to choose one that works