Family Survival Kits

The hard part isn't picking a kit. It's counting. Two adults, three kids, a dog, and a grandmother who's there most weekends.

Start with your household size and most of the decision makes itself. The family kits here come sized for two or four people, with 72 hours of food, water, first aid, light, and shelter in a backpack you can actually carry.

The same kit covers most of what a family disaster kit needs to handle, whether that turns out to be a storm, a long outage, or an evacuation. What changes at the edges is small, and we tell you what to add.

Every kit leaves room for what only you can add. Medications, documents, and the items on your family's list.

One order, one closet, and it's handled.

Family Survival Kits Collection

How to Choose the Right Family Survival Kit

[Heading 3] What should a family emergency kit include?

The standard is 72 hours per person: food, water, first aid, shelter and warmth, light, communication, and hygiene.

The Guardian Go Bag and RapidShield cover the gear side of that. First aid, shelter and warmth, light and communication, hygiene, plus US Coast Guard-approved food rations that need no rehydration or reheating and carry a 5-year shelf life.

[Heading 3] How much water does a family of four need?

Water is the honest exception, and it's worth being plain about.

Three days of drinking water for a family of four is twelve gallons. That weighs about a hundred pounds. No backpack carries that.

What our kits carry instead is ready-to-drink water for the first hours, plus a way to make more. The RapidShield includes a personal water filter rated for 1,321 gallons. The Guardian Go Bag includes purification pouches and a folding container, so you can treat water sitting down rather than drinking from the source.

Store additional water at home alongside your kit. That part is yours.

[Heading 3] What size emergency kit does a family of four need?

Start with household size, but don't count only adults. Children need their own supplies.

A 4-person kit also gives you room for the personal items no pre-packed kit can include. Medications, documents, and the things that make a hard night easier for a six-year-old.

If your household sits between sizes, take the larger one. The extra weight matters less than the extra water.

[Heading 3] What about children, seniors, and pets?

These are the household members hardest to prepare for, and the ones most often left out.

Our catalog includes dedicated children's kits, senior options, and pet kits for cats and small dogs. Any of them pairs with a family kit.

A young family with two small children has different priorities than a couple preparing for hurricane season, or a multigenerational household with seniors and pets. The kit sizing is the same question. What you add to it isn't.

[Heading 3] What to add yourself

No pre-packed kit covers everything. Ours included.

Prescriptions, at least a week's worth.
Copies of ID and insurance, in a waterproof bag.
Extra water stored at home, alongside the kit.
Comfort items for children. A familiar toy does more than people expect.
Spare glasses, hearing aid batteries, or device power for anyone who needs them.

Our Emergency Preparedness Guidebook walks you through building a family plan from scratch.

How to Choose the Right Emergency Kit for Your Family