PRODUCT REVIEW: Augason Farm's Deluxe 2 Person/2 Day Emergency Backpack Kit

Today, I'd like to take-up a few moments of your time to review our sponsor Augason Farm's Deluxe 2 Person/2 Day Emergency Backpack Kit.  It is a "thoughtfully conceived and well organized emergency kit," meant for multiple scenarios.  It can function as a Bug-Out Bag; a convenient collection of emergency preparedness items stored in an attic or closet in case of a Bug-In/shelter-in-place situation; and/or it can function as a survival kit to be kept in your car, RV, or on your boat against the possibility you might find yourself stranded in an emergency.

I have two of these kits, which I will be stowing in our two family cars.  In the event we're Bugging-In, then we'll bring them in the house.  I have already discussed my belief in having kits like these available for use every day, everywhere you go, so I won't waste time on such here.

Pictured above is everything from the interior of the backpack all spread-out.

To the left are the items that come stowed in the small front-pocket.  As you can see, these include the 12 hour light stick, the box of 50 waterproof matches, the bottle of 50 Potable Aqua water purification tablets, and the two Alkaline "D" batteries for the flashlight.  When re-packing the kit, I also put the 2 dust masks and the little First Aid booklet in the front pouch, since there was room.

Above is a close-up shot of the two 2400 calorie Mayday Food Bars.  Basically, you eat half of one of these per day, giving two people 1200 calories/day for two days or a single person the same number of calories/day for four days.  These are approved for use by the U.S. Coast Guard and are non-thirst-inducing to help you ration the water pictured below (all food and water rations have a 5 year shelf-life).

Unfortunately, this picture didn't turn out well at all.  It's very blurry.  I guess maybe the flash reacted with the foil pouches.  Anyway, what you see above is 12 pouches of water at a little over 4 ounces each.  The instructions say to drink 3-4 pouches/day, but that isn't a lot of water at all.  Two people drinking three pouches/day would last two days as advertised, but they'd only be ingesting in the neighborhood of 13 ounces of water, so finding a water source and using the Potable Aqua tablets pictured earlier will be crucial.

With respect to the water issue, I made the Redneck MacGyver addition pictured to the right to both of my kits.  Yes, it is exactly what it looks like: a 24 ounce Mountain Dew soda bottle of extra water.  It's filled to just below the label to allow room for expansion in case it freezes, so I figure it's probably about 20 ounces or so.  I sealed it in a Zip-Loc bag, just in case it should somehow still burst, even after I left room for the expansion that occurs when water freezes.

Even once the water has been ingested, the bottle can be used to capture rainfall or serve as a much more handy way of collecting water from a stream, etc. than would be the empty foil water pouches.

To the left is a shot of the 2-person tube tent.  It's dimensions are 8.25 feet x 6 feet and is made of 2.5 mil Polythylene material (water resistant and fire retardant).

Doesn't exactly look comfy, but it sure beats being caught out in the elements.  Actually, I could see using the tent material as a rain-catch with the Mountain Dew soda bottle pictured above, even if you're actually sheltering inside your vehicle.  The nylon rope, of course, could be put to a gazillion uses as well.

Next, on the right, is one of my favorites: a compact, StanSport brand Fold-A-Stove camper's stove with 24 fuel tablets included!

The stove opens to 2 different cooking positions, and the fuel tablets ignite easily and burn with no odor.

You can see the stove in action in this YouTube video, starting at about the 0:54 mark.  You'll notice that he seems to have a little trouble getting things lit, but I blame his use of the striker he had no experience using, since he seems to have almost as much difficulty getting the paper to catch fire as he did the fuel tablets.

According to him, each tablet burns for about 10 minutes and he could have cooked his oysters with just one tablet.

Here's another YouTube video of this cool little stove in action.  As you can see for yourself, he had no trouble at all lighting the fuel tablet with a match, and this kit just happens to include a box of 50 of them as pictured earlier.  As a side-note, he made me very nervous with the box setting so close to the fire.  ;)

To the left is a shot of the flashlight ("D" batteries in the front pouch of the pack) and the ultra-slim AM/FM radio.  Obviously, hand-crank or solar-powered units would have been preferred for longevity's sake, but, as this is meant to be a 2-day survival kit, battery-operated gear is the best one can expect.

On the right is a look at the utility knife and 5-in-1 survival whistle.  As to the knife, I would have preferred a multi-tool, but it looks pretty sturdy.

The whistle is a real treat though.  In addition to a signaling whistle, it includes a signaling mirror, a liquid compass, and a flint.  The 5th tool in its 5-in-1 name is that the top screws-off, and you can store stuff inside it: extra matches, fishing line and hooks, whatever you think you might need.

Here's a YouTube video about it.

Next, we have two emergency survival blankets.  These are the silver foil blankets you've seen before that can be used as a signaling device for aerial search-and-rescue.

These are thermal, allowing the person using them to retain 90% of their body heat, even in rain or snow conditions.  They measure 84 inches wide x 52 inches long.

On the right, you can see the pair of Leather Palm gloves and the 50 feet of sturdy Nylon cordage that are also included.

Cordage is something that most people might not consider to be a survival tool, but they'd be wrong.  It has myriad uses, and you really can't ever have too much of it on hand.

And, lastly, we have the two lightweight, one-size-fits-all, reusable hooded rain ponchos and the 54-piece First Aid kit that you get with this 2 person/2 day survival kit.

Honestly, out of everything included, the First Aid kit is probably my only real disappointment.  Not that it's not a good basic kit, but you have to understand that the 54-pieces includes each individual bandage and antacid tablet.  In fact, different size bandages and gauze pads, literally, make-up more than half of the total kit.

In its defense, however, it does also include antibacterial cream, burn ointment, as well as antiseptic pads and towelettes that could prove very useful.

I would suggest the addition of some antidiarrheal medication and a clotting agent.

Also, it wasn't until I sat down to write this article that I realized this kit has a camp stove but does not include any sort of metal container in which one could boil water, melt snow, etc.

I recall from watching "Survivorman" that host Les Stroud would often make tea out of pine needles and the like.  Having something hot to drink went a long way toward helping him keep warm.  With that in mind, I think I will be adding an inexpensive but well-rated Stainless Steel camp mug to each kit as well, along with as many packs of Ramen and powdered drink mix (with electrolytes) that will fit.  And a roll of duct tape.  Duct tape is always a good idea.

I have to say, I really like this kit and, for just over $50, it's a steal.  It was worth it to me just in saving me the hours I would have spent building my own kits from scratch, and, by the time we add in what I would have spent ordering items from several different vendors and paying for shipping, I feel like I made out like a bandit.

In fact, I like it enough that I'm going to recommend it to some friends of mine who are just beginning to dip their toes in the emergency preparedness waters.  Just having a couple of these in the back of a closet somewhere would put a small family leaps and bounds ahead of 99% of the populace in a disaster scenario, and I feel like such a kit could serve as a good jumping-off point to a deeper future level of preparedness.

So, tell me: What do you think?


**Update: Added one of these Mountain House Chili Mac with Beef pouches to each of my two survival kits with more additions to come.