
BUNKIT™ vs. DIY Survival Kits
When it comes to emergency preparedness, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. After all, there are so many considerations. What do you buy? What do you need or not need? What does it cost? How do you even make a plan? The logistics alone can be maddening.
Obviously, talking about and creating an emergency plan can be anxiety-inducing in its own right. After all, the whole emergency prep process forces us all to confront possible worst-case scenarios. It’s a lot for anyone to take on. But you don’t have to do it alone because the BUNKIT team is here to help!
Let’s get down to the main reason you’re here — you want to get a survival kit (often called a bug out bag by members of the “prepper” community), but you’re not sure if you want a pre-made kit or if you want to go with the do-it-yourself route. Of course, both have pros and cons, but which is right for you? Let’s break it down!
Planning Your Kit
Survival kits take a lot of work and patience, but it’s worth it! Whether you go DIY or buy a professionally curated kit like a BUNKIT Survival Kit, you need to consider HOW you use your equipment. Namely, determine if you want a kit for sheltering in place or if you want a portable kit that you can take to bug out.
Another determination to make is the size and age of your family. A household of 2 will need drastically different things than a family of 5, and that’s okay! You can make it work regardless of your family dynamic.
Planning a DIY Kit?
DIYing a survival bag comes with its own challenges — like what to put in your bug out bag! Sure, there are lists of must-have items online, but they’re pretty vague — even on reputable websites like the Red Cross. The lists usually have generic recommendations for food, water, shelter, and a multi-tool, with little mention of PPE items, fire starters, light sources, etc.
With those difficulties alone, over the coming months (or years), you’ll be looking up how-to videos, cross-checking survival kit lists on different blogs and government sites, and then making price comparisons on all the items you’ll need. As a result, you’re looking at hundreds of hours of preparation time before you even start buying what you need for your kit.
When you get a BUNKIT Survival Kit, we do all that work for you. Tell us what kind of kit you want, and we’ll handle the rest.
Common Survival Kit Blunders
Let’s take it slow and start with the basics. A survival kit or bug out bag is essential for every household, regardless of family size, income, or location.
Survival Kit > 72-Hour Kit
At this point, nearly everyone has heard of a 72-hour kit and has been told to get one at some point in their lives. And although a 72-hour kit is better than having nothing during an emergency, it still may not be enough to keep you and your loved ones safe during a disaster.
We at BUNKIT, on the other hand, recommend ditching the traditional 72-hour survival model and instead, preparing with a long-term survival kit. Why? Because most situations that require you to use a survival kit last far longer than 72 hours. A long-term survival kit is a superior option, giving you total peace of mind that you and your loved ones will be okay, even if the disaster lasts a week or more.
Water & Food Storage
Many families make the mistake of thinking that the only thing they need is food and water storage. Obviously, those two things are SUPER important, but it’s not the only thing you need. In fact, you probably don’t need to purchase as much food as you’d think.
First and foremost, you’ll probably want to skip on some of those heavy canned foods if you’re planning on taking your survival kit on the road with you. Freeze-dried food, on the other hand, is lightweight but can be pretty expensive. Although you can get around some of the expense by drying the food yourself, it takes hours upon hours of work to complete.
Psst! Another perk of buying a BUNKIT Survival Kit is that you get freeze-dried food storage from Nutrient Survival in your bag, AND if you want extended food storage cans, you can get that as an add-on to your kit. Our long-term food storage options are deals you can only get through BUNKIT.
Inside the Kit
Beyond the initial prep work of your survival kit, you have to make some crucial choices about what is going into your supplies. It sounds easy, but what do you ACTUALLY need, and HOW MUCH of each item do you need? And in the case of a bug out bag, how do you keep the kit light enough to carry without sacrificing any essentials?
As you saw in the previous section, there are many online resources created by military survival experts, “mom blogs,” government agencies, and more. And each of these lists recommends different items. So how do you choose? And more importantly, how do you ensure you don’t miss anything essential?
Inside a DIY Kit
Of course, DIYing has its own charm. You get to go to the store and pick out all of the items you’re putting in your kit. It’s a tactile experience that feels really fulfilling once it’s done. But when is it ever REALLY done? If you’ve ever gone through the process of DIYing a kit, you know that it’s often compiled over months (or years). You could have a half-completed set when an emergency strikes. Obviously, half of a kit is better than no kit, but you get the point.
Inside a BUNKIT Survival Kit
Ultimately, we are advocates for choosing a ready-made survival kit from BUNKIT. We partnered with survival experts, former military personnel, and emergency healthcare workers to create a customizable kit that has everything you ACTUALLY need — all in one convenient space.
A BUNKIT Survival Kit is up to 10x more effective than a 72-hour kit and contains everything you need, including storage and preparation manuals, water purification and storage supplies, food and cookware, helpful tech devices, lighting and fire starters, essential tools, navigation equipment, medical supplies, hygiene items, shelter, and PPE.
Whether you choose the Ultimate Survival Kit™ or the Ultimate Home Kit™, you have a complete emergency preparedness bag with more high-quality items than any 72-hour kit on the market.
Cost
One of the biggest concerns you’ll hear about any kind of survival kit is the cost — and hey, we get it! Emergency and outdoor gear is expensive. The prospect of paying hundreds or thousands of dollars on a “what if” scenario is daunting, to say the least.
Usually, the sticker shock of a curated survival kit causes people to try to make their own. As we said earlier, people who DIY often add to their survival stash one piece at a time, curating a final product after a number of years. But why does it take so long to create your survival kit? Partially because even when you buy it a little at a time, it’s expensive!
Is DIYing ACTUALLY Cheaper?
After crunching the numbers of everything you would have to buy individually to create a kit as robust as the BUNKIT Ultimate Survival Kit, you’d be spending close to $3,000 — and that’s if you only buy the most generic, discounted versions of each product. And as you likely know, not all generic options are the most effective or durable — two traits you don’t want to sacrifice in an emergency.
BUNKIT = Better Value
So what are the benefits of buying a BUNKIT? Peace of mind, simplicity, customizability, and a ready-to-go kit, to name a few. But one of the best parts is that you don’t have to pay a large chunk upfront (unless you want to). We work with Klarna to provide you with customizable financing options, so you don’t have to compromise.
By buying a BUNKIT Survival Kit, you know you have everything you need. You get the products you need and want. You won’t miss any important survival components. And you know that your gear was prepped and planned by survival experts just for you and your family. You are paying for convenience and the total peace of mind that no matter what happens, you’re ready!
Do you have any questions about buying the BUNKIT Ultimate Survival Kit or the BUNKIT Ultimate Home Kit? Learn more here or contact a team member at support@emergesurvival.com or call 888-828-6548.