1 person · 3 days

The 72-Hour Kit

Three days of essentials for one person — the "grab and go" bag every household is told to keep, finally spelled out.

Every official checklist tells you to keep 72 hours of supplies ready to grab. Almost none of them tell you exactly what that means. Here’s the plain version: three days of water, food, light, and information for one person, in a bag you can carry out the door in ten seconds.

Build one per family member — kids’ bags can be lighter. Water is the heavy part, so pair a few days of storage with a filter as backup. Then add shelf-stable food that needs no cooking, a headlamp, a hand-crank radio, a compact first aid kit, an emergency bivvy for warmth, and a charged power bank for phones. Pack it once, check it twice a year, and hope it just gathers dust.

Everything inside