A survival cache is vital for your prpping plans. Without it you’re at major risk. But what to include in it? Read on and find out

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Survival Caches: What, Where and How

Typical Survival Cache Items

• • Fire: One of mankind’s most important survival tools. Keep your cache filled with waterproof matches, lighters, and strikers. Otherwise, you may be forced to try starting a fire with sticks; doable but it’s so much easier with a Bic.
  • Medical Supplies: I don’t recommend caching a full paramedic duffel bag. But keeping a few bandages, sterilizers, and basic over-the-counter medications improves your chances of survival exponentially. In disaster situations, when medical supplies are short, even basic infections can prove deadly. So prepare for that, and decide how far you want to take it. Here is an excellent article on How To Build a Tactical Medical Bag.
  • Light: Artifical light is important for low light and night survival scenarios. Plus, our countries electricity grid is very fragile. So keep a high-quality EDC flashlight and some spare batteries stored in your cache. Also, throw a few candles in there, and maybe even keep a gas lantern and some fuel as well.
  • Defense (guns & ammo): Few things are as important to survival as having the tools to defend your family. Weapons and ammunition enable you to do this. Storing ammunition in your survival cache is a good idea, and I highly recommend it. Similarly, survival knives and survival hatchets double as key survival tools. Storing an entire survival gun? … that’s up to you.
  • Utilities: Tools are helpful for all aspects of life (survival or not). As I already mentioned, hatchets and knives are both tools and weapons, so they are ideal for survival caches. Paracord is another, easy to store utility that has innumerable survival uses. Wrenches, small saws, nails, screws, hammers, and screwdrivers are some other tools that are useful during times of chaos.
  • Entertainment: Keeping the mind healthy helps both morale and sanity, especially if you’re holed up somewhere remote. Having a few survival guide books, games, a survival card deck, art supplies or other forms of entertainment at your disposal will keep you from leaping off the deep end.
  • Communication: Everyone should have a hand crank radio to help receive broadcasted disaster information. So you should add one in your survival cache.
  • Money: This item goes last on the list of necessities because, the more chaotic and disastrous things get, the less important paper money will become. By the time you get to your survival cache and break into its supplies, those hundred dollar bills might have more value as kindling than for trade…

The More Caches The Better

When it comes to survival caches, I can’t think of a situation where more is not better. If having one survival cache is good – having 10 is better. The bottom line is more caches increase your odds of having hidden supplies available when resources become scarce.

However, just because more is better doesn’t mean more is easier. And that’s the rub…

Planning more survival caches means you need to 1) purchase more supplies 2) buy more cache containers 3) find more hidden locations and 4) work harder to hide them all 5) and remember where they are all located.

So you need to decide for yourself what’s the right amount and size of cache network.

Which Container Should You Use?

Once you have a general idea of how much and what to stockpile, you get to decide which type of container you want. Your choice should be primarily driven by the environment you plan to store them in.

Wet regions require your caches to be waterproof, like plastic cases – but unfortunately, plastic is more vulnerable to the gnawing teeth of rodents.

So you have to evaluate your environment and plan accordingly. Here is a list of some potential configurations for your survival cache containers:

• • PVC tube – PVC is designed to be buried in the ground and comes in just about any size you can imagine. And PVC is a relatively inexpensive and readily available. Just make sure you use an amazingly tough sealant to lock and seal the end caps. It needs to be 100% waterproof!
  • Garbage Cans or Barrels – These can be plastic, or metal but the biggest challenge is sealing them from moisture. If you plan to bury a garbage can underground, duct tape or cordage isn’t a good enough seal. You’ll need to figure out a way to create a high-quality waterproof seal. Also, big caches are difficult to bury because of their size.
  • Storage containers – Pelican cases can be used for survival caches. They are built to be tough and weather resistant, so they perform well under stressful conditions. These can be bought in both plastic and metal options and also come in a variety of sizes. Again, use the best sealer you can find and apply it liberally to the lid to ensure you keep moisture out.
  • Waterproof boxes/bags – Easily obtainable online and at outdoor or surplus stores. They keep moisture out, are resistant to weathering.

The most important aspect of your container is that it’s waterproof. As soon as moisture gets into your supply, everything will become compromised. Even small traces of moisture will spoil organic items (foods), ruin supplies (matches) and rust metal (gear) items. 

For this reason, I always recommend adding an extra layer of moisture protection to your container no matter which container type to pick. Zip locks work well for this task and are very cost effective. Heck, you can even double bag your items with zip locks.

You should also put smaller waterproof containers inside larger ones to help provide another level of moisture protection. You could put a smaller PVC pipe inside a larger one, both with excellent waterproofed end caps. Or you can put a PVC cache inside a container. Redundant moisture protection will help ensure your cache does not become compromised.

Where To Hide Your Cache

The first place most people think of when hiding their survival cache is to bury it. But you don’t HAVE to bury your cache.

So here are just a few ideas to help get the ideas flowing:

• • Attics
  • Under Floorboards
  • High Up In An Evergreen Tree
  • In A Hollow Door
  • In A Vehicle
  • In A Secret Room In Your House
  • A Hollow Stump
  • An Old Abandoned Well
  • In An Out Of Commission Chimney
  • Inside An Old Tire
  • Inside A Gutted Out Appliance

These locations can all successfully hide your caches. The key is to make sure your cache locations are:

• • Well hidden
  • In a remote location
  • Diversified
  • Accessible in a crisis
  • Well secured

Where To Bury Your Cache (or where not to bury your cache)

Many people want to bury their cache on their own land but before you do, be strategic.

Your backyard might sound like an excellent location (its close and easy to access) but anywhere near a home’s buried utilities tend to be bad locations.

Stuff happens and utility companies may someday require digging in your backyard. So instead, I’d suggest burying them under a concrete slab. You’ll need to dig both down and sideways to retrieve it, but this location significantly reduces the chance of an accidental encounter.

Bury a cache on land you don’t own

While burying near a remote road seems to make sense for ease of access, what do you think will happen a decade from now when the road gets expanded?

It gets discovered, that’s what.

Plus utilities tend to run alongside roadways so new service lines installs could dig up your buried cache.

So, with this information, you’ll have a masterfully made and hidden survival cache! For more awesome survival tips and info, check out Skilled Survival.

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