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Looking to build a reliable, affordable survival kit without breaking the bank? In this video, I head to Walmart to put together a complete budget-friendly survival kit using ONLY gear you can buy right off the shelves. From bushcraft basics to emergency essentials, I’ll show you exactly what’s worth grabbing — and what to skip.
Whether you're building your first Bug Out Bag, upgrading your EDC, or preparing for SHTF scenarios in 2025, this walkthrough will help you create a kit that’s lightweight, durable, and ready for real-world use.
What You’ll See in This Video:
🔥 Best Walmart survival gear for beginners & experienced outdoorsmen
🔥 Affordable bushcraft tools that actually hold up
🔥 Water, fire, and shelter
🔥 Budget Bug Out Bag and EDC recommendations
🔥 Tips for customizing your kit for emergencies
If you enjoyed the video, drop a like, comment, and subscribe to support the channel. More bushcraft, survival skills, gear reviews, and wilderness adventures coming soon!
Stay prepared, and keep wandering. 🔥🌲
WalMart Affiliate Link:
https://bit.ly/3S2tRXG
Stove:
https://bit.ly/3J3OZc1
Show More Show Less View Video Transcript
0:00
In today's video, we're going to be taking a look at putting together a kit from Walmart using Ozark Trail Gear
0:06
that's not going to break the bank. Stick around. [Music]
0:23
All right. Over the years, I have put together several videos on going to Walmart and getting gear. Um, for a lot
0:30
of people that is their only option, especially if you live in a small town in the middle of nowhere, sometimes
0:35
Walmart is your only source of gear. And certainly, if you're on a budget, it's a
0:42
great place to go. And there are some hidden gems in Walmart that you can find
0:47
that are absolutely awesome pieces of gear, but there's also some junk. And I'm going to show you some new things
0:53
that I found and then also show you some true and tried items that I've had for years and that they're still selling at
1:00
Walmart. And you can absolutely put together a very nice survival kit
1:06
backpack very easily and probably under $100. But
1:11
let's take a look and see exactly what I'm talking about. So the first item we're going to look at is this backpack
1:17
right here. This is a 20 L Mossy Oak backpack. It came out uh this fall when
1:24
they started rotating in all the hunting gear. Um and I really like the design of
1:30
it. Um and of course the price was fantastic. It's only 20 bucks. Um but it
1:35
has some good features in it. And we're going to take a look at that a little bit closer. So it's a pretty inexpensive backpack, but uh there was a couple
1:41
things I liked about I liked about the design. And one, it has this very deep
1:46
front pocket, uh, slip pocket. You can put a lot of gear in the front here and easily access it. And then, of course,
1:53
it had the mesh water bottle holders, which is perfect because I like to carry
1:59
two water bottles with me at all times when I'm out. And it was big enough to actually hold the 32 oz nine size
2:07
bottles. And um well, here right here, this bottle um is something that I picked up
2:13
at Walmart, I think a couple years ago. This is from a company called Zach. It's a little bit smaller than 32 oz, but
2:20
it's about the same size, and it's just a nice water bottle. Nice
2:26
graduation marks on the side. But these water bottle pockets hold a variety of
2:32
size of water bottles, which is perfect. Um it seems to be pretty decent construction. The mesh is not bad. And
2:39
then the other thing that I really liked about the backpack when I saw it in store was the the straps on it.
2:48
Nice shape to them. You have an adjustable sternum strap that goes up and down. Decent padding. So, you know,
2:55
overall, just looking at it from the outside, it seemed like a very decent backpack for 20 bucks.
3:04
And what's really cool about this particular backpack is that it only opens here at the top. And that's it.
3:11
That's as far as it goes. There is no chance of spilling your gear all over the place. And it holds um an amazing
3:18
amount of stuff for a 20 L backpack just because it's so deep. Uh and then also
3:24
worth noting, it does have hydration capability. So you can hang a bladder here and there is a hydration pocket in
3:30
the back and there's a port sewn in the top of the pack that you can get the hose out right there. So very uh nice
3:40
little backpack for 20 bucks. It's not going to break the bank. It holds your gear. If you're looking for like a bag
3:46
to throw in your truck and not worry about it um or take out on hikes or even if you want to do some hunting with it,
3:53
it's set up for that. It's perfect. Um, it's got this what they call
3:59
this daisy chain looping on the outside. It's not true Molly because there's not another row. So, you really can't put a
4:05
pouch back here, but I was able to put this patch panel that I had on the outside just to help me identify my
4:12
pack. And then I've got my Night Eyes carabiner
4:17
with some Gorilla tape. And those are items you can absolutely get at Walmart.
4:23
You know, I'm not I don't have tons of weight in this thing, but um it rides very well.
4:32
I like it. It's a nice little daypack and you can't beat the price.
4:40
Has a nice mesh pocket here in the lid. And this is perfect for those kind of grab-and-go items. So, in here I have
4:48
probably one of my favorite headlamps I've had for many years. This is an Ozark Trail. It is a rechargeable
4:54
headlamp. It's got several functions to it,
5:03
but it works really well. I've had no issues with this thing. It holds a charge really well. Um, it's
5:12
comfortable to wear and it didn't break the bank. It's was very inexpensive. You can see that just in Ozark Trail. So,
5:19
great little headlamp. And then some toilet paper. You can pick
5:25
this up in the camping section from Couglins's. Nice little preackaged
5:30
roll. Good to have some emergency toilet paper in your kit. And then some dude wipes.
5:36
You can buy these individual dude wipes at Walmart. They're great. Get them in the pharmacy section. I usually buy a box of these. And then I put these
5:43
little packets in all my bags and EVC gear because I like to clean up
5:50
and I don't like to have emergencies in the woods. I'm not going to wipe my butt with a leaf. So having that kind of
5:56
stuff I think is is crucial for comfort. So we got that. And then on the outside
6:01
pocket here I have this 5x7
6:06
emergency camping tarp that they sell at Walmart. And I think this is Outdoor
6:12
Products is the maker of this. Um, comes with a little stuff sack. I'll show you that here in a minute. But it's a very
6:17
nice little nylon tarp with some grommets. It's not, you know, nothing fancy. Um, it's probably not going to hold up terribly well to a lot of use,
6:25
but as an emergency tarp just to, you know, throw up with some paracord. You've got a quick shelter to get you
6:32
out of the rain. And that'll keep you absolutely dry. And you can treat this, you know, you can seam seal it. You can
6:37
treat it with some silicone spray if you want to. if you really want to be careful. And then of course some kind of
6:46
water filtration system. They do sell Sawyer filters at Walmart and that's the
6:53
mini and that comes with the plunger and the hose and all that. And then what I
6:58
like to do is I like to have a smart water bottle because these will absolutely thread
7:05
to the Sawyer
7:10
and they're far better than the those water bags that Sawyer gives you. They're they're because they're kind of
7:16
junky and they do break. But these smart water bottles
7:22
gives you a way of holding water. You can drink directly out of this now. You
7:27
can filter from it. It's kind of whatever you want to do. The Smart Water bottles have sport caps, so that makes
7:36
it real convenient for drinking. And then I just wrap mine in a little bit of duct tape. The bottles are very
7:42
flexible, so that just gives it a little bit of rigidity. And then it gives me some extra duct tape to utilize if I
7:49
need it. But water filtration is such an important component if you are building
7:54
a survival backpack um for hiking or camping or whatever.
8:01
And I just throw this in a little ziplockc bag. Food items. This is um
8:06
another outdoor product that they sell at Walmart. This is their little dry bags that I think comes in a set of
8:12
three. I like the orange bag. Kind of identifies that it's my bag. And I keep
8:18
my food in it. And you can pick up the freeze-dried meals from uh
8:25
MountainHouse. They are fantastic. I have been eating these and camping with these for years and years and years. And
8:32
of course, if you pay attention, they do go on clearance usually every season and
8:37
they'll go down from whatever they are, what 10 or 11 bucks right now, and they'll go down to like seven. And um
8:42
they have a lot of good flavors. And of course, the expiration dates on these are fabulous. 20 53. So, this is a great
8:51
item to throw in a survival pack, especially if you're going to keep it in your truck or your vehicle.
8:59
It's not going to spoil. A lot of good calories.
9:07
Another favorite item of mine, I show this in a lot of videos, are these silicone cups that you get at Walmart,
9:12
and they're in the camping section. Um, fantastic for drinking some coffee or putting some hot
9:19
soup in there. And they're very inexpensive. They're like a couple of bucks each
9:24
and they don't take up any room. And of course, snacks and coffee. You
9:32
can get instant coffee at Walmart. Of course, there's all kinds of different snack bars, Kind Bars, Cliff Bars. They
9:38
have all those in the grocery section. And Walmart is my grocery store cuz
9:44
that's all we have available. So, I buy a lot of my stuff um for camping at
9:50
Walmart. And then here's something that I recently found is this little eating
9:55
multi-tool. Kind of a nice little item.
10:01
Got a fork.
10:07
Have a spoon. And then there's even a bottle opener,
10:12
can opener, cork, wine, cork opener,
10:18
and I think there is a knife blade in there somewhere.
10:23
This all comes apart. There we go. Just push that down. There
10:29
we go. There's a little safety.
10:37
Now you got nice little knife for food prep,
10:44
but that's a nice tool and it's inexpensive. And then one thing that I like to cook
10:53
my food with is gas stoves because they are um absolutely dependable. They are
11:00
low profile. They don't um have any kind of fire issues. They don't draw attention. Um, if I'm out in the woods
11:09
and Walmart has this fantastic little Ozark Trail stove kit that is just
11:16
fabulous. Here we go. Nice little folding stove.
11:22
And it comes with
11:28
a stabilizer for the gas canister. And it has another component that I didn't
11:33
bring with me, but it comes with an adapter so you can actually run this stove on those big green Coleman uh gas
11:42
propane tanks. So, it gives you a couple different options. And that's fantastic because those propane tanks, those store
11:49
pretty well. Put a couple of those in your truck, put this in your in your truck, and now you've got um you've got
11:56
a nice little stove system to heat up food. And I'll show you how this thing works here in a second once we get
12:02
through the rest of this stuff. Little headnet. I think this came with the Ozark Trail survival kit, which was
12:09
that was an absolute piece of garbage. You can see the review on my channel, but it came with this nice little
12:16
headnet. So, this is a great um bug headnet. And then what's great about
12:21
these headnetss, they can actually use these um for prefiltering water. So you
12:28
can put that over your water bottle and fill it up and that'll keep out some of the gunk.
12:38
Another item with survival kits um that I like to always have with me is some type of battery charging system. Um
12:45
because we all use cell phones and uh if you have a means of
12:52
charging your phone in the field, uh that could really be a game changer. You
12:57
would be able to communicate with people a little bit easier. And I've found that the Swiss
13:04
battery pack does a fant fantastic job. Never had any issues with it. And then I found this Plano
13:12
waterproof storage container. Um, this was on sale was on the clearance section in the I think the fishing area and it
13:20
absolutely fits that perfectly. It would also fit a goodiz cell phone, but there's my my emergency backup for
13:27
communications and also I can charge my headlamp and I just keep that thing charged and put that back in my backpack
13:33
and then I don't have to worry about it. But really a great little system. And then of course uh multicord that will
13:41
charge uh iPhones and USBC and even the older USB
13:47
connections. So pick up one of those, throw that in there, and then you can charge a variety of devices.
13:53
Now, the tarp came in this little bag. This is the 5x7 blue tarp that I just showed you. Nice little storage bag, but
14:00
I like to keep my tarp on the outside so I can get to it quickly. But in here, I have all my little items um for I guess
14:10
starting fires and emergencies. So, a new product that I've been testing out are these Go Fires. Uh they're just
14:16
little packets of fire starting material, and you just put that underneath your brush pile, hit it with
14:22
your lighter, and they go pretty good. So, I I think they're pretty decent. I
14:28
haven't had any issues with them. Um I've enjoyed using them. They seem to work pretty well. Another fantastic
14:33
item. you can always pick up at Walmart is the UCO waterproof matches.
14:40
And these are really great matches to utilize because uh they're easy to get
14:47
going.
14:57
I mean, you can't blow them out. They will not go out. And if you dunk this in water, it will reignite once it pulls
15:03
out. There we go. Finally got it out. That that took a little bit of time. So there it's a great backup for starting a
15:10
fire. And of course, they come in a very nice waterproof container. And you can even buy refills uh for this match safe.
15:19
And this is, you know, it's by far one of my favorite match safes. Um it's
15:24
durable, it's waterproof, and it holds a lot of matches. So it's a great backup.
15:29
Of course, Bick Lighters. Always pick up a few Bick Lighters when I'm at Walmart.
15:36
Wrap mine in Gorilla tape so I have that extra tape. Always thinking about adding tape to stuff just to give you more um
15:44
for repairs in the field. And then
15:50
this is about the only ferro rod that I found at Walmart that actually is pretty
15:55
decent. Um it's small, right? But it does a decent job.
16:06
Pretty decent. Not bad. I don't have any problem with that. And it's compact,
16:11
lightweight. Don't need a huge ferro rod sometimes. Just something as a backup. Another cool
16:18
little item that I found, this was actually in the boating section. It comes in a pack of three. This is an
16:23
emergency watercraft strobe light. This is meant for canoes and kayaks. So, you
16:28
would tie this or I guess strap this to tie points on your kayak. And it came in
16:35
a pack of three. One was red, one was green, and then it had a white light one. And um it didn't cost very much at
16:42
all. It was I think it was like 12 bucks or 15 bucks. But it's a nice little
16:47
emergency strobe. And with that rubber band on the back and that little hook, you can hook that to the strap of your
16:55
backpack. And now you got an emergency strobe.
17:00
Another item, of course, is paracord. Lots of paracord options at Walmart. This one, I can't remember exactly what
17:08
this is. I'll try to look this up, but this was actually uh it's a thicker diameter than normal paracord and I
17:15
believe it has a higher uh weight limit on it.
17:21
So, didn't cost very much. I like that that's a little bit thicker. Um, it's going to be great for, you know, setting
17:27
up a ridge line on a shelter. Another item I have in almost all my backpacks is some type of sitting pad. Um, really
17:35
is a big deal when you're trying to start a fire and you're cold and it insulates your your butt, but also you
17:41
can kneel on this and your knees don't get wet. Uh, just a really great item.
17:46
And all this is is the closed cell foam sitting or um sleeping pad that they
17:52
have in the camping section. And then I buy one of those because they're very cheap. And then I cut them down in
17:57
various sizes to fit my different backpacks. And it's a very cheap method of having a sit pad. Plus, um, you can
18:05
fan a fire with it pretty easily and it's very effective at that. I've done that thousands of times camping with
18:12
friends. Like we'll get the blue sip pit out and do a little little wave there and you get the fire
18:19
going. So, it's a great item to have. doesn't cost you very much and once you wear it out, you can replace it easily
18:24
and cheaply. So, another thing that I talk a lot about with Walmart gear are
18:29
tools and knives. Um, Walmart actually has a very decent selection of name
18:35
brand knives. You can buy Buck and Gerber and uh all that kind of stuff. They're I think they're even starting to
18:40
sell Cevivi um which is really crazy to me, but they're they're selling all kinds of different brands. Um they're
18:46
even carrying Mora. So, those are all great options. But if you're really looking to purchase some inexpensive
18:53
knives because you want to try them out or you just don't want to spend a lot of money or maybe they're just uh gifts for
18:59
people who are just getting into bushcraft survival, there are some decent options out there. One thing that
19:07
I always carry and talk about and have shown in multiple videos are these Ozark
19:13
Trail folding knives. Uh these are kind of reminiscent of the Benchade Bugout,
19:20
but they're uh have liners in them. So they are stiff, they're not flexible,
19:25
and they recently changed the design of these where you actually have reversible
19:30
pocket clip. You can go either carry it left or right. They come in a variety of colors, orange, black, and I think there's even OD green. I have all three
19:37
of those. Uh, it's D2 steel, but if you're looking for an inexpensive pocket
19:42
knife that absolutely does a fantastic job, holds up well, and isn't going to break the bank, 10 bucks,
19:50
um, these are worth checking out, as well as some other great pocket knives that they've been coming out with.
19:55
They've they've really stepped up the game on the Ozark Trail knives. And, you know, I'm not saying that these are the
20:00
best knives in the world. You can afford a Benchade or a Spyderco or even a Civi,
20:07
go for it. They're great knives and I have them, but if you're getting started
20:12
and you want some decent tools, I would suggest looking at the Ozark Trail knives for sure um just to start with.
20:19
And then another absolute banger of a tool that they carry is this Ozark Trail
20:26
multi-tool. This is uh the Multi- Force is what they
20:31
call it. And it's got kind of a Leatherman wave look to it, but
20:37
really nice. All right, here it is. The Multi-Force. Really nice tool. Um I've had this for I
20:44
don't know, maybe a year at the most. Um been using it off and on.
20:50
Carry it in my truck. Of course, it's got all the standard stuff. We got a nice saw blade. We have pocket clip. Uh
20:59
there is a decent file on it. I love having files on my multi-tool. Very
21:05
handy, of course. Uh and a nice little knife. And then all your standard tools,
21:12
right? Open this up. You've got your full complement of scissors right there.
21:21
Small pair. Nothing too big. can openers, bottle openers,
21:27
reamer. Um, I'm not going to get into all of it, but what I really like about this particular tool is that it comes
21:33
with a bit holder. And this is the standard
21:38
size bit. It's not those flat bits. And it comes with an extender. If you buy a small bit set to go with this, you've
21:44
got a really nice tool. And it comes with a decent sheath.
21:51
There's the sheath. Decent pocket clip on it. It's got a spot for the bit
21:57
holder.
22:02
Mine's a little beat up. Not too bad, though.
22:10
But I just really like the this kind of bit holder as opposed to the flat bits.
22:15
And then of course it locks. It's got a locking button on the back.
22:20
of all the I would say cheap um multi-tools that are out there, this is
22:26
by far my favorite. I think it's the the the best quality and it's right around
22:31
the $40 mark, so you're not going to break the bank with it. But
22:42
there it is.
22:48
Other tool options, of course, we always want a fixed blade knife of some sort. And this is one that I found recently. I
22:54
think it was this summer. It was on clearance for like N bucks, but I think they're selling these now for around 25.
23:01
This is a 6 and 1/2 in blade fixed blade knife. It is full tang.
23:08
It has a sharpened spine, so you can strike a ferro ride with that, but also
23:14
do some scrapings with it. It came out of the package absolutely
23:21
sharp. Has a nice edge on it. Probably just a flat grind.
23:27
Handles are a little thin, but they are micarta with G10 liners. There it is. Full tang.
23:35
And I like the shape of it. Um I wish the handle was a little bit beefier, but that can be fixed. You can wrap that
23:42
with some tape to give you a little bit more grip. But what a decent little knife for 20
23:49
bucks. And it's some type of unknown stainless. I can't remember the designation. It's like a 17 CRM 238-9,
23:58
whatever stainless, but um out of the package, it's pretty decent looking. Um
24:03
they haven't really done much with it, and we'll do some more testing when it warms up a little bit. But uh plastic
24:09
sheath, nice sheath or belt attachment. Look at that. with the lock
24:17
that you can take off and you can flip that around. So, you could carry the scout style or you can carry it cross
24:23
draw in the front. Um, you have options. And what a great knife, you know, if
24:28
you're looking for an inexpensive sheath knife to put in your pack that
24:36
you're not going to worry about losing or destroying. This is a decent option. I'm not I was really surprised by it.
24:42
Okay. Another thing that um I find a lot at Walmart um are clothing options. And
24:49
that's something a lot of people don't talk about. That's something a lot of people don't
24:54
talk about is outdoor clothing. Outdoor clothing can be very very expensive. You
24:59
know, not everybody has money for first light and for spear and all this other
25:05
kind of stuff. Great stuff, right? Don't get me wrong. Good stuff. Uh, but um, you know, the common common working man
25:13
or gal does not have $300 to spend on a pair of pants. And I've recently picked
25:19
up some really good stuff at Walmart. And if you keep your eyes peeled, especially during uh, changing over of
25:24
seasons, you can get things on clearance like this jacket here. This is in the hunting section. It is a soft shell
25:30
jacket with a hood. I've been wearing this hunting for the past 2 years. I've
25:36
taken it out so many times on hikes and to film videos. And then the other thing
25:41
I found, and this is just recent, are these pants. And these things are Ozark
25:47
Trail. They are called cargo pants. That's all the label says. But I was really surprised because they have
25:53
reinforced knees, nylon material in the knees,
25:58
nylon material in the butt, and then decent cargo
26:05
pockets with a snap. And it's kind of a soft shell nylon material. The pant overall,
26:12
$22. And then they also have what they call a hiking jean that doesn't have the
26:17
cargo pockets but has zipper pockets and doesn't have the reinforced butt and knees. Um,
26:24
this is by far my favorite types of pants are the lightweight hiking style pants with nylon because they dry quick.
26:32
They're not heavy. Um, I can put long underwear on underneath them. And in
26:38
fact, I'm wearing uh real tree long underwear right now underneath these. Got it at Walmart. Get a lot of my socks
26:45
at Walmart. Um, gloves at Walmart. Um, all that kind of stuff is available in
26:50
the clothing section. You just need to keep your eyes peeled and you can find some really good deals.
27:18
Now, these Sterno containers of of iso butane propane fuel mix. They come in
27:24
smaller ones. This is the big one. I would get a smaller one for your dayack. You don't need this big of a container.
27:30
This is kind of my base camp container that I had. But here's the stove. has a
27:36
po and that will help get it lit so you
27:43
don't have to use a lighter. And if you've never used these, they're very easy to use. Just screw on your
27:50
stove and there'll be a little release of gas.
27:56
Get that nice and tight, but not don't overtighten it. There is your
28:02
release of gas. Okay, before you get anything going, get your
28:07
water poured. This is an Ozark Trail stainless steel cup, single wall. No measurements on it.
28:16
Um, but it's really super cheap. I think it's under $5, maybe four bucks or something
28:21
like that. Fits a 32 oz Nene. Good cup.
28:26
Get your water in there
28:32
and closed up. Release your gas
28:42
[Music] to the plane. Now what you can do is you can adjust
28:48
this higher or lower.
28:58
There we go.
29:20
Now you can make some coffee in the field. You can heat up water to put in that dehydrated meal, that freeze-dried
29:26
meal. Great option for cooking. And if you're in an area that has a lot
29:33
of fire bands, especially in the summertime, these little stoves are pretty decent. Um, you can shut them off
29:39
very quickly. They don't spill fuel everywhere. And of course, they're not creating any smoke, so you're not really
29:46
leaving much of a footprint. There we go. Rolling rolling boil.
29:53
Should have timed that. So, if you enjoyed this video, do me a
30:00
favor. Like, subscribe, hit that bell notification. I try to post a video once
30:06
a week. Check out my social media. Check out the links below if you're looking for more information on any of this
30:12
gear. I will try to run as many captions as possible to tell you about this stuff. But as always, thank you so much
30:19
for watching and we'll see you next time on the Prepared Wanderer.