33 Survival Items to Take with You to a Deserted Island

It sounds quaint, even a little romantic, but believe it or not, getting stranded on a deserted island has been a fairly common occurrence for unlucky people throughout the ages. Whether it’s a shipwreck or plane crash and survivors washing up on islands in parts unknown, or merchant and exploratory vessels going terribly off course and getting stranded; it has and will continue to happen!

To help you put together an effective survival kit for making a go of it on a deserted island, I’m bringing you these must-haves below…

Tarp

Every seasoned prepper knows that a tarp is a true do-all piece of survival gear. You can use it to make or supplement shelter, provide shade, hold rainwater, and even make fish traps.

Best of all, a good tarp will fold down into a tiny footprint and take up hardly any room in your pack among your other survival gear. Make sure you get one with good grommets and a waterproof coating because you’ll be using this constantly for catching precious rainwater.

Tent

You might have in mind a locale that feels a lot like a blissful vacation on a warm and sandy beach, but even in the warmest parts of the world, including tropical islands, it can get downright cold at night. A tent will allow you to create a microclimate and make the most of your body heat and also your other shelter gear.

Mosquito Netting

Nearly everywhere on Earth, mosquitoes and other blood-sucking flies are a constant problem. In some parts of the world, they’re a major problem and one of the most prolific purveyors of disease. Sure, the predations of mosquitoes are unlikely to kill you, not that you should take the chance, but they will definitely drive you crazy. That will sap your morale when it is critical that you keep your mind in the game and emotions in check.

Mosquito netting will provide you relief when resting or inside your shelter, and a large roll weighs next to nothing and has other uses besides, like catching birds and filtering water.

Hammock

As a rule of thumb getting up off the ground when you are sleeping is a good idea. It will prevent a major loss of body heat to the ground itself, will keep you out of a rising tide, and will also protect you from the explorations of snakes, insects, and other ground-bound critters that might be coming to check you out while you’re catching some Z’s.

Hopefully, you’ll have some convenient, nearby trees or other objects to hang your hammock from. Otherwise, you’ll have to sleep on the ground.

Sleeping Bag

For keeping warm hardly anything beats a good sleeping bag. A high-quality sleeping bag can keep you toasty warm and comfortable way down below zero, and chances are good the island you’ve washed up on will be a whole lot warmer than that.

Blanket

A blanket is useful as padding when you’re, sitting and of course, for its intended purpose of keeping you warm. If you want to rely on your clothing and your sleeping bag along with your tent for warmth, you can choose an emergency survival blanket, sometimes called a space blanket.

They weigh almost nothing and take up hardly any room, you can use them also as a giant reflector to potentially attract attention from aircraft and passing ships.

Hat

If there’s one thing that is certain about your stay on a deserted island, it is that the sun is going to be absolutely relentless, and remorseless. Protecting your head from the sun is going to be critically important for comfort and also for health. A wide-brimmed hat that will protect your face, ears, neck, and much of your shoulders is a must-have.

Bonus points if you pick out a hat that is quick drying and durable, because chances are it will be getting wet much of the time just like you will.

Knife

No surprises here. Every prepper knows that you have to have a good knife no matter what the survival situation. On a deserted island, a knife will be even more important. You’ll use it to fashion shelter, prepare food, catch food, and for countless other tasks.

Specifically for surviving on a deserted island I highly recommend you get a good, sturdy fixed blade even if it isn’t a particularly large or stout one. The ability to craft a spear from it for hunting and spearfishing is invaluable under the circumstances

Fishing Kit

Water, water everywhere, and not a drop to drink. That’s true, but all that water can definitely furnish you with dinner. The ocean has an unbelievably broad bounty of delicious and nutritious creatures to eat swimming in it. A fishing kit will help you get your hands on most of them.

Obviously, you’ll need to know a thing or two about fishing and how to properly set up even a primitive rod, but a lot of the specialized hardware in modern kits makes life a lot easier and is difficult to replicate with primitive materials.

Signal Mirror

A signal mirror is one of the very best things to have for signaling aircraft and ships at a distance, and you can also use it as a mirror for checking places on your body that you can’t see or scoping out potentially risky situations from cover without exposing yourself.

Get one, keep it clean, and learn how to use it so you’ll be ready to deploy it in a flash when the time comes.

Rechargeable Flashlight

The ability to make light on demand is absolutely invaluable and often taken for granted. Most preppers already know how important having a good flashlight is, but what you might not be aware of is just how good modern rechargeable flashlights are.

With multiple modes for signaling and battery conservation, you’ll always be able to get the most out of each charge, and it has countless uses around your campsite while taking care of critical tasks. It’s also one of the best ways to signal over long distances.

Paracord

Paracord is another perennial favorite of preppers, and with very good reason. This lightweight, versatile, and super-flexible cord is incredibly, unbelievably strong for its size, and entire books have been written about the applications for it.

I won’t get into all that here, but suffice it to say you can use it for creating shelter, crafting all sorts of improvised tools and gadgets, fishing, catching dinner, repairing your clothes and other gear, and a whole lot more.

Duct Tape

Duct tape. You know it, you love it, and like paracord, the possible uses are virtually endless. Invest in a top-quality brand: if it’s applied to something that’s clean and dry, it creates a waterproof repair which might be critical in your situation.

Duct tape might not be the best at anything for crafting and repairing, but it is so doggone useful you’ll be thrilled to have it. And also works wonderfully for treating and protecting blisters on your feet!

Folding Shovel

Whether you’re digging in the sand or in the soil, doing that with your hands is a great way to tear them up and improvised implements are just too slow. A folding shovel, sometimes called an entrenching tool or camp shovel, is just the ticket and it is worth the weight and bulk in your kit.

Specialized survival models also work wonderfully as a hatchet or saw, giving you even more capability with one tool.

Hatchet / Machete

With a little luck, you’ll have plenty of trees to cut down for construction, crafting, and firewood, and if you want to make quick work of that you’ll need a hatchet or a machete. If you’re extremely lucky, you’ll have a veritable jungle of wood and other plants that can potentially help your efforts to survive.

Sharpening Stone

All of your edged tools will need maintenance if they’re going to keep putting in the work for you. A sharpening stone along with the right amount of skill and elbow grease will keep your blades hair-popping sharp.

Snare Wire

Larger islands are very likely to have terrestrial life on them, and much of it will be good eating with far fewer concerns for toxins compared to fish and other sea life.

Snare wire and the appropriate skill set to employ it is one of the best ways to double, triple, or quadruple your efforts to bag dinner. It also comes in handy for trying to reel in substantially larger creatures out of the sea.

Whistle

The shrill, ear-splitting blast on a survival whistle might, just might, allow you to be heard by a passing ship or boat. If you happen to be surviving with anyone else, it also makes a great method for long-distance but simple signaling and communication.

Rite-in-the-Rain Notebook and Pencil

For writing down your thoughts, keeping a journal of what has occurred or correlating your observations is helpful if you can write things down. Unfortunately, living and surviving in such a soggy, moist environment is going to play hell on pretty much all kinds of paper.

A waterproof notebook by RITR is totally waterproof and durable enough to withstand everything that living on an island can throw at it without smudging and losing your work.

Solar Charger

A modern solar charger is a highly efficient and highly portable option for keeping your rechargeable devices operational no matter where you go, including a deserted island in the middle of the Pacific. With just a few hours of direct sunlight a day, it can bank enough energy to recharge your phone, flashlight, and the next item on our list, or any other portable gadgets that you might have.

Radio

A two-way radio, a decent one, and the knowledge to use it might just be the thing that gets you rescued. Obviously, you’re probably not going to have access to a large and powerful fixed set but even a portable handheld marine or GMRS radio might be enough to communicate with a ship or plane. Make sure you’ve got cables that can be used with your solar charger discussed just previously

Lighter

Fire equals life so much of the time in a survival situation. From keeping warm, keeping dangerous animals at bay, cooking food, purifying water, and signaling for help, fire is essential.

Primitive skills for fire starting are indispensable, of course, but we don’t want to resort to that if we don’t have to. When you need a fire going at once, nothing beats flicking a lighter. Save it for when your need is very urgent and use the next item on the list as your mainstay.

Ferro Rod w/ Striker

Another prepper standby, a ferro rod can produce an intense, brilliant shower of sparks when it is struck with an accompanying striker tool or the back of any carbon steel knife or other implement.

They work a lot better than you might think just a little bit of practice, and one that is about the size of a common ballpoint pen is good for thousands and thousands of ignitions. You can’t beat that when it comes to durability and certainty!

Flares

Flares are a multi-purpose item, and a must anytime you are near the open ocean or any other large body of water. Hopefully, you’ve got some with you on your deserted island adventure.

Chemical flares can be seen at extreme distances, farther than almost anything else you can carry, and that means they are another critical signaling resource if you want to get rescued.

Also, the brilliant, ruby flame of a signal flare can’t be quenched even by immersion in water, so if you are totally desperate to get a fire going in wet conditions, it might be worth using a flare for the purpose.

Water Purification Tablets

Remember what I set up above about being surrounded by water, but that none of it’s fit to drink? This is the classic and often most lethal conundrum of island and ocean survival.

Drinking salt water will kill you; it’s only a matter of how quickly. However, if you’re very lucky there might be a spring on the island somewhere or you can catch rainwater, but even rainwater that is collected after contacting plants or the ground needs to be treated to make it safe to drink.

Purification tablets, or purification liquid, will make your collected water taste gross but keep it from infecting you with unknown germs.

Plastic Sheeting

Plastic sheeting is another multi-purpose item that belongs in an island survival kit. You can use it to waterproof gear, make shelter, devise rainproof clothing, catch fish, catch rainwater, distill ocean water to make it drinkable, and a whole lot more.

Water Bottle

As ever, a good water bottle is needed for storing potable water. Pick whichever kind you like the most for your kit, as the plastic ones tend to be pretty much bombproof but a metal one will give you another vessel that can be used to boil water.

Cook Set

A basic camp cook set will help you prepare food safely and efficiently, and if you have a deep mug or small pot boil water for added safety. Don’t forget your spork!

Sunscreen

You’re not exactly enjoying a fun day at the beach, but sunscreen is still a good thing to have when you are on extended forays and fully exposed in the daytime.

Especially for us fair-skinned folks, the oppressive maritime sun can roast you, and sun poisoning or heat stroke is a real possibility. Reduce the likelihood of either with sunscreen when needed.

First-Aid Kit

You’ll be dealing with countless injuries great and small whenever you’re in the middle of a real survival situation. First responder and medical skills along with a first-aid kit will help to minimize injury and also reduce the chances of infection, something you truly can’t afford under the circumstances.

Medication Pack

A bevy of over-the-counter and, if needed, prescription medications should be a component of your first-aid kit. Anything that can help you cope with pain, nausea, and other common ailments will make life just a little bit easier.

Hygiene Kit

Sure, you can go for the full-blown castaway look with the shaggy hair and beard, but taking care of yourself is going to help keep your spirits up and also keep you from getting sick quite as often. Soap, toothbrush, toothpaste, and any needed feminine hygiene products are all you need here.

Guide to Fish and Sea Creatures

Remember what I said up above about the ocean holding all kinds of creatures that are good to eat? That’s true and I stand by it, but it also holds nasty, dangerous, or deadly things that are not good eating at all.

A guidebook or survival manual that’s tailored for oceanic and island survival that will help you identify and prepare various seafood for safe consumption is a lifesaver.