walmart has a lot of stuff that could be used for "survival" purposes.

I see no point in going to a "survival" store.

I'd love to open a "Preparedness" store and carry stuff that's really useful and actually worth the money. Most survival kits or 72 hour kits I see out there are just plain pitiful. They've got the lowest quality items available and give people a false sense of security. Seriously, anything containing a Coghlan's 5-in-1 Survival Aid Kit (compass, matchbox, mirror, whistle, flint bar)just isn't worth the bucket it's packed in. And road flares? At what point in your 72 hours do you really need those? They belong in a car kit, not a 72 hr kit. I suppose you could never find everything from one single source. Probably, the reality is exactly what most of us on here practice: find something here, something there, finding the perfect item for you and your own exact circumstance.

Precisely. I think the shopping/exploring stores for odd bits/unexpected discoveries thing is part of the appeal, along with the endless tweaking. It would be so boring to just walk into a store, find everything, plunk down some cash, and walk out Equipped To Survive. What would you do for the rest of the day?

In my Survival Shopping Mall, REI is the anchor store, but there are lots of smaller boutiques. Probably Lowes/Home Depot is #2....

I don't think there's a really great brick and mortar store because the preparedness business doesn't scale - there aren't enough customers to sustain a preparedness store in every community or zip code. And I think that's why we all can find fault with the typical 72 hour kit that's marketed, even by well-meaning outlets like Emergency Essentials (which does have a brick and mortar location in Orem, UT, never been there). My pet peeve is flashlights - the typical 72 hour kit still contains an old incandescent bulb flashlight running C batteries - what's that about? I'll tell you: *price*. If you start stocking what most of us consider to be adequate preparedness, you raise the cost of goods, and that raises the price of the 72 hour kit out of the interest range of the majority of customers. You may have good stock, but not many people shop for BOB kits the way they shop for cars or lawn mowers - and they don't expect to pay as much for one either.

I find this BOB almost comical in its completeness, but I like the components better than what most pre-fabricated BOB kits contain: http://uncrate.com/stuff/equipment-bug-out-bag/. It also costs far more than most of us would ever pay - but a good kit.

Sounds like the thinking of a SERE graduate to me...

Here in PHX, the 6th largest city in the nation and lets be honest, the Wild West still, there are a few brick and mortar 'survival/prep' stores. Smaller shops that multi-task inventory with other things like camping or tactical gear but have set up online businesses to push product.

After 9/11 a guy I knew that owned a local paintball arena opened a really great truly preparedness type store in the local mall. Small but it sold 72 hour kits, mayday bars, MREs, water purification systems, escape hoods and egress gear. Remember this was Winter 2001 so he even sold ropes, harness, ladders to get out of high rises buildings. It didn't last long. Lots of medical. I bought all my Christmas gifts from the store.

It didn't last. I ran into him a few years later and he had it all in storage. he offered me a good deal on the rest and now wish I'd taken the offer seriously.

Yes, 5 times! I guess I am a slow learner, but 5 different schools.

Very high list prices. I got my Mossberg for less than half the price shown. Questionable choices - a Steripen and a filter, but no stove or emergency fuel? A climbing rope but no harness or other related gear?

My optimum kit would differ in many ways, depending upon circumstances. So would yours. That is the basic problem with one size fits all, off the shelf, pre-assembled kits. Too much money and not enough thought.

We find a lot of our survival/prepping supplies at rummage sales. You would be amazed at what people think is junk!

Good point on the climbing harness, I hadn't thought of that. But I also wouldn't consider climbing rope in a BOB either. This link to a BOB was added because I like how they went for absolutely new and without regard to cost for all the components - its the kind of BOB I would expect a millionaire who bought from Hammacher Schlemmer to deploy, with or without the experience to use this stuff. All in all, good stuff - but the kit can arguably be missing parts from what we might consider for a BOB.