(Photo: Michael Kraus)

It can't happen here . . . but if it does, you'll want to be prepared. Below is a survivalist-certified checklist of everything a New Yorker might need to survive in the urban wilderness.

• Gas masks with extra canisters (1 per adult with 1 extra canister apiece) ($170)

• Child gas mask ($200)

• Hooded infant seat

• Smoke hood (Essex Plus 10, used on Air Force One, is the best; $195)

• D-class Tyvek hazmat coverall ($9–$12), plus gloves and duct tape (to seal gaps)

• Potassium iodate or iodide pills

• Military atropine auto-injector or tablets (for nerve-gas exposure) ($300)

• Police radio scanner

• Basic first-aid kit

• 2 water filters (Katadyn is best; $200 each)

• Toiletries

• Insect repellent (DEET)

• 2 lighters -- one flint, one gas -- plus windproof, waterproof matches

• 2 flashlights, with extra bulbs and batteries (optional: battery-free NightStar flashlight from Applied Innovative Technologies; $75)

• 2 emergency candles  

• 550-lb.-test nylon cord 

• Extra cotton underwear

• Two knives (folder and fixed blade)

• Powdered drink mix, tea, coffee, Gookinaid ERG (electrolyte replacement with glucose)

• Pedialyte for children

• Dehydrated trail food

• Multivitamins

• Tent

• Radio (hand-crank or solar) 

• Stainless-steel mess kit

• Cooking utensils

• Portable stove

• Rain ponchos 

• Cat litter (for disposing of human waste)

• 3 pairs wick-dry socks

• 2 pairs Sorbothane shock insoles, 2 pairs sealskin socks

• 2 pairs sturdy shoes

• 2 BDU pants (black, tiger-striped, camouflage prints)

• Important papers and personal photographs 

• 2 Boonie hats 

• Sunglasses 

• Work gloves 

• Tri-fold shovel

• Small pry bar

• Water containers (canteens, camelback, jugs, etc.)

• 6 to 10 A.L.I.C.E. (all-purpose lightweight individual carrying equipment) pouches

• 2 signal mirrors

• Water-purification tablets

• 1 pack fish hooks

• 5 assorted sinkers

• 1 spool 30- to 50-lb.-test fishing line

• Ziploc bags

• 2 Tomahawk multi-tools

• Magnesium fire starter

• 2 Mylar blankets

• Thermal blanket

• Sleeping bags

• Goggles

• 2 inflatable or wooden splints (for fractured limbs)  

• Charcoal tablets

PLUS:

Survivor N.Y.C.
It used to be paranoia. Now it's being prepared. Robert Kolker hangs out with urban survivalists who've made a science of getting ready for anything the city -- or Osama bin Laden -- might throw at them.

Questions of Survival
Everything you always wanted to know about being afraid of terror, asked.

The Luxe List
Want to rough it in style? Get out your credit card.

Related:

• Archive: “Cover Story”
• Table of Contents: Aug 12, 2002 issue of New York | Subscribe!