Best Soap for Survival and Prepping

Hygiene is often an overlooked part of preparedness. If you aren’t washing yourself, your clothes, and your dishes you’ll end up fighting off medical conditions, diseases, and pests. Storing away some compact soap is important for every kit- whether it’s in your prepper stockpile or in your bug out bag. There are a wide range of options to consider ranging from basic Tide to camping soaps.

This is where we come in. We’ve researched the best soaps, compared them under a survival and prepping scope, and now the results are in: the overall best, a detergent option, and an organic solution. If you need to keep clean during emergencies- our picks will get it done best.

Contents (Jump to a Section)

With several camp soaps to compare, the proven Campsuds beat out the pack. This soap is versatile enough to clean anything, it comes concentrated in the bottle for good pack weight efficiency, and it is biodegradable.

We’re recommending the 2-ounce bottle which should be more than enough for a 72-hour kit, but there are also 4, 8, and 16-ounce options available. It doesn’t take much soap- just combine it with water and lather so you can use the concentrate sparingly.

It has a light citrus (lemon/lime) scent that isn’t overpowering but is pleasant and helpful for identifying when gear, clothes, and bodies have been washed recently.

If you are looking for ready-to-use soap for your survival kits, Campsuds Outdoor Soap is the best option.

Many preppers stack laundry bar soap because it is so cheap and efficient for bulk storage. Typically, the debate comes down to Zote vs Fels-Naptha but FN gets the edge with less fragrance. Both work very well and are versatile- you can use them for spot treatment, shave them off to create a diluted formula, combine shavings with baking soda, etc for a versatile cleaner.

Fels-Naptha’s fragrance is similar to Dawn or Dial- a soapy clean smell that is less strong than Zote’s citronella smell.

As a compact and effective cleaner that stores indefinitely, it’s easy to see why the Zout Fels-Naptha Laundry Bar & Stain Remover tops the prepper detergent options.

Dr. Bronner’s has somewhat of a following going for it with many people trusting their pure-castile soap to get clean every day. They offer the concentrate in a few different scents, but we prefer the scent-free for the simple versatility.

If you are looking for a soap without synthetic or harsh chemicals, Dr. Bronner’s Organic Soap is the best organic option.

Everything We Recommend

The Soap We Compared

We narrowed the field down to several brands of soap that we compared: Campsuds, Coughlan’s, Sea to Summit, Zote, Fels-Naptha, and more.

You can see our full list of review criteria below in the What to Look For section, with an explanation for each.

We’re always looking for new and better supplies, so if you have soap you’d trust in a survival situation, let us know in the comments. We review most of our tested supplies annually so we can try to get it in the next roundup round and see if it will beat out our top picks.

What to Look For

The best soaps for survival and prepping have a few features to look for:

1. Value
2. Cleaning Power
3. Size/Weight
4. Versatility

You can find the perfect cleaner for your situation when you get the right blend of these. Below, we break down what each of these features means for the soaps that truly set themselves apart.

Value: Cost vs. Benefit

Soap is a huge help for hygiene and sanitation, but it shouldn’t be disrupting your budget. There are many options with most of them relatively cheap per ounce.

You never want to spend too much money on one resource, even when it comes to hygiene and health. It’s better to diversify your spending to make sure you are covered for a wide range of situations.

Cleaning Power

Some soaps have been proven to be less effective than water. I’d consider that a waste of money. If the soap isn’t removing stains, cutting grease, and working reasonably well then what’s the point?

Trying out the various soaps to clean dishes, clothes, and my body was pretty easy since I get all of those grimy every day. Traditional dish soap is effective but it was edged out. Bleach is another substantial cleaner that most preppers will have on hand regardless, but can be dangerous when combined with other cleaning agents and isn’t as versatile when it comes to washing up in a makeshift shower.

Size & Weight

Hauling around jugs of Tide liquid laundry detergent simply isn’t practical. That’s why concentrated liquids and solid bars rose to the top: they are both space and weight-efficient for pantries and mobile survival kits.

Whether you are storing them in bulk or putting our top pick in your bug out bag- volume and weight matter.

Versatility

Some highly effective cleaners lack versatility as we’ve pointed out earlier with bleach.

DIY Survival Soap

You can make variations of soap using our picks and additional ingredients. To make a wide variety consider storing:

You can also go the traditional route, using rendered fat and lye to make soap like many homemade soapmakers do.

You can even find ways to make soap in the wilderness, using pine, charcoal, aloe, yucca, and other gatherable supplies.

Chris has a great demonstration of how to synthesize primitive soap:

Who Needs Soap?

Everyone needs soap. The germicidal properties of soap have been proven for over a century now, so there is no excuse to skip a huge help to your health- especially during emergency planning. Stock up and prep your bags with soap to avoid infections, disease transmission, contamination, and a slew of other health issues.

Some version of soap or detergent is essential for most survival kits:

The great thing about soap and detergent is that they are typically shelf-stable, allowing you to stockpile them for long periods and store them in your bags.

Sources and References

All of our experience and the testing we do to determine the best soap for wilderness survival and emergencies are useless without listing our research sources and references. We leaned on these for the book knowledge that we paired with our hands-on testing and practical survival experience:

Thornton, M. (1959). Making Homemade Soap. Texas A&M; Agricultaral Extension. (Source)

Bhat, R., et al. (2011). Antimicrobial Activities of Soap and Detergents. Advances in Bioresearch. Volume 2. Issue 2. Pages 52 – 62. (Source)

Walker, J. (1925). The Germicidal Properties of Soap. The Journal of Infectious Diseases. Volume 37. Issue 2. Pages 181 – 192. (Source)

The Final Word

Soap isn’t exactly what you think of first when you start a preparedness kit or bug out bag, but it’s an essential supply that earns its place regardless of the emergency situation.

Here are a few other gear reviews and guides our subscribers have found helpful:

We presented quite a lot of information, but as always: if you have any questions let us know and we would be happy to help. Our testing found the Concentrated Campsuds Outdoor Soap the best solution given its value, cleaning power, size/weight, and versatility.

Keep exploring, stay prepared, and be safe.

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