As most backpackers and avid outdoors folk know, traveling in the backcountry holds certain risks. For many, that risk is managed through adherence to bringing what were originally known as the 10 essentials. The original essentials list has morphed and grown over the years, but it comes down to the main concept, bring what you need to survive when the unexpected happens. Part of that is a first aid kit, which I covered last month. The rest of those items, and a few personal items of my own, are all in my 10+ essentials kit.
This week I’ll cover what I carry in that kit. Like the first aid kit, your 10+ essentials kit should be personalized to you and your needs. Not all of the items in mine will make sense for your. Before we get into what I have in my kit, let’s talk about what the 10+ essentials covers. Traditionally, the list was very specific, however, in the 8th edition of Mountaineering: Freedom of the Hills, this list was updated to more accurately reflect modern technology. The list consists of:
- Navigation (map and compass)
- Sun protection (sunglasses, sunscreen, and sun clothes)
- Insulation (extra clothing)
- Illumination (headlamp/flashlight)
- First-aid supplies
- Fire (waterproof matches/lighter/candles)
- Repair kit and tools
- Nutrition (extra food)
- Hydration (extra water)
- Emergency shelter
The book also references three supplemental items to the list:
- Water Purification (portable filter or purifier)
- Ice Axe (if you are doing glacier or snow travel)
- Signalling Device (Mirror, whistle, GPS Communicator, phone, etc.)
For me, Water purification fits in with hydration, and an Ice Axe is merely a trip specific necessity, just as harnesses and rope are required for a technical trip over rock or ice. However, signalling devices (or as I call it, communication) is not a supplemental category, but an essential for all my trips.
Below is an image of all of my 10+ Essentials. The clump to the left is all carried in the small gray organizer. The clump to the right are additional components carried in other parts of my bag. Some of these items are not strictly essentials (i.e. the dental hygiene toothpicks). I’ll cover all the individual items in this bag below, as well as items not in this bag that are still a part of my 10+ essentials kit, but I thought it would be useful to see what and how I carry all these small items.
So, now you know the basics, let’s take a look at what I carry for each of the 10+ essential categories.
Navigation
| Item | Purpose | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Paper Maps | I never head on a trip without paper maps of the area. GPS devices are great until the batteries die, the technology breaks, or it falls off a cliff. Paper maps never run out of power and with training and a compass can be just as effective as GPS. | Pant Pocket or Backpack |
| Compass | To be used with maps for navigation in the backcountry. | 10+ Essentials Organizer |
| Delorme inReach GPS Communicator | This item actually falls into two categories: navigation and communication. In the navigation field, it pairs with my iPhone to plot my location and even orientation along digital maps. This allows for easy navigation in difficult terrain. | Attached to Backpack |
Sun Protection
| Item | Purpose | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Sunglass Clips | For protecting the eyes. | 10+ Essentials Organizer |
| Side Shields for Glasses | Used to protect my eyes from really bright light (particularly glacier travel). | 10+ Essentials Organizer |
| Sunscreen Stick | For protecting the skin against harmful sun rays. Secondary to covering the skin. | 10+ Essentials Organizer |
| Sun Hat and Clothes | Sunscreen is a good tool for so protection, but even better is to cover up. I am always hiking with zip off long pants, a roll-up long shirt, and a sun hat (usually a baseball style cap with cape). | Worn |
Insulation
| Item | Purpose | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Warm Hat | I always bring a warm hat, even on summer trips. It’s amazing how a small 2 ounce piece fo fleece can keep you warm when temperatures drop. | Clothes Bag |
| Insulating Jacket | Also regardless of the trip, I always bring an insulated jacket. This keeps the core warm and combined with shelter and a sleeping bag or staying active, can be enough to keep you warm in many conditions. I keep to synthetic jackets which continue to retain insulation even when wet. | Clothes Bag |
| Sit Pad | A small sit bag can do wonders to keep you warm against a cold ground. Although not enough to insulate the entire core, if in an emergency, it can be combined with the backpack itself to help insulate from the ground. | Strapped to Backpack |
Illumination
| Item | Purpose | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Headlamp | Although I don’t carry this in my essentials kit, but I do bring it on all trips, day and overnight. | Backpack |
| iPhone | The great invent of camera phones has also led to small LED flashes being on most phones. That LED works mildly well to illuminate a photo, but it works great as a backup light for close quarters work. | Backpack or Pant Pocket |
| Goal Zero Venture 30 | This goes out with me on longer trips. It offeres extra power for my phone, headlamp, and GPS communicator. It also has an emergency light built into it, just in case something happens to my headlamp. | Backpack |
First Aid
| Item | Purpose | Location |
|---|---|---|
| First Aid Kit | Covered in it’s own article, this is a part of the larger 10+ essentials carried on any overnight trip I go on. | Backpack |
| Burt’s Bees Re-Q Ointment | For dealing with chaffage. | 10+ Essentials Organizer |
Fire
| Item | Purpose | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Weatherproof Matches in a Waterproof Case | For starting a fire for warmth or cooking food in an emergency. | 10+ Essentials Organizer |
| Firestarter | Consisting of flint and a steel tip, can start a fire if you run out of matches. Not ideal, and very slow, but a life saver if all other options are out. | 10+ Essentials Organizer |
Repair and Tools
| Item | Purpose | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Extra Shoe Lace | Nothing worse than breaking a shoe lace mid-trip. Cord can be used as a replacement, but it’s harder to thread. | 10+ Essentials Organizer |
| Assorted Repair Patches | Type A, Type B, and Nylon. Used for patching up tents, sleeping pads, or other critical items where a hole might be a problem. | 10+ Essentials Organizer |
| Assorted Buckles | Just in case one breaks. I have a few different clip on buckles, and a replacement for both my waist strap buckle and sternum strap. | 10+ Essentials Organizer |
| Sewing Kit | For fixing fabrics. | 10+ Essentials Organizer |
| Zip Ties | For fixing broken zippers, attachments, or other connections. | 10+ Essentials Organizer |
| Buttons | In case a critical button is lost on a trip. | 10+ Essentials Organizer |
| Leatherman Squirt P4 | This has a couple screwdrivers, a pair of pliers, a nail file, and even a very tiny blade on it. The screwdrivers and the pliers are really the most important part of this combination. I find it’s better to keep my carving knife as a separate item, it makes true carving easier, and keeps my utility tool clean and free of food debris. | 10+ Essentials Organizer |
| Knife | For cutting food, and carving. I generally carry this in my food bag, though it does stay in my 10+ essentials kit when not in active use. I’ve used a knife to cut an emergency spoon when both my primary and secondary spoon were left behind. | 10+ Essentials Organizer or Food Bag |
| Duct Tape | Like the force, it has a light side, a dark side, and it holds the universe together. It also can fix just about anything. | 10+ Essentials Organizer |
Nutrition
| Item | Purpose | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Origami Spoon | While not directly nutrition, this helps get nutrition into my mouth. This is a backup (in case I lose or break my spoon or someone else does). This spoon weighs less than an ounce and folds completely flat for storage. | 10+ Essentials Organizer |
| Energy Gel | For emergency energy needs. In some ways, this is a first aid item, though it doesn’t quite fit in my first aid pack. This is critical for some in hypoglycemia. | 10+ Essentials Organizer |
| Micro Fishing Kit | Being a vegetarian, I’m not a fisher, however, this tiny kit of rolled fishing line, a couple weights and a couple hooks is enough if I got in a really bad situation in the wilderness (think apocalyptic here). I’m not sure I’d want to be my survival on my fishing skills, but we do amazing things when our lives depend on it. It is very small and weighs only a couple ounces, so not hard to bring along. | 10+ Essentials Organizer |
| Extra Meal | On overnight hikes, I always bring an extra freeze dried meal, just in case the unexpected happens. On day hikes, I bring extra bars or snacks in case the trip takes longer than expected. | Food Bag |
Hydration
| Item | Purpose | Location |
|---|---|---|
| MSR Hyperflow Water Filter | At 8 ounces, this a light and very effective water filter. People are regularly impressed and surprised by how quickly it pumps water. | Backpack Side Pocket |
| Iodine | Used both for wound cleaning and for water purification. If something happens with my mechanical filter, this is a backup. | First Aid Kit |
| 1 and 2 Liter Platypi | I always have the capacity to carry up to 3 liters of water at a time (all I need for a day, aside from cooking water for dinner). I generally research my trips thoroughly and carry a liter of water at a time, knowing when my next water fill up will be. However, if I am unsure or it’s a particularly hot day, I carry a couple liters to be safe. | Backpack Side Pockets |
| Aquamira Frontier Pro | At 2 ounces, this is an amazing water filtration product. I tend to use my Hyperflow more often, I like not having to work as hard to pull the water through a filter when drinking, but when I’m saving weight, or want a 3rd backup, this is what I bring. | Backpack Side Pocket |
Emergency Shelter
| Item | Purpose | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Poncho Tarp | This is multi-use protection from the elements. The poncho keeps rain off you as well as your backpack, and loops on the corners and sides allow it to be setup as a shelter. | Backpack or Clothes Bag |
| Nylon Cord | 6 strips of nylon cord. It’s exactly what I need to setup my poncho tarp (or any tarp-like object) as an emergency shelter. It is also infinitely useful for for lashing things to your pack or together. Two 10-foot cords and four 5-foot cords. | 10+ Essentials Organizer |
Communication
| Item | Purpose | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Whistle | Used instead of calling for help, a whistle is much easier on the lungs. General rule of thumb, three consecutive whistles means you need help. | Attached to the Backpack Shoulder Strap |
| Delorme inReach GPS Communicator | Navigation is actually a side benefit of the inReach. It’s main goal is emergency communication. It can be used to send tracking points, letting a rescue team know where you are, and send pre-programmed or user-inputted messages. In the event of an emergency, this could be a life saver. | 10+ Essentials Organizer |
| iPhone | Connects to the inReach for easily typing custom messages. And when you get to a cell signal, having a phone along can be a huge help. | Pant Pocket or Backpack |
Uncategorized
| Item | Purpose | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Outdoor Research Backcountry Organizer | For carrying it all. I used to use a #2, but with the move to a separate first aid kit, I’ve managed to reduce to the #1 size, which also forces me to be selective about what I bring (and keep down on weight). | Backpack |
| Bug Net | Not strictly an essential item, but a life saver when dealing with a mosquito heavy area, and small enough to get lost if not stored in a smaller bag. | 10+ Essentials Organizer |
| Cash | For emergencies. If I have to come out from a different spot, a little bit of cash may help me get food, transportation, or other forms of help. | 10+ Essentials Organizer |
| Dental Toothpicks | Nothing’s worse than having something stuck between your teeth. | 10+ Essentials Organizer |
