Your "10 Essentials?"

[dave.m]

The Seattle Mountaineers made the idea of the "10 Essentials" famous. I suspect most people here use a variant of this and I would like to hear what you all carry. More than that, I would like to hear why you carry what you carry and how.

I carry my stuff in a non-padded fanny pack. The fanny pack stays in the back of my car. I either just grab the fanny pack when on a short day hike or I drop it into a larger pack if I'm going to be carrying one. Either way, I always have the same set of stuff with me.

Within the fanny pack, I have stuff broken out into small modules. Stuff I use on the trail, stuff I only use in camp and other things I hope to not use. Here's my packing list. What's in your wallet?

TRAIL POUCH - Stuff I often use while on the trail
+ Map (typically moved to pants pocket)
+ Compass (in my pocket when off trail)
+ Altimeter watch (moved to wrist)
+ Lighter (typically moved to pants pocket)
+ Whistle (typically moved to pants pocket)
+ Sun screen
+ Dermatone
+ Bug dope
+ Ibuprofen
+ Iodine water purification tablets (water filter is carried separately on some trips)

CAMP POUCH - Stuff I usually only need in camp
+ Headlamp
+ Toothbrush and toothpaste
+ Antihistamines
+ Toilette paper, hand sanitizer, disposable lighter (these are kept in a ziplock bag)
+ Headnet
+ Leatherman Squirt PS4 (for small pliers and scissors, mainly)

REPAIR KIT - Carried in a separate zip lock inside my camp pouch
+ Spare Fastex 2" buckle (for backpack hip belts)
+ Section of adhesive nylon repair tape (for down jackets, bags and tents)
+ Heavy polyester thread, standard needle and curved upholstery needle
+ Spare stove filler cap (I typically carry a Svea 123 and this is the only part to fail)
+ Selection of nuts and bolts (for pack frame repair)
+ Spare batteries (for headlamp)
+ Small roll of duct tape (wrapped around a cut-off disposable pen body


EMERGENCY GEAR - Stuff I hope to not need
+ Spare knife
+ Folding saw (Carried October through April)
+ Mylar aluminum bivy sack/shelter
+ 2 Powerbars (emergency food)
+ Coil of parachute chord


MINIMAL FIRST AID KIT (mostly focused on stopping bleeding and attending to feet):
+ Selection of gauze pads and band aids
+ Butterfly tape and small roll of bandage tape
+ Gauze wrap
+ Alcohol wipes, iodine wipes, small tube of triple-biotic ointment
+ Disposable razor (shaving shins)
+ Pre-cut moleskin and bottle of Skin Shield (for blisters)
+ Nail clippers, fine tweezers (splinters), Leatherman PS4 (scissors, pliers)
+ Spare disposable lighter

Full essay here: http://home.comcast.net/~pinnah/DirtbagPinner/essentials-list.txt

 

[erugs]

I just read a recommendation to carry a couple of hose clamps in winter, large enough to use with a tent stake to make a splint and temporarily repair your snowshoe frame.

 

[Peakbagr]

A handful of zip ties are light weight and can secure splints, field repair snowshoes and a bunch of other things.

 

[sierra]

Wow I never thought of that, hmm zipties, thats something I might add to my stash.

 

[Ed'n Lauky]

What, No GPS? I personally wouldn't leave home without it--with extra batteries and often even a back-up.

 

[jrbren]

Sunscreen rarely important in New England. Altimeter is a toy, not essential. My GPS reads Camel's Hump in Vt to be 5500' feet high. Nough said about gps. Bug dope only needed June through mid August in New England Mountains, even then not so much after mid July most years. I consider head lamp with back up essential even for day hikes. Ditto for leatherman. 1-2 liters of water essential, with water purification back up (tablets for day hike, for longer overnight trips either pump or fuel for boiling). Clothing & food appropriate for expected conditions essential. A clear head, patience, mental/emotional adaptability and a sense of humor essential. Watch, regular watch will do, but something to keep track of time essential. Car keys (making sure they are not inside your locked car as you start walking).

 

[Sunshine Chris]

You can always splint the frame of your snowshoe with a branch and duct tape if you don't have anything else. The duct tape can be used for so many different things that I won't go anywhere without it. It can replace a-lot of things in my pack and 1st aid kit. I wrap my duct tape around my lip balm. I bring a bit of wire for micro-spikes or snowshoe and pack repair too. In winter I usually have several hand warmers and a couple body warmers too. They are for my mittens, my spare battery/headlamp bag that also has my cell phone and camera in it. It is a "bug bag" I attach to the front of my hip belt. I carry most everything else you have listed (at varying times and circumstances. By the way, great thread and a great list. Gives folks ideas to think about.
When I want to take a quick bug out bag- I simply throw my essentials into my backpack lid which has a hip strap and then I can head out for a quick jaunt or take a quick run from the trail intersection to the summit and back without hauling my whole large pack with me. In winter however, everything goes wherever I go.
Some type of item to be used for self defense( I am leaving it up to your own choice of item here since we all have different ideas of how we are able to defend ourselves) is a definite necessity for me. Whether it be animal or human predators or a means for gathering food if get stuck out for days.

 

[Sunshine Chris]

Sunscreen rarely important in New England. Altimeter is a toy, not essential. My GPS reads Camel's Hump in Vt to be 5500' feet high. Nough said about gps. Bug dope only needed June through mid August in New England Mountains, even then not so much after mid July most years. I consider head lamp with back up essential even for day hikes. Ditto for leatherman. 1-2 liters of water essential, with water purification back up (tablets for day hike, for longer overnight trips either pump or fuel for boiling). Clothing & food appropriate for expected conditions essential. A clear head, patience, mental/emotional adaptability and a sense of humor essential. Watch, regular watch will do, but something to keep track of time essential. Car keys (making sure they are not inside your locked car as you start walking).

Yes- water, clothing, car keys, watch, water purification of sorts probably a good idea though I imagine you could live without it a few days if you had to (the purification that is, not the water) . Extra food-more important in winter to help you stay warm and have energy. Otherwise one can live many days without it. I see you mentioned some items he had on his list- how about fire starter of some sort? I would want to have that.

 

[dave.m]

Keep 'em coming!!


RE: GPS, never owned one and don't see the need yet. Not yet. Although we got to talking up at deer camp this year about a local high spot and who had made it up there through all the thick balsams and such. Several folks at camp noted that their compasses went nuts up on top of the mountain. Iron deposits? Alien activity? Fissure in the fabric of space/time? One story was a group effort to track a moose up in there and the guy with the GPS was the only one right. I currently rely on a compass, even above treeline.

RE: altimeters. I find them more useful than any other navigation tool for trail hiking. Have a double function to help with weather prediction. Off trail, I rely on a compass.

RE: zip ties. Interesting idea. I have a separate repair kit in my XC wax kit. I carry a ratcheting screw driver, drill bit (for punching holes in ski decks) and a couple of hose clamps for pole repair. Left that kit off as it only goes on ski trips.

 

[Nessmuk]

What, No GPS? I personally wouldn't leave home without it--with extra batteries and often even a back-up.

You've got to be kidding. GPS is a handy tool, especially for certain specific or work related applications (SAR, professional mapping and the like), but it shouldn't be a necessity in the top 10 for experienced backcountry travelers. If it is, then you shouldn't be going where you are going in the first place. Yeah, it is nice to download your track when you get home of where you have been, but unless you are in featureless tundra, what keeps you from knowing that from reasonable attention to terrain observation skills?

Several folks at camp noted that their compasses went nuts up on top of the mountain. Iron deposits? Alien activity? Fissure in the fabric of space/time?... Off trail, I rely on a compass.

Magnetic anomalies are rare, but do exist in some locations. Most times caused by personal operational confusion rather than actual compass error.

RE: GPS, never owned one and don't see the need yet. Not yet.... Although we got to talking up at deer camp this year about a local high spot and who had made it up there through all the thick balsams and such.

Thank you. Learn how to use map and compass and how to actually correlate with the terrain and that's all you will need. GPS should be an additional aid, not a primary crutch.

 

[DougPaul]

RE: GPS, never owned one and don't see the need yet.

They can be handy...
Usually, I just turn it on and throw it in the top of my pack. Then afterward I can read off the hike stats or plot the track on a map to see where I had been. I recently got a bit "confused" in some local conservation land (a maze of trails with very few signs) and we worked our way out by the direction of the already-set sun and the map. It was very interesting to look at the track after the fact to see where we had been--within .1 mile of my objective. We could have used the GPS to find our location, but we chose the old-fashioned way.

On the other hand, on Becca M and my 28.5 hr 18 mi Pemi ski lollipop, there were several spots on the Thoreau Falls and Shoal Pond Trails where we probably would have had to turn back if we hadn't had the GPS with preloaded trail tracks. See http://www.vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?39621-Pemi-Ski-Loop-in-Less-than-30-Hours-) for details.

RE: altimeters. I find them more useful than any other navigation tool for trail hiking. Have a double function to help with weather prediction.

Very useful. Some GPSes have barometric altimeters that are auto-calibrated by the GPS.

RE: zip ties. Interesting idea.

I carry several. They can be very useful.
I have seen some reports of them breaking in the cold, however this could depend on the model, the plastic used to make them, and the age.

Doug

 

[Tim Seaver]

... but unless you are in featureless tundra, what keeps you from knowing that from reasonable attention to terrain observation skills?

I can think of a few.

Darkness and white-outs come to mind. White-outs at night are even better!

I wouldn't call a GPS an "essential", but there are certainly times where having one can be better than having a compass and map alone for getting a quick "fix", particularly for the hikers who aren't navi-geeks, if I may coin the term in a friendly manner.

 

[Nessmuk]

I can think of a few.

Darkness and white-outs come to mind. White-outs at night are even better!

Wouldn't that be a "black-out"? Sure, in an emergency it may get you out quickly, but you still have to understand terrain and maps in convoluted territory. You might also claim to need a PLB and a VHF radio and a Sat Phone as part of the top-10 essentials. At any rate, you deal with conditions by having the knowledge and developing the necessary skill to address those conditions.

I am simply reluctant to move GPS into the top-10 column just because it makes life easy. If you want easy, stay home and watch outdoor theme movies.

I wouldn't call a GPS an "essential", but there are certainly times where having one can be better than having a compass and map alone for getting a quick "fix", particularly for the hikers who aren't navi-geeks, if I may coin the term in a friendly manner.

I'd call a navi-geek one who depends on electronic tools to the neglect of the traditional tools and simple skills that work. Glad you agree that GPS is not essential, but it certainly borders on being a miracle tool of this generation to grab a "quick fix". I maintain you don't have to be a navi-geek to know where you are with necessary precision at all times in this part of the world if you just learn to pay attention and seek to develop just a bit of traditional skill.

 

[Tim Seaver]

Sure, in an emergency it may get you out quickly.

Hey, as long as we can agree on that everything is groovy.

 

[Ed'n Lauky]

I think I understand the feeling about the GPS. Personally I work out of DOS on my 386 computer and its my opinion that if you have to use windows to use a computer you really shouldn't use one. Someone told me once I needed to use snowshoes so I grabbed my granddad's wood frame snow shoes and headed up Mt. Jackson. With difficulty I got about two thirds of the way up the first steep pitch and slid all the way back down. I threw them out, enough said about snowshoes. I'll stick to my dad's hobnail shoes from now on. And I definitely would put a spare Fastex 2" buckle, a selection of nuts and bolts and a couple of extra knives on the list before I'd ever consider taking a GPS.