The 10 Essentials are the suggested minimum you should take with you on any outing. This is the first part in a series that I hope you will enjoy and find some use for. The aim is to educate the reader on the importance and uses of the 10 Essentials (and alternatives) so they will be more confident and able in the wilderness. I reserve the right to come up with my own version of the list and a mnemonic to help you remember.
The Ten Essentials:
- Map
- Compass
- Sunglasses and Sunscreen
- Extra Food
- Extra Clothes
- Headlamp/Flashlight
- First Aid Supplies
- Fire Starter
- Matches
- Knife
If you are reading this then hopefully you have already read the first post on Survival which is an outline of what you need to survive. We will be using this to further define the 10 Essentials.
Let’s break down this list into the the categories from the survival article.
- Shelter
- Sunglasses and Sunscreen: they shelter you from the sun or glare from water, ice and snow. And depending on your prescription the sunglasses could be used to start a fire.
- Extra Clothes: again, more shelter
- Knife: Use it to cut branches, vines, plants for your shelter
- Fire
- Headlamp/Flashlight: fire gives you light and you use these to light a fire (we’ll go over that later)
- Fire Starter: not the movie, usually a flammable paste or some kind of tinder. This can be handy in wet, damp weather when dry wood is hard to find.
- Matches: to light the fire!
- Water (the original list did not specifically state anything related to water, BE WARNED you do need water storage and water purification abilities in most situations)
- Map: use it to locate rivers and other bodies of water.
- First Aid Supplies: I put this here just in case you pack water purification tabs in your first aid kit. If you don’t go put some in there right now.
- Refer to Fire and Clothing: With enough ingenuity you can build a water filter starting with these items (we will definitely go over this later)
- Food
- Extra Food: eat it or use it to attract more food, like animals!
- Knife: use it to kill or cut up food.
- Hope and Ingenuity
- Map: you need to know how to use it but it can be one of the most valuable items
- Compass: Very useful with or without the map, if you lose or break it, don’t worry we will go over direction later. Many compasses have a mirror, can be used for signaling.
- Headlamp/Flashlight: Use it to find your way, do things at night and for signaling. The parts can be used for other uses as well, sometimes the batteries can be used to produce a spark to start a fire.
- First Aid Supplies: many kits have the miminum plus. If your injuries are severe and you are not a doctor/medic you will need some ingenuity with your kit to patch yourself up. While a huge section in its own right, we will attempt to cover the basics for what are the most common injuries in the wilderness.
If you have not already, print this list and make a commitment to pack these items into at least one bag in the next week. Be sure to pack a large water bottle and some water purification tablets as well. Put this bag in your car so it is there when you need it.
That is all for now and stay tuned for our next installment where we cover the alternative lists and other items you should bring with you (or at least seriously considering doing so)
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