The 10 Essentials are the most basic things that you need in the outdoors. Whether you are hiking the Rockies or sitting in your local car campsite they will serve you a purpose. From hanging your wet clothes to helping you survive when lost, these items have many uses.
Navigation: A compass and map. These items will allow you to know where your headed and where you’ve been. If used correctly they can save your life when you are lost.
Light: Whether it is a flashlight, headlamp, or lantern, it is important to have a source of light with you along with extra batteries just in case. Checking the batteries of your light source before you go camping can also help avoid a major headache.
First Aid: Having a first aid kit on you at all times will come in handy. Accidents happen, especially on a camping trip where weather and nature can be unpredictable.
Fire: Fire starters such as matches, lighters, or flint and steel are very important. They give you the means of keeping yourself warm, in a survival situation or just to make a campfire to roast smores on. It makes starting the fire a lot easier if you pair your fire starter with some form of kindling in a water proof bag.
Rope: A 20ft length of rope can come in handy in many different ways. Strung between two trees it can be a clothesline or used to set up a shelter. Hung around an ax yard or to lash a few sticks together. A ropes use is limited only to the imagination of its user, and it can get you out of many sticky situations.
Knife: A knife has many uses from cutting food to collecting birch bark from downed trees for fires. It is important to keep your knife sharp and clean. This allows the knife to cut cleanly and you have less of a chance of cutting yourself. Your knife does not have to be huge, a medium pocket knife will work in most scenarios.
Shelter: An emergency shelter can come in extremely handy if you are ever separated from your group or campsite. Its main function should be to protect you from wind and rain and it should be separate from your rain gear. Emergency space blankets work especially well but can be replaced by a plastic tarp. This is a survival tool to be used when you are lost and need shelter.
Skin Protection: This essential consists of sunscreen, sunglasses, bug spray, and a bug net. These items help will prevent sunburns and mosquito bites. Bringing and using these items will mitigate the chance of insufferable sunburns and itching and help keep your camping trip enjoyable.
Extra Food: Extra food is used in case of a setback in your trip . It should be a good source of fuel for your body and not have to be cooked. Food helps warm the body and it can be used to sustain a person if they are lost or injured. A trail mix with nuts and dehydrated fruits can be used and extra food.
Extra Cloths: Wet clothes can ruin a camping trip. Wet clothes will cause the wearer to be extremely cold and can cause hypothermia. This can be prevented by packing spare clothes to change into after drying off.
It is very important to pack a little bit more clothes than you need. This also applies to pajamas.
These items will not only help you, they will make your outdoor experience better. The more prepared you are the more likely you are to succeed, no matter what the goal is. May it be hiking a mountain or kayaking a river these tools will help you get there.
Editors Note: This blog post was written by a youth member of Boy Scouts of America as part of Scouts BSA Communication Merit badge requirement 7(b).
