A hot meal and a hot drink do more for morale in the backcountry than almost anything you can carry. The MSR PocketRocket 2 is the stove we point most hikers to first: it is tiny, it is fast, and proven after years on the market. For simple boil-and-go cooking, it is hard to beat.
A headlamp is one of the ten essentials for a reason: the moment a day hike runs long, hands-free light stops being a convenience and becomes safety gear. The Black Diamond Spot 400-R is our pick for most hikers — bright enough for the trail, rechargeable so you are not feeding it batteries, and small enough that it lives in the pack unnoticed.
Blister-free over rough ground, cool in heat and backed by an unconditional lifetime guarantee. Runs snug, so size up and keep it out of the dryer.
Long days without blisters, strong odour resistance and a lifetime guarantee, in a women’s cut. The leg runs compressive, so try one pair first.
The Kelty Discovery Trail is a lightweight, freestanding tent aimed at people getting into backpacking and weekend camping without spending a fortune. It is not the roomiest or most ventilated shelter out there — and it does not pretend to be. What it offers is a genuinely easy pitch and honest durability at a price that makes sense for first seasons and fair-weather trips.
If we could put one water-treatment tool in every day pack, it would be the Sawyer Squeeze. It is light, simple, needs no batteries or wait time, and filters as you drink. For most North American backcountry travel, it is close to the perfect balance of weight, reliability, and cost.
Help can be hours away, so the first minutes are yours. The order that saves lives: scene, bleeding, airway, breathing, warmth, then the evacuation decision.
Most backcountry emergencies are decided before anyone leaves the trailhead. The full pre-trip safety plan: leaving word with someone, researching the route, permits and closures, weather and daylight, matching the trip to your party and your skills, the essentials, a communication plan, and the turnaround rules that get you home.
Build a fire when conditions fight you — no lighter, high wind, soaking wood, or deep snow. Every ignition method from a pocket kit to nothing but your hands, plus how to beat each condition and put the fire out cold.
Boiling, filtering, chemicals and UV: what each one actually kills, which to use on which water, and the cryptosporidium gap that catches out hikers who carry only tablets.
