The "Ten Essentials

Ten Essentials

The "Ten Essentials" are survival items that hiking organizations recommend for safe travel in the backcountry.The Ten Essentials were first described in the 1930s by The Mountaineers, a hiking and mountain climbing club. Many regional organizations and authors recommend that hikers, backpackers,...

" are survival items that hiking organizations recommend for safe travel in the backcountry.

The Ten Essentials were first described in the 1930s by The Mountaineers

The Mountaineers (Pacific NW)

The Mountaineers is an outdoor recreation, education, and conservation group based in Seattle, Washington and is the third largest group of its kind in the country. Its central Program Center located in Seattle's Magnuson Park is complete with education facilities for all aspects of the alpine...

, a hiking and mountain climbing club. Many regional organizations and authors recommend that hikers

Hiking

Hiking is an outdoor activity which consists of walking in natural environments, often in mountainous or other scenic terrain. People often hike on hiking trails. It is such a popular activity that there are numerous hiking organizations worldwide. The health benefits of different types of hiking...

, backpackers

Backpacking (wilderness)

Backpacking combines the activities of hiking and camping for an overnight stay in backcountry wilderness...

, and climbers

Climbing

Climbing is the activity of using one's hands and feet to ascend a steep object. It is done both for recreation and professionally, as part of activities such as maintenance of a structure, or military operations.Climbing activities include:* Bouldering: Ascending boulders or small...

 rigorously ensure they have the ten essentials with them. However, many expert hikers do not always carry all the items.

List

According to the Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills

Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills

Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills is often considered the standard textbook for mountaineering and climbing. The book was first published in 1960 by The Mountaineers of Seattle, Washington...

, the ten essentials are:

1. Map
   Map
   A map is a visual representation of an area—a symbolic depiction highlighting relationships between elements of that space such as objects, regions, and themes....
   
   
2. Compass
   Compass
   A compass is a navigational instrument that shows directions in a frame of reference that is stationary relative to the surface of the earth. The frame of reference defines the four cardinal directions – north, south, east, and west. Intermediate directions are also defined...
   
    (optionally supplemented with a GPS receiver)
3. Sunglasses
   Sunglasses
   Sunglasses or sun glasses are a form of protective eyewear designed primarily to prevent bright sunlight and high-energy visible light from damaging or discomforting the eyes. They can sometimes also function as a visual aid, as variously termed spectacles or glasses exist, featuring lenses that...
   
    and sunscreen
   Sunscreen
   Sunblock is a lotion, spray, gel or other topical product that absorbs or reflects some of the sun's ultraviolet radiation on the skin exposed to sunlight and thus helps protect against sunburn...
   
   
4. Extra food
   Food
   Food is any substance consumed to provide nutritional support for the body. It is usually of plant or animal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals...
   
    and water
   Water
   Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...
   
   
5. Extra clothes
6. Headlamp
   Headlamp (outdoor)
   A headlamp is a light source affixed to the head for outdoor activities at night or in dark conditions such as caving, orienteering, hiking, backpacking, camping, mountaineering or mountain biking...
   
    / flashlight
   Flashlight
   A flashlight is a hand-held electric-powered light source. Usually the light source is a small incandescent lightbulb or light-emitting diode...
   
   
7. First aid kit
   First aid kit
   A first aid kit is a collection of supplies and equipment for use in giving first aid, and can put together for the purpose , or purchased complete...
   
   
8. Fire starter
   Making fire
   Fire was an essential tool in early human cultural development and still important today. Many different techniques for making fire exist...
   
    (typically chemical heat tabs, canned heat, or a magnesium
   Magnesium
   Magnesium is a chemical element with the symbol Mg, atomic number 12, and common oxidation number +2. It is an alkaline earth metal and the eighth most abundant element in the Earth's crust and ninth in the known universe as a whole...
   
    stick)
9. Matches
10. Knife
    Knife
    A knife is a cutting tool with an exposed cutting edge or blade, hand-held or otherwise, with or without a handle. Knives were used at least two-and-a-half million years ago, as evidenced by the Oldowan tools...
    
    

The textbook recommends supplementing the ten essentials with:

• Water treatment device (water filter or chemicals
  Iodine
  Iodine is a chemical element with the symbol I and atomic number 53. The name is pronounced , , or . The name is from the , meaning violet or purple, due to the color of elemental iodine vapor....
  
  ) and water bottles
• Ice axe
  Ice axe
  An ice axe, is a multi-purpose ice and snow tool used by mountaineers both in the ascent and descent of routes which involve frozen conditions. It can be held and employed in a number of different ways, depending on the terrain encountered...
  
   for glacier or snowfield travel (if necessary)
• Repair kit, including duct tape and basic sewing materials.
• Insect repellent
  Insect repellent
  An insect repellent is a substance applied to skin, clothing, or other surfaces which discourages insects from landing or climbing on that surface. There are also insect repellent products available based on sound production, particularly ultrasound...
  
   (or clothing designed for this purpose)
• Signaling devices, such as a whistle
  Whistle
  A whistle or call is a simple aerophone, an instrument which produces sound from a stream of forced air. It may be mouth-operated, or powered by air pressure, steam, or other means...
  
  , cell phone, two-way radio
  Radio
  Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
  
  , satellite phone
  Satellite phone
  A satellite telephone, satellite phone, or satphone is a type of mobile phone that connects to orbiting satellites instead of terrestrial cell sites...
  
  , unbreakable signal mirror or flare
  Flare (pyrotechnic)
  A flare, also sometimes called a fusee, is a type of pyrotechnic that produces a brilliant light or intense heat without an explosion. Flares are used for signalling, illumination, or defensive countermeasures in civilian and military applications...
  
  .
• Plastic tarp and rope for expedient field shelter.

Not every expedition will require the use of an essential item. Carrying these basic items improves the chances that one is prepared for an unexpected emergency in the outdoors. For instance, if a hiker experiences a sudden snow storm, fresh clothes and fire starter may be used to keep warm, or the map and compass and headlamp will allow them to exit the wilderness quickly; otherwise they might succumb to hypothermia and perhaps even death.

Other "essentials"

Other outdoor organizations have variations of the Ten Essentials pertinent to local conditions. For example, Utah

Utah

Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...

's Wasatch Mountain Club

Wasatch Mountain Club

The Wasatch Mountain Club is a recreational outdoor club for adults based in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is a non-profit organization and has no restrictions on who may join...

 lists extra water in place of food, as Utah is mostly desert terrain, and water is more difficult to find.

The Spokane Mountaineers list "thirteen essentials", which supplement the list with emergency shelter such as a space blanket

Space blanket

A space blanket is a blanket used in emergencies to reduce heat loss in a person's body caused by thermal radiation, water evaporation and convection.-Manufacturing:First developed by NASA in 1964 for the US space program, the material consists of a...

, signaling device, and toilet paper and trowel

Trowel

A trowel is one of several similar hand tools used for digging, smoothing, or otherwise moving around small amounts of viscous or particulate material.-Hand tools:...

 (for sanitary disposal of human waste

Feces

Feces, faeces, or fæces is a waste product from an animal's digestive tract expelled through the anus or cloaca during defecation.-Etymology:...

. The toilet paper also doubles as tinder

Tinder

Tinder is easily combustible material used to ignite fires by rudimentary methods. A small fire consisting of tinder is then used to ignite kindling. Anything that can be ignited by a match can be considered tinder; or by more rigorous definition, anything that begins to glow under a shower of...

for starting a fire).

The "Ten Essential Groups" is an alternative approach to essential gear selection. Items from each group should be chosen depending on the season, geographic location, and trip duration.