The Ten Essentials for Camping & Hiking

When you are headed out into the great outdoors for your camping trip, nobody likes to or wants to have a heavy pack

But the stories about camping are filled with the incidents of people who sought to take on less supplies in order to skimp on weight and they paid dearly for the lack of proper supplies. Take, for instance, that friend of yours who thought it is crazy taking along a sleeping bag along with him in his pack in the summer months. How cold can it possibly get out there in the short summer nights in the great outdoors? Well, your friend must have found out about it in the hardest way possible.

Obviously, when you are going for a camping and hiking trip, you want to be mobile so you cannot carry too much weight but there are some essentials, which you need to have with you so you do not end up lacking the necessary supplies for your trip. This article shall define for you a list of the ten essentials for camping & hiking so you never go venturing out into the great outdoors under prepared.

Map

Sorry, but Google maps do not count. It is not a joke. There will be no charging sockets out there in the mountains for you if your battery dies or if your phone suddenly decides to take a dip in the river. You cannot rely on your smart phone for your navigation needs entirely.

Yes, you are getting there. You need paper maps. It does seem almost archaic to consider paper maps in this day and age but paper maps may very well keep you from getting lost and can save your life. Particularly, of real utility, are the detailed maps that have the right details about the topography of the region. That can really help the camper orient themselves with very few landmarks available in the outdoors. That is why Maps make it to the top of the ten essentials for camping & hiking.

Compass

Here is where your smart phone can actually come in handy. Compasses are great tools for the purpose of navigation and can be a significant factor in keeping you on the right track, especially when used in a combination with your maps. A regular old classic compass is something you should have in case your smart phone decides to die on you. That is to say, you can still ditch the compass if you feel like you’re enough of an expert to be able to determine true north by the way that moss is growing on the trees.

Sunglasses and Sunscreen

It is self explanatory. It does not matter what the weather is like. Even if you’re high up in the mountains, it is good to have protection against the sun regardless of the overall temperature. Exposure to the sun can really damage your skin and that’s why these two items make it to the ten essentials for camping & hiking.

Extra Clothing

Extra clothing does not mean packing a whole other suitcase. It can be just the thin and effective items like thermal underlayers, waterproof trousers. They take up less space and are very effective. Socks are the camper’s best friend. There is no way that you can have too many socks on a camping excursion. Another necessary item in the ten essentials for camping & hiking.

Flashlight

A source of artificial light can never hurt. It makes sense. It could be a regular flashlight or headlamp but you should have it. Ideally pack lots of extra batteries and at least a couple of backup light sources.

First Aid

Things get rough out there. That’s why you go out there, it’s understandable but even the smallest of injuries can fester into a real problem. Well-equipped first aid kits are a must. The ten essentials for camping & hiking would be incomplete without it.

Firestarters

To start a fire, you need something that catches fire instantly. Thin and dry twigs, leaves and stuff like that can instantly catch fire with a match stick and create the perfect foundation for the wood above it to catch fire. Sometimes you can’t find the firestarters out there so it’s good to carry some in waterproof baggies to start fires in emergencies.

Matches

What good are firestarters for emergency situations if you don’t have matches to start the fire? You can rub two sticks together all you want, but these are the most pragmatic way to start a fire. Keep them with you.

Knife

From carving up food to stripping bark from trees, a knife is the most useful tool to have in your camping and hiking excursion.

Extra Food

Just pack the extra food. It is never a bad thing to have at least an extra day’s supply of food with you. You never know when you can find yourself in a tough situation.