When assembling gear, always go over THE checklist:<br><br>1. Shelter<br>2. Potable water<br>3. Fire<br>4. Food<br><br>5. First aid<br>6. Signal/ communication<br>7. Direction/ navigation<br><br>Think about what you have and make sure you can cover these bases. I have found that my daily gear changes, well, daily! When you are on vacation, you get out of your routine and you may (will) find that some of your earlier plans and gear choices are inappropriate. Go over the list before you leave the door. This way your kit can be flexible with you.<br><br>For skiing, this would be my minimum kit, scattered around my ski jacket in zippered pockets:<br><br>Knife: Victorinox trailmaster and Spyderco Delica<br>Whistle: Fox 40<br>Signal mirror: Starflash<br>Compass and map: Silva 7 and general resort map in ziploc.<br>Sunbloc: small tube on lanyard around collar.<br>Bandanna: 2, red.<br>Trashbag: 55 gal, 4 mil thick<br>Binding tool or Leatherman<br>fire kit: mini Bic, military match, innertube scrap, 0000 steel wool, petro-cotton.<br>Flashlights: Photon or eq., Surefire Executive E2 elite.<br>1L platypus, 2 ft heavy tinfoil, potable aqua<br>Garmin vista GPS b/c I'm a gear geek<br>pocket medic pouch: Aleve, neosporin, fabric bandaids, bandaid wash towel (read: lidocaine!) benadryl, immodium, spare chapstick<br>10' contractor duct tape<br>25' paracord<br>spare shades!<br>