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#284662 - 05/29/17 01:20 AM Re: the 10 essentials...prep for camping/hiking [Re: TeacherRO]
Quietly_Learning Offline
Member

Registered: 05/29/12
Posts: 164
If you can have a headlamp addiction I do. Every bag has one and most have a spare.

That said I keep 2 mini cyalumes in my edc first aid kit. They each are the about the size of a AA battery, weigh only grams, require no batteries, if one should somehow snap I have a spare and most importantly, I have no problem giving them out and never seeing them again.

I've also used they for marker lighting.

You can heat them in hot water and get a much brighter light, (with a reduced total use time).


Edited by Quietly_Learning (05/29/17 01:44 AM)

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#285796 - 08/30/17 05:00 PM Re: the 10 essentials...prep for camping/hiking [Re: TeacherRO]
TeacherRO Offline
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 03/11/05
Posts: 2574
A headlamp is another useful piece of gear that most folks don't seem to know about - unless you are handy or camp, its just not on your radar.

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#286712 - 10/11/17 07:30 PM Re: the 10 essentials...prep for camping/hiking [Re: TeacherRO]
TeacherRO Offline
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 03/11/05
Posts: 2574
Even though its never just ten and no one can agree on what they are, this is a good starting point for my classes and discussions.

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#286715 - 10/11/17 10:43 PM Re: the 10 essentials...prep for camping/hiking [Re: TeacherRO]
hikermor Offline
Geezer in Chief
Geezer

Registered: 08/26/06
Posts: 7705
Loc: southern Cal
What is essential varies a bit from situation to situation. Essentials in a desert would not be critical when at sea, for instance, although there are many commonalities (signaling, spare clothing, etc). Obviously you must have some understanding of conditions as you prepare for an excursion...
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#286717 - 10/11/17 11:30 PM Re: the 10 essentials...prep for camping/hiking [Re: TeacherRO]
gonewiththewind Offline
Veteran

Registered: 10/14/08
Posts: 1517
Priorities do change along with environments to some extent. In very cold situations, shelter is the top priority. You can go a bit longer in the desert or on a tropical island without shelter. It will become important, just not in the first 3 hours. What you use for shelter will also change along with the environments.

Water is always a very high priority, but where you find water, and what you take to collect, purify and store the water may change.

Instead of a fixed list of essentials, it is better to address it by priorities, which do change a bit. A good understanding of the environment you are going to be in is always essential, maybe the number one essential.

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#286718 - 10/11/17 11:43 PM Re: the 10 essentials...prep for camping/hiking [Re: TeacherRO]
Russ Offline
Geezer

Registered: 06/02/06
Posts: 5357
Loc: SOCAL
After seeing how many situations go from normal to critical simply because a camper/hiker got lost, I put navigation and signaling high on the essential list — map, compass, GPS, PLB... All of the above.
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#286719 - 10/12/17 03:11 AM Re: the 10 essentials...prep for camping/hiking [Re: Russ]
hikermor Offline
Geezer in Chief
Geezer

Registered: 08/26/06
Posts: 7705
Loc: southern Cal
I think you are absolutely correct in emphasizing navigation skills, but I would order the priorities a little differently. A good map (or possibly very good knowledge of the terrain) is first priority. A compass also ranks high, although very often it is not necessary - there are many ways of determining direction. A GPS is really useful, but not what I would call "essential".

PLB's are debatable. Actually, most of the time a cell phone will actually be more useful and will afford better communication in event of an emergency- as long as one has coverage. With a group, a PLB is less critical, but the solo hiker, or an inexperienced group, would be well advised to pack one.

The Essentials, whether ten or more, will vary with the circumstances and the surrounding environment. You need a lot more water in the Arizona desert than you do hiking in the Sierras. Hiking in really rough, broken country, I have long packed at least a minimal climbing rope and a very small amount of related climbing gear, stuff that I jettison in milder terrain.
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#286722 - 10/12/17 10:42 AM Re: the 10 essentials...prep for camping/hiking [Re: hikermor]
Herman30 Offline
Addict

Registered: 08/08/06
Posts: 495
Loc: Finland
Originally Posted By: hikermor
A compass also ranks high, although very often it is not necessary - there are many ways of determining direction.

How do one determine direction without sun or stars or compass? Here in my nck of the woods it is often thick clouds without any trace of the sun in the fall/winter.

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#286723 - 10/12/17 11:36 AM Re: the 10 essentials...prep for camping/hiking [Re: Herman30]
Russ Offline
Geezer

Registered: 06/02/06
Posts: 5357
Loc: SOCAL
Determining direction in those conditions is tough without a compass. As backup I have the Delrin version of the Companion Compass on a paracord neck lanyard under my shirt. It weighs approx 5 grams and it’s always there... and it works. That’s not my only compass.

As for the GPS and PLB. I mark my car’s location or other identifiable waypoints, and then turn it off and put the GPS away. Most of the time it’s not needed, but it’s always there as a backup to that, “I-know-where-I’m-going” attitude. When that fails, I’ve got tech.

The PLB is always backup — totally useless weight unless you need extraction. Then it’s like gold and takes the search out of SAR.

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#286724 - 10/12/17 01:56 PM Re: the 10 essentials...prep for camping/hiking [Re: Herman30]
hikermor Offline
Geezer in Chief
Geezer

Registered: 08/26/06
Posts: 7705
Loc: southern Cal
Good point - those are the conditions where you do need a compass. In my experience, in the generally sunny American Southwest, I have had to resort to my compass for direction three times in sixty years (two of which were SAR missions).

This is in distinct contrast to boating/kayaking on open water. On one such occasion, just a short two hour paddle which was enlivened by the arrival of pea soup fog, I must have referred to my compass thirty times as I grouped back to the harbor.

One thing about compasses, they can be thrown off by objects you get too close to the needle, or by local ore deposits, etc. Climbing Orizaba in the early morning, our compass was off by 30 degrees, as shown by the North Star still shining brightly in the sky. For me, a clear sky, with sparkling stars, is the gold standard for direction finding, even when at sea....
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