The 10 Backpacking Essentials

Every beginner backpacker should learn the “Ten Essentials.” With these ten essentials covered, any new backpacker should be comfortable along the trail. In this post, I’ll cover why the ten essentials exist, who created this list, and what the list includes.

Why Ten Essentials for Backpacking?

Beginner backpackers tend to overpack or underpack. They don’t often understand what is important for health and safety on the trail or know what is appropriate to pack. This results in a pack that is too heavy, which takes its toll or results in a dangerous situation.

The ten essentials list aims to help backpackers pack exactly what they need, not too much or too little. Even experienced backpackers will mentally go through the list to make sure they didn’t leave anything out.

Here are the ten essentials:

1. Navigation
2. Shelter
3. Hydration
4. Sun Protection (I’m calling this Weather Protection)
5. Illumination
6. Insulation (Again, changing the name to Temperature Regulation)
7. First Aid
8. Repair Kit
9. Nutrition
10. Fire

Who Developed the Ten Essentials List?

The Mountaineers were founded around 1906 in Seattle, Washington, as a non-profit organization focused on recreation and conservation. They even broke off from an earlier organization that was founded in the late 1800s.

Even though they focused on day hikes early on, the group summited Mount Olympus (now in the Olympic National Park) in 1907, Mount Baker the next year, and Mount Rainier after that. These guys, and girls!, were hardcore. Its super interesting to hear how half the original founders were women that wore veils and long petticoats during these difficult, technical climbs.

However, that meant that they needed essential equipment for making these intense hikes before the days of ultralight gear and high-tech backpacks.

This group taught courses in all sorts of things, such as alpine mountaineering. Some of the members are famous climbers, photographers, and some even founded the company REI. You can read more about them here.

Ten Essentials Every Backpacker Needs to Pack

Without further ado, here are the top ten things every backpacker (or hiker) needs to pack:

Navigation

Always. Always. Carry a physical map of where you are hiking. Preferably, you should carry a topographical map with interest points. Even if you have a short hike, or think your phone is enough. Too many times, cell phones lose signal, die, or get dropped or lost, resulting in you losing your way in the wilderness.

On more difficult or technical hikes, make sure you carry a hike-specific map. For example, on our recent South Olympic Coast hike, we carried a Custom Correct Map that showed the tide restrictions, to make sure we timed our hike appropriately.

If you pick up or print a paper map, you can always self-laminate your map at home with laminating sheets. This helps ensure your map doesn’t fall apart with folding or shoving into your pack or get ruined in the rain or dampness.

Shelter

Shelter means something different to every backpacker and can mean different things based on the season or the trek. For some people, a hammock is plenty. For others, you need a complete four-season tent.

When shopping for shelters, consider your hike, predicted temperatures, and all possibilities on your hike. Even though the weather might normally be comfortable, sudden storms can catch anyone off guard. Make sure that your shelter can protect you from any of these possibilities.

Also, consider the weight of your shelter. My husband and I carry a heavier, but cheaper, tent because we split the weight of all our gear between two people. However, if you are backpacking solo, or don’t plan on sharing a tent with your companions, you may look at lighter, more compact tents.

Hydration

How much water you should carry depends on the length of your hike and whether there are sources of water along your trail. If you have a long trail, but plenty of water sources, then you may not need to pack much. If you have a short hike, but the weather is hot and dry without any water sources, then you should pack much more water than you think you need.

On an average day, consider bringing at least 1.5 to 3 quarts of water, but if you are hiking a hot, long trail, consider bringing 6 quarts or more, unless you have reliable sources of water. If you plan on pulling water from a natural source, bring a safe water treatment method, such as an approved water filter or chemical treatment. Be warned that some water sources cannot be safely treated with iodine tablets alone.

When you sweat, you also lose salts and other electrolytes. We’ve found that carrying salt tablets can help against feelings of dehydration or exhaustion.

Weather Protection

In the original ten essentials from The Mountaineers, and in the REI ten essentials, this category is named “Sun Protection.” Usually, sunglasses, wide brim hats, suncreen, and other UV protection providers are recommended. While all of those are super important, there are other elements of weather that should be included.

Rain is a big factor in the Pacific Northwest. Even on a warm day, rain and humidity can really put a (forgive me) a dampener on your trip. Remember to bring pack covers (to keep your pack and gear dry), a light rain jacket or poncho, and water proof matches. Even when the forecast calls for bright sunny days, weather can turn quickly.

Trust me, it’s no fun trying to light a damp match in the cold to heat up water or start a fire.

The scouting clubs say it best: Be prepared. Whether rain or shine, make sure you can weather the weather

Illumination

Unless you are hiking in Alaska during the longest day of the year (where the sun never sets), you will need illumination at some point.

Our backpacking preference is to bring headlamps for each person so that you can keep them in your pocket or on your head for all those times you need to pee in the middle of the night. We also carry a collapsable LED solar-charged lantern with us. Whenever we stop for camp, we set it out to charge, and its always been enough light for us until bedtime.

Put your light source on your packing list and you’ll never show up to camp trying to pitch a tent in the dark.

Temperature Regulation

Originally called “Insulation”, this category goes hand in hand with weather protection, though refers more to regulating your temperature. On hot summer days, you might be tempted to dress in a tank top and athletic shorts, but when night falls, temperatures can sometimes plummet. Bring plenty of layers to ensure your comfortable on the trail and by the fire (or camp stove, where fires aren’t allowed)

Make sure that your tent and sleeping bag are rated for the weather you will be sleeping in. A summer tent will have plenty of ventilation to keep you cool during the summer. That same tent would allow frigid air to pierce right through the tent in the winter.

Sleeping bags should be labeled with their temperature rating. Keep in mind that this rating indicates the tempature that you can safely sleep in with the bag, NOT the temperature that you will be comfortable in. Surviving the night in a 42F rated bag in 42F temperatures will leave you feeling very cold and very unfomortable. Sleeping bag liners can help extend the temperature rating of your bag, as well as insulated sleeping pads.

On cold nights, you can also fill your Nalgene (or other hot water-rated water bottle) with water heated on your stove or fire. Place this in your sleeping bag to warm your feet or squeeze between your thighs.

Lastly, keep yourself dry. Wet clothes and socks, sleeping bags, or tent can make you feel colder. In the heat, sweaty clothes and socks can cause skin discomfort or infections. Keep yourself dry and (mostly) clean!

First Aid

Accidents can and will happen. You may think you need to be prepared for triage on the trail. While you should, your first aid kit should also cover lots of common injuries or ailments on the trail such as:

1. Blisters and chafing
2. Headaches from allergies, tension or stress
3. Back pain from sleeping on a rock
4. Bee stings, mosquito bites, and ticks
5. Poison ivy or poison oak reactions
6. Upset stomachs
7. Splinters, thorns, or scratches

Make sure your first aid kit includes any common medications you might take at home. If you take allergy meds or use an inhaler at home, be sure to bring it. You do not need full bottles of medications or hundreds of bandaids, just enough to cover yourself for the days on the trail, or to a point where you can safely make it back out.

Repair Kit

The Mountaineers originally called this category “Knife,” with the intent that that was all you need. These days, your gear may contain high tech materials and do-dads. Many outdoor stores carry replacement buckles and snaps for your backpacks and tents, but you will never be able to predict what you need.

Bring a lightweight multitool that does have a knife function, but consider other accessories you might need. A family once asked us for a can opener, which we didn’t have, but our multitool made a dent in opening their can. An awl can help with stitching together several layers of thick material with utility cord, in a pinch.

Duct tape, paracord, and waterproof or airproof patches may be a lifesaver in an emergency to make sure that you and your gear make it back to the trailhead safely.

Nutrition

A lot of people now have phones and fitness watches that will track their calories. Even if you don’t, I’d recommend going through a few calculators to estimate what your daily recommended calorie intake is, then calculate how many calories your would theoretically burn on your hike.

Once you know your daily burn, pack enough meals and snacks to cover each day with some extra. We always recommend bringing an extra day’s worth of food in case of an emergency.

While there are tons of options for backpacking meals at outdoor stores, you don’t always have to buy prepacked meals. There are a ton of recipes (some of which I hope to write about in the future) for preparing your own backpacking meals at home for cheaper, more sustainably, that all taste much better!

When out in the backcountry, be sure to check requirements for storing your food. Many places will require backpackers to bear proof their food, such as carrying a Bear Vault (or Bear Keg), or hanging food in a tree 10′ off the ground and 10′ from the trunk. This will keep food from bears and other critters as well.

Fire

Last, and definitely not least, you need a means for fire. Bringing a backpacking stove to boil water or cook meals is perfectly fine. You may need matches or flint to light your stove.

Again, in case of emergencies, you want to be able to make a fire. You may need to treat water or cook additional food, or stay warm. Your fuel may run out or you may end up in the backcountry longer than expected. Of course, fire can also keep you warm in dire situations where the weather turns extremely nasty.

With this ten essentials list, I hope you feel more confident and safer backpacking. Knowing you have everything you need can help your trail be more enjoyable! In future posts, I’ll try to write up more details about specific gear to bring, packing your pack, and other tips for backpacking. If you enjoyed this post, let me know with a comment below!