The Ten Essentials are survival items that hiking and Scouting organizations recommend for safe travel in the backcountry.[1][2]
The Ten Essentials first appeared in print in the third edition of Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills (January 1974).[3] Many regional organizations and authors recommend that hikers, backpackers, and climbers rigorously ensure they have the ten essentials with them. However, personal preferences and differences in conditions may dictate otherwise and with experience most adventurers add and subtract from the list depending on the situation.[1] Some ultralight backpackers do not always carry all of the items and believe it is an acceptable risk they take in order to travel light and fast.[4]
Fire: the means to both start and sustain a fire; either a butane lighterormatches, or other fire making device. Firestarters for igniting even wet wood, and in areas where no firewood will be available, a stove is highly advisable.
Other outdoor organizations have variations of the Ten Essentials pertinent to local conditions.
Boy Scouts of America's "Scout Basic Essentials" are quite similar (Map and Compass, Sun Protection, Extra Clothing, Flashlight, First-Aid Kit, Matches and Fire-starters, Pocketknife, Trail Food, Water Bottle, and Rain Gear.)[6]
Utah's Wasatch Mountain Club lists extra water in place of food, as Utah is mostly desert terrain, and water is more difficult to find.[7]
The Spokane Mountaineers list "thirteen essentials", which supplement the list with emergency shelter such as a space blanket, signaling device, and toilet paper and trowel (for sanitary disposal of human waste; the toilet paper also doubles as tinder for starting a fire).[8]
The "Ten Essential Groups" is an alternative approach to essential gear selection.[9] Items from each group should be chosen depending on the season, geographic location, and trip duration. In 2011, Columbia Sportswear adopted the "Ten Essential Groups" concept for their iOS app "Take Ten to the Greater Outdoors".[10]
Central Arizona Mountain Rescue Association promotes the 12 Essentials, which includes Signaling Devices and Personal Items.[11]
