Five Must Have Accessories For Surviving Outdoors

A successful outdoors trip is 10% doing and 90% planning and no I’m not talking about your usual walk in the park or a ten minute bike ride in the local forest, but a real outdoors trip, where forgetting your essentials might just mean the difference between life and death. It’s not always that serious, but being ready for any situation should be on the top of your priorities list.

As an outdoorsman I’ve spent many hours adjusting my “essentials” kit as new tools become available and old ones become obsolete, but the five I’ve listed below are the five I always keep with me and can’t see myself replacing anytime soon.

Survival Knife                                                                        

The difference between a normal knife and survival knife can mean the difference between you eating, having shelter to sleep under and being able to make a fire.  They’re built tougher and sharper than normal knives, you can use them to skin animals, build traps and cut wood for fire or shelter. They normally come with a fixed blade and a flat back for pounding with your hand or rock, but fold-ins, curved blades and lighter blades are also available.

Shoes

This might not be on the top of everyone’s outdoor must-haves list, but after many years of outdoors activities I’ve realised that a good pair of tough comfortable shoes can mean the difference between happy healthy feet and weeks of dilapidating pain which can sour any successful outdoors trip and be very dangerous in cases of survival. I’m a big fan of the Karrimor eVent and Scarpa range of outdoor boots.

Water Filter

You might be lucky enough that your tough outdoor shoes lead you to a water source but if you don’t have a fire going to boil it in the dangers of drinking it unpurified can out way the benefits of not drinking it at all. Unpurified water can contain all kinds of dangerous viruses, chemical pollutants and bacteria such as Giardia and Cholera, which lead to diarrhea and dehydration. Having a small portable water purification device will make it possible for you to purify almost all waters before you drink it.

Compass

For most people a GPS is a must-have when entering any unknown areas. I also carry a GPS with me, but if I have to choose between an electric (read limited batter life) GPS and an old-school (read always works) compass I’d always pick the compass. Using a compass effectively means you need to learn how to use it first and then study your new geographical area before entering it, but as soon as you have that down the only thing that can keep you lost is a massive electrical storm.

Phone (Communications)

Mobile and satellite phones weren’t the order of the day when I first started heading outdoors, we would set a leaving time and a return time which we always stuck to religiously. If we didn’t return the search party was notified and they’d come looking for us. If we happened to get lost and/or hurt days before our return time we were on our own as there was no way to let anyone it’s time to come and get us. Fortunately for you and me of course, we have all kind of wireless communication devices available to us now. As a rule I never go out alone without at least two different communication devices, ruling out battery life and connectivity issues.

Now that you have the essentials down you can start thinking about the extras to make your trip just a bit more comfortable. There’s nothing wrong with taking your whole music library on your smart phone accompanied by a pair of Bluetooth speakers or that new George RR Martin book and your favourite bottle of Scotch. As long your comforts don’t take the place of any of your essentials and the experience of your outdoors trip, then there’s no reason not to take it.

Matt is a fanatical outdoorsman and audiophile who chronicles his journey in both worlds through articles and pictures.