Getting your blood pumping while hiking, camping, and engaging in outdoor activities in remote locations can be thrilling, life-changing, and, depending on the environment, not for the faint of heart. It can also be dangerous if you're traveling on unfamiliar paths. In order to successfully and safely complete an off-the-grid retreat, key safety precautions and equipment need to be in place.
“For backcountry trips, I take a survival kit with me that includes fire-starting supplies, food, water, cooking equipment, a flashlight, and a radio, as well as a satellite tracker and messaging device,” says Mark Fleenor, helicopter pilot, backpacking enthusiast, and owner of Sheep Mountain Lodge in Glacier View, Alaska. “For winter trips, we take sleeping bags and extra fire-starting equipment.”
Fleenor says the biggest consideration for backcountry trips—and really any outdoor adventure where you may find yourself off the grid, be it hiking in Appalachia, testing out van life in Sedona, or pitching a tent on a secluded beach in Hawaii—is checking the weather and making sure you have enough supplies for an extended stay, should things go awry.
If you’re setting out on your first backcountry trip or just want to beef up your outdoor emergency gear tool kit for summertime excursions, Fleenor suggests you add at least one of these seven essentials to your packing list, from a satellite messenger and sleeping bag to a headlamp with an impressively long battery life.
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Garmin inReach Mini Satellite Messenger
Going off the grid can sound daunting, but less so when you have a satellite messenger to send up SOS alerts anytime, no matter where you are on the globe. With Garmin’s inReach Mini, you have a lightweight and compact communicator that lets family, friends, and colleagues know you are okay, or if the unexpected should happen, sends your GPS location to emergency contacts with the press of a button. Plus, if you are summiting mountains or winter camping, you can use the inReach’s weather update feature to prepare for rain or snow.
Vivint Car Guard
Those beautiful mountain ranges and awe-inspiring landscapes can become so captivating that while hiking or camping, you may lose your way back to your car or base camp. With Vivint Car Guard, your vehicle is not only protected from potential break-ins, disturbances, or maintenance issues, it also allows you to track the location of your car from your phone, no Wi-Fi needed. Service costs $5 per month, and it syncs with Vivint home systems for added security.
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REI Co-op 2-Person 3-Day Emergency Kit
For backcountry and off-the-grid experiences, consider investing in REI's all-in-one outdoor emergency gear kit, which is outfitted with most of the survival ration items two people could need for three days. Included in the yellow and black pack (which can be inserted into a larger hiking bag) are two 2,400-calorie food packages, twenty-four 4.2 ounce water packets, a tube tent, waterproof ponchos, rescue blankets, hand warmers, and light sticks. Additionally, you'll find sanitary items, a first-aid kit, whistle, and a five-yard-long roll of one-inch tape.
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Mountain Hardwear Bishop Pass Sleeping Bag
The packing list for that backpacking or camping trip you have planned should include a hardy and warm sleeping bag for cool nights in your tent. The Mountain Hardwear Bishop Pass sleeping bag is comprised of a cozy 80 percent down and 20 percent feather mixture with 650-fill power. If being wrapped in a cocoon sounds like your idea of a comfortable sleep, you’ll be happy to know the brand’s Performance Mummy fit is designed to stay close to your body with a soft lining material on the interior.
Zippo Mag Strike Fire Starter
That lifesaving element humans discovered thousands of years ago is important for staying warm and cooking when hiking and camping, and even more so if you find yourself lost. The Zippo Mag Strike Fire Starter features a stainless-steel constructed striker blade with a magnesium rod that allows for an optimal spark. The molded lanyard holes make it convenient for strapping onto your hiking backpack so you don’t lose it.
Biolite Headlamp 200
If you’re looking for a great fitting headlamp to help guide your way through the bush and trails when the sun sets, consider Biolite’s adjustable HeadLamp 200. Its versatile lighting mode features means you can switch between white and dim, red and dim, white strobe, and red strobe lights. If you have a multi-day adventure planned, this unit will run for around 40 hours when on its lowest setting. Also, at less than two ounces, it's hard to find a reason not to add it to your pack.
Duluth Daily Carry Multi Tool
There are 14 ways you can use this multi-function tool on an outdoor adventure. Its many stainless steel attachments include spring-loaded needle-nose pliers, traditional pliers, hardened steel wire cutters, a wire stripper, saw, awl, can opener, bottle opener, and wood-metal file. Depending on your itinerary, you can also release the Phillips screwdriver, large and small flat-head screwdrivers, as well as the knife and fish hook remover to complete fishing, camping, or outdoor grilling tasks or to get out of hairy situations on the trails.