10 Things All Hikers Should Own

fire packets for hikersInsta-Fire Fire Starter Packets ($2 each)

You’ve seen Bear Grylls do it on TV like he’s tying a shoe, but building a fire without modern tools like a lighter or starter log can be a painstaking process for a novice. Along with packing a set of waterproof matches ($2 for a pack of 400), pick up a few bags of Insta-Fire. These packets of a patented mix of waxes and wood pellets will burn on wet ground or snow for up to an hour. But be careful, you may want to add fire resistant clothing to your must-bring items.


headlamp for hikersPetzl Tactikka Plus LED Headlamp ($35 @ Amazon.com)

When your day hike turns into a freezing night in the woods because someone — that would be you — went east instead of west, you’ll be happy you have a headlamp that frees up your hands and casts a wide area of visibility on the ground so you don’t trip over debris or crouched jungle cats. Holding a flashlight when you’re hiking gets old fast, and the lightweight Petzl Tactikka offers four long-lasting LEDs with three different brightness levels and an easy-to-slide red-tinted cover that’ll actually improve your vision in the dark.
gps garmin hikers

Garmin GPSMAP 60CSx ($266 @ Amazon.com)

No electronic device is guaranteed to work in the backcountry, so you should always have a map on hand. But maps are boring and can’t do cool stuff like track your speed, elevation gain in real time, or take barometric pressure readings to help you predict the weather, so you may also want to bring the Garmin GPSMAP. It has a color display and comes with a 64 MB microSD card for adding more maps to the ones already preloaded on the device. It’s waterproof and built to withstand the rigors of the wild, so if you drop it on a rock or in a stream, it won’t break like your iPhone.