In Northern NV here, so my gear is slightly tuned to high-desert, and seasonally tuned to temps anywhere from -15F to 100F+.
What I always have physically on me:
- Small tin of Dermatone sun screen
- Hat, sunglasses, spare prescription glasses. In winter a wool beanie is added.
- Thick, heavy-grade contractor trashbag (multi-use, as emergency sunshade/rain gear/ground cover/pack cover, etc).
- Hydration gear (plenty of water in camelbak, plus purifying tabs, electrolyte powders, and other small emergency items in a hard-side nalgene bottle as backup water container)
- Small compass
- At least two methods of fire-starting, plus small starter bundle (dryer lint in egg-carton cups saturated with melted wax). In winter I'll add in one short road-flare.
- Two small Streamlight MicroStream flashlights (pocket clips double as hat clips) when out scouting, bird hunting, predators, etc, but if big game hunting or guaranteed night movement I'll add a proper headlamp to what's on me.
- Leather work gloves (these prevent more injuries than you'd suspect, plus allowing for more work in things like gathering firewood, moving through brush, holding a cold rifle, etc). Will add metal mesh butcher's gloves if big-game hunting.
- Spare socks (good wool-blend) and a small container of foot-powder
- Small IFAK, with various levels of cut and bleed stuff (big fan of Tagaderm pads), TQ, 2x chest seals, tweezers, space blanket, small tube of field meds (immodium AD, Benadryl, pain relievers), small bottle of iodine, small tube of neosporin, small patch of moleskin, small bottle of NuSkin (awesome stuff), single-use tube of superglue, 1 sharpie marker, 2 hemostats. Sterile single-use suture kits included in this, more for material repair and as generally useful around camp, but kept in the IFAK.
- Energy dense packaged food (granola/protein bars, etc) enough to fuel an extra day's hike.
- EDC folder
- Leatherman
- All weather writing pad, plus pencil
- Seasonally appropriate layering as needed.
- Reflective trail-marking ribbon
Outside of the layering and the weight of the water, all of this is pretty condensed and is only about 3-5lbs, depending on what it's tuned for, with the IFAK making up the bulk of the weight.
All of this is distributed based on how vital it is - EDC folder, lights, 1 lighter, dermatone, etc kept in bino harness or in pants, nalgene kit and layering in backpack, etc.
Extra personal emergency gear is kept in the truck (truck gear would be a good separate subject), but includes at least 2 extra gallons of drinking water, a more substantial medical kit that includes instant-cold packs and handwarmers; blankets, Carhartt jacket, small solar panel for trickle-charging truck battery and personal gear, and a power-pack for charging cell phones. Additional water and gear if I've got a dog.
After following these threads about the Colorado incident, I'll be adding an InReach. Its utility for family and others, with it's ability to track your movements and ping them, was pretty eye-opening.
