The concept of the 10 essentials — that list of items you absolutely positively should not leave home without when entering the backcountry — dates back to the 1930s, when a group called the Seattle Mountaineers compiled the first known list.
Since then, as technology has improved, it has undergone some changes. But the concept remains the same: having these items in your possession greatly increases the chances of you surviving a few unexpected nights in the wild.
In this story from the September-October 2019 issue of Scouting magazine, we approached the 10 essentials more as a list of categories instead of a list of items (for example, think “navigation” instead of “map and compass”). Let us know what you think!