READERS COMMENTS

I thought this was great. I particularly liked the duct tape around the pen - maybe I haven't been looking but that was new to me. Have carried a small roll on longer trips, but never thought of that. Thanks.
Posted: Mar 04, 2010 Doug Fitzgerald

I see Roman Polanski's been 'round to evaluate the vid ;)
Posted: Mar 04, 2010 Pete

Good video, helpful. but I sorta agree with philip. possibly use this as an intro video, take it a step further and offer part two and three which include demonstration of using the "just in case" items correctly...in real use cases and tips. I may always be lucky and never need everything in your pack...but I also assume I spend 1/10th of the time in the backcountry as magazine editors/writers do for backpacker.

Posted: Mar 02, 2010 mray

YOU FORGOT PEPPER GAS AND/OR A GUN (I LIKE THE NORTH AMERICAN ARMS 5 SHOT MINI REVOLVER IN .22 WMR)!
Posted: Mar 02, 2010 John Longo

Excellent - nice and simple. I didn't need you to unwrap the "emergency bivvy sack" and crawl into it and I certainly don't need to see the balaclava on any ones head. If you can't visualize that then stay indoors.
Posted: Mar 02, 2010 Jon

Good to see you touched on one of the most basic things about packing for a day hike - never assume it will only be a day hike.

But every list of "essentials" for a hike in the wilderness, whether for a day or a week, should start with the most important essential - the information about your planned route and expected return time left with a responsible friend or relative.

Skipping that and starting with a gear list just makes the presenter look like a store salesperson instead of an expert. I sounds like "here's what you need to buy to survive and unexpected stay in the woods" instead of sounding like "here's what you need to do to reduce the risk of not surviving an unexpected stay in the woods."
Posted: Mar 02, 2010 nogods

Good video...covers the basics! 2 thumbs up here also!
Posted: Mar 02, 2010 beanman

Wow! That was surprisingly useful, thanks!
Posted: Mar 02, 2010 Travis

is this a joke? oh yeah, this is backpacker magazine, they wanna sell you the most expensive, usually unnecessary stuff
Posted: Feb 19, 2010 stump

Very interesting variation on basic packing. Your explanations and video shots of the particular items you selected are helpful. Thank you!
Posted: Jan 13, 2010 Tom

Video is an incredibly inefficient way to convey this information. So make use of the medium! Show us stuff that we can't read about. Unwrap the "emergency bivvy sack" and let us see it. Show us the balaclava on somebody. Work the visuals. Try using a jump cut, for pete's sake. Do *something* to justify the incredible pokiness of this lecture -- well intentioned and tedious. yah, everybody's a critic.
Posted: Jan 10, 2010 philip walsh

Gee.. That's great!! Thanks for that info...
Godspeed!!!
Posted: Nov 25, 2009 Lenin:hardcore_lenin@yahoo.com

I found this link from an article that talks about rescue and laments that people don't carry the 10 essential items. I was disappointed to see this was a video rather than a list. While good info, I written list that I could print and use as a packing checklist would be much better. Trying to write down all the items from the video left me with a couple confused disjointed lists. All stuff is a good idea, but I'm not clear what the 10 essential items referred to in the article I was reading are. The list of stuff near the end of the article gives me 11.
Posted: Nov 17, 2009 Lynn

I have been subscribing to backpacker for over ten years, and never throw any issue away. The information in every issue is priceless to me, and now that i've been using the web site more, and down loading maps they offer everything i need for my outdoor enthusiasm, thanks backpacker
Posted: Nov 12, 2009 Tick magnet

Thank you for taking the time and allowing the info for the general public. I buy back packer every month and have gained some valuable tips.
Posted: Oct 28, 2009 whynot1911

very nice vid! keeps it simple, yet gets the point across. 2 thumbs up
Posted: Oct 25, 2009 bumkneehiker

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