Jeanne Gerrae

When you’re in the middle of serious, sustained exercise, waterbottles can be a bit of a hassle. With a hydration pack, you won’t need to stop to get a drink, or completely take off your backpack or bike bag—just grab the mouthpiece and keep going. Hydration packs can be an advantage in the backcountry, too, allowing you to carry in more water on long trips without piling water bottle after water bottle into your pack or refilling at every creek. This is especially valuable on desert trips or late-season alpine trips, when water sources are scarce and you need to carry in everything you need for hydration and cooking.

With endless ways to tie them on—neck scarf, full-face cover, improvised hat, shield over your mouth and nose, shade for your eyes—just one shemagh covers the function of at least three pieces of standard gear.

Whether it’s for a quick dip next to camp or a longer excursion, good goggles are key for lakeside and oceanfront trips. Clear, durable lenses give you a window to a whole new world.

When you need to heal dry skin or protect healing scrapes, reach for one of these white petroleum jellys. They’re perfect for moisturizing extremely dry skin and easy to throw into your backpack.

When it comes to first aid kits, well-stocked and over-prepared is the only way to go. If things go bad while you’re in the wilderness, you’ll want to have the best blood clot gauze available on hand and ready to go.

With a ready-made survival kit perfect for stashing in your house, car, or—with the lighter kits—backpack, you can be ready for just about anything. Get ready to make an emergency bivy, signal for help, and perform basic first aid with one of these survival bags.