Most useful item(s) in your pack

So we all know to bring along the ten essentials, but I’m wondering what is the most useful, and possibly overlooked, item in your pack? What has proven itself versatile to you in unexpected ways? I’m curious if there’s anything you bring along that has more uses, everyday or emergency, than we normally think of.

The other day we were nearby when a woman broke her ankle badly on the rocks in Acadia National Park. We got our first aid kit out of the car—a half mile or so down the trail—and helped splint and then carry her out most of the way with her husband and other passersby until a ranger took over.

Even though this was not a backcountry experience it got me thinking about what we carry (or should carry) in our packs that might come in handy unexpectedly—but won’t weigh us down any further. We were able to help her with items I had in my daypack and our car (first aid kit with ace bandage, tape, Advil, trekking poles for a crutch or splint, inflatable pillow as part of a splint, water and snacks, backpack to elevate her leg, etc…).

So, what do you carry in your pack that has proven useful—maybe in ways you didn’t imagine?

hammock

Bandannas—For washing, cleaning, drying, bandaging, splinting, and filtering or prefiltering water.

Pliers, such as on a Swiss Army knife or multitool—For repairing metal parts of backpacks and tents. Helps untie tight knots or pull anything tweezers can't budge.

Trekking Poles (obviously not "in" the pack)—Helps speed climbs and descents while wearing backpacks and lessens the strain on joints, reduces fatigue when hiking on flats, can be used to test the depth of mud in muddy stream crossings, can help find stepping stones buried just under the mud, helps keep balance when fording swift water, helps steady cameras for clearer photos, can be used as poles for tents and tarps. Can help hoist food when bear bagging.

Bear Resistant Food Containers—Protects your food not only from bears, but from marmots, squirrels, and almost any creature without opposable thumbs. Can be used to carry large amounts of water to camp, makes washing dishes 200 feet away from the stream a snap, makes a handy stool for sitting around the camp fire, and holds enough water to thoroughly douse the camp fire afterward. (Hint—Keep a stuff sack to hold your food when the bear resistant container is being used for other things. Buy bear resistant containers made of clear plastic, it lets in light, which helps you see what you are rummaging for.)

Dental tools, er, Swiss Army knife that has pliers. More than once when taking young Scouts on a backpack, I have been confronted by a case of broken retainers (orthodontal braces). In each case, the broken end was sharp enough to pose a serious danger. Extraction with fingers was running a risk of impaling myself, but the pliers on the Swiss Army knife (Deluxe Tinker model) worked just fine.

Rope. Good for all sorts of stuff from first aid (sling/splint) to shelter (support a tarp or replace a broken guy line) to transportion aid (lower/raise your pack over steep terrain) to pack repair and even as an emergency survival aid (help your buddy get back across the frozen river he fell into and got out on the other side!) to keeping your gear away from bears.

Rope. Don't leave home without it.

You can repair almost anything with a few cable-ties (those zippy things that won't come undone) and a bit of duct-tape. Don't leave home without 'em.

SAM splits can be very useful in a emergency. they work very well for sprained ankles. http://www.sammedical.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/SamSite.woa/wa/Products/Splint

One of the most useful items among many is the humble plastic bag of various sizes and design. Double and triple uses abound. Emergency poncho or bivy sack, water proof sock storage, liberation from the grocery store bulky box to the zip-lock, air tight pack it out of yucky stuff (and you know what I mean), survival tool for collecting water condensed from the air, and on and on. Close second: duck tape.

Mine aren't typically in my pack - they're in my pocket (unless my pack and I, for whaterver reason, are not together) .... but here ya go.

#1 - Duct tape - patch holes in rain-gear or tents, can be formed into a lot of different objects (bowl, splint, bandage, sling, rope), can hold your boot sole on, can (in conjunction with some sticks) mend a broken weld on a packframe, can hold mole-skin in place when you discover the glue is gone - I keep around 10' of it wrapped around my butane lighter.
#2 - My Boy Scout folding knife - I know it's heavier than it needs to be - but I've had it for 37 years -
#3 - a Zip-lock style bag (one quart size) - makes a wonderful emergency (or convenience!) canteen.
#4 - Compass
#5 - 20' of parachute cord (typically dangles from my belt)
#6 - straw with built in water filter - I've never had to use it - but knowing that I can get water from anywhere and drink it just makes me feel good. Knowing I won't get a case of trail-trots from a stream makes me feel even better!

The most important "things" I carry with me are a good attitude and decent amount of understanding how to operate in the woods with very little "material" goods ...

Water filter - I use a PUR hiker.
BIC lighter - I know its cheating so I often make myself start all fires from sparks.
Coleman Xtreme or XGK stove - in order of preference, cost to operate is reverse order.
7 inch dimeter pans - the larger surface area transfers much more heat than smaller vessels.

Foam rubber pillows from airplanes...

Why carry the ten essentials plus+ ? With a lot of practice you will need less and less. Maybe take 8 essentials and learn to cope without and alternate what you leave at home. Its lighter.
Jim S

Sit mat: small square of closed cell foam. Weighs next to nothing but takes all the difference when sitting around at night. Sleep on it if you're going ultralight, or put under your feet if you're using a 3/4 sleeping mat.

If off track through rugged country...going through clifflines: a scrambling rope (10m of 6mm accessory cord) to use as a handline or for pack hauling.

On extended trips a small repair kit: duct tape, cable ties, 1 small needle adn a small spool of thread, one large needle with a thimble and small spool of dental floss (great for serious repairs on packs). All weighs maybe 20-30grams. On short, non-remote trips, just duct tape.

dark chocolate.

Most useful items in my pack, whether in the backcountry or just huffing it around in Europe.

Well's there is the obvious I'd never enter the back country w/o my first-aid kit, sleeping bag, tent, etc. And I'd never backpack through a foriegn counry w/o a money belt and spare pad lock.

But here's a few light weight items that I'd never leave home without...

#1 GARLIC POWDER
When that dehydrated food you bought just sucks, or a quick way to make friends in a hostel (the smell of plain pasta w/ just a touch of garlic powder instantly atracts others to you, in A good way)

#2 SPARE CLIPS FOR PACK
My first big backcountry trip, my waist belt clip broke on day one! Now I never leave without a spare.

#3 CANDLE LANTERN
http://www.rei.com/product/4496.htm
Great for a little ambient light with dinner, warming your hands on a cold night where camp-fires aren't allowed, and best of all it will safely warm up your tent at night.

Well I hope this gives others ideas.

Dental floss and a poncho.

A SPONGE! Don't laugh. I have used mine many times to retrieve water from a river or stream that would be too dangerous to get to. I purchased one at Target that had a mesh cover around it and then put a grommet in one corner of the mesh. I can attach a rope or cord to the sponge and retrieve water to filter very easily. I also carry about ten feet of clear tubing. I have gotten mine from an oxygen supple company. It makes a great "straw". I have used this many times with a rock taped to one end (to keep it in the water source), when I couldn't get to a stream safely.

I came to a new appreciation of my hiking poles on my last trip this past weekend. I forgot them, left them leaning against my front door when my hiking buddy and I took off for the Smoky Mounains. Trying to climb mountains and ford creeks without them is difficult after you've become used to having them there and the extra balance they offer. I had to make do with two sticks, which promptly became called my "ghetto poles". I also was reacquainted with the usefulness of duct tape, as I made some makeshift handles for my ghetto poles, as I was getting some crazy blisters. Bottom line is, they may not be the most useful items, but I have realized that hiking poles and duct tape are, for me, some of the more underappreciated items in my pack.

A headlamp! In New Mexico I hiked a lot at dark for the cool temps and now in interior Alaska, I have to use one (well, several) most of the time. Entire ice climbs or xc ski sessions are conducted under the blinding light of the Petzl Myobelt XP.

Other than that, I'd say Emerson Commander knife.

I’ve enjoyed reading each post on this thread and learning what others find useful that you wouldn’t find on the usual packing lists. Rope or cord and duct tape are big winners (I’ve had some duct tape wrapped around a Nalgene for years—not sure how well that would work when actually needed). I also liked the suggestions for cable ties since they’re small and lightweight.

Thanks for all of the suggestions so far. Keep them coming!

Good suggestions and ideas...but one item that absolutely saved two different backpack trips I took is stuff called "tegaderm". It is a burn type dressing that is a semi-permiable dressing that works really well over a blister then the hiker can do additional blister care over the top.

It saved a 60 trip on Mt. Ranier this summer for me, and it also was a trip-saver on a high school group trip I led. It's kind of expensive, but it's terrific stuff!

It can be cut down to size, so a person can use it fairly spare way; it has become a MUST in the first aid kit.