Go-Anywhere Gear: The 11 Best Adventure EDC Essentials

Heading out into the wilderness is always a great way to recharge and reconnect with the world around you. However, having the right gear can significantly make or break your adventure, whether you’re traversing rugged trails, exploring hidden beaches, or climbing to the highest peak. To help you figure out what to add to your loadout, we’ve rounded up and tested some of the best adventure EDC essentials to keep you prepared for anything.

How We Tested

An adventure-themed EDC essentials guide is a wide-casting net but for our purposes, we went with our favorite items in the everyday carry world, including actual utilitarian gear and items that help with storing it. To compile our shortlist for this guide, we referred to our years of experience in the EDC space, whether we had specific items in mind for each category or needed to put several products head-to-head to see which was best.

From there, we sourced our units for testing and got hands-on with products from each category below. We ultimately settled on the best of the best according to specific criteria for each product type. However, our core principles had to be present: blending form with function. The results are detailed below.

What to Look For

Durability: Anything made for the outdoors should be durable enough to survive almost every drop, scuff, and collision. As such, you should look for materials such as steel and titanium for metal objects, or nylon and polyester for fabrics.

Utility: If it’s taking up real estate in your pocket or bag, it should have a justified function in your loadout. Likewise, make sure you know how to use each piece you bring along with you prior to heading out on your adventure so you’re not having to learn on the fly.

Aesthetic: It’s not the primary factor when selecting gear, but a given piece’s aesthetic appeal can make or break whether or not it’s selected. This will be up to personal preference and might hinge on what else you have in your pockets (i.e., you may or may not care about matching up your gear).

Weight: Of course, anything you carry around on your person when trekking far and wide should be light enough that it won’t weigh you down. For fabric, lean on nylon or polyester. For metal, titanium and aluminum will be your best bets.

GoPro Hero

Best Camera: Synonymous with the go-anywhere adventure camera, GoPro has a new companion designed to capture your most epic moments in stunning clarity. Featuring its newest 4K video recording and 12MP photo capability, the HERO is perfect whether you’re exploring underwater or climbing the highest mountain peaks. The HyperSmooth stabilization acts like a sort of gimble to preclude any shaky footage you may have been left with, allowing you to mount this on your mountain bike or climbing helmet. And with the camera’s software, we were able to completely stabilize our video in the GoPro player app, leaving us with clean footage. Incredibly small that it can fit in your pocket, the HERO also weighs a staggering 3oz!

Aside from being our action camera of choice, the HERO also goes with over 35 of the brand’s accessories, like the aforementioned helmet mount. We loved how easy it was to attach these add-ons to the camera with the help of its mounting finger attachment points that fold down from the device. Water-resistant down to 5m, the camera is also great for swimming, kayaking, and any other aqueous activities. Likewise, the lens is made from hydrophobic cover glass that allowed for crystal-clear footage and can be replaced if it ever gets damaged.

Maratac Flame Vault Match Batch 2

Best Fire Starter: When surviving in the outdoors, a reliable fire starter is one of the first essentials you should look for. We opted for the Maratac Flame Vault Match, a lighter constructed from a single piece of titanium, plus the striker’s cap as well. Titanium is an awesome metal option for its inherently lightweight makeup and its high corrosion resistance. And thanks to recent technological developments, it’s not as difficult or expensive to manufacture. The brand also utilizes the material well, with a cool diamond-like design on the exterior that gives off an heirloom-like quality.

Resembling an old-school matchbook, the compact 2″ x 1.1″ x 0.5″ unit weighs just 1.35oz and works like a ferro rod, but with a twist. It houses a fuel reserve inside a small compartment. You then twist the titanium cap, which gives you your “match-like” scraper. You then use the scraper against the striking strip on the side to get your flame on. It uses regular lighter fluid, making it easy to fill it back up. Overall, the oversized match head is capable of up to 12,000 total strikes and is designed for use while wearing gloves.

Leatherman Signal

Best Multi-Tool: When it comes to multi-tools, no brand is as impressive as Leatherman. For a rugged, compact unit built for whatever you’ll throw at it, check out the Signal. Combining 19 practical tools into a 4.5-inch frame weighing just 7.5oz, the multi-tool is highly portable and versatile, with a tool for nearly any task. Separating this from the competition is a ferro rod, an emergency whistle, and a built-in hammer to aid you with anchoring tent stakes or chopping firewood (with the help of a knife or axe).

On top of those, you also get a 420HC stainless steel blade, a saw, two types of pliers, a wire cutter, a wire saw, an awl, a can opener, a bottle opener, some drivers and box wrenches, and even a diamond blade sharpener. The 2.73-inch blade features both straight and serrated edges for extra versatility. Meanwhile, the built-in carabiner lets you strap this onto any belt loop or bag webbing. While we’re partial to the green above, the multi-tool also comes in 10 different color finishes. Not to mention, Leatherman backs all of their products with a 25-year warranty.

MyMedic Hiker Medic Medpack

Best First Aid Kit: If you only pack one thing on your next camping trip (aside from perhaps food and water), it should be a first aid kit. And few prepare you for the outdoors, and in an intuitive way, better than MyMedic. Assembled with the help of experts to aid you on your most low-maintenance missions, the brand’s Hiker Medic Medpack is both HSA- and FSA-approved and contains over 30 crucial components to address common hiking-related injuries like cuts, blisters, bug bites, burns, hypothermia, and even dehydration. There are plenty of bandages, a paracord, and a whistle inside as well, along with other items for the outdoors.

Weighing just 9.6oz, the bag might not have everything you’ll ever need, but it certainly covers a lot of ground, and in a compact way. Our favorite part of the pack is the way it’s organized, with color-coded compartments for different situations (e.g., blue for hydration). On the outside is a list of contents for quick reference as well. The pack can serve as a standalone kit or as a supplement to a larger medical setup if you want that as well. For instance, if you’re on a longer camping trip but want to go for a quick day hike, just take the Hiker Medic pack instead.

Peak Design Outdoor Sling 7L

Best Carrying Pouch: Many people forget that a crucial member of your EDC loadout is a pack to carry your items in. For this, we like the Peak Design Outdoor Sling, which comes in either 2L or 7L capacities (we tested the 7L option). Made of Ultralight Terra Shell 210D ripstop, the bag is more than just protective of your gear but can keep out rain, dust, and other elements. There’s a spacious front pocket that’s perfect for your wallet or maybe some snacks, with a key tether on an elastic cord. Meanwhile, the main compartment with plenty of compartments and dividers for organization. The bag’s rear features a magnetically sealed pocket perfect for a phone. However, it should be noted that a larger phone will only fit in sideways.

Sporting a clean aesthetic with minimal branding, the sling boasts watertight zippers for those rainy days on the trail. At the bottom is a Cord Hook attachment system with gear loops to easily attach any extra gear like a small tripod. But you can also use these straps to compress the bag to minimize space. We loved the included stabilizer strap, which can be used in tandem with these attachment points to aid with carrying heavier loads. The glass-reinforced nylon clips that attach the strap to the bag are a little difficult to remove but at least ensure your sting stays secure.

Boker Hermod Folder

Best Knife: Böker reimagines the legendary Hermod with this robust folding knife, designed by Midgards Messer’s Dirk Hofmeister with practicality and durability in mind. Crafted from ball-bearing D2 steel with a stonewash finish, the blade boasts excellent edge retention and wear resistance. It features a versatile drop-point blade stretching 3.62″ with a beefy 0.19-inch thickness for a solid balance between compactness and cutting power. As such, this knife can perform a wide range of tasks on your next outdoor adventure.

Despite being large at 8.47oz, the knife fits nicely in our hands thanks to the ergonomic handle with finger cutouts. It might not be your go-to for daily carry but it performs well with outdoor tasks and is highly durable. The compact design makes it favorable over fixed blades for chopping firewood, while the CNC-milled G10 handle is lightweight, durable, and provides a secure grip in wet conditions too. Ensuring a classic, reliable deployment, the nail-nick opening is backed by a liner lock mechanism. The lanyard loop in the back doubles as a glass breaker, which is a nice bonus. Plus, it comes with a simple sheath with a cotter pin-style safety mechanism to keep it secure in transit.

Pelican 1030 Micro Case

Best Gear Case: Keeping your gear dry is one thing but keeping them safe is another. Pelican’s gear cases are the things of legend, and their 1030 Microcase is one of our favorites. Its polycarbonate shell makes it virtually indestructible, boasting crush-proof, dust-proof, and waterproof (up to 1m for 30 minutes) survival. Safeguarding items such as keys, spare batteries, memory cards, and even pocket knives and smartphones if you wish, the 1030 is equipped with a carabiner on the side to clip to your bag of choice and the clear cover allows you to check on your gear inside.

Admittedly, with an interior dimension of 6.37″ x 2.62″ x 2.06″, the 1030 is rather small and you might have trouble really squeezing everything you want inside. And depending on the size of your phone, you may want to consider the 1040 model instead. Either way, you can’t go wrong with Pelican’s lightweight gear cases.

Glow Rhino Waypoint Compass Keychain

Best Compass: It might be tempting to rely on our smartphones for wayfinding but there’s really no beating an old-school compass, especially since it doesn’t rely on a battery or signal to get by. Glow Rhino’s Waypoint Compass is our favorite for EDC use outdoors, measuring less than an inch in diameter and weighing just 0.2oz. Rugged yet lightweight, this directional tool is housed in machined aluminum and includes a keyring for attaching to your belt, lanyard, or keys.

Inside the device, the free-floating needle sits in a proprietary anti-bubble and fog-free liquid. The readout is easy to see thanks to its high-legibility design and tritium lume for low-light situations. Tritium is a self-illuminating gas that doesn’t need to be charged up to function and can last for years, although it’s not quite as bright as lume coating. So as long as the bright strip is pointing in front of you, you can figure out where you’re going by comparing it against the lume tip of the North side of the arrow. We’ve used other lumed compasses before but the one in Glow Rhino is actually beneficial; the brand doesn’t overdo it but still uses it in the right places.

GRAYL 24oz GeoPress Ti Purifier

Best Water Bottle: You will be more than inclined to bring along your $35 water bottle on your outdoor adventures but what happens when that liquid runs out? Many expeditions are near some kind of water source but we wouldn’t recommend drinking without some kind of filtration device. That’s where a purifying water bottle comes in. It might cost a bit more but we love the top-shelf Grayl GeoPress Ti for its unique filtration system, its uber-sleek styling, and its lightweight design. We got hands-on with the version that comes with a cooking lid and collapsible handles, but a version without these is also available for $50 less.

Again, the titanium construction speaks for itself in terms of cutting weight and bolstering durability –– although this thing is still surprisingly heavier than we expected. But when it comes to the functionality of the bottle, you can see why we’d pay a bit extra for it. Aside from being the coolest vessel on the trail, it’s also incredibly useful. The leakproof lid, while a bit tricky to undo at times, is helpful when tossing this into your bag. And as for the filtration, it eliminates 99.9% of viruses including norovirus and hepatitis, 99.9999% of bacteria like E. Coli and salmonella, and 99.9% of protozoan cysts, doing so through by pressing the 24-ounce bottle on the ground for just 10 seconds to activate its ceramic fibers and carbon filtration.

Arc’teryx Beta Rain Jacket

Best Jacket: Finding the right EDC jacket for the outdoors can be tricky. For one, you want it to be durable and waterproof. But also, you’ll need it to house all of the extra gear and tools you choose to bring along with you. For our money, we love Arc’teryx’s Beta line of rain jackets, with its triple-layer 80D GORE-TEX ePE with soft C-KNIT tech and recycled nylon plain weave shell designed to keep out moisture, supplemented with a DWR coating as well.

Not as rugged (or pricey) as the Beta AR, the Beta (formerly Beta LT) is lighter in weight while still being surprisingly durable. Plus, this coat is highly comfortable for a long day’s journey and looks really solid with Arc’teryx’s signature branding and styling in tow. In terms of pockets, we have the two on the outside, but placed higher up so you can still access them with your backpack on. There’s also an internal laminated zip pocket that can keep your phone or wallet dry if it really gets wet outside thanks to the WaterTight Vision zipper down the front of the jacket. The Beta also comes with a hood featuring effective drawstrings that actually allows it to stay tight on your head.

Garmin Enduro 3

Best GPS Watch: Garmin is simply unparalleled when it comes to its array of multisport smartwatches. The brand’s products range in price from a couple of hundred bucks to over a thousand, delineating between different activities and lifestyle types. Towards the top end is the Enduro line, made for active people doing active things. It’s far more capable than the low-end Instinct line but not as overkill as the tactix or fenix models. You still get a lightweight titanium bezel (coated in stealthy black here), 100m of water resistance, GPS maps, and solar charging. The battery lasts anywhere from 120 hours to 92 days, depending how you’re using it.

We love how, unlike other smartwatches, the Enduro 3 has both touchscreen and hardware button capabilities to help you navigate and scroll in a way that works for you. For trail runners, you get specialized features and enhanced map navigation. It also includes dynamic round-trip routing that suggests the perfect route for the distance you want to cover, along with preloaded TopoActive maps and maps specific to golfing and skiing. If that’s not enough, you still get your training-specific features that help you with planning a strength regimen. Lastly, we loved how soft the nylon strap felt against our wrist, which helped with longer spurts of wearing the watch.

Tested: The Toughest Watches for Rugged Adventures

If rugged watches is what you’re after, then check out our guide to the toughest timepieces for the outdoors.