When researching for a camping or backpacking trip, you may have come across The Ten Essentials. These are a series of items that together offer a complete safety net for outdoor adventures. In this post, we’ll take a look at what The Ten Essentials are, why they’re important, and how you can use them to stay safe in the backcountry. But first, a bit of history! The system was first pioneered in Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills , a book published by The Mountaineers in 1974.