Building Your Off-Road Emergency Kit

Day Trip Emergency Kit

Spring is around the corner, and it’s time to hit the trails with your ATV, UTV, Jeep, SxS or spaceship!! As you prepare for peak riding season, make sure your emergency kit is ready to go. Here are our best emergency kit tips: 

1. GlueTread Kit: Obviously! Leave the spare tire behind and grab a GlueTread kit. Refresh yourself on how to apply the sidewall patch with  this video. 
2. Inflation Plan: After you fix your tire, you'll want a few of our CO2 cartridges, a hand pump or an air compressor to reinflate your tire. 
3. First Aid Kit: Injury can happen when you’re riding! We suggest a hefty first aid kit with Advil, a large bandage, antibiotic ointment and gloves at a minimum.   
4. Tow Straps: Sometimes, us off-roaders tend to get a little ambitious. If you have a habit of getting stuck in deep mud puddles or gnarly rutts, you’ll want these to pull you out of a pickle. 
5. Compass and Trail Map: If your phone dies or you’re turned around, you’ll be glad that you have an offline navigation system ready to go. We love the downloadable off road maps from OnX Off Road. 
6. Phone Battery Pack: If you’ll have service while you ride, which can be rare, it’s good to have an extra battery backup. It’s likely that while you’re videoing your buddy’s sweet trick, your phone will die extra fast. A backup is always good! 
7. Car Jump Starter: Your independence level will rise at least two notches if you can jump your own battery.
8. Reflector: If you’re caught on a busy trail, a reflector is great for notifying the upcoming riding that there’s something unusual around the bend. 
9. Shelf Stable Food: Things like granola bars, trail mix, or dried fruit are calorie dense and don’t require any prep work. A snickers wouldn’t hurt either… 
10. Beef Jerky: This deserved its own category and we promise it’ll knock hanger to the curb in record time. 
11. Extra Water: If you’re stranded on the trail for a few more hours than expected, you’ll be grateful for some extra water. We recommend bringing at least two more extra liters than you think you’ll need and using sturdy reusable water bottles. 

Overnight Emergency Kit

If you’re going on a long ride that might accidentally turn into an overnight, consider these extra items:

1. Rain Jacket and Warm Clothes: If you’re spending an unexpected night outside, you’ll be glad you have an extra layer or two. 
2. Sleeping System: Rather you choose to bring a tent, or a sleeping bag or even just a tarp, anything will help! 
3. Water Filtration System: Doing a little bit of research before your trip will help you learn if there are water sources close to where you’re riding! We recommend the BeFree Water Filter that is affordable and can filter a liter in record time. 
4. More Food: A dehydrated meal and mini stove is a great shelf stable option. Gastro Gnome is our favorite option and a Bozeman based company. 
5. Lighter: Dave, our founder recommends always having two ways to start a fire with you at all times. We’ll let you decide if you trust the Bic Lighter enough to just bring one.
6. Garmin InReach: These are devices that communicate using satellite reception so you can send and receive messages, check trail maps and call for help in an emergency no matter where you are. 

If you think we missed anything, please comment below! Safe riding this spring!