A bit of preparation can turn an unfortunate or potentially deadly incident into simply an inconvenient night out. For Matthew Matheny, preparation could have turned 6 grueling nights into 1 night.

A survival kit and some smart skills are your keys to staying safe when the unexpected hits. But while you might have the skills, most of the survival gear on the market may actually be working against you.

Whether you are a hardcore outdoors person, a weekend warrior, or just someone who loves to get out when they can, carrying survival gear that you can trust (when combined with your survival skills) to get you out of a potentially life-threatening incident is the single most important thing to consider when choosing backcountry camping gear. This is all assuming you are someone that puts safety as a priority. There is nothing more important than having the confidence and right gear in your survival kit to ENDURE an unforeseen situation.