Here’s a short list of just about everyone’s gear:

Pack:        Straps and the mechanisms that adjusts the pack to fit and ride correctly. Zippers and snaps need to work smoothly. Test your pack or pack cover to insure they are water resistant. Search the pack to identify any worn or torn places that need repair.

Sleeping Bag:        Bring the bag out of storage, fluff it up and determine its ability to keep you warm. Try a night’s sleep in the bag on a lounge chair in your unheated garage. Is the bag worthy of future use? Examine it inside and out for frayed or torn areas and stitch them up. You might do a smell test and if it ranks high, replace it: cleaning it is a lost endeavor.

Sleeping Pad:        Thermarest, or whatever else you might use should be pulled out of storage and inspected to make sure it’s up to the task of keeping you warm and somewhat comfortable.

Rain Gear:        This one is easy. Put on the gear and go for a two mile walk in the rain. If it works, great. If not, you know what to do.

Stove:        Fuel canisters look exactly alike full, half full or empty. Buy a new full canister and weigh it. Weigh an empty canister and you can figure which canisters will need a backup; always plan to avoid the absence of a hot meal. Light the stove and cook something, the test is aimed at either a warm meal or a stove that can’t deliver. Repair, replace, or smile because it passed the test.

Boots:        Waterproof boots can easily be tested. Put water in a bucket place your booted feet in the water, sit back and read a trail guide or listen to music for 30 minutes. Step out of the water and you’ll have the information you were looking for; dry socks are what you want to see.

Outer Clothing:        Just like the sleeping bag test is just about the same. Treat yourself to a sport event outside on a cold, wet and windy day. Spend all day out in the weather and you’ll know what part of your body needs more or better insulation to master the thermal test.

Drinking Bag:        You don’t want to become sick because you didn’t thoroughly clean and dry
the bag when you put in away in the fall. Water bags or bottles can be easily cleaned with a few ounces of bleach mixed with clean water. Fill the bottle or bag as full as you can, swish it around, run some of the bleach mix trough any tubing and put it aside for a day. After the wait, drain the bleach water and fill the container three times with clear water and empty it three times and it’s safe and ready for the hiking season.

Left Over Food:        If you have left over food from last season, check to make sure that it is useable. Nearly every food stuff has a pull-date somewhere on the packaging, play close attention and pitch anything that is past the pull-date. Eating bad food is a nauseas experience spread over several days. That’s bad enough when you are home, but it is excruciating when you have two days of hiking to get out of the wilderness. A few dollars’ worth of potential trouble is a small act that will keep you safe.

Tent:        Put up your tent and inspect its zippers, stakes, external loops, and poles. If it passes those tests, examine the tent for holes, abrasions and serious deterioration; repair, replace or get a new one.

Batteries:        A lot of equipment requires batteries. I’ll not bother with a list, however putting fresh or charged batteries on this list is at least useful and at worst failed batteries will rob you from a resource as you face something that was not expected; “Stuff Happens,” be ready.    

Wayfaring gear:        Aside from good maps, a compass and an altimeter are critically important. Getting lost in the wilderness is an experience you need to be equipped for. A quality map, compass and the altimeter may well be your salvation at the point at which you are lost.