Going on a backcountry hunting adventure? Here’s the gear you need for a successful trip

#5  GPS UNIT

Whether your backcountry adventure begins at the road’s end or at a fly-in lake, you need to be able to chart a route, stay on course and find your way back. A good handheld GPS unit can help you do all that and more, providing maps and satellite imagery of the area you intend to hunt, complete with waypoints.

Today’s units also monitor the weather, provide elevation data and offer an onboard compass as a navigation backup. They can even allow folks back home to follow your adventure via the location-tracking feature. Perhaps most importantly should you need to be rescued, many units can also send an SOS alert with your coordinates to emergency responders. Compact and weighing less than 10 ounces, a handheld GPS can offer hundreds of hours of battery life—and peace of mind.