What’s the Most Overlooked Prep in Your Opinion?

[CrimsonWren145]

Water purification backups always seem to get ignored. Everybody stores water, but what if your main filter system fails or gets lost? Curious what other “backup to the backup” items folks have that don’t get enough attention.

 

[TeaTimeTalisman]

Something I think hardly anyone talks about is backup ways to start a fire. Matches and lighters are great until they’re wet—or empty. Old school flint and steel or even a magnifying glass are so easy to toss in with your gear, but I don’t see them mentioned much. Anyone else worry about this or am I just overly cautious?

 

[BlueMarigold]

So many folks forget about lighting that's not electric. Candles, oil lamps, even glow sticks can be real lifesavers when batteries run out or solar chargers don't get enough sun. I keep a little stash of old-fashioned candles in a tin—nothing fancy, but they do the trick. Does anyone else remember to rotate things like lamp oil

 

[ChrysanthiDream]

Maps—actual paper ones—seem to get overlooked a lot. GPS can fail so fast; do you all keep updated local maps in your kits or just rely on memory?