What are the bare essentials? It depends on how much travel you want to do. Many years ago in scouts I took the wilderness survival course. We had to spend a night in the wild with just a knife and a blanket. We had to construct shelter, a pot for getting water and cooking, and build a fire. Those three tasks took most of a day. So I could survive with just a knife but I wouldn't get very far. For travel, I'd need more "essentials".