One thing my friends and I always carry in the woods is toilet paper. If you're in the back country there won't be any toilets nearby. Another thing we carry is 2 Short Kutt pocket chain saws. Rothco Short Kutt Pocket Chain Saw They'll cut a lot of wood and we had to use them to clear a trail when there was a tree down way too big to drive over and no way around it. A spare belt for a CVT drive would be good to have in the unlikely event you broke one. I used to have spare spark plugs and a spare belt with me but quit taking them.

I used to always carry winching equipment like leather gloves, tow strap, pulley, and a clevis to attach the pulley to a tree with the tow strap. Now I ride with friends and most of us have winches and we can use the other quads as anchors. If I still rode by myself I would still take them. I carry a lighter, knife, and multi-tool in my pockets at all times. In my ATV I have a first aid kit, tire plug kit with CO2 inflators, another can of compressed air, pocket sized emergency raincoat, the toolkit that came with the quad, flashlight, etc. I like to take an old towel to wipe my goggles off with and to use as a rag if necessary.

I just printed a new trail map yesterday and will print another today just in case we go to that attached trail too next month. The trails are constantly changing and only the most recent maps will be nearly accurate. Each state should have a page with all the maps available like this one for Michigan. DNR - ORV/ATV Trail Maps If we travel to an unfamiliar area I usually have my GPS and compass. The compass on my GPS doesn't work very well when you're sitting still. One friend always carries a small shovel and a can of gas.

 

Another handy and easy thing to carry for fire starting is some fine steel wool and a 9V battery (the rectangle ones).

 

We got 100 +/- inches of snow this winter...
Went out on a solo ride and got stuck, 45 min ride from home. The winch burnt up trying to pull my sp 500 out. I was riding on a sled track, one sled, one pass. It was on a trail no one uses... The high temp for the day was 12 F. Lucky for me there was cell service so I called a bud who took 2.5 hrs to rescue me. He also got chased by a state cop trying to find me .
Before getting stuck I wasnt really prepared. But when riding in the winter I keep a lighter and a news paper! I hid in the trees and started a fire.


jumbofrank, Use baby wipes. They work great in the summer when its dusty! Electrical tape works great for CV boots. Use 1/3 roll of electrical tape and a zip tie on each end.

 

Good to know about the CV boots. I have two torn on my 88 suzuki. Cost of replacement is more than the quad's worth I think but I do have a lot of electrical tape

 

3 must have.
1- Lots of gas.
2-load tires with Slime. Flats stop you dead
3 -Channel locks (the big ones) ,the handles are pry bars and the it can hit like a hammer and it deals with the smallest bolt to the largest. Great all in one tool.

 

Thanks for all the replies everybody. I've asked this question in a couple places and so after I compile all the suggestions I'll come back and post the final big list.

 

OK here's the big list of all the suggestions I've been given, alphabetized to help sort out the duplicates. It's crazy long and of course depending on the type of exploring you’re doing not everything’s entirely necessary. The list covers everything from a light day ride to really back country stuff miles away from anybody. Long list but probably still worth a read through.



6" socket set extension
air compressor (batt powered) or high volume manual pump
air pressure gauge
ammo boxes to keep everything dry
battery - USB for phone
battery pack for atv (Antigravity) (Peak booster pack fairly cheap)
boots
bug repellent
bungee cords diff size
camera
can of baked beans
can opener
carabiners - 2
cell phone charger
cell phone in a ziploc bag
channel locks - the big ones (my blue handle ones)
clevis to attach to a pulley to a tree with tow strap
CO2 cylinders (3) or can of fix a flat
compass
cotter pins
crescent wrench
D rings
dry socks
electrical tape
fire extinguisher / fire extinguishing materials (prob lighter and smaller than a whole fire extinguisher)
fire extinguisher
fire starter stuff – alternatively some fine steel wool and a 9v battery
first aid kit (simple)
flashlight
food - cans
fuses - spare
garbage bags 2
gas – 2 gal
glasses - extra pair of Rx
gloves (light leather)
goggles
gorilla tape
GPS w/ extra set of new batteries
hammer - small
hand cleaner
handgun
head light bulb - spare
helmet
hex keys
hooded sweatshirt
ibuprofen
key - spare for ATV
LED light bar
light – black diamond head light
light sticks
lighters - two
multi tool
multimeter
needle nose pliers w/ wire cutter part
newspaper for fire
paper map of the area
pepper - just regular table pepper about 5oz or more - plugs radiator leaks, blown head gasket
pepper spray - bear
PLB - persona locator beacon (satellite)
pliers
pulley for winching
pulley block
rain clothes
ratchet straps (2 small like my camo ones)
recoil starter
relays - spare
rope (poly - at least 50 ft)
saw - folding
screwdriver - multi
shovel - small fold up
side cutters ?
silicone rubber tape
silicone tube
small saw
socket set - 3/8 and 1/4 drive, or a 3/8 drive w/ 1/4 adapter – largest socket is a 3/4
space blanket
spare belt for a CVT drive
spark plug + gap tool
spark plug socket/wrench
spray bottle of soapy water
T25 and T15 drivers
tarp (small for rain events)
telescopic magnetic pickup tool
test light and volt meter
tire plugs - twice as many as you think you'll need
toilet paper or wipes
tow strap
towel old
trunk on back rack to carry everything
universal tool kit like... https://www.channellock.com/39100-unifit-socket-set.aspx
utility knife w/ spare blades
valve stem tool and spare caps
vice grips - a 4in adjustable and a 12in adjustable
water – lots bottles pre-frozen
winch
wire - electrical - 10 ft of 14ga
wire (bailing) - wire spool – (snare wire) (mechanics wire)
wrench adjustable
wrench to remove axle castle nut - in case you break a drive shaft
zip lock bags
zip ties 12'-15'