1. Winch
2. GPS
3. Storage box (to keep things like tow strap, tire repair kit, mini air compressor, flashlights, tools, etc.)

 

tire repair kit
extra belt
tool kit

 

Fix- a- Flat in a can.

Off insect repellent in a can.

Beer In a Can.

Extra Gas in a Can.

Something that holds cans.

 

...and a roll of toilet paper for when I go to the can ;-)

 

Is toilet paper considered an add-on? That's the most important thing I have IN my quad, not ON it.

1. Bumpers, front and back.
2. Winch.
3. Thumbwarmer.

 

Being fairly new to the ATV scene, so far I would say;

Tires, something with more sidewall strength and better grip

Winch, I ride mostly with a kid on a 90cc, so I can tow her out of anything, but she isn't going to be much help if I get stuck....however until the snow hits, there isn't much to get stuck in right now, so I can get away without one for now.

Simple tools. The kit on the machine is okay, but nothing works like high quality tools, and any special needs having exactly what you need.

Tire Repair/inflator, one of my biggest fears on the trail is the loss of a tire because most of the terrain here features rocks.

Tow Strap. Don't leave home without one.

With those things most of the riding here can be done (trail systems and OHV parks). Little need for extra gas as most trails can be done within range of the truck. And as I said, a winch is just added security when you don't have another fulll sized machine to throw a tow strap on.

In CO, WATER is critical because it is so dry and hot here, especially in the southern regions of the state.

Some time in learning local wildlife helps too. We have rattlesnakes and scorpions, black widows and other bitey things here. Knowing where they live and how they behave is time well spent.

 

I've lived in MI my whole life, minus my time in the army, and thought I knew knew the local wildlife. I wish I knew it better.

Once I was flying down a firelane and saw something on the road. I turned around and went back to see what it was. It was a fat snake over 2 feet long. I pinned it down with one foot lightly touching the middle of it's back. The front half stood straight up and the neck flared out just like a cobra!!! WTF!!! We don't have cobras this far north and it wasn't even the right color.

I waved my left hand around in front of it's face and when it was staring at the left hand I snatched it up by the neck with my right hand. I stared at it face to face from a few inches and still couldn't figure out what it was, but it's nose was turned up on a angle. I went and tossed it in the grass on the side of the road and left. Eventually after lots of searching online I found out it was a hognose.

Sometimes they also fake strikes at animals and people when their neck is flared out. They have other tricks too. They roll over on their back, hang their toungue out, $h!t, and play dead. They also shake their tail in dry leaves to sound like a rattlesnake. They have 3 different ways to defend themselves by pretending to be something they aren't. I've been in that area of woods hundreds of times over a period of four and a half decades and only saw one hognose.

 

good story about the snake. I am actually looking to add a hognose to my critter collection, they are neat snakes. They roll over and play dead if all their bluster fails.

I have tarantulas, scorpions, various lizards, and my collection is at it's smallest right now. Usually I have a veritible zoo of critters. Tarantulas are a specialty of mine and I have the confidence to capture most anything alive if I find it.

I've been to Africa several times and wrangling the local wildlife there is always entertaining.

 

the list needs context though. For example if I were off trail, just up in the Rockies, then a good compass, a topo, and a space blanket would be more important to me than gas.

Sure a GPS is handy, but I never go anywhere off trail without a compass and map. Fact is most of the people that die in the mountains every year do so within a short hike of safety. They simply do not know how to navigate in the wild. GPS's are a crutch if you don't have the basic knowledge to back it up.

 

Most GPS units won't tell you which direction you're facing when you're stopped. You can stand there and turn around in circles and it shows where you're at, but not which way you're facing, or which way you need to go. You have to start going somewhere and THEN see if it's the right direction. If you're an idiot that thinks the sun rises in the south, and that's why it's so bloody hot down south, then you can't navigate by the sun. If it's overcast at night you can't navigate by the stars. The batteries in my GPS may last 8 hours if it's not cold, but my compass has never failed me. A good compass doesn't get messed up when it's near metal like the cheap ones either. If all else fails I can navigate with a watch and a stick as long as the sun is shining.

Maybe a survival book printed on waterproof paper should be item #1 on the list, water #2, and a compass #3.