You don't have to be long in the tooth to be weak in the knees. To that end, consider the LEKI Super Makalu AirErgo Trekking Poles ($150), added insurance against damaged knees and other hobbling effects from schlepping loaded backpacks over rocky, ankle-eating terrain. According to medical white coats who tally such biomechanical data, trekking poles can alleviate up to 250 tons of accumulated knee and lower back impact stress during an eight-hour hike. Now enter the Makalus. The twist-to-adjust trekkers sport a cushy long grip that let you choose different pole positions, and a 15-degree offset handle helps minimize swing distance without compromising stability. As the ride goes, spring-loaded shocks in the poles eat up the bumps. And pole plants are precise and steadfast via a tough carbide tip as grabby as a mountain goat. For the ounce-counting crowd, the Makalus come in at under 20—the best ballast you'll ever carry when your knees get trembling on those rocky switchback descents. Contact LEKI: 716-683-1022; www.leki.com.

Blood happens in the backcountry. So do cuts, scrapes, headaches, nausea, splinters, ticks, and bee stings. And that's only the beginning. But fear not, because the Adventure Medical Kits UltraLight .9 ($32) gives off-the-grid backpackers the essential tools to repair breaches of the body and other unhealthy transgressions, at least temporarily. At a wispy 9.5 ounces, the UltraLight kit lives up to its name and provides goodies like various sized sterile dressings, gauze bandages, elastic and adhesive bandages and surgical tape, several pain and anti-inflammatory medications, antihistamines, insect-sting medication, plus a menagerie of wound dressings and utensils—forceps, duct tape, safety pins, protective gloves... You get the picture—and all this comes in a leakproof, airtight plastic bag that rides inside a protective nylon zipper pouch. Contact Adventure Medical Kits: 800-324-3517; www.adventuremedicalkits.com.

In the battery-driven department, don't skimp with cheapo lighting that's temperamental in weather, inadequate in illumination, and a pain to operate with multiple tiny buttons and cryptic operational sequences. You won't find a better after-hours companion than the Black Diamond HyperBright LED Zenix ($45), a no-nonsense flamethrower of a headlamp that's in sync with the company's purposeful climbing products heritage. Around camp, hit the single (YES!) switch, adjust the tilt housing, and you've got the needed navigational juice from a duo of small HyperBright LED bulbs—like regular LEDs but five times brighter. Caught in the dark with sketchy terrain ahead? Another push engages the mondo-sized central headlamp that increases your working distance up to 35 feet. The comfortable head harness and rear placement of the three AAA battery pack (15 to 100 hours on maximum/minimum outputs) feel especially ergo, and we're downright giddy about the Zenix's compliance with IPX waterproof standards (hint: it works in the rain). Contact Black Diamond: 801-278-5533; www.blackdiamondequipment.com.

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