i carry a boat box, this is a dry storage box you can get at any sporting goods looks like a amo box, in side i keep a leatherman tool, a 2 c-cell mag light, water proof matches, boat flairs, extra boat plug, my vhf hand held radio, a hand held gps that has my launch point as a way point, a hand held compass, small first aid box, some cigars, a folding knife, extra pair of glasses, a card that has all my info on it name, address, blood type, who to call, and other pertnate info if in case i can't respond. tp, in a zip lock bag, extra zip lock bags, and i put my cell phone in it before i leave the dock. extra batteries, but out of all the stuff i have in it the most inportant is my hand held compass there has been times on lakes i go to all the time where it comes in handy, can't see land marks at night, and in the fog. the gps is great but being depended on it can only result in a false security. batteries can go dead, i have a gps on the boat as well and have lost contact once at night and had to use my compass to get back.also i have the lake map in the box too, when i go to a lake i take that lakes map with me all the time,