I've not had any of the usual "10 Essentials" ever save my butt, although on a hike in PA (Chuck Keiper loop) this summer I ran into a very poorly maintained trail and decided to push on despite numerous very bad blowdowns and very thick underbrush. At one blowdown, I floundered for about 45 minutes thinking "If I can just get through" I'd pick up the trail on the other side.
Well, that didn't happen, and instead of just turning and going back the way I came, I found my way down the steep, dangerous slope—a couple of times I could have broken a leg—to a creek and try to follow it and pick up the trail from there. That didn't work so I started looking for alternative exits to the woods, finding on the map some "multi-use" trails that I thought would have seen more use. Turns out those were virtually non-existent and just as badly maintained as the trail I had been following.
By now I was getting really frustrated, exhausted, thirsty and hypoglycemic—a perfect combo for bad decision making—and for the first time in quite a while I had to remind myself of something I learned in USAF Survival School.... "STOP, THINK, EAT, DRINK" So after a short while I was feeling better and made the decision I should've made sooner, to simply go back the way I came. Unfortunately it was a nasty 1200 foot climb back up to a forest road, but I camped up there and walked 7 miles out the next morning. It was pouring rain, but under my poncho I was "Singing in the Rain" all the way back to the trailhead.
So even with all the 10 essentials and a full kit, it still comes down to having a clear head and making the right decisions.