What does everyone pack for a 1st aid kit? Say, for a 5+ day back country hunt > 5 miles from the trailhead/truck?
1st Aid Kits
- Thread starter Prerylyon
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mallardsx2
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- Jul 8, 2015
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tim
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JimP
Administrator
Catahoula12
Very Active Member
I keep mine in a small Kifaru pull-out in my top pack pouch for easy access. It contains:
3x zip-ties (can fix so much with those, also make an emergency tourniquet)
1 Star Flash micro signal mirror (aimable)
1 Shoreline Marine emergency whistle (WAY louder than most emergency kits have)
1 mini emergency compass (cheap, but good - oil filled, accurate)
8x bandaids
4x 3m Steri-Strip skin closures
1x foil mylar rescue blanket
1x white cyalume snap light
1x sharpie with electrical tape wrapped around the handle
4x "surgical 2's" (gauze pads)
1x adhesive bandage, a horse leg wrap some old CPW geezer told me was better and cheaper than the ones made for humans
1pr blue nitrile gloves
1x spare pair contacts (I'm blind without them)
1 small bottle rewetting drops (can also be used as an eye flush if you get something in your eye)
3x handi-wipes
2x GasX tablets
2x Ondansetron 4mg (anti-nausea tablets, this is a prescription for me but you can get emetrol over the counter)
10x aspirin 325mg
10x caffeine 100mg
1x diabetic sugar tablet, 1000mg
4x diphenhydramine 25mg (Benadryl anti-histamine)
1 pack book matches, mostly because I keep the meds above in a zip-loc and this guarantees a backup set of dry matches
In winter I add 2x day-quil and 2x ny-quil tablets in case I pick up a cough or head cold
Entire kit weighs 7.2oz including the Kifaru bag. This is my "thrown in" for basically any hike, backpacking trip, scouting, or hunting, which is why it has both emergency and first aid items. So it's lighter than some other "pure first aid" kits but lighter than most "emergency survival kits". The only thing it's missing that a lot of other kits have is a cutting tool, but I'm basically never without at least 2-3 knives of some form or another, so I don't feel like I need an extra one in here.
Then, in my truck, I have a much larger first aid kit with more of the stuff you'd expect to see there. It has the basics like bandaids and gloves, but also adds things like ABD Combine Pads, a real tourniquet, etc.
3x zip-ties (can fix so much with those, also make an emergency tourniquet)
1 Star Flash micro signal mirror (aimable)
1 Shoreline Marine emergency whistle (WAY louder than most emergency kits have)
1 mini emergency compass (cheap, but good - oil filled, accurate)
8x bandaids
4x 3m Steri-Strip skin closures
1x foil mylar rescue blanket
1x white cyalume snap light
1x sharpie with electrical tape wrapped around the handle
4x "surgical 2's" (gauze pads)
1x adhesive bandage, a horse leg wrap some old CPW geezer told me was better and cheaper than the ones made for humans
1pr blue nitrile gloves
1x spare pair contacts (I'm blind without them)
1 small bottle rewetting drops (can also be used as an eye flush if you get something in your eye)
3x handi-wipes
2x GasX tablets
2x Ondansetron 4mg (anti-nausea tablets, this is a prescription for me but you can get emetrol over the counter)
10x aspirin 325mg
10x caffeine 100mg
1x diabetic sugar tablet, 1000mg
4x diphenhydramine 25mg (Benadryl anti-histamine)
1 pack book matches, mostly because I keep the meds above in a zip-loc and this guarantees a backup set of dry matches
In winter I add 2x day-quil and 2x ny-quil tablets in case I pick up a cough or head cold
Entire kit weighs 7.2oz including the Kifaru bag. This is my "thrown in" for basically any hike, backpacking trip, scouting, or hunting, which is why it has both emergency and first aid items. So it's lighter than some other "pure first aid" kits but lighter than most "emergency survival kits". The only thing it's missing that a lot of other kits have is a cutting tool, but I'm basically never without at least 2-3 knives of some form or another, so I don't feel like I need an extra one in here.
Then, in my truck, I have a much larger first aid kit with more of the stuff you'd expect to see there. It has the basics like bandaids and gloves, but also adds things like ABD Combine Pads, a real tourniquet, etc.
'Task gets the gold star. 
One thing that's easy to forget in the rush and excitement of the hunt, is to check the state of all that stuff a couple weeks before heading out. If you take the same kit camping/hiking all thru the summer have been thru it recently/frequently its prob fine. On the other hand, one year, l hadn't been out much and when I checked my 1st aid kit in Sept a few weeks before heading out, the rubber gloves had dry rotted, the aspirin had expired, and some sterile disinfectant pads had dried out. Not good.
One thing that's easy to forget in the rush and excitement of the hunt, is to check the state of all that stuff a couple weeks before heading out. If you take the same kit camping/hiking all thru the summer have been thru it recently/frequently its prob fine. On the other hand, one year, l hadn't been out much and when I checked my 1st aid kit in Sept a few weeks before heading out, the rubber gloves had dry rotted, the aspirin had expired, and some sterile disinfectant pads had dried out. Not good.
JimP
Administrator
Most people get a first aide kit and only check the contents when they get them and then when they need them. Things need to be replace and updated.
The other thing that people need to check is their fire extinguishers that they have kicking around in their trucks and campers.
Odds are that those in the camper are way past due for replacement and are only good for a couple of years at best. Depending on the style in the trucks they also may be due for replacement.
One other thing for the campers is to make sure that your carbon monoxide detectors are working properly. Dirt, dust, mud, and cob webs can make them do weird things like not work.
The other thing that people need to check is their fire extinguishers that they have kicking around in their trucks and campers.
Odds are that those in the camper are way past due for replacement and are only good for a couple of years at best. Depending on the style in the trucks they also may be due for replacement.
One other thing for the campers is to make sure that your carbon monoxide detectors are working properly. Dirt, dust, mud, and cob webs can make them do weird things like not work.
Good points, guys. Expired items and forgetting to refill what you use are bad mojo. I'd also like to say that I personally consider most off the shelf "survival" kits to be pretty useless. A lot of them have all kinds of things like pamphlets on how to trap and build shelters, fishing kits, etc that you absolutely DO NOT NEED in a real emergency.
Remember your "threes". Humans can survive:
3 minutes without air
3 hours without shelter
3 days without water
3 weeks without food
A survival kit's #1 goal should be "get you out."
Speaking of CO detectors and checking yours, true story, I nearly died one night due to a leaky camper furnace and a busted CO detector. It was wired, with a battery backup, but the wiring had come loose over the years (this is why you should never use wire nuts in a camper). It was used, about 15 years old, and not something I had thought to check (you had to remove it to see). The battery backup must have died some time that year because I had tested it when I bought it. Anyway, I woke up with a SPLITTING headache and I'm guessing I was pretty close to not waking up at all. Super scary.
Remember your "threes". Humans can survive:
3 minutes without air
3 hours without shelter
3 days without water
3 weeks without food
A survival kit's #1 goal should be "get you out."
Speaking of CO detectors and checking yours, true story, I nearly died one night due to a leaky camper furnace and a busted CO detector. It was wired, with a battery backup, but the wiring had come loose over the years (this is why you should never use wire nuts in a camper). It was used, about 15 years old, and not something I had thought to check (you had to remove it to see). The battery backup must have died some time that year because I had tested it when I bought it. Anyway, I woke up with a SPLITTING headache and I'm guessing I was pretty close to not waking up at all. Super scary.
RICMIC
Veteran member
As an add-on to Task's list. Don't forget the Immonium AD (AKA Liquid Cork). I was in serious need of some on my CO trip, and luckily was in town overnight (the beer and BBQ ribs might have something to do with it) when the bowels rebelled. The following 7 days on horseback and foot would have been a crappy experience otherwise. Also, my most commonly utilized item in the kit is band-aides, so make sure they are in good shape.
I dont take these next 2 items (maybe should?) but last summer, one of my buddies who joined me with his kids and my kids in a high country camp out, brought a pulse ox sensor and blood pressure meter. He's pretty intense and a good boy scout. Anyhow, when my son got a touch of what seemed to be altitude sickness, those items came handy to see how he was doing. But like anything, you need to know how to use them. Most of us aren't doctors or trained medics. That being said, I've always valued any 1st aid training I've taken; and encourage others to take basic, and if offered in your area, wilderness 1st aid courses.
Good points. I think if you're "truck camping" in the mountains, anybody that can afford a pulse oximeter, it's a great item to keep in your trunk. I don't know that I'd backpack with one, but if you (or a buddy) were new to the mountains and wanted a safety backup, those sport-backpacker oxygen canisters are pretty cheap and super lightweight.
I think the "medium" sized Boost canisters are only like 4-5oz. It's not going to get you through a week long hunt, but if you even suspected you or a buddy was developing altitude sickness, it can be used as a diagnostic. If the oxygen gives you an immediate improvement in symptoms, it's a good sign to "head downhill" right away and it can delay the onset of graver symptoms quite a bit.
You don't need to get down to sea level if you're developing altitude sickness. Even getting below 8000' quickly can help a lot.
I think the "medium" sized Boost canisters are only like 4-5oz. It's not going to get you through a week long hunt, but if you even suspected you or a buddy was developing altitude sickness, it can be used as a diagnostic. If the oxygen gives you an immediate improvement in symptoms, it's a good sign to "head downhill" right away and it can delay the onset of graver symptoms quite a bit.
You don't need to get down to sea level if you're developing altitude sickness. Even getting below 8000' quickly can help a lot.