Are you heading out on an adventure and wondering what to pack in you first aid kit?
Outter Limits has a great selection of Adventure Medical First Aid kits in the variety of sizes along with some items that we recommend adding to you kit. We find the kits are a great starting point to creating your own first aid kit, but feel there are a few items to add in case of emergency. Ultimately your goal is to never have to use it, but if you did need it hopefully you have everything you need.
First thing, we always recommend is to actually open up your kit, especially if you purchased a pre made one before your trip to know exactly what is inside. At this time, you may want to remove a few items and add in others. Also important to know how to use the items that you are carrying, and if you are carrying are medicine, what it treats.
Below is an example of what I include in my first aid kit- though after each trip we continuously adjust and reevaluate the items we packed. And definitely over the years our kit has grown, Back40 Wilderness First Aid has definitely influenced some of my personal decisions.
For a weekend backpacking we packed the Adventure Medical Ultralight .5 Medical Kit with a few modifications.
Here is what is included at the time of Purchase
Bandage Materials
- 5 – Bandage, Adhesive, Fabric, 1″ x 3″
- 3 – Bandage, Adhesive, Fabric, Knuckle
- 2 – Bandage, Butterfly Closure
- 1 – Bandage, Conforming Gauze, 2″
- 2 – Dressing, Gauze, Sterile, 2″ x 2″, Pkg./2
- 2 – Dressing, Gauze, Sterile, 3″ x 3″, Pkg./2
- 1 – Dressing, Non-Adherent, Sterile, 3″ x 4″
Blister / Burn
- 1 – Moleskin, Pre-Cut & Shaped (11 pieces)
Instrument
- 3 – Safety Pins
- 1 – Splinter Picker/Tick Remover Forceps
Medication
- 2 – After Bite Wipe
- 2 – Antihistamine (Diphenhydramine 25 mg)
- 2 – Aspirin (325 mg), Pkg./2
- 2 – Ibuprofen (200 mg), Pkg./2
- 2 – Acetaminophen (500 mg), Pkg./2
Wound Care
- 6 – Antiseptic Wipe
- 2 – Alcohol Swab
- 1 – Tape, 1/2″ x 10 Yards
- 1 – Skin Tac™ Topical Adhesive, Wipe
- 2 – Triple Antibiotic Ointment, Single Use
Things we added
- Zoleo Personal Satellite communication device
- UCO Survival Matches and regular matches
- Whistle (we attached one to our first aid kit)
- Cloth triangle
- Emergency Blanket
- Tape
- Hand warmers
- C- splint (not inside the bag)
- Tensor Bandage
- Multi-tool- Leatherman Squirt PS4
- Latex Gloves
- We packed our Own Tylenol, Tums, and Imodium
- Blister Bandaids
Things We removed
- All the medications included in the kit as some were expired and the packaging also takes up more space
- Splinter Picker (we have tweezers on our multi tool)
- Some of the Bandages and gauze- we opted to pack more of the bandaids we liked and opted to bring more larger gauze squares and left the smaller pieces out
Things we packed specific for our toodler
- Epipen (known allergy)
- Reactine
- Baby Tylenol
- Mosquito Patches (used these instead of bug spray on him)
- Pedialyte powder (we did not pack this, but will definitely be adding this for future trips)
Over the years we have continuously adjusted our kit and will continue in years to come. We also slightly adjust depending on what activity, the length of trip and the remoteness of location. This is by far not an exhaustive list and still have areas of improvement.
If you are heading out on an adventure we highly recommend taking a wilderness first aid course. It’s important to know what to do with all the pieces in your kit. We are lucky to have Back40 Wilderness here in Saskatoon, and highly recommend checking out one of the courses.
What are some items you carry in your first aid kit? Let us know!
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