Posted: 6/10/2026 10:20:37 AM EDT
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I am putting together kits for day and longer type trips. I know one kit can't do it all (ultra lite solo vs long multi person trips) currently I use adventure medical kits .5 and .7 kits and keep a NAR stop the beed kit in a fanny pack with a sam splint in my vehicle. I have carried the .5 kit on Rainier multiple times and it's ok for minor stuff. I will now be in an area with rivers and cliffs. Also snakes of the venomous type. I want a very small kit that will fit in my chest pack for day hikes. I can make or buy but want some ideas as I don't want to carry too much or too little. thanks this is the .5 kit Attached File contents Attached File |
have gun will travel
Well you seen much combat? ......... I've seen a little on TV.
We are jolly green giants, walking the Earth with guns.
Lifetime NRA member SADLY
now GOA and ASA member!!!!!
Well you seen much combat? ......... I've seen a little on TV.
We are jolly green giants, walking the Earth with guns.
Lifetime NRA member SADLY
now GOA and ASA member!!!!!
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I travel with 3 kits (2 kits if going by airliner): (C) car bag (B) multiday backcountry (A) one-day backcountry A & B are designed to compliment each other, B having more meds/bandages/hygiene stuff to sustain time in the backcountry. C Kit has stuff like a bottle of alcohol, extra bandages, extra meds, proper splints, lots of top-off stuff to support month[s] on the road, pulse ox, BP, etc. [just dumped out the A bag] A... shears triangular bandage 2" roll gauze 4" roll gauze 1" self adhesive bandage wrap (x2 b/c it looks like the ziplock from my B bag migrated into A) 3" self adhesive bandage wrap (x2 b/c it looks like the ziplock from my B bag migrated into A) Quik Clot alcohol prep pads (6) 3M Steri Strips (10) 3x3" sterile pads (3) bandaids (4) GenTeal Gel Tears Neosporin Acetaminophen (~9) Ibuprofen (~20) Asprin (~20) Tums Chewy Bites (6) (these things are awesome and run laps around other stuff) Sunscreen (1 floz) (x2 seems an extra found its way into the A pouch) DayQuil (4) (seems to have migrated over from B pouch) NyQuil (8) (seems to have migrated over from B pouch) Imodium (10) (seems to have migrated over from B pouch) Ziplock bag with Vicks Vapor Rub nitrile gloves chapstick The last time the bags were fully sorted was mid-July of 2025 before hitting the road for a cross countries trip. A Kit may have seen some migration from B just before we ducked into a helicopter in BC. I don't think I had the space to bring B Kit. This was originally planned for 5 days x2 people. Turned into 8 days. Since the July sort, A Kit has logged over 12,000 vertical feet of technical climbing with me, supporting solo and 2-person climbs. Several day-climbs turned into multi-day climbs. One solo turned into a multi-day climb with an emergent partner (I think I grabbed a roll of athletic tape out of C Kit just prior to leaving the trail head, because I knew I was going to need to thoroughly tape my climbing partner's hands - I wouldn't have otherwise carried this with me) I'll audit B Kit later. Again, the last this bag was formally sorted was July of last year. The ziplock bags with meds have labels on them, something I would have done just prior to heading into the Alps a couple years back. I need to add an epipen. Noticeably absent in A Kit was my elastic ankle wrap. I suspect I got it mixed up with the duplicative bag of self-adhesive wrap - they're both very similar in color. |
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My "Tell me again, why am I carrying this stuff?" collage that I complied a year or two ago is out of date. I need to bring it up to speed. In just the past 3 years, I've had at least 3 day-trips turn into: one 2-day and two 3-day trips. A 4th unplanned overnight was narrowly avoided, one that would have called upon a lot of skills. |
I am a medical professional. I just got back from a backpacking trip with my wife and realized our complete first add kit comprised of Tylenol and 3 Band-Aids.  This was an oversight on my part.I dont really like to get to involved in these threads because even though I normally do carry more than 3 band aids I admit I go VERY light on first aid equipment. I am comfortably doing that but I dont expect others to agree with me or feel comfortable with it. But I will say that probably the most versatile things is a simple ACE wrap. The ACE wrap has a lot of uses. The obvious is the typical joint injury's like ankles, knees whatever. Carry one or two pieces of gauze. If you have a big enough laceration to need some love stuff put the gauze on it and wrap with the ace wrap. Or for a fracture use the ACE wrap with a SAM splint. So basically a ACE wrap is pretty good to have. Also some duct tape is good to have. That is mostly what I carry on my moto and have used it on my self a few times. These are my personal ways. But I usually dont mess with Band-Aids at all in the back country. Small wounds get ignored or a little TP and duct tape. Something that needs stitches gets the gauze and ace wrap and I am finding my way out of the back country to get stitches (yes this might take a few days). Bigger wounds dont matter because you will probably be dead by the time someone gets to you. There is a lot of sarcasm in my post. Please dont get all butt hurt. Yes there are times people have patched up critical people and kept them alive for days until rescue. But it is rare. Probably the biggest killers are exposure, hypo/hyperthermia and drowning and those are 100% treatable (drowning is questionably treatable). |
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Originally Posted By dayphotog: I am putting together kits for day and longer type trips. I know one kit can't do it all (ultra lite solo vs long multi person trips) currently I use adventure medical kits .5 and .7 kits and keep a NAR stop the beed kit in a fanny pack with a sam splint in my vehicle. I have carried the .5 kit on Rainier multiple times and it's ok for minor stuff. I will now be in an area with rivers and cliffs. Also snakes of the venomous type. I want a very small kit that will fit in my chest pack for day hikes. I can make or buy but want some ideas as I don't want to carry too much or too little. thanks this is the .5 kit https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/65995/ultralightwatertight5_1_jpg_webp-3776407.JPG contents https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/65995/0125-0292_ultralight_watertight_5_kit_co-3776408.JPG About the snakes. PLEASE do your own research. But I honestly believe there is very little to do in the field with most snake bites. Or at least i should say nothing that the snake bit kits offer or anything like that. Mostly it is get out and get to a hospital. I believe most venomous snakes in the US are hemotoxins which basically destroy tissue (over simplified). This can be mild in some cases or VERY bad. 100% you need to go to a hospital. But even once in the hospital a lot of times they do very little other than monitor and pain meds. A lot of people do NOT get the anti venom. There are some snakes in the US that are neurotoxins. There are not many of these types of snakes. Its best to not get bit by one. |
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Instead of just being a wise ass I will try to contribute something valuable (questionably). But I would seriously consider multiple aid kits and then tailor them to the activity you have in mind. Basically I keep one in the truck, one lives in my moto gear and one lives in my backpacking gear and they are all different. Honestly stuff like my fishing gear really isnt a med kit. I focuses more on the "ten essential" kind of thing. I think exposure is more likely to kill me where i live and the activities i do. I know the mountain weather is unpredictable and I try to always thing "what if I have to spend the night out here". So some stuff focuses more on clothing layers, space blanket, water tabs, fire starter, knife and yes, old school compass. This mindset is really important to me. I know shit is unpredictable and you "never now". But I think it is fair to say I am more likely to have a traumatic injury riding moto than fishing and I am more likely to have hypothermia (from cold water) fishing than riding. So tailoring the med kit lets you concentrate on what you are likely to need. I dont have a tourniquet in any of my backcountry kits. I dont see high likelihood of penetratingly injury to an extremity. The one exception would be the moto. I have seen impalement from branches and have also seen people get levers and stuff stuck into them during a crash. So maybe I should rethink that. But I do keep a legit tourniquet in the truck med kit because I am always out shooting or around guns. Tourniquets and occlusive dressings can be handy for that stuff. I do know how to decompress a chest and cric someone. I think at times have had stuff for that. But I cant remember if I continued to carry that stuff. That would be a really bad day if you had to use that. A cric can be a shit show even in a controlled environment. I have seen some not go well even in the hospital. I have been trained but never done one myself. So performing it on my own in the dirt would not be a good time. I am talking surg cric not needle cric. Just for example, the kit I am most likely to use is what i carry when riding dirt bikes. I ride trails and am often remote and away from help. I was repacking things today and opened it up. It had VERY little in it compared to what I probably should have. But it did have more in it than I thought. This is what I carry on my bike. I am constantly adjusting it. I should add in a space blanket at least.  No pictured are Aquamira water tabs. SAM splint is on the bike. Tubes on the left is some Dermabond and tetracaine eye drops. Shears are actually a good thing to have. Clothing can be really difficult to remove with the amount of gear we wear or with things like a dislocated shoulder. They also work well for bike repairs like cutting wires or hose. But most of it is pretty self explanatory. A while ago I crashed and caught my hand between a tree and the bike. A simple sponge and a ace wrap stopped the bleeding until I could get out and get it stitched up. Nothing really fancy. Edit: Let me go off on a tangent and explain the reason i said earlier that I try to avoid some medical threads. There are a lot of people smarter and more experienced out there than me. Some of those guys can spout of every number, drug dosage, standard and so on. I am not one of those guys and i know that. So i have no interest in arguing or trying to belittle people. |
Joined:
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PA, USA
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thanks all this is some great info!!!! I have been working on a few kits based on the specific trips. I filled some gaps and got some new ideas. Now thinking of maybe some wilderness first aid training too. thanks again! |
have gun will travel
Well you seen much combat? ......... I've seen a little on TV.
We are jolly green giants, walking the Earth with guns.
Lifetime NRA member SADLY
now GOA and ASA member!!!!!
Well you seen much combat? ......... I've seen a little on TV.
We are jolly green giants, walking the Earth with guns.
Lifetime NRA member SADLY
now GOA and ASA member!!!!!
"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants" - Thomas Jefferson
Joined:
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WY, USA
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thanks much this is a great thread! I have modified mine due to this thread! I am hiking 4 days a week now and had a to use a few times for minor stuff. This is good info!!! |
have gun will travel
Well you seen much combat? ......... I've seen a little on TV.
We are jolly green giants, walking the Earth with guns.
Lifetime NRA member SADLY
now GOA and ASA member!!!!!
Well you seen much combat? ......... I've seen a little on TV.
We are jolly green giants, walking the Earth with guns.
Lifetime NRA member SADLY
now GOA and ASA member!!!!!
| Don't forget a tick puller. [light and small] and 1/2 dozen condoms. They can be used for more then sex. |
Liberals are a curious mix of communism and fascism, they want to destroy you but want to use your own money to do it.
I'm getting down to the last box, the others have all been destroyed...
I'm getting down to the last box, the others have all been destroyed...
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I carry all of those things in OP X2. I also include sunscreen, sunburn treatment (lidocaine and aloe), insect sting swabs and Benadryl, DMSO, lidocaine cream, hydrocortisone, and a few other things. Eye lubricant, hypertonicity, antibiotic drops. Chapstik. Comfort is the idea, plan for all things, based on what has happened in past trips. I include a can of Febreeze too. Even the swankiest of hotels may need a little deodorant, especially after............Taco Bell.  Chlorox wipes too if you are a germ-o-phobe.
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Preferred pronoun: MARINE