TQ guys,
@Pilsner , Im chewing on it. I have one, so thanks for that offer but no need, but as noted I was trained +\- to NOT use it, so thats probably the biggest reason. Apart from that, as far as why I dont carry it, I carry fa and emergency gear for common things, and I act paranoid to avoid the uncommon stuff. And thats where I often choose to plan for improvising, because it is uncommon. That approach obviously works until it doesnt, I just cant pack everything so its truly a calculated risk based on probabilities. Risk= consequence * probability, and I think the probability is low enough that Im comfortable with the risk. Ive been hunting for almost forty years, I was a climbing guide, spent summers leading backpacking trips, etc. every step along the way, I’ve built my life to spend more time outside. I’ve probably spent more cumulative time in the backcountry than some of the 20-somethings here have been alive. I’ve seen a handful of pretty bad injuries, including several involving helicopter rescues, but Ive never seen any backcountry injury even remotely close to requiring a tq. Plenty of off-hand cuts, but none even close to needing a tq. Stitches, yes. Bleeding-out, no. BUT they’re light so I’ll consider it, although I think Id need some practice and further training first, its been a long time.
Basically I carry for:
Getting caught out after dark
Getting lost or unexpected route change
Unexpected Bad weather
Minor to moderate injury (minor to moderate cuts, abrasions, sprains/strains, minor to moderate burns, etc), possibly slowing or stopping travel
Dehydration
Hypothermia
Frostbite (traditionally Ive been out a lot in winter wx)
In all my time in the backcountry Id say BY FAR the most common actual first aid problems Ive run into are burns from boiling water, hypothermia, dehydration, sprains/strains, and minor-ish cuts and abrasions, (not in any order). Sometimes in combination. Ime “dramatic” stuff just doesnt come up if you are careful, so I choose to improvise there rather than carry extra gear that—even if “light”— takes up some extra space and weight. I truly think this covers me for 99.9% of the addressable issues I will run into. And as-said, Im aware of some areas where if an issue comes up I would be left improvising to address it, or where Im not prepared. Rockfall is something that I’ve run into climbing, I’ve seen a few pretty bad injuries from it, but I don’t bring a helmet when I’m hunting, even though I’m sometimes in terrain where rockfall can happen. This is by choice. I don’t even own an Inreach, and I routinely hunt where there is zero cell reception. I cut my teeth in the era when no one even had a cell phone, because they didn’t exist yet, so I’m very used to not having any way to communicate with the outside world if something happened. Some of my not owning an Inreach is simply obstinance, because to a degree I resent technology in the backcountry, but this is another conscious decision. There was a saying when I was climbing a lot, “ if you carry Bivy gear, you’ll use it”. People were saying that if you bring something for a contingency, the fact that you have it will CAUSE you to “need” it. I think there is some falsehood to that and Im sure theres confirmation-bias, but there is for sure truth to it as well. To at least a degree, that part of my upbringing informs my first aid kit decisions, right or wrong.
And there are many, many times when I have turned around and gone home because I found myself in a situation that I had decided to not be prepared for. Unlike a battlefield situation, I have the option to go home pretty much whenever I want, and I have nothing to prove so thats a realistic option for me at any time. In a situation where I can’t control that part of it nearly as much, obviously my calculus would look different.
I’m not advocating that other people should think about it this way, but that’s the direction I’m coming from.
other than that, it’s all personal preference.
