You would have had a good repair with some appropriate cleansing and 1-2 "vertical mattress" sutures to pull the skin edges together better and keep the edges from inverting the way they did in your photo.
The rest of the laceration could then be easily approximated with steri-strips & benzoin/glue after placing a couple of appropriately spaced vertical mattress sutures which would offer improved pulling strength, remove tension from the wound edge, and evert the wound edges. My guess is that the medical people got going on the quick glue/steri-strip repair and then didn't change course because of time, even when it clearly was going to be a less than stellar job.
Suture stuff weighs more in your pack than a few steri-strips and some benzoin or glue. Why not have some suture and cleaning supplies back at your truck or at home for situations like this? Also, how were you going to suture yourself one handed. Even by learning and trying to use an "instrument tie" one-handed, you may have had difficulty getting the needle placed through the skin in the right orientation for a good repair. Gluing your own arm is no easy feat either for that matter, but at least you can give someone instructions to someone easier for helping you than you could with suturing.
