First Aid

[CrazyMuley]

Where do you put first aid kits in your bag or on your bag? And my biggest question is how do you keep your first aid kit from being so bulky? Thank you.

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[Sawbonehunter]

I keep it in my bag at the top/most accessible section. Keep bare essentials that can cover most things that would be life threatening like bleeding or to clean and prevent infection of a wound.


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[Dave_S]

1. tourniquet on my pack belt, additional first aid kit accessible near top of bag or in lid if attached
2. don't carry your fears--a couple bandaids, some gauze, little bit of antibiotic ointment... My kit is pretty bare bones. You need to be really honest about what you truly NEED to have. Could I conjure up a scenario where I need an emergency airway, or a splint? Yep. Do I carry any of that stuff? Nope.

 

[rideold]

Goes in the bottom of my pack where I can get to it through the sleeping bag access zipper. I focus on bleeding and pain management. I'm not fixing anything in the field. I'm just buying time until professional help is available. My kit takes up about 1 to 1 1/2 quart sizes ziplock of space. Don't think it could really be any smaller.

 

[CMF]

I don't cary much at all, a little gause, a few painkillers, couple bandaid. I have electrical tape on a lighter and on some trekking poles. It's usually buried in my pack with other misc. survival items and tools like fallen wrench for bow, water tablets, firestarter, etc.
I'll probably add a rats tourniquet and put it somewhere easily accessible. I probably have enough pack straps and bs around to make one, but if I'm by myself that could be difficult to do while injured.

 

[SikaHuntaa]

This just made me think about going through mine- I bought a MyMedic kit on sale when I was in the states and chucked it into a lighter weight bag and never really thought about it, was only 290grams (10oz)

I had only ever really carried a band-aid or 2 and some panadol so didn't pay much mind and figured I would be "good for everything".

Well I just got rid of 100grams (3.5oz) of extra, useless crap in the kit that I have no need for, gained a heap of extra space in the kit bag and happy days.

 

[justinspicher]

I have a premade kit from adventure medical that’s pretty small. It covers the basic until professional help arrives.

I put mine in with my possibles.

 

[schur7559]

I bought a IFAK pouch that goes on my hip belt. It’s a little bulky but I might be going solo this year so thought it would be a good idea to pack a little more this year than years pasts. It weighs a pound total and has an Israeli bandage, tourniquet, gauze, medical tape and some bandages.

 

[Poser]

I use so many different bags in the mountains for everything from day hikes to various size backpacking bags to backcountry skiing bags, that it’s not possible to have my FA kit in the same location from bag to bag. Some of the SG bags have a zippered pouch near the top of the bag that I like as a FA kit location, but for day bags, the FA kit ends up in the bottom of the bag. Sometimes, I put it in the lid.

With that in mind, I put a small piece of velcro on all of my bags with a small FAK symbol so the location is easily identifiable. On my hunting and backpacking (SG) frames, I carry the TQ on the hip belt next to my hip pouch for immediate access. I couldn’t make that practically work for my ski bags (where it would be more imperative to have a TQ immediately available) as it just too easy for them to get ripped off in a fall, so it just goes in the FAK.

That all took me quite a bit of experimenting to arrive at. I’ve yet to have a backcountry emergency that required anything more than gauze and bandaids, but I’ve had multiple acquaintances and partners be involved in some fairly horrific accidents, mostly backcountry skiing, where there were serious injuries and fatalities where TQs, pressure bandages and even chest seals were deployed.

 

[Ferrulewax]

My first aid kit goes in an external pocket on my pack that I can access quickly. On all my bags I try to replace the zipper pull on that pocket with an orange pull so I can get to it quickly if needed. I also keep my first aid kit in a ziplock for the same reason- easy to find and easy to get what you need out of it.

 

[shootnrun]

TQ and rapid intervention stuff goes on the outermost pocket. Basics are in my possibles pouch with spare batteries, fire starters and such. Keep it simple. Your Rx meds, NSAIDs, antihistamines(allergies or sleep), mole skin or blister tape to your liking, antibiotic ointment, alcohol swabs if you like. You should have duct tape and electrical tape on your trekking poles. You have a pile of bandages and dressing in game bags and paracord. Arm yourself with knowledge and ingenuity on using what you have to survive and get out. A sandwich bag fits all my first aid, fire starting, emergency overnight, extra battery needs...

 

[Sbird2019]

FAK either on the hip belt of the pack or in the lid for quick access. To save space in the FAK, Ive liked the idea of wearing a RATS TQ around my waist through my belt loops. You don’t even notice it’s there. Other TQs (ie. CAT) may be more effective, but if you’re going lightweight and the risk is low, any reputable brand will work

 

[yo_vinny]

My FAK gets put in the bottom of my bag, but due to the zipper configuration on my bags it's really quick to get to it there. I've seen a lot of people advocate for keeping your TQ somewhere very quick to access like in a bino harness, which makes a lot of sense to me. I'll probably move my TQ there this year.

I wouldn't worry about bulk as much as I would worry about having the right items in the kit for the trip you're on. The truth is, in most situations if you're carrying what you need and have the training to use, it's not that bulky. I would definitely piece together a kit though. In my experience most premade kits have way too much crap in them, and are way too bulky.

I only have WFA training, so my medical skills are pretty limited and as a result my FAK is appropriately sized for what I can do. When I'm out hunting my FAK is mostly focused around blister management, bleeding management, and pain management.

 

[ni7ne]

If you're on a group trip, not every member of a group needs a FAK.
I've gotten used to packing only a sam splint, because that is the one thing you won't find in the cumulative ten pounds of redundant first aid gear a group seems to always bring out.

Nobody wants to hear this, but knife, FAK, stove, water filters are often unnecessarily redundant weight you'll end up with in a group trip.

 

[ganngus]

I keep my first aid kit in top pouch of my pack. However, I keep one of my tourniquets on a shoulder strap at all times.

 

[doc holiday13]

I have an previous from current gen 44mag. My FAK attaches to the exterior MOLLE. Easy access and its not going anywhere.

 

[K_pem]

I run an Exo K4 and my FAK and possibles pouches are both in stash pockets and lashed in right inside the main bag. I also have an extra TQ that has various locations that it lives but I will leave that one behind if Im hunting with someone else that also has one.

My FAK and Possibles pouches for daily carry (hunting) cumulatively weigh about 20oz (FAK is about 11.2oz); I then have a more expansive possibles pouch/expanded FAK that I bring with me on deeper back/multi day hunts where imminent help or extraction is a little further away and that bag weighs about 22oz as well depending on the hunt (rifle vs archery).

That may be heavy for some folks but I admittedly probably carry more supplies than most other people on the mountain would, given my background.

Best thing you can do is cut down on redundancy. I definitely subscribe to the "2 is 1 and 1 is none" mantra; but that second can be some other item in your kit repurposed MOST of the time.

 

[Te Hopo]

My first aid kit goes in an external pocket on my pack that I can access quickly. On all my bags I try to replace the zipper pull on that pocket with an orange pull so I can get to it quickly if needed. I also keep my first aid kit in a ziplock for the same reason- easy to find and easy to get what you need out of it.

I like the idea of replacing the zipper pull, I carry my main kit in the top zipper pocket of my pack and this is great.

I carry a small booboo kit and TQ on my bino harness