First aid/emergency supplies thoughts?

[Spring.Bear]

I keep seeing ultralighters list their first aid kits and there’s no real first aid supplies! Just some alcohol swabs, painkillers, and something for blisters. I would be very concerned being out in the woods without at least some gauze to stop a sudden major bleed. Also I feel like it’s important to have a back up radio/sos device of some sort but maybe I’m overthinking? I can’t find one that’s at all a reasonable weight. Phones are pretty reliable.
Obviously I’m not trying for ultralight but I am trying to keep ounces down.
What do other people bring for emergencies?

[gpburdelljr]

With iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro models, you can use Emergency SOS via satellite to text emergency services when you're out of cellular and Wi-Fi coverage. You can also use the Find My app to share your location with people via satellite.

[RockDoc]

Sure use your phone when you fall on a sharp stick and start bleeding profusely.
We have a phrase for this, it's called being on the "stupid side of Light".

[gpburdelljr]

Sure use your phone when you fall on a sharp stick and start bleeding profusely.
We have a phrase for this, it's called being on the "stupid side of Light".

The OP stated that they thought some hikers weren’t carrying enough First Aid supplies to save weight. The OP also wasn’t suggesting a phone could replace First Aid supplies, just that a phone and/or SOS device would also be useful. I pointed out that with an iPhone 14 you have both a phone, and satellite SOS device.

[HankIV]

Answer here is for the AT. You’re not bushwhacking, and generally not using a blade. The most popular knife is the Swiss Army basic. So most common injuries are falls. You might break or sprain something bad enough to not be able to walk out. Otherwise you might have a minor bleed. Slap some hand sanitizer on it, and your TP on top of that. Adhere with duct tape or Ace bandage (carried for wobbly knee)

A few bandaids, Imodium, Motrin, Benadryl, Vaseline common sense and self awareness are a pretty good kit. Keep the hand sanitizer replenished. You will get stung by yellow jackets and wasps, you will fall and gash something a bit. Pretty reasonable chance of Noro if you’re in the NOBO bubble.

For the more serious but low probability issues a Garmin inreach mini is not that heavy.

[OhioHiker]

I am by no means a Ultralight'er, but I have worked very hard to minimize my base weight by learning a lot from what UL'er do. Right now I am around 12lbs base.

My first aid kit includes, Tylenol, ibuprofen, pepto, Benadryl (sleep aid and allergies), a cold and flu type pill, small container of Bag Balm (vaseline type ointment, chapped lips to cut and burns), small roll of gauze, bandaids, safety pins, tweezers, bee sting wipes, small syringe, water treatment tablets, and leukotape. It's all inside of a small freezer bag with a large red + drawn on.

I feel like it covers everything Ive run across without needing serious medical care, I should be able to at least worse case survive long enough to get help. Ive thought about adding some rubber hose to use as a tourniquet and superglue. I feel like there is a balance, What can you truthfully do solo; bee sting, animal bite, headache, fever, small cut or minor burn, blister, rolled ankle, diarrhea/vomiting, I feel like ive got that covered. Things I would need help with, being impaled(falling on a stick or something), broken limb, fall from heights, large cut. I feel like I could treat those well enough temporarily ?

I also have my phone with me and if I am going somewhere for the fist time and cell coverage is questionable, I take my inReach. Most importantly I always let someone know where I am going and my tentative itinerary;campsites, path of travel, I average 2mph, even where I'll try to park. I also send updates as I go in and out of cell coverage.

[garlic08]

First aid kits are generally useless without training (common sense and self awareness as mentioned above). Nothing will work if you panic. Many accidents happen at the end of the day, often on a descent, the last ski run, often within sight of the trailhead, when fatigue sets in and you start thinking about something else.

My FAK is minimal, pretty much as described by the OP, but in pack on or on my person I always have a cotton bandanna (bandage/compress), hiking poles (splints), and extra warm clothing and shelter. The kit also has a Bic lighter, a couple of single-edged razor blades, and a roll of tape.

First aid and survival training are the best things to carry. You never know how you will react in an emergency, but some training gives everyone at least a chance to perform well.

[Traveler]

First aid can be pretty subjective, a lot of the first aid stuff most people carry are based on past injuries they were not specifically prepared for at the time or to treat sudden onset allergies like a bee sting or asthma attack. For example, blister management is pretty high on most people's list as they have experienced them so bandaids and Neosporin are commonly found int their "first aid" kit. However, given the increase of rescue communications availability and medical facilities in areas where trails like the AT pass through, the need to carry a broad array of first aid related materials has lessened quite a bit over time.

The only people I know who carry more sophisticated first aid kits than most people are EMT or SAR/R level personnel who are prepared to help most anyone they come across who is injured. While I carry a light amount of first aid gear, a lot of the other gear I have can serve dual duty. For example, socks become wound packing gauze, trekking poles wrapped with a bit of clothes line becomes a splint, a spare shirt becomes a sling or packing for a makeshift crutch. All of these circumstances require getting off the trail as soon as practical for higher levels of care.

In actuality perhaps the most important first aid staple is decision making, which can be difficult if not life threatening if the wrong decision is engaged for the circumstance. For example, determining the seriousness of an injury and assess when the person needs to get off the trail. Injury victims will often fight decisions that are best for them, such as a walk-out evacuation while the victim can still walk on their own. I have seen people fight these decisions with quarter size blisters on both feet that got significantly worse over time as they continued on the trail into areas difficult for rescuers to reach when they reached the end of their capability, adding more time and danger with a carry-out injury.

Simple first aid kits of various sized bandaids, Neosporin and Ibuprofen are nice to have for minor wounds that can be treated on the trail. For more serious injury that require a stitch or two or treat a broken bone/bad sprain etc., getting off the trail to a medical facility is going to likely be the best long term decision.

[fudgefoot]

I would add iodine solution and some means of irrigating a wound (plastic syringe, etc.). These don't weigh much and can help reduce the risk of infection which can easily be a problem out on the trail.

I recommend taking a wilderness first aid course. After taking one, I realized my FA kit was inadequate and I needed to add a few items.

[OhioHiker]

I would add iodine solution and some means of irrigating a wound (plastic syringe, etc.). These don't weigh much and can help reduce the risk of infection which can easily be a problem out on the trail.

I recommend taking a wilderness first aid course. After taking one, I realized my FA kit was inadequate and I needed to add a few items.

I agree. I think my emergancy water treatment tablets are iodine based. I also use a alcohol stove so I always have isopropyl alcohol with me.

[maremieisen]

The problem with packing a first aid kit is that the second you start doing so, your brain starting thinking about all the horrible but extremely unlikely things that could happen, but probably won't.

Things I always take:
ibuprofen tablets, acetaminophen tablets, diphenhydramine (antihistamine) tablets
200 mg ibuprofen plus 500 mg acetaminophen are synergistic and extremely effective
a small vial of tincture of iodine (and powdered citric acid from my kitchen supplies, to kill the nasty taste if I happen to need to use the iodine to treat drinking water)
a small vial of oral anaesthetic (benzocaine 20%)
a 125 mL Nalgene bottle filled with isopropanol 70%
a few adhesive bandages of various sizes
a few gauze pads
garlic powder from my kitchen supplies is anti-bacterial, and was used in WWII when supplies of antibiotics ran low
salt from my kitchen supplies can also be used to make a rinse
soap from my personal hygiene supplies

[Leo L.]

I carry a minimal Emergency kit, containing a very small First Aid kit, some chords, a tiny knife, a blue crayon, a space blanket, some painkillers, and a roll of Leukotape.
So far, the only item I've ever needed was the Leukotape. This led to the fact that I now carry two rolls of Leucotape, a almost finished one in my toiletry bag, and a brand-new one in the Emergency kit.

I agree with what was said above, that almost all accidents happen towards the end of the day, just before reaching shelter or campspot.
Yes, we had it happen that my wife fell in such an unhappy way that she got a deep cut in her knee which we could not stop bleeding. It happened just when we had reached the forest road which would bring us back to civilisation - so it was no big issue to get a car-ride into hospital, where the wound got a good cleaning and a few stitches.

[gpburdelljr]

I carry a minimal Emergency kit, containing a very small First Aid kit, some chords, a tiny knife, a blue crayon, a space blanket, some painkillers, and a roll of Leukotape.
So far, the only item I've ever needed was the Leukotape. This led to the fact that I now carry two rolls of Leucotape, a almost finished one in my toiletry bag, and a brand-new one in the Emergency kit.

I agree with what was said above, that almost all accidents happen towards the end of the day, just before reaching shelter or campspot.
Yes, we had it happen that my wife fell in such an unhappy way that she got a deep cut in her knee which we could not stop bleeding. It happened just when we had reached the forest road which would bring us back to civilisation - so it was no big issue to get a car-ride into hospital, where the wound got a good cleaning and a few stitches.

What is the blue crayon for?

[gpburdelljr]

What is the blue crayon for?

Never mind. I see that there are crayon bandages. I was thinking of coloring crayons.

[gpburdelljr]

Some QuickClot, or similar, bandages for cuts that won’t stop bleeding would be useful to have.

[One Half]

My husband, son and I all took the Emergency First Responder course years ago. (That's like the most basic one, right?) What I learned, among other things, is most everything is pretty minor and needs a "band aid and an ibuprofen." I carry enough stuff to get me to the next town, resupply or possibly road crossing if I need to get off trail (like intestinal distress). The rest is just extra weight. And in over 30 years backpacking, I never needed the "more serious stuff." Of course I basically backpack the AT and the White Mountains. The course also taught me (or rather reinforced) my skills to MacGyver things. And most importantly, it taught me that for any major trauma, I am basically going to Macgyver a temporary fix and call for extraction because whether it's me or someone I happen upon it's going to take a team of people, and HOURS, to get to "front country services" for the really big issues.

[Leo L.]

What is the blue crayon for?

Good question.
Its something I found no English translation for, basically an old fashioned thick stick of "wax with color", which would paint an almost any surface.

I started to carry it when I started solo desert hiking, investigating various canyons in a given area. I used to mark my own way on junctions to find my way back or not doing the same canyon again unintentionally.
As I'm using the very same Emergency kit on winter hikes, as well as on backcountry skiing tours, I found that the very same wax crayon would help against snow freezing to the skies, so I still have one with me although the original purpose is obsolete ( due to me not doing desert hikes any more). Count it in as one of those "just in case" items.

[Tipi Walter]

Back in March 2022 I was pulling a 19 day trip in Citico Creek wilderness and on Day 10 I descended Mill Branch trail which is very steep. I was using my Felco pruners to clip open the trail and reached a small sapling blowdown which needed to be cut out of the way. I've made hundreds of thousands of pruner cuts over the years but there's always "that one time."

Like an idiot I left on my heavy pack and reached out to cut a stob with my left hand and slipped on the trail and cut off the tip of my right thumb which was holding the stob. The pruners nearly sliced off a third of my thumb nail and the skin underneath which bled profusely of course. I immediately dumped the pack and opened my top pack lid and got to a ditty bag containing neosporin and fabric bandaids. My main thought? Stop the bleeding. Which I did with 3 tightly wrapped bandaids. See pic.

I still had about 10 days left in the trip and the next couple days sucked unless you like throbbing pain. The first time I changed the bandages it pulled off the wound clot and bled freely but stopped after the next set of bandaids---including some big ones I always carry on trips---including more neosporin. To avoid the wound knitting up into bandaid gauze I made a large bandage "box" which formed a roof over the wound w/o touching it. At the scene I looked for the thumb tip flesh on the ground but no such luck.

Trip 216 (251)-XL.jpg
Looks minor---alot of nerves in fingers. This pic was taken near the end of the trip after the wound knitted up.

Trip 216 (153)-XL.jpg

Trip 216 (155)-XL.jpg
Pruner looks like its laughing with its one happy eye. 3 tight bandaids stops the bleeding.

images.jpg
Big bandaids come in handy too.

[Leo L.]

This looks very painful, Walter!

Fun fact:
During Corona lockdown, I did what many other did as well: Woodworking in my home workshop.
It happened that, clumsy me, I cut a decent slice off my right index finger at the planing machine.
I went to the emergency section of our local hospital and after a good cleaning of the wound they wrapped the whole finger in plastic (something that looked like Polycryo) and put a decent suspensory bandage around it, instructed me to not open or disturb in any way the wrap, and asked me to come by a week later.
They opened the wrap the nex time and it stank like rotten rats, but they seemd to aprecciate it, just to put fresh polycryo wrap around it.
The same happened the other week, and at the third appointment there was al new and rosy skin visible under the wrap.

This was the most uncommon wound treatment I ever heard about, but it worked just great.
Just wondering if such treatment could be done in outdoor conditions as well?

[gpburdelljr]

Good question.
Its something I found no English translation for, basically an old fashioned thick stick of "wax with color", which would paint an almost any surface.

I started to carry it when I started solo desert hiking, investigating various canyons in a given area. I used to mark my own way on junctions to find my way back or not doing the same canyon again unintentionally.
As I'm using the very same Emergency kit on winter hikes, as well as on backcountry skiing tours, I found that the very same wax crayon would help against snow freezing to the skies, so I still have one with me although the original purpose is obsolete ( due to me not doing desert hikes any more). Count it in as one of those "just in case" items.

In the US it’s called a lumber crayon, or keel.