Backpacking First Aid Essentials
So you’re getting ready to head into the great outdoors, eh?
After a few months of being cooped up, we’re all ready to get back out on the trails. But there are a few things you really need to bring with you when you do, the most important one being a first aid kit.
You might be thinking “A first-aid kit?” Come on. It’s just a short hike. I’ve got a few bandaids somewhere in the bottom of my pack. It’ll be fine.
Uh uh. No way. You’ll be fine until an accident happens, which, by its nature, is unexpected. Then you’ll be mighty glad you shoved that 5×5 pouch of drugs and bandages between your raincoat and trail mix.
You don’t pack a first aid kit because you expect to get hurt, you pack it because if you do happen to get hurt, you’re IN THE MIDDLE OF THE WOODS and are gonna need some help getting out.
But what do you even put in a first aid kit?
Never fear. As an injury prone hiker who grew up with a mother who has a degree in outdoor education and is a lifetime girl scout, I’ve got this whole first aid kit thing down to a science.
CATEGORY 1: ORAL MEDICATIONS
Absolute essentials (AKA potentially life-saving):
Aspirin (20+ tablets)
Ibuprofen (acetaminophen) (50+ tablets)
Benadryl (antihistamine) (20+ tablets)
Hydration Powder (2+packs)
Highly Recommended:
Antiacid (10+ tablets)
Day & Night Cold Medication (5+ of each)
Sinus Relief (5+ tablets)
CATEGORY 2: TOPICAL MEDICATIONS
Essential:
Antibiotic ointment (such as Neosporin) (1 tube or 5+ packets)
Alcohol wipes (4+wipes)
Sting Relief (1 tube)
Highly Recommend:
Vaseline (1+ oz)
Anti-fungal (1 tube)
CATEGORY 3: BANDAGES
They’re all essential, really:
Standard bandages in a variety of sizes (10-20 bandages)
Giant band-aid type bandage (1+)
Sterile gauze pads (1+)
Burn pads (2+)
Blister band-aids (2+)
Panty liners / Pads (4+)
Tampons (2+)
CATEGORY 4: TAPES
Yep. It’s a whole category.
First aid tape-regular (1 roll)
First aid tape- waterproof (1 roll)
Non-elastic sports tape (1 roll)
Elastic Sports tape (such as KT tape) (6+ strips)
CATEGORY 5: MISCELLANEOUS
Nitrile gloves (1 pair)
Scissors and or nail clipper (1)
Tweezers (1 pair)
Waterproof bag (1) -to stuff everything in.
If you want to hear more about why each item is included and how I came up with this list, you can check out my youtube video here:
I know this sounds like a lot, but it all fits into a nice compact zippered bag that I can shove into pretty much any backpack.
Building a first-aid kit isn’t super fun, it can get kind of pricey, but boy oh boy will you be glad to have it when you need it.
Anything not on this list that always makes it into your first aid kit? Drop me a comment below!
Feel free to share this with a friend who is a little injury-prone, especially on the trail!
NOTE: While this first aid kit is built for multi-day hikes and backpacking trips through the wild, it works great for day hikes and for travel-style backpacking (through cities and whatnot) as well!
Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional and this article is based on my own experiences and is not intended to be taken as medical advice.
