Lightweight Homemade First Aid Kit Ideas
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- hippiepunkpirate
- Posts: 1216
- Joined: May 30 2008 7:43 am
- City, State: Peoria, AZ
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Lightweight Homemade First Aid Kit Ideas
Instead of buying one of the pre-made ones, I want to make my own custom homemade first aid kit. It should be lightweight and highly packable, yet cover all the bases of essential wilderness first aid. Anyone have any ideas on how to put one together, small lightweight components to use, what to use as a "case" to carry it in, ect?
- azbackpackr
- Posts: 8299
- Joined: Jan 21 2006 6:46 am
- City, State: Tucson AZ
Re: Lightweight Homemade First Aid Kit Ideas
These are fine for car camping or river running, but are too heavy for backpacking. Most of us are leaning toward ultralight gear. A ziploc bag, or two of them, works fine.beterarcher wrote:OtterBox or Pelican make good durable water proof containers of all sizes.hippiepunkpirate wrote: a "case" to carry it in
There is a point of no return unremarked at the time in most lives. Graham Greene The Comedians
A clean house is a sign of a misspent life.
A clean house is a sign of a misspent life.
Re: Lightweight Homemade First Aid Kit Ideas
Great. So you're the guy that makes wildlife think that my campsite is their personal kitchen. :roll:beterarcher wrote: good bait for snapping pics of small animals at parks and campgrounds
I like te-wa, but not when he's eating through my pack while I sleep because he learned there might be fritos in there.

Tonya Harding's triple lutz
- azbackpackr
- Posts: 8299
- Joined: Jan 21 2006 6:46 am
- City, State: Tucson AZ
Re: Lightweight Homemade First Aid Kit Ideas
Will Fritos burn even when wet?
Rhetorical question. Of course they won't. Sterno will, though. So will a candle. So will cotton soaked in vaseline.
Besides, I'm with Te-wa. The Fritos get eaten on the first night. Nay, at the first snack stop!
Rhetorical question. Of course they won't. Sterno will, though. So will a candle. So will cotton soaked in vaseline.
Besides, I'm with Te-wa. The Fritos get eaten on the first night. Nay, at the first snack stop!
There is a point of no return unremarked at the time in most lives. Graham Greene The Comedians
A clean house is a sign of a misspent life.
A clean house is a sign of a misspent life.
Re: Lightweight Homemade First Aid Kit Ideas
I feel like I've had this conversation before, just buy a pack of tampons from the dollar store, those things burn like champs! And they're lightweight. And they're great for nosebleeds.azbackpackr wrote: So will cotton soaked in vaseline.

Re: Lightweight Homemade First Aid Kit Ideas
That's funny. I get a lot of nosebleeds, and I tell my wife the wadded up TP I put in there is a "nose-pon" ... 

http://prestonm.com : Everyone's enjoyment of the outdoors is different and should be equally honored.
- Al_HikesAZ
- Posts: 1351
- Joined: May 16 2005 1:01 pm
- City, State: Scottsdale, AZ
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Re: Lightweight Homemade First Aid Kit Ideas
They are great for just about everything. We have a thread on the Swiss Army Survival Tampon. viewtopic.php?f=33&t=7021&p=82547&hilit=tampon#p82547The Hippy wrote:I feel like I've had this conversation before, just buy a pack of tampons from the dollar store, those things burn like champs! And they're lightweight. And they're great for nosebleeds.
Anybody can make a hike harder. The real skill comes in making the hike easier.
life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer it gets to the end, the faster it goes. Andy Rooney
life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer it gets to the end, the faster it goes. Andy Rooney
- autumnstars
- Posts: 265
- Joined: Jan 04 2011 11:27 pm
- City, State: Las Vegas, NV
Re: Lightweight Homemade First Aid Kit Ideas
Add bandana - good for lots of things, even when you don't get hurt.
"Let it ride / Let it roll / Let it go"
Re: Lightweight Homemade First Aid Kit Ideas
In response to the poll, I've never carried duct tape with me and I've never needed it. That's only day hiking, though. Might be another story with backpacking.
Re: Lightweight Homemade First Aid Kit Ideas
I usually carry duct tape. I've only used it a few times, once to rig someone else's broken tent pole, and the other times for non-critical repairs. One of my hiking buddies had a major pack failure on the first day of a four-day trip. He kept it together for the rest of the trip with duct tape. It took more every day.
- oceanwithin
- Posts: 127
- Joined: Jun 19 2009 10:19 am
- City, State: AZ
Re: Lightweight Homemade First Aid Kit Ideas
duct tape, always!
- blister fix
- hiking shoe failure fixer, for when the sole of your shoe unexpectedly comes off in the middle of nowhere
- save your hiking companions from seeing your pumpkin when your pants split fix
- great for taping a vehicle air intake back together when it breaks in the middle of nowhere and the car dies
- blister fix
- hiking shoe failure fixer, for when the sole of your shoe unexpectedly comes off in the middle of nowhere
- save your hiking companions from seeing your pumpkin when your pants split fix
- great for taping a vehicle air intake back together when it breaks in the middle of nowhere and the car dies
- kevinweitzel75
- Posts: 521
- Joined: Apr 04 2010 1:15 pm
- City, State: Mesa, AZ.
Re: Lightweight Homemade First Aid Kit Ideas
Duct tape and bailing wire will save your life!
"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
I took the road less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference."
Robert Frost
I took the road less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference."
Robert Frost
Re: Lightweight Homemade First Aid Kit Ideas
Light weight, easy to carry, with many uses, why wouldn't you carry it?
Re: Lightweight Homemade First Aid Kit Ideas
Duct tape: The original multi-tool ...
http://prestonm.com : Everyone's enjoyment of the outdoors is different and should be equally honored.
- AZWanderingBear
- Posts: 41
- Joined: Jan 23 2008 9:10 am
- City, State: Phoenix, AZ
Re: Lightweight Homemade First Aid Kit Ideas
I have a few wraps around my poles and a small roll in each vehicle. Sort of the ultimate repair tool (gear, clothes, people, etc). Works to pull out that tiny sticker you can't see but is bugging the heck out of you (while providing the equivalent of a back country wax job). From personal experience it makes pretty good steri strips. Have used it instead of moleskin, but prefer Leukotape for that role. Add a sail needle and the inner core of some duct tape or dental floss for thread and you have a versatile repair kit for your gear that weighs almost nothing.
All you have is your fire...
And the place you need to reach
And the place you need to reach
- Nighthiker
- Posts: 1506
- Joined: Feb 03 2002 6:59 am
- City, State: Payson
Re: Lightweight Homemade First Aid Kit Ideas
I have put together items for first aid kits for my vehicles and for my outdoor trips. The first aid items fit into a first aid labeled zippered bag that I purchased from Walgreens and then I placed the kit in a red dry bag. The contents of this kit are many of the items listed in the Search and Rescue manual that I noted when I took a Search and Rescue class. I actually only had to add several items from a kit that I already had assembled prior to the class. I do carry duct tape and I have another kit for non medical emergencies.
jk
- Grasshopper
- Posts: 1684
- Joined: Dec 28 2006 5:06 pm
- City, State: Scottsdale, AZ
Re: Lightweight Homemade First Aid Kit Ideas
Is duct tape an essential accessory for hiking?
As of 2/26/15 this poll question is showing: YES = 63% NO = 37%
(I personally don't believe that 63% of us carry Duck Tape in our packs for "Hiking..Day Hiking" maybe YES for Backpacking? )
As of 2/26/15 this poll question is showing: YES = 63% NO = 37%
(I personally don't believe that 63% of us carry Duck Tape in our packs for "Hiking..Day Hiking" maybe YES for Backpacking? )

(Outside.. "there is No Place Like It!!")
Re: Lightweight Homemade First Aid Kit Ideas
I have duct tape wrapped around a lighter. The lighter is with me on any hike I go on whether a short day trip or backpacking.
Tonya Harding's triple lutz
Re: Lightweight Homemade First Aid Kit Ideas
Semantics - the word essential is a problem...
- BorealisBiker
- Posts: 1
- Joined: Nov 09 2009 11:47 am
- City, State: Apache Jct., AZ
Good Firestarter
I agree with sentiments about having it for first aid kits, repairs, etc. Another great use for it is as a FIRESTARTER. Duct tape is a little hard to get lit, but will burn very well even in rainy conditions. It burns hot enough to dry out and light damp tinder. Be careful not to let it drip on your skin tho. It's hard to put out.
This use may eliminate the need to carry firestarters at all. Check it out before you're in a situation and need it to save your butt. That way you know what to expect from it.
This use may eliminate the need to carry firestarters at all. Check it out before you're in a situation and need it to save your butt. That way you know what to expect from it.
Life is a journey, not a destination.
- outdoor_lover
- Posts: 1871
- Joined: Aug 19 2011 7:49 pm
- City, State: Scottsdale, AZ
Re: Lightweight Homemade First Aid Kit Ideas
I carry it instead of Bandaids...I also use it if I start to get a Hot Spot on my Feet, it's as good as Moleskin unless the Blister is full blown, but I try not to let it get that bad before I do something about it...I just wrap a bunch around an empty toilet paper holder and it eliminates a whole bunch of other things in my Pack....
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty & well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, totally worn out & proclaiming, "Wow What a Ride!"