Lightweight Homemade First Aid Kit Ideas

[hippiepunkpirate]

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]

a "case" to carry it in

OtterBox or Pelican make good durable water proof containers of all sizes.

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.

[chumley]

good bait for snapping pics of small animals at parks and campgrounds

Great. So you're the guy that makes wildlife think that my campsite is their personal kitchen. :roll:

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.

[azbackpackr]

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!

[Hippy]

So will cotton soaked in vaseline.

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.

[kingsnake]

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" ...

[Al_HikesAZ]

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.

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#p82547

[autumnstars]

Add bandana - good for lots of things, even when you don't get hurt.

[PatrickL]

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.

[big_load]

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]

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

[kevinweitzel75]

Duct tape and bailing wire will save your life!

[hikerdw]

Light weight, easy to carry, with many uses, why wouldn't you carry it?

[kingsnake]

Duct tape: The original multi-tool ...

[AZWanderingBear]

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.

[Nighthiker]

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.

[Grasshopper]

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? )

[chumley]

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.

[mazatzal]

Semantics - the word essential is a problem...

[BorealisBiker]

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.

[outdoor_lover]

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....