Ultralight First Aid Kit for Short Trips (70g)

When I was taking photos of the Adventure Medical Kits Ultralight .3 I thought it would be worthwhile to take a photo of what I was actually carrying in my pack for 2-3 day trips. The contents are quite different to what you perhaps might expect. In fact it's a bit of a mish-mash.

• Aloksak
• Dental Floss
• Sewing thread (about 40m)
• Needle (wrapped in foam)
• 2x Antiseptic wipes
• Pen
• Paracetamol (6x)
• Ibuprofen (4)
• Mini Swiss Army Knife with scissors (see Ultralight Camping Knives)
• Tick Removal tool
• 2M of paracord (1.5mm and 3mm - stuff that was lying around in the house)

First Aid Kit Contents

All the items in this abridged kit is in there for a reason and covers things I might reasonably expect to meet in the field AND be fixable in the field.

Aloksak

It's reasonably tough and an easy way of keeping things together and dry.

Dental Floss

I use it for cleaning my teeth and as an alternative to thread for really tough repairs. I wind a lot of it onto a sewing machine bobbin and then use the pocket knife to cut it.

Needle and Thread

A lot of things can be made servicable in the field if you have these items.

Antiseptic Wipes

In case of wounds that need temporary cleaning or for tick bites.

Pen

It's the smallest and lightest and cheapest pen that I could find. I just leave it in the kit in case I ever need to write something.

Paracetamol

I usually carry between 4-8 of these. I can get splitting headaches if I drop my caffeine intake too quickly. I can also get them if blood-sugar levels drop due to lack of food and/or water. Food/Water will solve most of the problems but it doesn't always clear up the headache that came before it.

Ibuprofen

This is the walker's miracle drug. It helps with swelling and joint over-use injuries. If you really have to it can help you to walk to safety - at the risk of doing more joint damage of course.

On a heavy day they can be helpful overnight to help recovery (on one trip I was under orders from a physio).

Knife/Scissors

The knife I use weighs in about 10g. I always keep some sort of knife or scissors in my medical kit.

I'm not looking to do jungle clearance or bear-wrestling and so it just needs to be able to cut small things, not support me in a Ramboesque rampage of testosterone.

Tick Removal Tool

I've never yet had a problem with ticks but I do tend to sleep in terrains where ticks are known to be an issue. It's basically a side-clamping pair of tweezers that have to be used in a particular way.

Para-cord

I carry a couple of metres of cord so that a broken shoe/boot-lace can be replaced, tent-poles lashed/repaired and maybe a splint supported.

In practice if I did need to do something to create a splint then 'spare' clothing and tent pole sections would be pressed into service along with some guylines from whatever tarp or tent I was carrying.

Antihistamine Tablets

Not in this kit (which is for winter) but will be going back in as insect season and summer arrives.