First Aid Kits
Whether you're out camping, on a mountain expedition, or just on a Sunday ramble, as the Scouts say: be prepared! A key part of your preparation should be carrying a first aid kit. You don't want to use it, and hopefully you won't need to, but having one to hand can make the essential difference.
Lifesystems are a brand who understand outdoor adventuring — your choice of activity greatly affects the most likely illnesses, ailments and injuries you may sustain, which is why Lifesystems produce first aid kits specialised to an activity. Their range includes Trek, Adventurer, Camping, Mountain Leader and more.
Carrying a first aid kit is only the first part, though. Below are three outdoor first aid kits from Lifesystems. Before you go out with one, make sure you know what it contains and how to use it — and consider carrying a pocket first aid guide too.
Trek First Aid Kit
The Trek First Aid Kit is a recommended Duke of Edinburgh kit, described as the perfect size for most daily activities and ideal for dealing with small accidents. It provides essential items for treating cuts, grazes, blisters and other minor injuries. Weighing 240g, it comes with a belt loop so it's easily accessible rather than stuck at the bottom of a rucksack. The kit contains 23 items, including a primary care leaflet, tweezers, scissors, safety pins, paracetamol, bandages, gauze swabs, micropore tape, cleansing wipes, vinyl gloves, low-adherent dressings, plasters and blister plasters.
Camping First Aid Kit
The Camping First Aid Kit is a larger kit (also recommended for Duke of Edinburgh) designed for dealing with accidents that can happen when under canvas. It contains items for treating and preventing infection in burns, cuts, grazes, blisters and other minor injuries. The kit weighs 452g and contains 40 items, adding a spot check thermometer, a triangular calico bandage, zinc oxide and strapping tape, burn gel sachets, sterile eye wash, a medium wound dressing and wound closure strips to the essentials found in the Trek kit.
Mountain Leader First Aid Kit
The Mountain Leader First Aid Kit provides the equipment needed to care for a group of between 1 and 14 people, and is also used by survival training schools in the UK. It was designed with the help of an expedition doctor and members of the British Special Forces medical team. This is the fullest-ranged kit of the three, with 64 items and a weight of 930g, adding shears, a glow stick, a resuscitation face shield, ibuprofen alongside paracetamol, duct tape, and a larger set of bandages and dressings.