Thread: First aid kits

Originally Posted by MB

To my mind, there is so much unnecessary stuff in pre-packed kits, so better to put your own together. If it's going to live in the car, doesn't matter, but if you're hauling it around the hills...

+1

What I hate about people lugging a single 'kit' around is that everything is in it... what if you lose your pack or are away from it when shit happens?

I learnt my lesson after getting away with accidentally stabbing myself with a Leatherman knife blade (forgot the proper knife at home!) when gutting a deer up a steep slope, stupid move as I could have dragged the deer down to a flatter area and the accident would never have happened (slipped over into the slope with knife in hand).

Few inches more and I could have got the femoral and been a goner, but another stupid mistake was wanting to save the expensive hunting trousers I'd just bought, so take them off slowly whilst bleeding into them

Should have used a tourniquet but still wanted to get the deer out, so walking was the only option, so no tourniquet and just a pressure/Israeli bandage which took time to get out because it was in a 'kit', which was in my rucksack

Luckily car not far away and managed to get into A&E but still look back and think 'What an idiot!'

Now just carry a tourniquet in a side pouch for easy access.

Have heard of guys being shot point blank with hunting rifles by accident (usually in the limbs) and wonder how they hell they survive without immediate treatment...