One thing I've seen a few people put in is stuff for toothaches. Altitude especially can cause issues with such things and they can be completely debilitating if they happen on the off chance. Hopefully one of those things you never need. Also, on the tick front, it helps to cut the notches on a 45 degree tilt to the plastic, Max Egorov has a great video on this. Great vid!

Tic remover is a genius idea. I will store that technique in my mental tool kit 👍🏼

Where I live in Central Washington State,USA if you go to the forest you are in the hills or mountains. Great advice on the first aid kit.

Did you nearly say 'brain fart' 😂 Really sensible choice of gear and the tick remove was good. The only thing I carry is a face shield that not in you first aid selection.

steri strips, invaluable. you never know when you get a big gash that needs to be pulled back together, stitches in a pack, ultra ultra lightweight.

Many years ago when first starting out I made the mistake of getting the most comprehensive FAK I could find - just in case. It was designed for multi day, multi person expeditions and whilst well designed and thought out it weighed about a kilo. I lugged it about for years until I started cutting weight generally with my kit. Now like yours it’s more manageable and mostly contains stuff I use more often than not. I carry a larger non adherent dressing as I find the 5x5 a bit limiting in size, you can cut a larger size and make it smaller but you can’t make the small one larger. Yes you could use 2 but a larger one is more versatile and easier to use IMHO. I do, however, carry an Israeli pressure dressing for more serious bleeds and injuries. Two incidents I can think of made me stick one in the bottom of my rucksack; one was a trip on rocky ground that resulted in a large cut to the scalp, lot of blood and an impressive flap of skin. Fortunately it looked far worse than it was but was dressed initially with a T-shirt. The second was as a result of climbing over a barbed wire fence or more accurately falling off one and ripping open the whole palm of the hand. I guess you can improvise dressings but I just think a dedicated dressing is better and easier in the long run and personally I’d rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it. I agree with what you said about carrying needless crap that you’re not trained in: chest decompression needles and Epipens are two of my personal bug bears. NOT I may add if the epipens are prescribed for you personally or for your kids but carrying them in case some random stranger is suffering anaphylaxis. Neat trick with the tick remover, I’ve never seen that before. I just carry the tick twisters in all my kits, they are very cheap and don’t take up space plus they’re easy to use. I also have a casualty report sheet tucked in my kit too. Like your fold out aide memoire but you can record cas details, location, injuries, treatments, phone numbers, record obs etc. Handy to remind yourself to do everything but especially so if you have to send someone to get help as all the necessary info can be sent with them if no phone signal etc and less likely to forget details like grid refs etc.

I like the video and it will make me think about what I carry in my kit. I am probably over prepared at the moment. I got out in the bush hiking and hunting alone and a lot of time out of cellphone range so my only contact is a Satellite Communicator (Zoleo) for emergencies. I feel that I need to be able to stabalise myself until Search and Rescue can make it to me so I'll need a good think on this. What I do want to do though is to take a wilderness first aid course so I know the proper way to handle emergencies. Thank you for the video and I've subscribed😀

I like what you have there, its nice to see someone else who noticed the benefit of vet wrap! my boo boo bag as I call it is very similar with 3 exceptions, a pack of gauze swabs, a plastic bag and a calico triangular bandage. both of which have multiple uses. use the gauze layered with a non adherent pad underneath and your vet wrap over the top and you have something akin to an Israeli or olaes dressing, can be used for cleaning or packing wounds. And a triangular is like the Swiss army knife of a first aid kit, there is no part of the body it cannot be used on be it for immobilisation, wound covering or even if push comes to shove improvising a tourniquet. again the plastic bag has multiple uses, clean up at the end, use as an occlusive dressing if need be or even covering burns- which trust me even your non adherent pads will stick to.

Plus a little bottle of Tinc Benz for the win…:)* * for those not in the know, tincture of benzene is a very effective blister treatment

I have the tic tool and kiss of life on my keychain together with the Swiss army knife. I do carry medical scissors in the medkit and the rest is a few bandages, bandaids and blister plasters. The main thing is disinfectant wipes and stuff to cover up any point de entree in wounds and support bandages to treat sprains. But rules of logic only things you know how to use. Although i know how to use trauma kits i only carry them in warzones. I have been going into the mountains and woods for over thirty years and i have never seen a gunshot wound or other trauma away from the roads in peacetime. On the roads the emergency services are going to be able to reach the victim usually within twenty minutes so no need for tourniquets and Israeli bandages. And airways can be secured by other means than tubes.

Nice to find out I have virtually identical kit, exception being I have small tube of antisepic cream instead of your Bonjela. However, I seem to carry 2 or 3 times as many of the smaller items...for no other reason than they fit in the small first aid case(140mmx120mmx55mm). In the last decade I bet I've use maybe 6 plasters 🤣

1. Vet wrap is great stuff 👍 Most if the stuff your left with I don't really consider 1st aid kit it's just personal maintenance stuff that your more than likely to use on the activity your doing ( I carry that sort of stuff in several places including wash kit )I can't see the point in gloves as you don't have kit to deal with injuries big enough to warrant them . Most self inflicted cuts will probably be your own fingers etc . First Aid kit to me is stuff exactly for larger very rare unlikely injuries that is never expected to be used and changed out when out of date On big stuff again I don't carry much as lots can be improvised for big wounds etc . I do now carry a tourniquet. Wound packing and Israeli bandage for catastrophic bleeds mainly stays in the car but on my person when stalking deer (yes I am trained) . For hill walking I carry some stuff to bind my ankles as mine are prone to being turned over badly ( I always use high leg boots for support )

Loved this!

Kath Wills, in person and through her book, is excellent. Lots of sound practical advice. (No connection, just a happy trainee.)

Great video, ty made me really analyze my basic kit for safety. Thx my friend

Great video Craig. The book you refer to is one that I have had in my collection for a number of years, it's a quality read. Look forward to your Kit Care Kit vid Keep up the great work 👍

You don't disappoint... the "Thinking Process" was the take-away for me. THANK YOU for that. This will be hard, but I'm replacing my suture kit (which I do know how to use - my dad was an ER physician and he made my sister and I practice on raw chicken leg skin as part of an advanced First Aid Course he had us do with him... and by chance it came in handy... anyhow, it was a really weird family) with a few more butterfly bandages and a tiny tube of Super Glue. I haven't had to sew myself up for about 15 years and so the super glue can be multi-purposed for other things and a serious laceration will be a trip to the hospital anyways eventually. We'll see how it goes. I've been thinking/researching about this one for a while so, thanks for the motivation. You're brilliant as usual. 👍

My kit is similar though I use co dydramol instead of paracetamol(love your tick idea btw) but also one major wound dressing and a tourniquet because I am clumsy and prone to taking risks

Hi Craig. First of all- thanks a lot for your videos! I'm into outdoors/bushcraft/survival many years now but only found your channel today.. too late in my opinion. Very informative content with a lot of good tips and new perspectives on "already known" things. Very nice job mate! Hope you'll continue with that passion and quality. Best wishes from Austria!

Also as a dog owner, I take a quality pair of thin nose tweezers, the dog has a a good few more tic’s than us , not sure the tablet slit would work so well , really enjoy your videos

Another good thought provoking video. I have antiseptic cream for anti friction. I don't need bonjela. I also carry a couple of medium size wound dressings, a few safety pins. I have a small mirror and lip salve but in my other kit. Things I could probably leave out saline eye wash and one way breathing valve for CPR but they are small.

My only admission is that my First Aid kit includes stuff I deem Necessary for multi day trips. It's not particularly OTT, just can't be bothered to pare it down for day hikes. Like the tick remover tip 👌 Surprised only 14% thought if Necessary.

Very interesting video craig. I tent leave the stand alone plasters and just use the small packs of cause and the medical tape, but keep blister plasters. As with the tick removers: 1 i find the ones for animals (dog's) are easier to use and cheaper😂, 2nd ive never seen that trick with cutting a V the plastic tablets. I tend to go out with a group of people so i tend to pack more ie bandages etc. Helped a few people with deep head cuts from falling off when doing scrambles. I also keep some bite cream as I'm from scotland we get a lot of midges etc up here😂. ATB

Very useful video! I'm either carrying a 500g plus first aid kit with too much equipment or, more likely, no first aid kit at all. Going to follow this advice using the list from Katherine Wills and the advice from slippery999 to carry an Israeli pressure dressing and a larger non-adherent dressing. I will also be bringing aspirin tablets, as you can give these to someone who is experiencing the symptoms of a heart attack; it helps to thin the blood. Cayenne pepper can be used in the same way, but it would be easier to get most people to take aspirin. I see antihistamine tablets on the list, too - I once had a very painful jellyfish sting that lasted for hours until I took some antihistamines, which soothed it straight away. Anything tiny like that with multiple uses deserves to get on the shortlist. I do want to learn how to use a tourniquet; I will have to put watching videos about how to use them on my to-do list.

For tick removal you can always blob vaseline on top of it or I use peppermint oil and put a couple drops on it in about 30 seconds he'll back out on its own

Craig, just a quick one mate. This is not about first aid its about open fires mate, during all this hot weather could you do a video on on how to "contain" fires, i.e. fires built in a hole in the ground, or with rocks / stones around to contain them. Also, have a few handfuls of non burning material such as earth to throw on a fire that might get out of order. I dont want bushcrafters to get the blame for a forest fire. Thanks Stevo

I like your tick removal method! I carry duct tape and gauze pads mostly

ifak should be evaluated not from what people carrying but from what they're really using. And many things in a fak could be replaced with parts of your gear the time that rescue arrive. Personally i would evoid any thing that needs professional competences like tracheostomy straws or needles. Even anticeptics are not good to use for major issues...

I thought my FA kit was lacking somewhat till I saw this. Thank you.. I’m always guilty of thinking I need to expand on things or carry too much of anything nice to I seem to of got this bit pretty close to what you have said. Meaning I carry what I’m confident in using and have chest seals etc in my kit. Hope you don’t mind me asking I live in the north-east of England in Darlington whereabouts in the UK are you from because you sound like you’ve got a Northeast accent? Hope I’m not wrong or insulted you there lol

Craig while there are no right answer I have to say I absolutely have to agree. What's the mathematical likelihood of my needing it? What's the further likelihood that even if I don't somebody else will? So if I'm not trained or experienced with it , in a high stress situation... How fast can you get good with it all at once? And THEN...What's the likelihood if I'm not an EMT, a hiking or bush craft partner is, is actually there etc😂

Think watching I will lighten the load, I don't have , Israel bandage n stuff, butt probly 15 plasters, ( can ditch ten), stuff like that got 3 or 4 bandages can be chopped, think I will thin out, Cheers

How are plasters not right at the top? I like duct tape for blisters and hot spots. Could probably cut out a few more plasters and maybe a burn gel but 138g all in I don't thinkt's too bad?

Mors Kochansky & Paul Kirtley do brill outdoor IFAK videos / articles.

So true less is more, there goes 5 lbs out of my pack .. lol 😂👍

Always carry too much, but now trying to concentrate on "essentials"

I always carry a small tin of vaseline for chafing