Do you carry a first aid kit in your backpack?

[Flatlander]

I always feel like Bryson and Katz watching the Boy Scout troop put their camp together. I'm always trying to get friends to come hiking with me, only to have to suffer their BS about why I'm carrying so much in my pack. I'm quite certain that I'm overdoing it, but the thought of not being able to self-rescue, or help someone else, because I wanted to move faster on the trail strikes me as borderline criminal. I'm no first responder, but I've got my own aspirin and nitro kit for a heart attack, enough neosporin to perform surgery, and bandages/gauze enough to decorate for Halloween. If I come across a school bus accident in the woods where the driver has had a heart attack, we're solid!!!

 

[wsz]

yes- I do; I still have other areas where I can cut weight and having the knowledge that, if something happens, you have supplies makes a difference.
Blisters, small cuts and muscle pain are my focys- so I do take tape, gauze and Advil.

 

[Lorax]

A small one for my day packs when I'm out for a quick hike or paddle and a bigger kit for multiday trips. It's considered essential gear and it's taken most every time in some form.
It doesn't take up that much room.

 

[steves]

You bet I do, never had to use it yet but I do rotate and keep it up to date every year.
All the new band aids,tape,gauze and stuff I buy for the house gets put in the pack kit and the old stuff gets used around the house.

 

[Chippin]

I have a nifty little first aid kit that I keep in my backpack at all times. It's too small to have every little thing to stop some tragedy in the woods, but I have gauze, bandaids, alcohol and most of the basic balms for burns or itchiness.

 

[Betty]

The odds are nothing bad will happen that would necessitate first aid. But....the odds of an accident increase when you are in unfamiliar terrain. I'd take one.

 

[woodsman]

I do not' carry a regulation first aid kit, I mostly carry bandages and some rubbing alcohol with me. I do not carry medication because if it's really ugly it won't matter and if it's just a scratch than it can be walked off.

 

[Navigator]

I always carry first aid supplies, but I'd have to say the best first aid kit is the one you carry between your ears. I highly recommend taking a Wilderness First Aid course, especially if you are a group leader (official or not).