Wilderness First Aid — Kit Checklist
Protect yourself
Lesson 1: you are priority #1 — gloves before blood, every time.
Stop bleeding
The X in XABCDE — the fastest killer you can actually fix.
Wound care
In the wilderness, infection prevention is the long game.
Bones & joints
Splint it as it lies; check CSM before and after.
Medications (OTC)
Label everything with name and dose. Carry personal prescriptions where the group knows to find them.
Tools & documentation
The unglamorous stuff you'll actually reach for.
Call for help
Lesson 13: the best kit in the world can't replace getting the patient out.
Scale it to the trip
The checklist above is a solid day-trip baseline for two people. Scale by time-to-help, not just days out.
| Trip | Adjust the baseline |
|---|---|
| Short day hike, front-country | Trim to gloves, bleeding control, blister kit, meds, whistle, phone. |
| Full day, remote | The full baseline above. Add the satellite messenger if you're out of coverage. |
| Multi-day backcountry | Double consumables (gauze, meds, gloves), add a low-reading thermometer, wound-care refills, and a real repair kit. |
| Group or trip leader | Scale consumables by head count, collect everyone's medical info and prescriptions location before leaving, and carry a group shelter. |
By activity
Match the kit to the way your sport actually hurts people.
🏍 Motorcycle / dual-sport
High-energy trauma: tourniquet and shears earn their weight (cutting riding gear off beats wrestling it off). Review helmet removal — Lesson 7 before you need it. Strap the kit to the bike you'd still have after a crash.
🛶 Rivers & open water
Everything in dry bags, twice. Add a full hypothermia setup — dry insulation layer, blanket/bivy, sugar-rich food. Review drowning and cold-water immersion — Lesson 14.
🥾 Desert & heat
Extra water beats extra gauze: add oral rehydration salts, electrolytes, and something to make shade. Review heat illness — Lesson 8 — cool first, transport second.
❄️ Winter & altitude
Chemical heat packs, foam pad to insulate from the ground, low-reading thermometer, and calories. Review hypothermia and frostbite — Lesson 9.
Skills over stuff. A tourniquet you've never practiced with, or a splint you've never molded, is dead weight. Buy less, practice more — and restock the kit after every trip, because the gauze you used last time is the gauze you won't have next time. Commercial pre-built kits are a fine starting skeleton; upgrade the gloves, add the tourniquet and irrigation syringe, and make it yours.