When thru-hiking, a first aid kit is one of the most critical gear you can bring. This kit will be essential for managing any issues during your hike.
However, ensuring that your kit is dialed in and is not overloaded with useless resources is essential. This blog post will discuss what to include in your thru-hiker first aid kit and why!
Why a First Aid Kit is Vital Gear for Thru-Hikes
While most thru-hikers work hard to drop ounces and some down to grams, your first aid kit is something that you should not skimp on. Instead, it should be decently stocked to save you.
A thru-hiker first aid kit should be tailored to the individual hiker and their specific conditions while on the trail. However, there are some essential items that all thru-hiker first aid kits should include, which we will discuss in more detail below.
What Can You Treat On The Trail?
This is where people will diverge on what they should bring in their first aid kit. True wilderness first responders will want to carry crazy amounts of gear like splints, tourniquets, and similar gear because that’s what they frequently experience.
Then you have the ordinary person who will only look to bring a few bandaids and possibly some pills. These two are the widest extremes and the opposite of a proper, well-stocked hiker’s first aid kit.
A thru-hiker first aid kit should be somewhere in between, and it needs to have enough gear to help with most of the common issues you will experience while on the trail but also not be overloaded with the gear you will never use.
Limitations on Space
First and foremost on a thru-hikers mind is the space limits of their backpack. As most of the first aid gear isn’t heavy, it can add weight if you add enough items. The real worry is on the space all the kit will take up.
When you have a 40-50L backpack, there is frequently little wiggle room to devote huge liters of space to a mostly unused first aid kit.
Many thru-hikers will cut out the unneeded items from a purchased first aid kit to save on space based on their frequent shakedown hikes in preparation.
While this is acceptable and often recommended as you understand what you will and won’t use while on the trail, it can expose you to dangerous places and specific problems and injuries.
A thru-hiker’s first aid kit doesn’t need to have everything but should be focused on the thru-hiker’s exposure to risks, where they will be hiking, and what kind of injuries or problems are most likely to occur.
Does it do Double Duty?
A key thing for many thru-hikers is having the multi-functional gear so they do not carry duplicate items. This comes in the form of a water filter that can also backflush, a knife with more than one blade, or a tarp that can also be used as an emergency shelter.
A thru-hiker’s first aid kit should also have double-duty items to save space and weight. An excellent example is using a single product for multiple purposes, like using duct tape for blisters, moleskin, and to repair gear.
Another double-duty thru-hiker first aid kit is a lip balm for chapped lips and as a protectant from the sun, wind, and cold. This can save you from carrying a tube of sunscreen, which takes up valuable space.
Common Thru-Hiker Injuries and Ailments
Some injuries are far more common on trail than others. While this doesn’t mean the other less frequent ones shouldn’t be considered, you tend to focus on what you know will happen while traveling.
Scrapes, Cuts, or Gashes
The constant bain of hikers is the frequent scrapes and cuts on the trail. These are bound to happen if you catch your hand on a tree branch or take a tumble.
For thru-hikers, these injuries can quickly become infected if not cleaned and dressed correctly due to the constant exposure to dirt, sweat, and grime.
Blisters
Another thru-hiker injury that is practically guaranteed to occur at some point on the trail is blisters. These commonly form on your feet but can also be found on your hands from using hiking poles too much.
The best way to prevent blisters is by ensuring your shoes fit correctly and don’t rub anywhere; however, if you get blisters, clean and dress them properly to promote healing and prevent infection.
Sunburns
Another thru-hiker injury that is commonly overlooked is sunburn. This can sneak up on you quickly, especially at high altitudes or areas more exposed to more intense UV rays.
To help prevent sunburn, thru-hikers should use sunscreen, lip balm, and hats to protect themselves from the sun. If you get sunburned, treat it accordingly to help promote healing and prevent further damage.
Pain, Fever, Inflammation
Then there is the management of the near-constant soreness, aches, and pains from thru-hiking. Your body will ache, especially at first, as you have never asked your body to put forth this constant work and effort while repairing itself.
Thru-hikers have many options for managing pain, but the most common is ibuprofen or acetaminophen. Aspirin is also an option but isn’t as effective as the other two for pain relief.
If you start to experience a fever or inflammation, this could be the first sign of an infection and should be treated accordingly and managed until town; if it isn’t getting better, you may seek medical advice.
Building a Lightweight Thru-Hiking Medical Kit
When it comes down to it, should a thru-hiker look to build a specific first aid kit or buy a pre-made one?
This decision comes down to preference, time, and money. Building your own can be more cost-effective if you have the time and money. This also gives you complete control over what goes into your kit and how much of each item.
The Problem with Commercial First Aid Kits
Commercial kits are frequently not aimed at space conservation and are meant for homes or emergencies in a fixed location. This makes them bulky and often useless for thru-hikers.
Additionally, many items found in these kits are unnecessary or have multiple uses, which thru-hikers can take advantage of to save on space.
Health Maintenance System vs. First Aid Kit
This is where you could almost look to re-term the kit a thru-hiker brings with them since it truly doesn’t fit as a first aid kit because of the removal of so much gear that would make up a proper kit; instead, I think of it as a health maintenance systems or adventure medical kits.
The thru-hikers’ backpacking kit should allow them to effectively and efficiently manage common trail injuries and maintain their health through preventative measures like sunscreen, Vitamin I, etc.
This system should also be lightweight and easily carried so that it doesn’t burden thru-hikers.
So, what should you include in your thru-hikers Health Maintenance System? Let’s take a look.
Essential Contents of a Thru-Hiker’s Medical Supplies
At a bare minimum, this is what I feel a thru-hiker HMS kit should include being efficient.
Tweezers
Look, you will get splinters and other things that are embedded into your skin, looking directly at you ticks. This is when tweezers will be helpful as a tool for multiple uses; they are small and incredibly light, and there is no reason to abandon them.
Leukotape P
Leukotape is fantastic for blisters and hot spots. It’s a thru-hiker best friend regarding foot care on any backpacking trip.
Elastic Bandages / Gauze
Standard adhesive bandages help to manage small cuts and wounds, but when you get a bad wound, the best thing to have is gauze when you get bigger and broader wounds than a bandaid can safely cover.
Cover-Roll Stretch Tape
You want something you can wrap around an area of the bandage should you need more support for a joint or something.
Iodine Swabs or Alcohol Wipes
These are incredibly useful for cleansing wounds and take up very little space. You want to look for Povidone-iodine swabs as they offer the best germicidal activity against bacteria, fungi, viruses, and protozoa.
Superglue
An amazing tool to use as a “liquid bandage” to connect broken items on the go or to help seal a wound together until you can get to a town and visit a doctor or nurse.
Antiseptic Wipes
To clean a wound before applying a bandage or other item, these are useful and don’t weigh much.
Safety Pins
For holding together bandages or repairing gear on the trail, these are handy to have around.
Antibacterial Ointment
Antibiotic creams help to stop bad things from growing and infecting your wound by applying this to a bandage before application.
Pillbox Or Pill Storage
I like to get those travel packages from places like Walmart that look like a lip balm container but have a screw top to hold pills as they are small but easy to identify in a bag full of items.
Vitamin I or Acetaminophen – General Aches and Pains
Ibuprofen for pain relief and anti-inflammatory purposes; thru-hikers will want to take this regularly to help manage the aches and pains of hiking.
Acetaminophen for pain relief; thru-hikers may want to take this in addition to ibuprofen or as an alternative if they can’t tolerate ibuprofen.
Pepto Bismol Pill – Anti Nausea
Nausea on trail blows; make it stop by having a couple of these in your kit.
Imodium – Anti Diarrheal
No one wants to deal with this on the trail, but if it happens, be prepared.
Allergy Medication – Allergic Reactions
You never know when allergies can flair up; include some allergy medication just in case.
Non-Drowsy Cold Medicine
Colds suck at home. They are miserable on the trail and can quickly lead to more significant issues. Nip it in the bud.
High-Altitude Medication
If going someplace with huge elevation changes, then this can be a way to help manage how your body reacts.
Face Mask
While not required in most places, there are still places that will want or require you to wear a mask, or you might want to wear one yourself.
Travel Sewing Kit with Extra Needles
This can help with gear problems or, in emergencies, can be used to suture a wound.
Prescription Medications
Anything you need to take regularly should be in your first-aid kit.
Travel Mirror
It is for looking at wounds or areas you can’t directly see with your eyes while also being a perfect signaling device.
EpiPen
You never want to experience anaphylactic shock, but if you have allergies, it’s best to be safe and include an EpiPen. It could save someone you or someone else while being very lightweight.
Paper with emergency contact info and any allergies you have to medication
You want to make sure that people know your allergies and how to contact anyone, and a phone and battery are unreliable for this; always carry a small paper with you listing the info.
As you can see, a thru-hikers Health Maintenance System is fairly close to a first aid kit but has fewer items than most people would consider a true first aid kit.
That’s because thru-hiking is an entirely different beast. This system should allow you to manage common thru-hiking injuries and ailments while also being lightweight and
Final Tips for Your Thru-Hiking First Aid Prep
A thru-hiker’s medical supplies need double-duty items to save space and weight. An excellent example is using a single product for multiple purposes, such as Leukotape for blisters and hot spots.
The thru-hikers first aid supply also needs to be focused on the types of injuries and ailments common to thru-hiking, such as foot care, stomach issues, and general pain relief.
By remembering these things, you can create a thru-hike first aid kit to save you space and weight while still being prepared for anything the trail might throw your way.
Do you have a thru-hike first aid kit? What are your must-have items? Let us know in the comments below!
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