I don’t carry one mate, but I love seeing peoples clever ideas and little solutions to big problems. I hope some other folks reply 😀

The single most important item in any first aid or survival kit is essential personal meds. In my case it’s a vial of Adrenalin and a syringe, as I’m deathly allergic to wasp type vermin. Just an hour ago I stepped out the cabin door and was immediately ambushed by a single yellow jacket. Immediately I started into the predictable reactions, including crazy itching all over, swelling of the throat, numbness of lips, red blister-like blotches on the skin. Over the years I’ve been bitten so many times, closing in on a hundred I’d guess, that it’s now a life-death thing. I shoot myself up with Adrenalin and in a few minutes the symptoms start subsiding … leaving me with several hours of shaking hands and jitters, not please, but at least alive. I always say, in full truth, that I hardly give a thought to bears or lions, and we have no poisonous snakes at this altitude. But yellow jackets and falling trees (we have thousands of standing dead snags after a wildfire some years ago) scare me to death.

So, the short answer is that I carry a couple of lighters, two flashlights, a small first aid kit with Adrenalin kit and aspirin (for heart attack or stroke prevention), and if there’s even a remote chance of rain, some sort of rain gear. Oh, and one of the new blood-clotting pads in case I stab myself with a broadhead, as a nonresident compounder did here a few years ago while chasing a bull with an arrow on the string. He died peacefully and alone in the woods. But he’s still dead.

David Petersen wrote: Oh, and one of the new blood-clotting pads in case I stab myself with a broadhead, as a nonresident compounder did here a few years ago while chasing a bull with an arrow on the string. He died peacefully and alone in the woods. But he’s still dead.

I’m quite sorry to see demonstrated here the value of the fourth tip on the list below:

Mixed Bag

Most of my hunts are day hunts from my house or from a basecamp, and usually alone. Even so, it’s pretty easy for me to be in some pretty remote terrain on a daily basis. This is what typically always lives in my hunting pack (adjusted for multi-day trips)

First aid kit – focused primarily on items for treating soft tissue injuries, treating/stabilizing athletic injuries, and pain relief. I also keep a couple Benadryl in here.

Fire Kit – H20-proof matches, firesteel, a few different types of tinder. I haven’t needed it yet, but in the event of an unplanned night out, I’d be very glad to have it, and it takes up very little space/weight.

Signaling: – signal mirror, whistle, a couple glow sticks. All could be very useful if I’m immobilized for some reason. Again, takes up very little space/weight.

Other items:

2 sources of light, usually a headlamp and a micro-flashlight for backup, + batteries.

A warm hat and extra layer/s. I never go in the backcountry without them, no matter how warm the day might be when I leave the truck.

H20-treatment pills.

Gee, you guys sound like you want to be found should you become lost in the woods. I guess it’s an age thing. 😆

David Petersen wrote: Gee, you guys sound like you want to be found should you become lost in the woods. I guess it’s an age thing. 😆

Haha…

As long as my drop-dead sexy Better Half and a good bottle of bourbon are waiting at home, heck yeah I want to be found! 😀

Come to think of it, you have two good points there! 😆

I carry one. It has basically the same contents.

I keep it in a grenade pouch on my hip. that way its easy to get to.