There are lots of great first aid kits on the market. You can easily keep a full kit that you purchase in your home and then restock it as you use the supplies. It is easy to maintain and keeps all your supplies organized. It may not be as cost efficient to depend solely on these kits though. Usually they have a wide selection of items but only a few of each. There will be a few band-aids, a few gauze, and a few small packets of antibacterial ointment. You may even get a cold pack and some tweezers in the better kits. I would recommend making this a preliminary purchase and plan to supplement the stock with your own purchases. Here is our DIY for home, bike, and hike first aid kits.
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You won’t be able to just grab the plastic brief-case-like first aid kit from under the sink for your trail time. Depending on whether you are biking or hiking, you will have different storage capacities and situations. Biking you will likely be using an under the saddle bag with little space. You’ll need to be selective about what you carry on short rides. If you are hiking with a pack, you have much more space. Not to mention that you are more likely to be in the brush on a hike and will definitely want to have a tick spoon or tweezers with you!
Your Bike Kit
On short rides, you can get away with some alcohol swabs, band-aids, and antibacterial ointment. Take those little packets of ointment from your purchased kit. They are perfect for saving space in a small pack. Maybe add tweezers, gauze, and tape if you are worried about wiping out on gravel or dirt trail. On a longer ride, you likely have more space in a saddle bag and can take the extra things along.
Your Hike Kit
Your hiking kit will look more like the full fledged kit under the sink. Some key differences will be that you pack it in a soft bag. You may even want to put it in a water-tight bag if you have one and will be near water. We recommend also making sure you can take care of blisters in your hiking kit. Read more about blister prevention here. But if you do get them you want to be prepared.
Consider what type of trail adventure you are taking today and have a kit ready for it. It’s always easier to observe safety protocols when you have prepared ahead of time. Have your home kit always stocked. Check you hike and bike kits regularly to resupply if needed. You’ll be glad that you planned and put together your awesome DIY first aid kits.
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