Beginner’s Guide to Building a First Aid Kit for Outdoor Adventures

Whether you're setting off for a weekend wild camp, taking part in a bushcraft skills event, or heading out with your local UKSN Charter group, having a well-equipped first aid kit isn’t just a sensible idea - it’s a vital part of being prepared and self-reliant.

In the UKSN community, we value resilience, readiness, and taking responsibility for ourselves and those around us. A proper first aid kit reflects that ethos. Whether you’re in the woods, at a remote campsite, or just tackling a muddy hike, things can go wrong - and when they do, the right kit can be the difference between a quick patch-up and a major issue.

Why Build Your Own First Aid Kit?

Pre-made first aid kits are widely available and can offer a convenient starting point, but they’re rarely perfect. They’re often missing key items, include poor-quality contents, or don’t account for personal or activity-specific needs.

We recommend building your own first aid kit so that it’s customised to suit you, your family, and your outdoor activities. You’ll know exactly what’s inside, where it is, and how to use it.

That said, if you do purchase a ready-made kit, make sure it includes the essentials listed below and then add your own medications and specialist gear where needed.

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Essential Components of a First Aid Kit

Here’s our recommended list of first aid supplies, along with why each item is important. This list is suitable for campers, hikers, bushcrafters, and general UKSN members of all ages.

Wound Care Supplies

These form the foundation of any first aid kit, dealing with the most common issues: cuts, scrapes, and minor injuries.

• Adhesive Bandages (Plasters): For small cuts, blisters, and grazes. A mix of shapes and sizes is best.

• Sterile Gauze Pads: For cleaning and covering wounds, absorbing blood, and helping prevent infection.

• Non-Adherent Dressings: Essential for burns or delicate injuries where a standard dressing might stick to the wound.

• Antiseptic Wipes: For cleaning skin around wounds or disinfecting your hands before treatment.

• Antibacterial Cream/Ointment: Helps prevent infection in minor cuts and abrasions.

• Micropore Tape: A gentle, breathable medical tape to secure gauze or dressings in place.

• Butterfly Closures (Steri-Strips): Ideal for holding the edges of deeper cuts together when stitches aren't immediately available.

• Tweezers: For removing splinters, stingers, or debris.

• Scissors: Always useful for cutting bandages, clothing, or tape in an emergency.

Bandages and Dressings

Bandages are not just for big injuries—they’re multi-purpose and can be used for support, bleeding control, or securing dressings.

• Elastic Bandages (Crepe Bandages): Useful for supporting sprains or strains.

• Triangular Bandages: Extremely versatile—can be used as a sling, large wound dressing, or to immobilise limbs.

• Compression Bandages: Designed to apply pressure to a wound to help control bleeding.

• Sterile Wound Dressings: These combine gauze and bandage into one and are perfect for more serious injuries.

Trauma Supplies

For those using axes, machetes, or machinery like chainsaws, your kit should include serious bleed management tools. These injuries can be life-threatening, and remote locations can delay emergency response times.

• Tourniquet: A commercial tourniquet (such as a CAT or SOF-T) is essential for catastrophic limb bleeding. Learn how to use it properly—this is a tool where training matters.

• Haemostatic Dressings (e.g., Celox, QuikClot): These dressings contain agents that rapidly stop bleeding and are used when direct pressure isn't enough.

Important: These items are not toys or generic supplies. Include them only if you know how to use them correctly, and take time to practice or attend training. UKSN events may cover these skills in first aid sessions.

Emergency and Miscellaneous Items

These are essential tools that may not be used as often but can make a big difference in an emergency.

• Nitrile Gloves: Keep your hands clean and protect yourself from blood or bodily fluids.

• CPR Face Shield: A simple device that allows safe mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

• Emergency Foil Blanket: Lightweight and compact, it helps prevent hypothermia and retains body heat.

• First Aid Manual or Quick Guide: Even experienced first aiders forget things under pressure.

• Thermometer: Helps monitor for fever or hypothermia, particularly in children or the elderly.

• Notepad & Pencil: Record injuries, vitals, times of medication, or details to hand over to emergency responders.

Pain Relief and Medications

Move beyond plasters by including basic medications for pain, discomfort, or minor ailments.

• Paracetamol: General-purpose pain and fever relief.

• Ibuprofen: Reduces inflammation and helps with muscular pain or swelling.

• Aspirin: Can be vital in heart-related emergencies, though it’s not for everyone—check suitability.

• Antihistamines: For bites, stings, hay fever, and allergic reactions.

• Anti-diarrhoeal Tablets: Useful if you eat something that disagrees with you.

• Oral Rehydration Salts: Replaces lost electrolytes in hot weather or after stomach bugs.

• Antacids: For indigestion or acid reflux.

• Personal Medications: Inhalers, EpiPens, insulin, or anything prescribed to you or a family member.

Preventative and Comfort Items

These items help keep you in top shape and prevent problems before they arise.

• Hand Sanitiser (Alcohol-Based): Clean your hands before dealing with wounds.

• Sunscreen: Avoid sunburn, even on overcast days.

• Lip Balm: Wind, cold, and sun can all crack lips fast when outdoors.

• Insect Repellent: Essential during summer, especially near water or woodlands.

Tips for Packing and Maintaining Your First Aid Kit

• Use a Waterproof Container: A tough, resealable pouch or hard plastic box works well. A dry bag is ideal if kayaking or hiking in wet conditions.

• Label Compartments: Consider dividing supplies into categories using resealable plastic bags or colour-coded pouches.

• Check Expiry Dates: Go through your kit every 3–6 months and replace anything out of date or damaged.

• Keep It Accessible: Store your kit somewhere easy to grab—top of a rucksack, glovebox of a vehicle, or within your tent.

• Add a Copy of the Checklist: So you can restock quickly after an incident.

Training and Skill Development

A well-stocked kit is only part of the story—knowing how to use it is equally important.

Consider attending a certified outdoor first aid course (16+ hour courses are ideal for remote locations). Topics often include CPR, wound care, hypothermia, and bleeding control.

Final Thoughts

A first aid kit is more than a box of plasters—it's a tool of preparedness, peace of mind, and potentially life-saving action. For UKSN members, it embodies our core values: practical self-reliance, looking after one another, and being ready for anything the outdoors might throw at us.

Take the time to build your own kit, learn how to use it, and revisit it often. Whether you’re packing for a family camp, or enjoying a solo camp, you’ll be glad it’s there.

Stay safe, be prepared, and see you out there.