First Aid Kits

This is basically all I carry anymore.

Leukotape – enough for the trip length
Small gauze roll – enough for the trip length
Acetaminophen – enough for the trip
Ibuprofen – enough for the trip
Loperamide – enough for the trip
A few butterfly strips
Hydropel – small jar
Zinc Oxide – small jar

Mostly a blister kit and some meds.

Edit: I also have hand sanitizer but it's part of my bathroom/hygiene kit. I quit carrying a lot of stuff after I got my WFR certification.

I put mine on diet- it weighs 2.7 oz, the only thing that varies for trips is the number of "meds"

roll of gauze, small curved tip irrigator, 2 4×4.5 tegaderm bandages, pack of 10 1/4 x4 steri-strips, two triple antibiotic creams, 3 2g Celox (hemostatic agent), 2' of Leukotape (wrapped around a section of a straw), 2 vials of tincture of benzoin, "meds"- ibuprofen, tylonel, bendadryl, imodium

part of my repair kit also does double duty in the first aid dept- single use crazy glue, needle, safety pins and duct tape

everything goes into a aloksak

my swiss army classic (0.9 oz) adds tweezers, scissors

pretty good discussion here:

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=13691

Keep in mind that I am primarily hiking with groups of 5 – 25 people, sometimes including kids, various skill/experience levels, most of whom don't bring anything despite encouragement to be prepared. I tend to be less "loaded" when with just a couple of friends.

gauze – a few nonstick squares and a roll
bandaids – two each size
tick puller (on lower elevation outings) – easier than tweezers for most people
alcohol swabs – used to disinfect the blades/scissors on my multi tool, among other things
topical antibiotic single use packets, two
pair of nonlatex gloves – exposure to the body fluids of strangers on the trail, not necessarily desirable.
four butterfly closures
ace bandage
benadryl squares (dissolve on the tongue) – two
ibuprofen, aleve, sudafed (a few each) – I take the sudafed mostly for my chronic sinus issues
immodium, two
Purell – sterilize fingers/hands before treatment of any open wound, particularly if it's someone else's
small roll of sports tape
small length of leukotape
stick-on thermometer

Lori, could you ditch the alcohol swabs, since you have Purell?

Also, is leukotape better than duct tape in cold weather? Would it make sense to carry leukotape and not any duct tape? Right now I carry duct tape and am wondering what's better – both leukotape and duct tape, or just one of them.

(95%+ of my hikes are day hikes.)

The swabs could be replaced by the Purell, I suppose. I think I was throwing them in because they show up in first aid kits you buy, which is how I started out. Shows you how often they get used – I think there's two left of the original four.

Most of the items are there because I had a use for them at least once, btw.

Some people like duct tape for everything. I find that leukotape works well for skin and Camelbak bladders, where duct tape slides off my feet while I hike, and doesn't stick to some things worth a hoot. But a buddy tried a square of leukotape on a leaky bladder and it lasted the rest of the trip without a drop, and leukotape even without the benzoin sticks to my feet for days, if I need it to. I have duct tape as well for other applications, like taping up a shoe or other gear. Just not much of it. YMMV.

So what would be the reason for taking duct tape, instead of just leukotape?

I don't want to use all my leukotape on a torn backpack, or strapping my pole back together, or patching up a blown seam on a shoe. There are still some things duct tape is good for…. Haven't tried to stick leukotape to a shoe, doubting it would work so well.