I've been cycling since 1990 and have not carried a dedicated first aid kit until yesterday…and we needed it on the first day.
The first time carrying it, yesterday we rode in the foothills of the Smoky Mountains and happened across a couple visiting from Britain. She had taken a fall. She split her lip and had abrasions on her hands. The takeaway? More gauze pads and lots of wipes!
Here's my kit now.
Gauze pads (variety)
Medical tape
Scissors
Tweezers
Safety pins
Antiseptic wipes
Alcohol wipes
Bandaids (variety)
Butterfly closures
3" gauze bandages
2" ace wraps
Dual action advil
I cram all of that into one of those bottle cage storage bags and I carry that behind my saddle. I have another one full of my tool kit (torque wrench, bits, multitool, levers, etc).
So what is in your first aid kit?
by swibirun
5 Comments
I don’t carry this much stuff when bikepacking. I have two gauze bandages and wound dressing. Much more is honestly not really needed in almost all cases.
Edit: Just learn how to utilize this material for different use cases. Preparation and knowledge is key if it comes to first aid. _But_ if you feel better and on the safe side, having more is better then needing of course. So just pack whatever you thinl is important.
For remote multi-day adventures (where help or cell signal could be hours away or small towns don’t have resupply), I carry a full backpacking first aid kit.
Most rides I carry very basic wound closure which consists of bleedstop powder and spray on bandage. Minor cuts and scrapes out on a normal day ride don’t need immediate attention, but a serious cut might need urgent intervention.
For road biking, I carry a small enough kit to help dress light to moderate road rash and some bee stings. Included in that kit is one of those mesh bandages that you see the pros use after a crash. The bandage is small enough, and it rolls up similar to the gauze in your picture.
Mountain biking since the 90s I didn’t carry that much. Maybe two sterile pads, tape, and two 800mg Motrin ~~aspirin of some sort~~. I also had duct wrapped around seat post.
Yes, and I hand out medium sized self adhesive plasters a few times.
Knee, elbow and palm scrapes. Often to infrequent riders during holidays.