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Been a while since I updated my CPR/first aid certs. Anyone ever take one of the 16 hour wilderness first aid classes? Are they worth it, or is it 16 hours of tying a triangle bandage? Not expecting paramedic type stuff, but something more than advanced bandage application and chest compressions would be great.

I’ve heard good things about the wilderness first classes but being an EMT I haven’t taken it. I just put together a first aid kit that rivals the ones we had on the engines and aid cars. I’ve got full oxygen therapy with airways, non-rebreathers, cannulas, BVM, etc. I also got an AED since up at our place in Alaska help ain’t just a phone call away. I’ve got quick clot and everything needed for major trauma/bleeding and have ordered valves for a sucking chest wound and a complete extremity splint kit with C-collars. I’ve even got 2 bags of NS....sodium chloride and IV administration sets. I need to be able to deal with any emergency that my family or friends might face so as to get them stabilized before they get transported. My background will hopefully be able to help the locals should they need it.

Having the knowledge is extremely important but having the equipment to put the knowledge to use is integral to complete emergency field care.

Good luck!

My Granddaughter is a Wilderness EMT. They either go in on horseback, Coptor or a good long hike. She says any first aid training a person has can be extremely helpful keeping a person stable until help arrives. She says if you are in the backcountry by all means any training you have could save a life.

Wilderness 1st aid is largely applying the principles and practices of regular 1st aid in an environment where transferring the patient to a higher level of care is delayed and access to the best tools for treatment is absent.

There is an emphasis on improvised splinting and and immobilization techniques. Environmental emergency recognition and treatment ie. hypothermia, heat related conditions and altitude induced illness get a lot of attention w/ much attention paid to prevention and early diagnosis.

I consider thorough knowledge of 1st aid to be a basic skillset and one that is accessible w/ reasonable effort.

Re. the triangular bandage, in my 30+ year career in SAR and remote area medicine the value and versatility of the triangular bandage remains a constant.

Never pass an opportunity to gain knowledge including You Tube.


mike r

Very true. Any first aid knowledge is another tool in your toolbox. Understanding the injury and being able to use whatever is available can make all the difference. Having the knowledge and ability also lends to a better self confidence when help is a long way off.

I had my 11 year old daughter take an 8 hour CPR/AED and general first aid course at the local fire station. She and her girlfriend want to babysit and I’m fine with that but I REQUIRED her to be red cross certified before allowing her to babysit. I explained that if she’s going to be responsible for someone else younger than her that it’s her responsibility to that child to be able to clear an airway or stop bleeding. Her basic first aid certification is merely a foundation upon which she’ll build on over her lifetime. She really enjoyed it and wants to take her EMT class when she gets older.

As a straight A student and her desire to go to medical school someday I figured there’s no better time than the present to gain real life knowledge.

LVMike is correct in that a triangular bandage is a simple and often used piece of equipment.

I put together my trauma kit years ago that is set up primarily for gunshot wounds, cuts, and broken bones. Clot packs were added and syringes to go with the Lidocaine and sutures...Yeah, Bitches! You go down on my hunt and Doc Beaver is gonna Lidocaine your into the Stone Age before I start closing wounds...If you have a cool doctor, ask him or her for a vial or two of Lidocaine... Way better than a long pull on some JD Old #7

I have not taken the wilderness first aid class, but I would be it would be valuable information.


The thing about "advanced" classes is that some of the information is fun and exciting, but the basics is what actually save lives.

Airway, bleeding, circulation.


A couple things......if your victim has bled through several 4x4's.....you have not controlled the bleeding.

Dont worry about removing a dressing to control the bleeding. If the would is still bleeding, there is no clot to disturb,

A commercial tourniquet is your friend. A belt and a stick is not.

I think I have about everything in my kit including sutures, clot packs , etc. I could use.I have about everything I need except to do brain surgery.I think some of the guys I hunt with,I could probably even do that without harming them. I do need to re-certify of CPR.

There are two basic types of rescuers- those who are responding to an emergency with the equipment needed and the poor soul who happens to be standing there with nothing in their hands that God didn't give them when the emergency gets tossed in their lap.

Having thousands of dollars worth of equipment is nice but it is pretty impractical to lug around in a real wilderness setting. I don't see anyone adding a defibrillator, IV bags and equipment, an airway kit, splints, or anything more than various bandages, some moleskin, ASAIDs, and a couple other basics to their pack on a hike into the wilds. Our first aid kit fit into a 30 caliber ammo box and that made do for canoe trips ranging from 2 weeks up 45 days. The only advanced tool we had was a satellite phone which was used once to notify the pick up plane we could not make the rendezvous point due to weather.

We always stressed thinking before acting as that eliminates a lot of need for emergency service. That help besides those on the trip was at best a day away and that no one was going to do CPR for hours helped convince the kids the seriousness of the situation. If the worst does happen, the results tend to be much less severe too. Impressing this upon teenage males resulted in only one accident in 13 trips and that was a cut needing a couple butterfly bandages to close.

A basic first aid course is about all one really needs to know. The various tools themselves aren't as important than knowing why and how they work. Knowing that one can make do with other items in their place. In extreme situations, realizing a significant injury or medical problem may just be fatal can go a long way towards preventing it for a responsible person.

I have taken the Wilderness First Aid course twice. The first time was before I led a group of Scouts to Philmont for a 10 day back pack trek. The instructor was a Scout Leader that was also a trauma surgeon and E.R. doctor. It was probably the best training that I have ever taken. The second time was through a local community college and the instructor was a volunteer firefighter and all that he did was read out of the book, maybe the worst training that aI have ever taken.
Find a good instructor and it is time and money well spent!

If you don't have the time or the resources to devote to a wilderness first aid course at least get a copy of "Wilderness Medicine" by William. Forgey, M.D. pub by Falcon. Make sure sure you get the latest edition (2017) because Dr. Forgey continually updates with regard to first aid kit contents and latest medical practices. His first aid kit recommendations are especially valuable because his recommendations are heavily weighted in terms of multiple use.

What I take in my backpack is a lot different than what stays at base camp. The O2, AED, splint, etc are for my cabin, aka base camp. When your base camp is remote and help is a long way off I’d rather have too much than not enough. I’m not advocating hauling an AED, IV, an O2 bottles up the side of the mountain but having the necessary tools for my family and friends at the cabin is peace of mind. Each dry box has specific supplies and is labeled, when I am heading up into the mountains I can grab a dry box or 2 out of the bigger Pelican case and have all the basics to deal with cuts, breaks, etc.

Air splints don’t take up much room nor do they weigh much. 😉

I've taken NOLS Wilderness first aid 2 day with my kids. Worth every penny, theyve actually used the skills they learned at home and on a 2 week backpacking trip. We're palnning on taking the 2 week course next summer. The course was local, covered stuff I didnt kow and changed the way I pack a day first aid kit vs the one I have in the car vs what I have at home. You can read a book, but the scenarios they put you through are a real kick. Absolutely reccomend the training.

The aid kit in my pack allows me to control external bleeding, treat allergic reactions, alleviate pain and improvise splints and immobilization devices and maintain an airway. It weighs 6 ounces. I also carry enough stuff to maintain body temp stability for my wife and I appropriate for our environment. This weighs from 2-5 lbs.
Whatever it takes to maintain hydration is the biggest variable.


mike r

I too have taken the 2 day course through NOLS, it was afew years back and I am looking to refresh this year. My sons were required to take it as part of a summer camp they worked for. IMO well worth the time invested.

Tourniquet I may add...Good idea!

saying the less you know is the best, is opposite anything I've ever felt. FWIW. But basic is better than none.

As to long CPR, I assume you know how effective CPR generally is. That said my friend and his 2 partners did CPR on a client until Coast Guard arrived with a helo on a remote bear hunt, over 3 hours of CPR. It did not work but IIRC the longest run on CPR with an ending save was appx 3 hours also.

Prevention is best, but the more you know to work with if the SHTF the better off you are. IMHO. Simply telling the kids about the seriousness of the trip doesn't help when you fall over MI.

Fx it

When I retired with 30 years of service for the state at 52, I was looking for what I wanted to do as my next "career/part-time" employment. I heard about a local university planning on beginning an "Outdoor Adventure" program on campus for students. As the name implies, the program centered on leading students on a wide variety of outdoor adventures. Already having a strong safety background and an avid "outdoorsman" I figured it could be the ideal new "career". The only requirement I lacked was certification as a "Wildness First Responder, or Wilderness EMT". I checked into schools and was told that SOLO in New Hampshire was considered the place to go at the time. I spent 2 weeks at SOLO and easily got my certification. It was really all just review for me based on my background and I was easily the oldest student in the class. Most were younger "20 somethings" just starting out. In the end the university never ended up starting the program that year and I settled into a comfortable retirement with just some occasional radiation and biosafety consulting on the side.

The highlight of the class is the final night exercise, a search and rescue mission for "missing" hikers in the foothills of the White Mountains where SOLO is located. Of course, the hikers would be badly injured when you find them. Knowing my previous experiences, the instructers asked me to take a "back" role and let the youngsters run the show. I acted as just a regular grunt on the "safety" team. Without going into the whole story here, I tried to just hang back and let the other folks make the decisions and just do my specified role. That became harder and harder to do as the situation progressed and I felt the youngsters were making bad decisions. I tried several times to suggest alternative decisions and was turned down. Ultimately, I felt compelled at one point to break from the chain of command and go rogue. I convinced one other person to do a buddy system sweep down a somewhat treacherous slope where all the evidence we were being supplied with suggested where our second victim was. Others saw this same evidence but either didn't get it or were too "scared" to go down the dead-fall laden slope in the dark. Needless to say about 75' down the slope where my intuition led me I found our second victim (I'm a strong INTJ type). Obviously, I had to endure the criticism of breaking ranks and chain of command, but no one could deny that I found the victim. Given the simulated injuries and the cold October weather the victim would have definitely "died" if I had not found them.

All in all it was a great experience, just remember to skate in your lane, follow your superiors, and don't go rogue. Something I've had trouble with my whole life.

Hmmm....Brain said breathing, fingers said bleeding.