Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting 72 hours in a HPG Kit Bag?

Specifically regarding your first aid kit.
My sister is a NP and works in the ER and my brother in law was an EMT. Both of them suggested that I add a chest seal bandage like Hyfin Vent to my little first aid kit I keep in my daypack.
Getting a sucking chest wound from an atv crash is probably more likely than getting one on hike in hunt.
My brother in law also said you might not be fully conscious or able to speak when help finds you so put a sharpie pen in the first aid kit to write on your skin to record like when you applied a tourniquet, or to track swelling of a bite from something venomous, or record when and how much medication you took if your able to get some prescription strength pain killers to carry in your first aid kit.
They are both really small lightweight items that I was able to stuff into the existing carry bag for the first aid kit.

Not quite on subject but relevant.

Knowing what to do and how to do it is as important as what is in your kit bag. I just finished a 40 hour Wilderness First Aid course put on by NOLS. I highly recommend it over a standard first aid course. Much more in depth and geared towards back country treatment of injuries. Seriously eye opening! You will learn what the most useful things to carry are.

An interesting takeaway from the course was that your first aid kit should be repacked for every trip just as the gear you take varies. Depending on where you are going, how long, how many people in your group, is someone else trained and carrying a kit. Talk to your group and find out if anyones has health issues you need to keep an eye on or pack special gear for, like allergies, diabetes, seizures, what meds they take and what happens if they run out. The list goes on. I guess I'd say knowledge is the best thing to pack in your 72 hour kit bag!

In Alaska I saw too many people get separated from their ATV. It certainly doesn't hurt to carry additional survival stuff in their ATV but I also keep enough survival stuff with me (fanny pack) that I can get by for a couple of days should we get separated.

Excellent point.

‘Jack,

That was my original point, lost on the many.

After I attended Arctic Survival School at Eielson, I got into the habit of taking a fanny pack anytime I was off of my ATV.

Similar to the “Surviving a Cold, Wet Night” thread, I was looking for best practices around the minimal gear you’d take when you leave your ATV, for any reason. And, the logic in the choices for your personal minimalist survival kit.

Per the below, some people missed that point entirely.

If I was carrying a kit bag only to help on an unexpected night out, I'd prioritize fire starting first. A couple ways of ignition and even one of the small flares that are sold (Orion pit fire flare mini flares), along with a Trioxane bar or something similar- basically something that you know is going to get a fire going regardless.

A decently stocked personal first aid kit- would be easy to come up with a pretty good compact kit for 4-5 oz.

If it fit (should fit the larger kit bags), an insulating blanket like the Blizzard Compact blanket. https://5col.com/products/blizzard-compact-blanket

I'd make sure my inReach was tethered to the kit bag.

A good headlamp w/ spare batteries.

Map & compass (my compass is usually tethered and in my pocket).

Few high calorie bars.

Add a couple of packs of Celox gauze.