after reading this thread http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/nasty-crash-on-new-leith-hill-trail

I thought it’d be best to get a new 1st aid kit

Any recommendations for a good small one to go in the bottom of my pack when out riding?

I carry one of the simple life venture ones available from most outdoor shops in the red packaging. I put it in a waterproof bag just in case as well as most of the time the pack it comes in isn’t waterproof.

Get the one that covers all the bits you think you’ll need than add in any other bits you like to carry:

http://www.lifesystems.co.uk/products/first-aid-kits

I’d suggest that doing a first aid course (e.g. REC Emergency First Aid) so you know what you’re doing is more important than what kit you carry.
That being said, SP Services can provide a variety of suitable kit

What Rusty said. I pack knowledge and a foil blanket.

Oh, and a phone.

These threads normally turn a bit controversial…

I just bought a cheap one from the pound shop (although it was more than a pound) and then took out some bits, added a few bits and put all the contents in a ziploc bag inside the case for waterproofing.

You aren’t really going to be carrying much so take things that are actually useful. Mine is mostly for patching up bleeding which means I’ll be able to carry on riding (or at least get home) rather than anything particularly life saving.

At the risk (which I’ll take for once) of sounding patronising the best first aid kit is a first aid course, especially one designed for outdoor sports.

I carry:
Sam splint
Couple of bandages of different types
Antiseptic wipes and steri-strips
Sili-tarp

And 5 days (I go into very remote areas for work occasionally as well) of training in the past 3 years.

I carry around a small Life systems one and took all the stuff out and put it into something less bulky. Also I recommend Having quick Clot or similar with you at all times.

I don’t often carry one but if I did I’d make my own up.

Cotton triangular bandage, some wound dressings, survival bag, bit of micropore tape and a crepe bandage. Should cover most things that require urgent attention. In reality most rides aren’t that remote, even in Northumberland, you can get to help fairly quickly for other things.

Doing a course is probably the most worthwhile thing you can do. I’ve done some really good outdoor ones in the past which give you a good idea how to improvise.

Where would one do such a course (in the deep south of England)?

Google for outdoor first aid and the county you are in.
Do a course, then put a kit together. I have a big kit in house and car, a work kit with loads in for group, a basic one for family including plasters etc for tlc, and a really, really basic one (duck take, wound pad x2, mouth guard, thats it for local rides…

Forgot to add. I put a tick removal tool in as well

Google for outdoor first aid and the county you are in.

Right you are, silly me.

Found one just down the road in May. Excellent.

Make sure it’s a REC course, you should be outside doing scenarios for at least a day. GIven that the people I ride with are quite accident prone, I carry by own kit in a waterproof bag…it has
Selection of plasters (including round ones for nipples)
Roller bandage
Triangular bandage
10x10cm menolin dressing
Micro pore tape
1xnon-latex glove (for sucking chest wound)
Zip ties
Ibuprofen
Paracetamol
Ibuprofen bell
Savlon iodine spray

As above; do a course. I’m looking for one now. On Sunday’s face plant session I had all the kit but absolutely no idea what to do, so ended up asking anybody and everybody if they knew first aid. 25 riders must have passed before some really nice guy turned up who knew a bit. But really the best thing to have is a ‘phone so you can call in the professionals. The guy that helped had done a course, but he was out of his depth with this one.

I use a small Stein tree surgeons one and add extra wound dressings and a whistle, I also carry a survival bag and thermal blanket.
I find I only use plasters or wound dressings out of mine, the last time was a friend of mine who had a bad face plant and mild concussion. All I had to do was flush the wound and apply a dressing then another friend took him to A+E for stitches.
There were about ten of us in our group and I was the only one who had been on a course, so I recommend doing one.

For a course if you are in the South this guy is brilliant:

http://www.elst.co.uk/ learnt more with him in one hour than I did in 20 years of St Johns First aid at Work. If you only learn one skill, learn to open and maintain an airway. Failure to do so will kill very quickly, for everything else you have time.

For kits, think about what is actually going to make a difference. Plasters, little bandages and triangles of cotton won’t do anything that can’t wait until you get home. (Try actually putting a triangular bandage on someone who has a broken arm and see how much they like it!)

You need: Tuff cut scissors so you cant get to the injury and see what you are dealing with, a foil blanket to help keep them warm and lots of gaffer tape which will keep blood in, immobilise breaks and if necessary stop them screaming! The only other thing I carry is saline pods to wash things out of eyes. You can improvise, but I can confirm that SIS is pretty painful…

1m of duct tape wrapped around a pencil. I also take a small travel one from Boots when off-roading and coaching. In the process of making some up to go in a Decathlon tool bottle, with an inner tube and CO2 cartridge for ride leaders.

Triangular bandage, three or four field dressings, tape, nitrile gloves, codeine. Knowledge is far more important, as improvisation using everyday bits of kit will get you and your mates home better than an all singing all dancing kit that no one knows how to use.

Nothing but a mobile phone. If you cant get home or to minor injuries, then you need a professionals help.

So, what you really should be carrying is:

A phone with ICE contacts or no pin lock (Locked phone is useless to someone that finds you lying unconscious in the middle of the trail.

First aid kid is useless without QUICK CLOT This stuff is a life saver I haven’t had to use it, and hope I will never have to It will stop arterial bleeding and save a life.

ID – same reason as the phone

First aid training. Something designed around outdoors and more adventurous sports. You may one day save a life with it.

Spare inner tube, what? Isn’t this irrelevant? No. It can be used as a tourniquet or sling. I’ve heard of guys saving a life by tying a spare inner tube around femoral artery.

Honestly, if you/someone has a injury more extreme then a busted artery, You have a slim chance of making it.

Oh, and always ride in a group. And don’t go to of piste.

First aid kid is useless without QUICK CLOT This stuff is a life saver I haven’t had to use it, and hope I will never have to It will stop arterial bleeding and save a life

Sorry, but this is simply wrong.

You can stop arterial bleeding by pressing on it, and I have done on numerous occasions. We don’t use Quickclot in my hospital, which does quite a lot of vascular surgery.

The problem with ‘Use product X to fix problem Y’, is what do you do when it doesn’t?

The answer to best First Aid kit was mentioned earlier; Duct tape and a clean hankie; if you can’t fix it with both, get someone who knows what they are doing.

I like the idea of Quick Clot but it has it’s pro’s and con’s from what I’ve read.
My first aid kit only carries things I know how to use.
I’ve done a fair few first aid courses and in most I can pick up something new.
The latest one was don’t bother with a sling just safety pin to their clothing if they are wearing long sleeves.