OK, after today, with a fairly nasty crash from a random person I discovered, what do we need to carry,

I had a waterproof to help keep the person warm – I’ve now ordered those foil blankets. I’m not medically trained, but protecting an accident person is important.

So what would be a good thing to carry (other than cable ties, gorilla tape and WD40) JOKE !

Very much depends on where you are going, time of year/weather, who you are with, what activity you are doing/how techy(risky) your riding is, etc, etc.
No hard and fast rules but for me on every run/ride I always have a dry base layer and a wind proof in a pocket/bag as the absolute minimum. Food, maps, torches, more clothing, etc come and go as the activity changes

Cohesive bandage/vet-wrap.

A dressing of some sort. Panty liners work well in an emergency.

Something sharp (surgical scissors are ideal) in the event you have to cut open clothing to get at a wound.

Latex gloves.

ID/ICE card, foil blanket, pair of latex gloves, cotton wool, roll of fabric bandage, tape, Elastoplast-type bandages, candle, matches, flint/spark striker, pair of tweezers, torch, emergency whistle, small length of gorilla tape, cyalume stick and in winter one of those little snap to heat pads…sounds like a lot but it (nearly) all fits into a little Tupperware container in the bottom of my camelbak.
Oh, and Zip ties, lots of Zip ties…

Couple of articles that might be of interest:

Would You Know What To Do? We learn about common trail injuries and how to treat them.

Are You Prepared For The Worst? A true story of disaster

Couple of aspirin in case you meet a heart attack victim

First aid training, if you have the time/opportunity/inclination is the single best thing you can have in your ‘kit’.

Hannah beat me to the articles I was thinking of.

I carry a first aid kit, a proper foil sleeping bag, tools, a buff and usually extra layer or waterproof at all times.

sounds like a lot but it (nearly) all fits into a little Tupperware container in the bottom of my camelbak

I’m glad you’ve told me now, not much use carrying that if your buddies don’t know you are sprawled across your own first aid kit 🙂

After a mate broke his collar bone pretty far from civilisation and I put a slice across my palm this winter it got me thinking about being more responsible.
I did an outdoor based first aid course (mountain leader type) I now carry a first aid kit which contains basics like bandages, plasters, eye wash, some steri strips, emergency blanket/shelter as well a couple other bits.
It’s not much but it’s the absolute basics to deal with something should it happen. I hope it stays wrapped in my pack for life!
I just figured it was high time I took responsibility for helping a mate or anyone I come across in need of assistance

Knowledge is the key thing. Its a very small subset of injuries where the kit you have with you makes a difference. Most stuff can be bodged.

I’m not medically trained

Get yourself to a course for first aid. After you’ve done that, decide what to carry.

This comes up from time to time and you’ll get answers from nothing through to followed by an air ambulance.

It really depends on where and how you ride. Some knowledge is good and some basic kit also. If anything serious happens you’ll be improvising. Off road I carry a fairly basic kit that allows me to dress a wound and would always have food/clothing appropriate to the ride.

I’ve dealt with a few serious incidents over the years. 2 Heart attacks of friends. Broken collar bones, knocked myself out on a solo ride and the usual cuts, scrapes and impacts. In all cases the most useful thing I had was knowledge and a phone.

If anyone wants an outdoor first aid course, I’ve two places on one in end of June in Stirling to sell…

First Aid course is the first bit – no use having the kit if you haven’t got the confidence to use it. After that, my little Evoc 3l bumbag fits a mini ‘Ouch kit’ and a SOL Bivvy plus a windproof jacket as my minimum kit for a couple of hours ride of an evening. Longer rides I’ll have a Primaloft jacket and probably a thin fleece as well. As per Hannah’s second article, some of that’s for the victim’s benefit, some for my own if I have to deal with them!

It really depends on where and how you ride

I agree, but isn’t the OP talking about coming across a freak accident on the ‘degla blue yesterday?
I wouldn’t have even had a jacket with me in that case.

Those sol bivvy’s are great, I duuno if I’d carry this on a normal bike ride, but on a big mountain day or a multi day epic, then I carry a storm shelter, linked below. It’s only 100g heavier and means the casualty and the one giving treatment can get out of the wind and cold. I’m currently going through MRT training, so by no means claiming to be an expert at all, but the use of these seems a bit of a no brainer.

https://www.lomo.co.uk/acatalog/emergency-shelter.html

It’s always a compromise though eh, you don’t wanna be carrying the kitchen sink every time. For hillwalking, I always take it, even just for the family to get out of the wind for lunch if the weather is shite.

Edit – mine isn’t a lomo, can’t recall the brand, and it’s long enough to lie in, so not that one linked.

I carry a first aid kit, a proper foil sleeping bag, tools, a buff and usually extra layer or waterproof at all times.

carry a storm shelter, linked below. It’s only 100g heavier and means the casualty and the one giving treatment can get out of the wind and cold.

IMHO those foil blankets aren’t that much use. Any wind tends to make them ineffective. Either get the bag like Matt suggests or even better get a group shelter like NaeBeer says. They are infinitely better for many pretty obvious reasons.

I’ve got a 6-8 person one that weighs 450g

I’m glad you’ve told me now, not much use carrying that if your buddies don’t know you are sprawled across your own first aid kit 🙂

+1. That’s good thinking.

I’ve got one of those SOL bivvy bags. Can’t see the point of a foil blanket.

Can’t believe no one has said mobile phone yet! That’s your best bit of kit to have

I’m firmly in the camp of get first aid training and don’t carry lots of stuff. You can either walk out or need assistance.

Aye, I don’t put much faith in the blankets, the only time you’re gonna use it over a bag is a spinal or neck injury, in which case a bag isn’t an option really.

I carry a Garmin inreach these days too, hopefully never have to use it!

I’m not medically trained, but protecting an accident person is important.

So what would be a good thing to carry (other than cable ties, gorilla tape and WD40) JOKE !

Actually if you do a GOOD outdoor first aid course you’ll come away with the knowledge and confidence to turn cable ties into a sling or use gorilla tape on a big gash. I’ve not found a medical use for WD40 though! (Note you likely wont cover that on your typical workplace course, or the bare minimum course that lots of organisations insist on – so I would go find a course that actually targetted at the sort of situation you will find yourself in). As a rule – if it’s all taught in a classroom, its not really an outdoor first aid course!

Having done more than my fair share of outdoor first aid – your inclination that protecting the casualty from the elements was important is absolutely correct. I’d guess more people have been saved with spare jackets etc than anything in a first aid kit you could be bothered carrying on every ride. BUT there are useful things to carry that can make the difference between calling it a day or being able to carry on, or having a really upset child etc. I’m not a huge fan of “space blankets”, I much prefer the shelter like Nobeer referred to (I have one about that size – but not a lomo one – you can just about cover an unconscious adult with it too, but not in its designed “shape”). You will be astonished how quick the work at actually adding warmth and keeping the elements out. It pretty much goes on every big day trip… and has been used to keep the weather off in non-emergency situations. Still kicking myself for leaving it in the car last weekend (because we weren’t going far and the sun was out) – when the hail hit us at lunchtime!

Funny that this has appeared as a thread topic now I’ve just started carrying a first aid kit again after many years of not. It needed to be compact as I only ride with a small pack. The ‘hardware’ (scissors, blade, tweezers are on my swiss army knife.

The rest is:

Antiseptic wipes.
Travel pack of tissues.
Plasters of varying size.
Small roll of surgical tape.
One large mepore dressing.
25ml squeezy vial of saline.
Couple of paracetamol.

It is basically a ‘nasty cuts and scrapes’ kit. Designed to patch up and recommence the ride. The saline cones from a nasty cut one of our group sustained on an away trip. By the time he’d driven home the crap that had been shoved into it by the crash had started to turn it nasty. We had no way of irrigating the wound with anything sterile.

I’m probably carrying the wrong stuff, but anything more serious would be a phone for an ambulance and keep the victim warm job anyway…

The group shelters pack down well if you get the light ones, but you’ll struggle to fit them in a waist pack with anything else. I have a superlight 4 person one and it’s still an elongated grapefruit in size. I have a blizzard bag but that’s about the size of an old VHS cassette. Probably For short trips with a waist pack you’ll be OK with a foil blanket or foil bivvy

Having something to put on in an enforced stop to keep yourself warm is very useful. It’s really easy to get cold. If it’s an emergency and you need help you could be stopped for a while

I’m firmly in the camp of get first aid training and don’t carry lots of stuff. You can either walk out or need assistance.

Yeah, though I suppose it depends where you ride. I ride in the Peak and pretty much always have phone reception. If I have a big cut or something then I’ll call home and get a lift / taxi back. If it’s a broken leg then I’d need mountain rescue so having a first aid kit is not helpful.

As I said in the other thread, though, an injury that means you can’t walk can mean you get cold VERY quickly. I was once on Win Hill on a sunny (but breezy) day in May when another rider crashed nearby. Dislocated shoulder IIRC. We were all wearing T-shirts but crashee got very cold within a few minutes and started shivering badly and not talking straight. Fortunately a passing walker had two (!) down sleeping bags which helped a lot. So extra layers would be the most important thing, though admittedly I don’t usually carry a bag.

Riding in more remote places, my opinion would change.

On my wife’s recommendation, instead of an absorbent dressings, I pack the first aid kit with a couple of tampons. Cheap, light, small pack size and just as absorbent as other first aid dressings. I do get some funny looks when they fall out of my Camelbak..

@matt_outandabout
I might be interested in the first aid course you mentioned, it’s something I’ve always been meaning to do. Could you PM me some more details please? 👍

Even in the Peaks though, MRT may be a few hours in getting to you, particularly in shite weather.

On my wife’s recommendation, instead of an absorbent dressings, I pack the first aid kit with a couple of tampons. Cheap, light, small pack size and just as absorbent as other first aid dressings. I do get some funny looks when they fall out of my Camelbak..

Dude, you need to change your username.

We’ve done the mtb leader and outdoor first aid stuff. Mrs was also a basic life support trainer for a while. Definitely not an experts, but our view is:

Pretty much nothing from a standard off the shelf first aid kit 🙂

You are either keeping someone that is immobile warm and dry, or ideally patching something up to allow walk out. And also having a means to identify where you are and keep a record of it (some random combination of phone, map, gps, grid ref app, w3w, Ikea pencil and scrap of waterproof paper etc).

Slings and stuff can be improvised from buffs, inner tubes whatever. Anything that just needs a plaster can probably wait / be improvised. We’ve had to deal with a few big wounds (barbed wire arm gashes) – for that just carry a field dressing (big wad pad with bandage attached) and some tape which is effective and compact. Have been told by MR people that a sanitary pad and condom with the end chopped off is equally good. Also a single aspirin tablet (which 999 person will tell you to administer if required), some tiny tough-cut scissors and a tiny CPR face shield.

Keeping someone warm is tricky without bulk. In winter out in the wilds as a family, then one of us might carry a small bag with bivvy shelter, tiny hideous £30 decathlon sale down jacket (kids get cold really fast), £1 fleece hat. All of us will have a foil blanket or placcy bag, spare thermal and waterproof. The smaller the group and nearer help the more that gets moderated. There are some more expensive foil blanket things that expand like bubble wrap – they are maybe a good option to stash in a main bag in winter.

Off course it depends where you are going and who you are with and how responsible you are for others.

A pragmatic, outdoor orientated first aid course will work wonders for your knowledge and confidence. Money very well spent and should be enjoyable (linked course based in Tweed Valley and run by one of my mates who really keeps it outdoor orientated).

A basic large dressing or two can deal with pretty much everything from a bleed to broken collar bone. It is a blunt tool for doing lots of different things and works fine. You can carry more which will make the person more comfortable and perhaps carry on riding such as antiseptic wipes, different dressings but that is under nice to do rather than must do.

I’m not convinced a foil blanket has ever kept anyone warm, if you are out in winter weather, far from road and / or responsible for others then definitely a shelter or a blizzard blanket (much, much better than a foil blanket). A bit bulkier but more likely to be helpful than pretty much anything else.

A phone and the ability to know where you are (not debating W3W here, but something like that or OS Locate) will save you hassle and let you worry about casualty rather than working our where you are

On my wife’s recommendation, instead of an absorbent dressings, I pack the first aid kit with a couple of tampons. Cheap, light, small pack size and just as absorbent as other first aid dressings.

Are you sure you’re not getting your sanitary products mixed up? It’s not the absorbing that is important, you’re not bothered about the stuff out of contact with the wound. It’s the stuff in/on the wound that you want to stabilise, make clot and then prevent more blood coming out surely.

For which a pad would be loads better than a tampon surely. ( Unless it’s a stab wound of course, in which case applicate away.. 🥺

..just a little aside.. Those foil blankets seem to ‘go off’, so it’s worthwhile having a look occasionally.
We had to use a few when the swimming pool where my kids learn started smoking. All the kids outside, in wet swim kit, and given a foil blanket each. Most of the foil sheets came out of their packets as thin clear plastic with a load of foil flakes left in the packet.

What is with all of the sanitary product chat? Get a large dressing, whack it on the wound, wrap it round loads of times and crack on.

There is a good reason why paramedics use wound dressings rather than sanitary products when someone is bleeding! Use the tool designed for the job

. I’ve not found a medical use for WD40 though

It’s good for stiff joints.
Seriously. It contains fish oil (which, as a veggie, is why I dont use it) but it can be absorbed through the skin and gives the same benefit as eating cod liver oil

There is a good reason why paramedics use wound dressings rather than sanitary products when someone is bleeding! Use the tool designed for the job

tampons were originally designed to plug bullet holes. enterprising WW1 nurses are the reason for their current use.

What is with all of the sanitary product chat?

I would have though the answer to that was completely obvious…

The percentage of people carrying one is likely to be hugely higher that the number of people carrying a first aid kit.

Though admittedly that might not hold halfway round Llandegla.

And getting someone to actually give you one might take a while.

I haven’t posted about my serious crash last week I will. We should all carry an emergency blanket and probably a small synthetic down jacket when mountain biking or a least an extra thermal We got caught out on a local road ride I was 3 miles from home and the weather turned whilst waiting for the air ambulance both me and my mate ended up very cold very quickly.

I once took a sleeping bag on a two hour road ride. Back in the day I was mad keen I set off from langdale at 21:30 to do Wrynoses and Hardnot. I think it was a clear sky and around 2 degrees.
Realised that if I injured myself in a simple fall I was unlikely to be found for ten hours and wouldn’t survive a tenth of that.

So took my snugpack in a rucksak.