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The best first aid kits you can buy

    • 3280 posts
    November 13, 2022 11:31 PM EST

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    First, permit me to share a few words on my relationship with the first aid kit. I keep a stocked first aid kit in both of our cars, in the home, at the ready for travel, and packed and ready to go with my hiking gear. I also have a few bandages tucked into my wallet. Now, I'm not a disaster prepper or anything like that. In fact, I'm pretty confident that society will be just fine in the long run, and I'd generally recommend people spend more time managing their retirement portfolio than stocking their fallout shelters.
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    I do very much like being prepared, though. It's just that my preparation is for cuts, scrapes, and burns around the home, a twisted (or broken) ankle or painful insect bite sustained out in the field, or even a car accident that requires more serious and expedient medical attention. As a frequent camper and hiker, I know that having a first aid kit is at times not simply a good idea, but an absolute necessity. When you're a three-day hike from the nearest hospital, you'd better be able to count on your own supplies in the event of injury or illness.

    When I first started heading out into the woodlands and mountains, I carried a homemade first aid kit tucked into an old Altoids tin. It had all the basics, like bandages, antiseptic wipes, medical tape, anti-itch and burn relief gels, and so forth. In fact, I think I assembled a pretty solid little kit, and it served me well over the years. But there were a few problems: The ointments and gels would almost invariably dry out over time, the tape and bandages would grow brittle and lose their adhesion, and every time I used this or that component, I had to be sure to later re-stock it, and it was often hard to keep track of what I needed on an ad hoc basis. When I switched to a professionally assembled kit, I spent a few more dollars but got a lot more peace of mind.
    A good first aid kit isn't a mobile trauma center, but it will provide the basic supplies you need to mitigate the ill effects of an accident, injury, or sudden illness. Remember, it's first aid, not final, comprehensive aid. When choosing a first aid kit, you need to think about who might depend on it (in terms of the sheer number of people and the age and disposition of the user), where it will be stored and/or carried, and in what situations the likely users might endure an injury or illness.

    Any first aid kit worth considering will have the supplies needed to treat minor cuts, punctures, burns, and other such common injuries. Beyond that, the suitability of a given kit depends on a careful consideration of factors ranging from weight to packaging to redundancy of the supplies included. You know where you'll be when you might need first aid and/or who might be depending on your help.

    Choose the first aid kit that best suits the people and the situations in which they'll be, and then hope you never have to use it. With those tips in mind, read on to see which of our top picks is best for your needs.