My Hiking First-Aid Kit Essentials: Meds, Patches & a Survival Blanket
Daily · Published 1/10/2023 ·
Let me walk you through my hiking first-aid essentials.
Hiking is a sport you do outdoors for hours at a stretch — sometimes deep in the backcountry. Which means situations come up where you need to be ready for at least a few emergencies.
From left to right: painkillers (Tylenol), a digestive aid (Azinpharm), liquid pain-relief gel, topical pain patches, bandages, and adhesive pain patches. All of it together weighs only 200–300 grams. Whether I’m doing a national park traverse or just heading up the little hill behind my neighborhood, this goes in my pack. I never swap the kit out — I only add to it.
Painkillers
There isn’t really one “best” or most-effective painkiller for hiking, as far as I can tell, so I just use plain old Tylenol as my go-to on the trail. If a headache creeps in, if my lower back starts to ache a little, or if I’m just not sure how I feel — I take one. When things are bad I’ll take one every two hours; normally I set an alarm for every four. In that photo I’d actually already taken one. I was about to head down from Nogosan when the tip of my nose started tingling — the first sign of a headache coming on. I remember taking one pill and making it down to Heungguksa just fine.
Digestive aid
This is a recent addition to the kit. It doesn’t happen to me much, but after seeing a few hiking companions get bloated from indigestion or even throw up, I started carrying one. When your stomach isn’t working, you can literally feel your body drop to less than half capacity. On a long hike you have to keep eating to top up your energy, so if your stomach quits on you, you’re in real trouble.
Bandages (Daeil bandages, adhesive plasters)
I end up using these more often than you’d think. I’m always getting scratched by tough, wiry branches like azalea. And a tiny scratch like that will nag at you all day until the hike is over. While you’re fussing over it you can miss your footing, too. But slap on one of those little bandages and — strangely enough — you stop thinking about it and walk on with, dare I say, even more confidence.
Pain patches (coin patches)
Every now and then I get joint pain and ligament pain. Each time, I’d have to roll up my pant leg, cut a giant pain patch down to size with scissors, stick it on, then put a bandage over the top to hold it… out in the field that’s a real hassle. Coin patches are simple and they stick beautifully. There are domestic brands out now, too. I just buy mine at Gwangjang Market — the same ones I’ve always used. Stick two on around the ankle and walk, and somehow you feel solid again. Honestly, walking through pain is something you shouldn’t do, but the pain tends to set in mid-hike when you can’t just bail out immediately, and gritting your teeth and pushing on turns a hike you started for fun into pure misery. If you’re on the fence, go ahead and put one on while you think it over. I hand these out to the group all the time.
Pain relief (liquid gel)
Everybody knows this one. First off, you absolutely have to dab it on mosquito bites, and if you sprain a wrist it works well as first aid — apply it and then stick a patch over the top. It has a bit of painkiller in it. Summer or winter, it’s always in the kit.
Survival blanket
I shot this one alongside the liquid gel on purpose. It’s small and light. That foil-like sheet, called a survival blanket, is something you hope you never need but use if you’re stranded. I carry about two of them. Because it looks like aluminum foil, it’s a highly visible material — great for other hikers to spot you if you get stranded, and easy to see when you’re calling 119. The reason I carry two is that if a group of three or four gets stranded, you can sit in a circle, hold the two of them end to end, pull them over yourselves, and they’re big enough to cover everyone.
Since you all share body heat that way, that thin, lightweight survival blanket dramatically boosts your odds of survival.
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Essential first-aid meds and a blanket
It’s not much weight, but trail runners and folks who go light BPL-style might want to shave off even 100 grams. Still, on a fun outing — a hike you set out on to enjoy yourself — there comes a moment now and then when these tiny items make a huge difference. You all know your own body’s weak spots best. So go to the pharmacy, buy the essentials that fit your needs all in one trip, toss them in a ziplock bag, and pop it in your pack when you head out. That’s my advice.
Thanks for reading.
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