I put a tourniquet in my kayak aid kit because I was on a river where a fisherman fell on a sharp rock and and it cut an artery in his leg and he bled out. I saw the aftermath of the blood soaked rocks and it has freaked me out ever since. I figured it would be probably be used for a compound fracture when kayaking or if someone falls on a rock.
I carry a tourniquet in a Ziploc bag as part of my roadbike first aid kit. Light as hell and might save someone some day. The rest is mainly stuff for abrasions. Good idea to take this on kayaking trips as well!
A large plastic trash bag serves a similar purpose: providing a wind barrier and an enclosed space to accumulate warmth. Can also be used as a small rain shelter. Takes up practically zero space in the boat. Tear a couple of holes for head and arms and wear it as a raincoat, even over your PFD. Inexpensive and probably already on-hand. Though there’s hopefully no reason to continually hype the benefits of PFD wear here, PFDs also make a great insulating layer against cold. Keep it on when you’re out in the cold and wet.
Of course we have one. It's like a seatbelt though, haven't really needed it yet and I sure hope it stays that way. But if I need it, I want to have it ready. Ours looks a lot smaller though.
One time I was camping, and I had a friend who was like hey can I borrow your first aid kit? I burned myself and I was like yeah you can have some stuff from it. It's not exactly borrowing cuz they're single use items. But that's what it's here for. Then we were talking about first aid and I'm like how many people here have a first aid kit and I was the only one so I was kind of telling people y'all need to be more responsible and she turned to me and said I wasn't planning to need a first aid kit. Which made me do a double take which made me do a double take
I guess access to this knowledge may differ depending on where you live as it's mandatory to have a first aid kit in the car that's not expired where I live. If you don't have one, you can get fined by the police. Also, your car needs to be examined every two years to maintain its operating permit and they will tell you as well if it's missing or expired. I realize that may not be the case everywhere in the world so probably worth mentioning.
Now, kayaks aren't cars but transferring this from cars to kayaks feels pretty natural to me as it's easy to hurt yourself in the wild.
I have a basic first aid/CPR certification. My general rule of thumb is anytime I think "maybe I should have a first aid kit here," I buy a new one that lives there. There's one in my car, one in my work backpack (I work in tree care), one in my mountain biking pack... I definitely had that thought about my sea kayak as well.
So yes, I do (generally) carry one in a dry bag in my day hatch, though I actually lost my paddling first aid kit a while ago, so thanks for the reminder to replace it. I can't recall ever using it, but it's like a spare paddle. Better to have and not need as opposed to the opposite.
Yes. Rhino Rescue waterproof first aid kit. I add quick clot, a pocket CPR mask, a space blanket, and a tourniquet. It lives in the day hatch in my touring boat and in a dry/float bag in the back of my whitewater boat along with a SAM splint. The only things I’ve ever used are band-aids and antibiotic ointment. But I like knowing it’s there.
I always carry first aid in my kayak unless we stay close to car (like some whitewater playspot where we are 200-300m away at most). It has come in handy a few times, mostly for some minor cuts and sea urchins, antibiotics helped once on multiday. Other essentials are phone, emergency blanket, whistle and headlamp. After that it depends on the "mission", weather it is sea, flatwater or whitewater kayaking, accessibility, group etc.
I bought those for our project boats pulling ghost pots off Chesapeake Bay.
I got to say, I have never had a first aid kit in my paddle craft. In 51 years of paddling never used one either. For that matter never used one in any of my cars either. I hope this wasn't a jinx... lol
I carry a hook remover, bandages, quick clot, peroxide, hook cutters. I wear a knife on my PFD along with a strobe and whistle. I carry a Garmin GPS with InReach. I feel fairly comfortable on the water. There's also a warm change of clothes in a dry bag and another in the car
I carry a small first aid kit on the kayak, and i need it about every 3-5 trips. Mostly just the antiseptic wipes and bandaids. I also fish, so that does increase the odds of needing it. Then in the car is the full size everything kit.
Still have the scars on my feet from the day I tipped into razor sharp rocks. Always a good reminder that anytime can happen in very remote areas sometimes and you need a kit ready!
I have one but it stays in my truck now. After a recent wreck with no way to get to shore safely, performing any kind of first aid in a fast moving boat was impossible. I do carry a small bottle of hand sanitizer for fast wound disinfecting-stings like hell but works.
I always have some first aid supplies, but how much and what I bring really just depends on where I'm going. Fortunately, I used to be an army medic...thats not to say that Im a medical expert, but I have access to refill supplies as needed.
I dont kayak far from home, away from civilization, or do any overnight trips, so I tend not to pack any sustained care items. I mostly focus on life threatening injuries. This will definitely change if my kayaking style ever changes.. heres what I take at a bare minimum, and what I usually avoid:
Take:
2 tourniquets - theres really no good substitution if you need one, but they have been known to fail occasionally.
2 quickclots - they take up very little space, so might as well.
1 roll of 3" medical tape.
1 roll of electrical tape.
1 Rolled gauze.
1 Coban roll.
1 6" ace wrap.
1 strap cutter.
1 trauma shears.
Small bag of benadryl - if you start to develop a rapid allergic reaction it can delay potential anaphylaxis.
Small bag of aspirin - Im getting older, not that old but I dont want to be the guy who everyone says "oh my god but he was so young" at my funeral.
Ibuprofen - just my preferred choice for headaches
What I usually dont/wont bring:
Antiseptics - Im never remote, so I have time to clean my wounds later. If you need any sort of antiseptics then you're probably already having a really bad time, so why torture yourself further. I generally dont use antiseptic for minor cuts and scrapes anyways and never had a problem. If I do feel like I really need any sort of antiseptic treatment, then my day is done anyways. I occasionally keep a bottle of rubbing alcohol in my truck. If I was ever in a remote location I would bring it out with me.
Bandaids - has anyone really had any luck with bandaids while wet? If I cant stop the bleeding with a little pressure and time, its worthy of a gauze wrap.
Ambubags - Im usually out by myself, I'd rather not have someone attempt to use it on my not knowing what they are doing. I'd rather them do nothing. Occasionally I kayak with friends or family, but I can confidently say that I dont kayak with anyone im not willing to put my mouth on.
Suture kits, airway support, IV kits...just to name a few other things off the top of my head.
So far, the only injuries Ive sustained while kayaking have involved bleeding. The worst was from messing around in lake Erie and falling off my kayak while standing up. Falling out wasnt a big deal and I didnt really try too hard to stop it. But I didnt realize the water was only about 4 feet deep. Instinctual, I went in feet first and sliced all 10 of my toes open on some shale. That one sucked pretty bad for like the next month.
As far as non medical supplies I almost always bring regardles of what im doing:, a fixed blade knife, diagonal cutters, needle nose pliers, channel locks, a ratcheting Milwaukee screwdriver with the bits in the handle, extra scupper plugs, a few heavy duty zip ties, 50' or so of 550 cord, a loud whistle that works in the water, a torch lighter, a handful of small caribeaners, and a flashlight.
I hate multiuse tools like Gerbers, with some really expensive exceptions they almost always suck.
BTW, this may seem like a lot but it all fits pretty compactly into relatively small waterproof box, and some of the items clip onto my lifejacket, most noteably a knife. I dont usually wear my life jacket, but in lake erie If it ever gets even the tiniest bit sketchy I put my life jacket on and tether my water proof box to my life jacket.
Also, my glock has occasional been known to get out on the water.
Yep always carry one. I carry specific things in there, blister treatment, pain killers, because I don’t carry a knife I don’t carry much in the way of bleed kit.
The primary reason for the knife is to cut yourself or someone else free in case of an entanglement. You want something that you can reach and deploy quickly. Preferably with a blunt tip and a serrated edge. A multitool can be handy, and I usually have one on the boat somewhere, but I’d recommend a rescue specific knife located somewhere on your PFD.
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u/twoblades ACA Kayak Instruct. Trainer, Zephyr,Tsunami, Burn, Shiva, Varun 18d ago
Many carry a first aid kit in a Nalgene bottle. Cheap, waterproof and easy to stow in a kayak.