How We Tested First Aid Kits

Friday July 26, 2024

first aid kit - viren perumal weighing the different kits and evaluating their... — Viren Perumal weighing the different kits and evaluating their contents at the Sierra Mountain Guides World Headquarters.
Credit: Jen Reynolds

To evaluate the different first aid kits in our review, we tested each in real-world conditions while rock climbing, backpacking, ski touring, mountaineering, and on extended road trips. We also called upon these kits for our day-to-day lives: on more typical day hikes and to treat everyday bumps and scrapes around the home and office.

We also tested them to determine how they performed in simulated first aid scenarios during Wilderness First Responder (WFR) training. Putting them in the hands of first aid veterans and novices alike illustrated the effectiveness and user-friendliness of each kit.

We evaluated individual performance using a set of pre-defined metrics to ensure fair and standard testing.

first aid kit - students on a wilderness first responder recertification course find... — Students on a Wilderness First Responder recertification course find valuable information in the reference book included in this kit.
Credit: Viren Perumal

Quality

We assessed quality by inspecting the case for notable weaknesses and then opened up the kits to critique the quality of the contents. We closely examined all the components but with a particular focus on bandages, which are likely to be used most. Packaging goes a long way in ensuring that the contents are kept sterile, so we were critical of those kits whose supplies are inadequately protected. We also looked at the kit's additional tools like trauma shears, forceps, or extra items like cold compresses.

first aid kit - testing first aid kits side-by-side allows us to closely examine and... — Testing first aid kits side-by-side allows us to closely examine and compare commonly included tools, like the always-handy set of tweezers.
Credit: Ross Robinson

Assortment

Whether or not a kit is useful depends on the assortment of included supplies. We don't want to carry a first aid kit full of 50 different types of Band-Aids on an expedition, nor do we feel the need to be set up to respond to major trauma emergencies on an everyday hike. Similarly, an emergency ultralight kit is not useful to a parent looking for an at-home setup with many adhesive bandages for the bumps and scrapes of daily life. So for this assessment, we separated kits into categories based on their most likely purpose and then examined their contents within the framework of their intended context.

first aid kit - high-quality first aid kits designed for home or office use tend to... — High-quality first aid kits designed for home or office use tend to have a nice assortment of supplies for the most common first aid needs.
Credit: Ben Applebaum-Bauch

Versatility

As a balance to assortment, having a single kit that can be used in multiple situations is beneficial. In evaluating versatility, we see if the kit can be pared down or beefed up easily based on context, trip length, and group size. We also examined the type of supplies present and whether they can treat common front-country and backcountry injuries. Some of the kits come with handy first aid books, but we noticed that these books often cover incidents that the kit itself does not have the equipment to deal with adequately.

first aid kit - a well-organized first aid kit is as useful to keep in your car as... — A well-organized first aid kit is as useful to keep in your car as it is to bring on extended backpacking trips.
Credit: Ben Applebaum-Bauch

Durability

A first aid kit is only as durable as its case, so that is the first thing we considered. Internal organization is also key, as the more cluttered the contents become, the less useful they become. Many contents are considered one-time use, so ease of resupply is important. But tools like trauma shears should last for quite a while, and flimsy plastic ones tend to indicate a general lack of durability.

first aid kit - many of the adventure medical kits options come with high-quality... — Many of the Adventure Medical Kits options come with high-quality, durable (and in this instance, waterproof) cases that can be refilled and reused for years.
Credit: Ben Applebaum-Bauch

Weight

Unsurprisingly, weight and packed size are generally a function of volume and types of supplies in any given kit. The smaller they are, the fewer supplies they contain. However, some kits showed a very high usefulness ratio to weight. We recognize that weight is far less consequential for at-home use than for a weekend backcountry trip, so it is a comparatively small proportion of each model's overall score.