TRAINING TRUMPS KITS
Now is a good time to mention the fact that training always trumps gear. We’ve pretty much beaten this concept to death, but it bears repeating. If you have genuine first aid skills, you can improvise many parts of a first aid kit on the spot. If you have no first aid skills, much of the advanced gear will be useless to you anyways, and could also be dangerous if you attempt to use it.
First aid courses of all kinds are offered nationwide, mostly at low or no cost. There’s just no excuse for not having first aid training of some kind. Consider also putting yourself through an EMT (Emergency Medical Technician) course. While some private training centers put these courses on over a ten week period on nights and weekends with a cost of around $1000, other places like high schools put these on as semester length ROP classes that take about 4-5 months to complete and cost under $100. These classes are also open to adults! So, what exactly is your excuse for not having first aid training?
