Peter Macfarlane recommends the Lifesystems Mountain First Aid Kit, a comprehensive kit to take out into the hills.
This Lifesystems Mountain First Aid Kit is large and is well stocked with almost everything you’d need to deal with minor injuries and ailments.
Peter Macfarlane recommends
This is a large, accessible and comprehensive kit to which I have added my own additions- Well stocked and cleanly laid out package
- could be more than you need
| Quick specs |
|---|
| Price: £42.99 |
| Weight: 572g |
| Materials: nylon zipped case with elastic and velcro trim |
| Features: dressings, medication, tools, tapes, light stick |
| Sizes: various versions available |
| www.lifesystems.co.uk |
A first aid kit might be something you carry and not even open for years, but when you need do eventually need it, the contents can literally save your day. I’ve always carried a first aid kit. It’s something I learned in my early days outdoors as a cub scout: being prepared. I have and I’m sure will continue to use the contents regularly at work and play in the hills. I have been on long trips with experienced outdoors folk who have had a blister, a cut finger or a burn from a stove and I’ve been the only one who could tend to it because I had the only first aid kit. You should ideally be self-sufficient and also be prepared to help others.
In this Lifesystems Mountain First Aid Kit are painkillers, antiseptic wipes, fabric plasters, various dry dressings with tapes to apply them, burn cream, tweezers, safety pins, scissors, strip thermometers, a small roll of duct tape and light stick. The pack is big and I’ve only carried it on trips with large groups, the rest of the time it lives in my van where its contents are regularly dipped into as I and others need them.
On solo trips I take a few vital things out and put them in a smaller stuff sack so I’m still covered. It’s important to keep track of the usage and the dates of the contents. Always replace used items quickly and check dates on unused items.
Also, check their packaging as, over time, constant movement and temperature affects the wrapping on items which can fail or have contents spoiled – a damp bandage, for example.
The Mountain kit is comprehensive. It is well set out and packaged to allow you to access what you need when under pressure but experience has taught me to add a few items of my own. One is a small mirror which I’ve used many times to help get grit out of my eye. Another is foot tape which can help stop blisters forming when applied early, plus indigestion remedies and a tick remover.
Testing conditions
Peter carried and used items from the review on all of his hill trips throughout 2023 from one winter into the next. This ranged from Munro days to low level trails and he also used the gear multiple times on ranger duties in the Kilpatrick Hills. All weights are from the reviewer’s digital scales.
This comparative review was first published in the December 2024 issue of The Great Outdoors.
