I disagree. The thought of never going out alone is truly horrible. I can't imagine not having the experience of 1000 mallards dropping in around me as I sat alone, camouflaged in a small kayak while hunting deep in a Mississippi swamp! Had I been with my usual hunting partners, no way that would have happened. Part of the attraction of being outdoors is the risk and part of the satisfaction is containing and minimizing that risk (as much as humanly possible) through careful thought and planning.

Completely eliminate the risk and you might as well be playing a video game.

We are in the buisness of minimising risks, not aggravating them. By all means walk alone, but be very wary of the risks and the real concern of this thread is the inexperienced getting overcocky about the level of protection their kit gives them. The so called " immortality syndrome."

I disagree. There are many life saving items that could be carried in a PFAK, such as Diphenhydramine (Benadryl), asprin, Epinephrine (Epi-Pen), a perscribed inhaler, CPR mask, Glucose, and other personal medications.

Most bleeding control items, splints, and litters can be improvised in the field, but you cannot make asprin from willow bark in the amount of time that it would be effective, nor could you make an Epi-Pen from duct tape, p-cord, and a tinderquick.

And then to agree with what others have said, what you carry in your head is more important than any thing you could ever put in a kit.

Just my thoughts...

These are all great responses and we are going to consider all of them in our discussions.

Our teams do carry a full trauma gear broken down into modules so no one person carries all the load, we also usually have more than one trained Emergency Medical Technician on each team as well.

The question arose when an off duty team members was out in a state park and assisted to a mountain biker that was injured and a member that was in a home improvement business when a young child tipped over a sink of some sort and received a major laceration to the arm, the first thing the person done was reach for his EDC PFAK and it just wasn’t enough. So as stated you improvise and quickly I might add.

I hope I did not imply (it was not my intent) that immobilizing injury is the leading cause of survival situations. That being said, I have worked several hundred searches in my career and medical problems have been at least in the top three. As was mentioned lost or disoriented and weather are (or have been in my observations) at the top of the list as well.

I thank you all again

As another note I have been considering, at least for my kit as hailstone suggested, the aspirin, Epi, etc. in my PFAK. I think I have concluded that it will be in the kit, it is just to hard to improvise some things and I am in remote areas by myself for the most part.

i am guilty of having a larger than usual PFAK. but thats also because i usually hike with 2 dogs and people who aren't prepared for even a blister. honestly, i'd rather deal with a little extra weight or bulk and have something when you need it. for example, i also carry a small bottle of sterile eye wash which i can use for wound irrigation if need be. some might think this a needless addition but i like having that option in my PFAK. nothing in my kit makes me falsly confident though. my hope is to never have to use any of it.

No argument there. I think that the E.T.S. motto should be: " We pray for the best, We plan for the worst."

I actually thought about that. Never mind that the buzzards had already gone south in anticipation of winter....

Play possum. They should get attention if they are are a tree top level. If one lands, give it the "conan chomp", and use it as a club on the next few that try to nibble on me. <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />