I've read in several places that some first-aid providers don't carry adhesive bandages (bandaids) in their first-aid kits. They bring more 4" x 4" gauze pads with medical tape (such as Transpore) and cut the gauze pads to size depending on the wound (cut, scrape). I don't like bandaids too too much either because sometimes they just aren't wide enough.

This seems to make sense and would make my first-aid kit simpler and more versatile with more 4" x 4" pads... Do you agree ?

EDIT : assuming a small one/two person first-aid kit in a small pouch used for hiking, camping and similar activities.

Yes and no. I agree that 4"X4" pads and tape are more versatile but I don't think excluding bandaids would make your kit simpler.

As I'm sure you have, I've carried a FAK for quite some time. When I've needed 4"X4" pads, I really needed them and bandaids simply would not have sufficed, but as far as what item have I used the most? Hands down, the simple 1"X4" bandaid.

I guess I could have cut or folded a 4"X4" pad down and taped it on the wound, but for simplicity (and one handed use when it's your own finger), nothing beats:

I don't like Transpore as much as I like the Durapore tape.
Durapore is a lot tougher and sticks better, IMO.
As far as eliminating band-aids... I am going to continue having them in my FAK.
Good bandaids seal the minor wound from the outside. That is if they have a thin strip of sticky surface to the side of the part that goes towards the wound.

Another issue to consider is that the BandAid-style bandages (NexCare are my favorite and are available cheaply at Wal-Mart) are very good for what is truly the most common & potentially serious injury: nicks & scrapes to the fingers & knuckles. FAKs are not just about blood loss.

As Doug Ritter explains, it's common and easy to get little dings on your fingers that then get dirty and infected. A few NexCares and some Neosporin will be very useful a lot more often than 4x4s. Think about this too: using a chunk of 4x4 on a skinned knuckle 1) uses up your tool for real blood loss and 2) results in a bulky bandage that will almost certainly NOT hold up as well as a good waterproof NexCare.

Your hands are vital tools in any crisis situation; you don't want them getting infected and you don't want bulky bandages sloughing off of them. This is a major reason why I keep a pair of thin, good-fitting goatskin gloves in my EDC bag. How will having a chunk of 4x4 taped to your finger affect the fit of your gloves? NexCares are effective while being slim and non-bulky.

Since there is practically no downside (in either bulk, weight, or cost) to having some NexCares in the kit, I don't see why anyone would eliminate them.

VERY well put.

When I was a highway cop/EMT, all I used on victims was 4x4's and kling to hold it on. But I was just patching them up prior to the ambulance arrival, when they got to a hospital many times they ended up with bandaids on the smaller wounds. I wasn't worried about anything but stopping blood flow, and covering the wound. But for myself, and I cut, poke, and scrape myself A LOT, a good old bandaid (I prefer the Nexcare flexible fabric ones) is what I use, unless it is a BIG cut. So I carry both in my kits, but I have a few bandaids in my wallet...