There are plenty of cases of big wall climbers tied into a ledge for the night wearing their belay jacket, half length sleeping bag and a bothy bag.

I, too have tied into pro and settled down for a long night with my elephant's foot. Why in the world were they dragging along a superfluous bothy bag? (just kidding)

Do long distance runners carry a means to light fires and knives, no they don’t. I was a semi pro cyclist and cycled hundreds of miles a week in training alone did I or any other cyclists carry that kit. No. Nor do wild swimmers, orienteers, horse riders or most outdoor sports persons.

Unfortunately, you logic here seems to be -"This is what a lot of people do, therefore it is all right" - on that basis, we could all be smoking, eating at McDonald's regularly, and driving without seat belts while talking on our cell phones.

I carry a role of vet wrap, a wad of gauze pads and some tape.


this is very close to a description of what I typically carry in similar circumstances. I think we are wrestling with a semantic difficulty here. An FAK, in my usage, is not usually a large, elaborate, heavy thin packed in day glo colors. It is what is appropriate for the circumstances and training of its owner. It ideally incorporates other carried items, like a bandanna, and definitely includes some sort of shelter in nearly all circumstances - treatment for shock is almost always required.

If you go out by yourself, a first aid kit, other than for treating very basics injuries, is useless to you if the injury is too bad, shelter is more important than first aid.

Perfectly true, you can encounter a situation in which your FAK will be inadequate, like a 300 foot fall down a sheer cliff, decapitation, etc. There are also scores of situations where prompt first aid can substantially improve the outcome. Improvisation and creativity is a critical component of treatment in any wilderness setting.


There is no need to splint if you are going to get medical attention on seen because they are always going to want to replace your work with professional equipment.

Perhaps this is a difference in procedures between the UK and USA, but over here, I can't imagine replacing a properly applied splint just to put my gadget on the victim. I would check for peripheral circulation, and let it go, if it seemed to be working. Of course, I suspect this is rather hypothetical - I have never encountered a group that had attempted to apply a splint. Are you seriously suggesting that, having realized the likelihood of a fracture, you would sit passively by and wait for the rescue squad? In the western US, that could be a very long wait.

don’t tell me you live in a desert so hypothermia is not a problem.

A great deal of my outdoor experience has been in a desert environment. Just before I left Tucson, I reviewed the operations of our unit over the past twenty years or so (1965-1985). Falling was the number one cause of fatalities, followed closely by drowning and hypothermia. Deaths from hyperthermia were fairly rare. This situation may have changed now with the flood of immigration over the border.

It is a common misconception that Arizona is uniformly warm. I have personally recorded -30 F at Wupatki, just north of Flagstaff, a locality where -40F has been officially recorded, along with snow in every month of the year. Arizona has many mountain ranges, and any over 5,000 feet in elevation offer a lot of cold weather.

Arizona, though deficient in rainfall, is subject to torrential floods when it does rain. Some folks can't deal with floods very well. Our typical victim drove around barriers closing the road to enter into the flowing stream...

I have more than 20 years experience of the outdoors and survival and my kit is proportionate to the trip I am doing. I agree that the novice just starting out should take more precautions in kit than the more experienced


I agree heartily with you on these points. My SAR experience spans about thirty five years (some 400 plus operations) and my total outdoor experience dates back to 1956, when I was fortunate enough to leave the mid west and arrive in Arizona and the Western US.

I think we agree on a lot of major points, but if we are ever out together, should I fall and break a leg, please, please apply a splint,,,,,, even if it is a saguaro cactus, fastened with a handy rattlesnake.