I'm due to inspect my car emergency kit. Out here, once you're a few miles from a town, it's wilderness. Cell signal isn't guaranteed in the mountains. I have a trauma kit to stop bleeding, including an Israeli bandage. I have a splint kit. I have basic medications (due for replacement) and boo-boo level band-aids and antibiotic creams (due for basic inspection). I don't have some things in common lists of essentials because I have a. limited funds and b. less than complete skills with such tools. Besides, despite what the news might tell you, the US isn't a battlefield where gunshot treatment is an everyday concern.
Your first line is very important. Checking the kit periodically is essential and it's amazing how many have a kit, and state it proudly, but have not opened if for 19 years which renders the kit virtually useless. Well said man.
I wondered if you'd comment; I know you have some skills and a lot of understanding and you've not let me down. You also raise a valid point, cost which probably prevents some people from having a kit but there's often a work around and I think it's worth finding a way to make it work.
It's important to know what's generally required and what may be superfluous and you seem to have a good handle on it, so thanks for your insight and sharing what's in your kit. I appreciate the comment about checking the kit too, that's really important.
I know my limitations. Nothing fancy, just some trianing and a few rules of thumb. My skills are literally first aid. Keep someone alive until the pros can arrive.
Beyond that, immobilizing a broken limb with a splint and providing a few basic medications are my limits. More skill than some, less skill than others. I hope I never need any of it, but I don't trust hope.
That's pretty much all that could/would be done in the wilderness and way more than most people know how to do. With these basics and some actual bushcraft that may prevent incidents happening, a person is in a good place I think.
We'll see whether that'll keep me from becoming a statistic. I'm already breaking one of the rules by traveling alone. Don't worry, I'll try to keep the people who need to know my whereabouts in the know.
I do some wilderness stuff alone but like you say, let someone know when you leave, how long you're (expected to be) going for and when you're likely to return, and where you're expecting to go of course; they can check in and alert the authorities if you don't return. You know all thins though.
Don't overestimate me. My book-learnin' is vast as the Great Lakes, but my practical wilderness experience outside of basic country life is small as a mud puddle.
Ah ok, well having some theoretical skills isn't a bad thing, it's amazing how quickly people that have read a thing or two can adapt that knowledge when in the field.