Camping first aid kit checklist for families

Affiliate disclosure: A couple of links on this page are Amazon affiliate links. If you buy through one, I may earn a small commission. You pay the same price either way, and it never changes a grade. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Hey dads, Ryan here. I'm a dad of three.

Camping changes one thing about first aid: help is farther away. The cell signal can drop out, the drive to an urgent care can be long, and the store with the bandages is not around the corner. So the kit has to cover more of the small stuff on its own, and you need a plan for the big stuff.

The fastest way to build it is my free checklist. It has a Camping tab with the list already set up. Tick what you own, then print it or email it to yourself.

Open the Camping checklist

Start with the plan, not the bag

Before you pack a single bandage, know these three things for the campsite you're actually going to:

• Where you are. The campground name, site number, or the trailhead. Write it down so you can give it to 911.
• Whether your phone works there. If it might not, tell someone at home where you're going and when you'll be back.
• Where the nearest emergency room is, and how long the drive takes.

In an emergency, call 911.

The camping first aid kit checklist

This matches the Camping tab on the checklist. Pack for the weekend you're actually taking, not a month in the backcountry.

Cuts, scrapes and blisters

• Kid-size adhesive bandages (they get used first)
• Sterile gauze pads
• Roller gauze
• Medical tape
• An irrigation syringe, for rinsing dirt out of a scrape with clean water
• Moleskin, for hot spots before they turn into blisters
• Nitrile gloves

Bigger bleeding

• An emergency pressure dressing
• A genuine windlass tourniquet, and the training to use it. Fakes are common. Read my tourniquet page before you buy one, and take a stop-the-bleed class.

For any bleeding that won't stop, call 911.

Sprains, burns and breathing

• Elastic wrap, for a rolled ankle on the trail
• A burn dressing, because there's a campfire
• A CPR face shield

Tools and comfort

• Trauma shears
• Tweezers, which also do double duty for ticks and splinters
• An emergency blanket
• A small flashlight or headlamp, with spare batteries

Your family's own medicines

• Anything your family already takes, in the original labeled containers
• If someone has a prescribed emergency medicine, like an epinephrine auto-injector or a rescue inhaler, it goes with that person, not buried in the camp kit. Keep it out of direct sun and out of a hot car.

I don't give dosing advice. Ask your doctor or pharmacist what your family should bring.

What I add for camping with kids

The Camping tab is the core. These are add-ons that make sense with kids along:

• Sunscreen, a hat, and insect repellent. Follow the label for your kids' ages.
• Extra water on hot days. Water and shade are first aid too.
• A whistle for each kid, and teach them: if you get lost, stay put by something big like a tree, and blow three short blasts, then wait, then do it again.
• An info card: your names and numbers, allergies, conditions, and any medicines each kid takes.
• A zip bag to keep the whole kit dry.

Four camp situations to know before you go

None of this replaces a class. It's what I want a dad to know before the car is packed.

Ticks. Do a tick check on everyone at the end of the day, including hair and behind the ears. If you find one attached, the CDC says to grab it close to the skin with fine-tipped tweezers and pull up with steady, even pressure. Don't twist it, burn it, or smother it. Clean the spot and your hands. If a rash or fever shows up in the weeks after, see your doctor and tell them about the bite.

Campfire burns. For a small burn with unbroken skin, cool it under cool running water, not ice, then cover it loosely with a clean dressing. Big burns, deep burns, burns on the face, hands, feet, groin, buttocks or a major joint, or any burn you're not sure about need medical care right away. Call 911 for serious burns.

Heat. Watch for a kid who gets confused, stops acting like themselves, or looks unwell in the heat. Get them into shade and start cooling them, and call 911 for serious signs.

Lightning. When thunder roars, go indoors. A tent is not shelter. A hard-topped metal vehicle with the windows up is. Convertibles and soft-tops are not.

Kits I've graded that people take camping

Two kinds of grades live on this site, and I keep them apart:

• Signed means I had the kit in hand and signed the grade.
• Contents-based means I graded the maker's contents list. Not hands-on. I haven't packed or used that kit.

Every Family grade covers the whole family, not just the job the kit was built for. A D doesn't mean "don't buy it." It means "add to it." See how I grade.

Signed

• Adventure Medical Kits Mountain Series Explorer: Family grade D (2.94), Job B. Signed. My note on it: light, easy to stuff in a bag, organization lacking a bit, easy to restock. A good starting bag for camping that still needs the kid and bleeding add-ons above. See it on Amazon.
• Welly 130 tin: Family grade D (2.62), Job A. Signed. It's a foundation scrape kit, not an emergency kit. Good for the bandage pile in the camp box. See it on Amazon.
• AMK MOLLE Trauma 1.0: Family grade D (2.90), Job A-. Signed. A quick bleeding kit. Pair it with a genuine tourniquet.
• MyMedic MyFAK: Family grade C (3.49). Signed. That grade is for a car kit, not a camping kit. My signed note says it should be the go-to kit for every car in the household, including the one you drive to the campsite.

Contents-based (not hands-on)

• AMK Mountain Series Backpacker: Family grade D (2.46), Job B. Contents-based.
• AMK Mountain Series Hiker: Family grade D (2.46), Job B. Contents-based.
• AMK Ultralight .7: Family grade D (2.38), Job B. Contents-based.
• Rhino Rescue Adventure Kit: Family grade D (2.22), Job C. Contents-based.
• Rhino Rescue Hiking Kit: Family grade F (1.98), Job C. Contents-based. Read the tourniquet note on its page before you count it as a bleeding kit.

Whatever you start with, hold it up against the Camping tab and fill the gaps.

Before and after every trip

• Before: open the kit, check dates, and replace anything used or expired. My expiration check takes about 10 minutes.
• After: restock what you used before the kit goes back in the garage. The tracker can hold the dates for you.

Common questions

What should be in a camping first aid kit?

Wound care, blister care, something for bigger bleeding, an elastic wrap, a burn dressing, a CPR face shield, tweezers, shears, an emergency blanket, a light, and your family's own medicines. The Camping tab has the full list.

Is a prebuilt camping kit enough?

It's a good start. Most kits I've graded come in at a D on the Family grade, usually because of gaps in kid supplies, bleeding, choking or burns. Check what yours is missing against the Camping tab, and add the plan above.

How is a camping kit different from a car kit?

Help is farther away, so you pack for longer on your own, and you plan how you'd reach 911 if your phone doesn't work.

Pack it tonight

Open the Camping checklist, tick what you already own, and print or email yourself the rest. Then put the kit by the door so it doesn't get left behind.

Check your kit. Win the day.

General info only, not medical advice. In an emergency, call 911. It doesn't replace a hands-on first aid or CPR class.