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Tag: medical kit

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Phillosoph

Debugging Your Bug-Out Bag: 4 Other Stuff

So far, this series has dealt with shelter, sleeping, clothing, food, water and cooking.
In what will probably be the final part of the series, I am going to look at a few other considerations.
Many of my other recommendations will echo those in my articles on foundation survival kits.

Making a List, Checking It Twice

In Part 2 I mentioned grabbing fresh food from the kitchen and adding it to your bag.
Realistically, it is not likely that everything you will want will be ready packed in your bag.
There may be important documents or personal items you will want to take with you.
There may be things you will want to do before you leave, if time permits. Turning the gas and water supply off will reduce the damage to the house that might occur while you are away, for example.
Sit down, and make a list of things you will want to do before bugging out. List things you will want to add to your bag, and their location. Then leave your list for a day or so. Other things are bound to occur to you.
Then reorganize your list by location. In the kitchen, you will need to do this, and this, and take this, for example.
Once you are happy with your list, sleep on it, then add anything else that occurred. Print it out in large font.
You may be stressed and hurried if you have to use it. Make it clear and easy to read.

Radio

Many BOB lists suggest having a radio receiver so that you may listen to weather reports and other emergency broadcasts.
For obvious reasons, such a radio should not be too heavy or bulky.
Examples that use a hand crank power source and/or solar charging are available. Many of these also act as flashlights and phone chargers.
If the device has solar charging, you may want to come up with a way to carry it where it gets its required dose of sunlight.
Make sure that any design you buy can receive the emergency broadcasts for the region and country that you will be operating it in.

Flashlight

You may have brought a 1000 candlepower “special forces” tactical flashlight that can survive a nuclear blast and immersion in the Marianas trench.
It won’t be much use if the battery is flat.
At least one of your light sources with your bug out bag should be hand cranked.

Fire

Have a fire kit in your pack. This will supplement the fire kit you carry on your person, some of which will be part of your EDC.
Hexamine blocks have a very long shelf life, so having a pack in your bag as firelighters or as an alternative fuel is a good idea.
The alcohol gel for your stove may also be used for firelighting.
Kukri, Mora Companion and Fire Kit.

Tools

Your survival knife(s), penknife etc should be carried on your person. The small pouch in the photo above contains a sharpening stone and a fire kit.
A hiking pole or staff is worth having.
The pack carries tools that are less often needed. Unless you are in the jungle, your machete will likely ride in or on your pack until needed.
If you live in the colder, wooded latitudes, an axe may be more useful than a machete. A three quarter or Hudson Bay model is often suggested as a good compromise between utility and portability.
Digging tools are carried in the pack and only transferred to one's person when use is expected.
A crowbar is useful in urban areas, and makes a passable digging stick.
As advised in Part 2 of this series, carrying some lengths of cordage of various types and sizes is prudent.

Wash Kit

Since we are talking about a 72 hour scenario, our wash kit should be very basic.
Toothbrush, small tube of toothpaste, half a bar of soap, one razor, perhaps a small plastic mirror and a microfibre flannel.
That is all you really need in a 72 hour emergency scenario.
All this will fit in a small drawcord mesh bag.
Fit the bag in a small sandwich box and you may use the box as a wash bowl.
A tenugui or microfibre towel rides elsewhere in the pack so that it can dry.
We are trying to keep our load light, so consider a children’s toothbrush, a cut down adult brush or one of the travel toothbrushes. Some of the latter come with a really tiny tube of toothpaste!
No shaving foam, you can use the soap. It is debatable if you actually need the razor in a 72 hour emergency scenario. You probably won’t be attending any job interviews!
You can survive 72 hours without shampoo (or use the soap!)
A stick of deodorant, however, may be appreciated if you share your shelter!
A supply of feminine hygiene items may need to be included in your BOB. These have alternate uses such as fire lighting or as wound dressings.

First Aid

Suggestions for first aid kits for bug out bags often go over the top.
I have seen recommendations that a bug out bag include a full stainless steel surgical kit, a couple of reference books on medicine and surgery (680 pages between them!), diethyl ether, saline solution, a thermometer and so on.
Your first aid kit is mainly there for cuts, grazes, sprained ankles and such.
My own travel kit, which I have used for trips of more than three weeks (504 hours!) is shown here. The lice comb may not be necessary for a 72 hour kit. I hope to never need it!
Some disposable gloves in a Zio‑lock bag and a CPR face shield might be useful additions.
Robert dePugh stated that the basis of a good first aid kit was water purification tablets, aspirin, soap and a toothbrush.
In addition to pain relief, aspirin can treat fevers, inflammation and cold and flu symptoms.
Soap is in your wash kit. It is a far better antiseptic than hand‐sanitizer or most other things you are likely to have available.

Use Soap and Water
Yes, Soap Is Better than Hand Sanitizer
No, Soap Is Not Infectious!

The toothbrush is probably also with your wash kit.
Some water purification tablets should be carried on your person, others with one of your water containers.
To that list I would recommend adding some plasters, alcohol wipes and a roller bandage.
A twisted or sprained ankle is no fun when you have a backpack, hence the roller bandage. In addition to conventional plasters, have a few feet of elasticated plaster tape that is useful for the minor cuts to the fingers that accompany careless knife use.
A little tin of Vaseline is also useful for chaps and chaffing.
Both the Vaseline and alcohol wipes may assist in fire lighting.
A snake bite kit should be carried where venomous snakes are a likely hazard. Have a bee-sting kit if anyone in your party is allergic.
If you expect combat, you should have shell dressings, a CAT tourniquet and an CI-IFAK kit, but these items are more useful carried on your person, not in your pack.
I am of the opinion that any activity that involves knives and hand tools should have some plasters readily available.
Likewise, any activity where guns or bows are involved should have some shell dressings and similar nearby.
If you take any personal medications, place them on your list and add them to your bag or clothing pockets when you bug out.
Your “internal medical kit” should be “fully stocked”. Ensure all relevant vaccinations are up to date.

Paperwork

Have a roll or two of toilet paper.
Put each in a Zip‑lock bag to keep them dry and carry a tube of hand‑sanitizer with one.
Your hand‑sanitizer should be 60 to 95% alcohol, both for its antiseptic properties and to ensure it is flammable. Sanitizer and toilet paper are both possible aids to fire lighting.
In addition to the items in the bug out bag, have a Zip‑lock bag with a number of paper napkins or sheets of toilet paper on your person. I have this in the right cargo pocket of my trousers.

Books

Whether to take any books in your BOB is up to you. Most books claimed to be “ideal for your bug-out bag” are nothing of the kind.
My travel emergency kit does include a pocket edition of the “SAS Survival Handbook”. Greenbank's “The Survival Handbook” or “AFM 64-5” are good alternatives.
A book on identifying edible plants in your area might be considered.

Repairs and Spares

Repairs and Spares were described in the article on rucksack packing.
You do not need the bulky “housewives” offered by some merchants.
You just need a couple of needles, already threaded with a metre or so of invisible thread. A couple of safety pins. A couple of rucksack buckles. A few metres of electrical and duct tape. Perhaps a couple of buttons, a neutral-coloured cloth patch and a tube of super glue. All these fit in a little Zip‑lock bag.
No need for folding scissors. I have a penknife with scissors on my belt and another on my keyring.
For heavier repairs I use dental floss. I have a reel of this in my EDC and also some in my wash kit. Ensure one of your needles has an eye large enough to take dental floss and thicker materials you might improvise.
Other items to include in your bug out bag: spare compass, goggles/sunglasses, spare glasses, plastic mirror for signalling, whistle, ear plugs, notepad, sunscreen, insect repellent.
Some of these items are backup or spares for items carried on your person.
A few extra space blankets may prove useful. Find room for several large plastic bags (clear are most versatile), and some additional Zip‑lock bags.
To Part One
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Phillosoph

The Soft-Core Bag

Today I am going to introduce what I call my “soft-core bag”. This is not a “bug-out bag”, although it could be included in the contents of one.
I have a number of bags and rucksacs, and there are certain items that I would invariably want in one if I was carrying it.
Stocking each pack with necessary items is not economically practical, however.
Perhaps, I thought, I should have a box containing the necessary items and potential alternatives. This was part of the solution, but I quickly realized many items could be packed together so they could easily be grabbed in one go.

I drew on the lists given in the previous post to select the current loadout.

  • Top left: A small first aid kit. This supplements the items I carry in my skin-level EDC.
  • Directly below the first aid kit in a dark brown camouflage bag is a rain poncho. Inside the stuff-sack are two three-metre lengths of cord. Paracord stretches, so something non-elastic is preferable. These may be used to help create a shelter or as a belt for the poncho and a poncho-liner when windy or very cold.
  • The white plastic bag beside the poncho contains a toilet roll. This has subsequently been replaced with a clear ziploc bag. A refilable 100 ml bottle of alchohol hand sanitizer has been added to this bag. Both toilet paper and sanitizer may aid in fire-lighting.
  • Middle top can be seen a bag of boiled sweets and a pair of warm gloves. These are sitting on top of a dark green all-weather (AW) blanket. You can see some of the shoelaces that are tied to the grommets of this. I intend to add a pair of silver space blankets too.
  • Top right, a red and black shemagh. This is a spare/additional shemagh, since I am often wearing one these days.
  • Bottom centre is my Advantage-camouflaged boonie hat.
  • Sitting on the boonie hat is a plastic bag carrying a small fire kit. This has two butane lighters, two nightlights, four birthday candles, a 35mm film container filled with Vaseline-soaked cotton wool, and a Fresnel lens.
  • Below the fire kit and to the left is an ACU-patterned headover which can serve various roles, including as warm headgear.
  • Bottom right is a one-litre Playtpus waterbottle. Sitting on it are a shoelace, hank of general purpose string, hank of green paracord and some braided fishing line wrapped around a piece of plastic (yoghurt carton) or a small tube.
  • Not shown: two supermarket carrier bags. I wear photochromic spectacles. If you do not, a pair of cheap sunglasses may be a prudent addition.

The whole collection packs into a draw-cord bag, as shown. Note snap-link added to one carrying cord.
This bag is lined with another plastic bag to provide better water resistance. Everything except the AW blanket, space blankets, shopping bags, poncho and water-bottle fit inside the waterproof liner bag.
The headover is folded into a pouch and used to contain some of the smaller items. This pouch, in turn, is placed inside the boonie hat. The folded shemagh is place with this.
Most of the pack contents are soft and crushable so no great genius at packing is really needed. Put the blanket in first and add the plastic bag of other contents. Put your water-bottle away from your back and ensure your poncho rides near the top of your bag.
Packed, but without water, the soft-core bag weighs about 1.3 kg. The volume of water I will carry and which water-bottle I will carry will vary with climate and anticipated conditions.
The soft-core pack is easily stuffed into a larger bag, immediately adding a collection of very useful items. On its own, it is a good bag to have for trips where you do not want to be bothered by a bag. It is light and low-density, and makes a pretty good pillow.
A quick glance inside the first aid kit. Items in this kit are consumed in preference to those in the skin-level EDC. Vaseline is good for chapped lips and other ailments.
The soft-core bag probably has more cordage than it needs, but I had some hanks already made up. This is a nice example of paracord carried using hojo-jitsu configuration.
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Phillosoph

Survival Kits: Bringing It All Together

Today I am going to try and bring together some of my ideas regarding survival kit and selection of contents. When possible, I try to approach topics from a different perspective to that echoed on most websites.
Regular readers may know that I have my reservations about the “little tin of gizmos”. Thinking that you are covered because you have a couple of band-aids and a couple of loose fishing hooks and swivels is a recipe for disaster.
Survival kit may exist on several levels. On your person you will have your skin-level EDC. Most of mine is in the pockets of my trousers, although some items are on my trouser belt or key-ring. If you are carrying a bag, it is prudent to have some additional items in your bag. You consume the items in your bag in preference to your skin-level items. Military personnel often have an intermediate level in their webbing load-bearing equipment. Ideally this should only hold ammo, weapons, some water and immediate first aid items but the tendency to add additional gear is common. A larger pack or vehicle may provide higher levels of survival gear. One should always plan for the contingency that one may get separated from bags or vehicles. This is why your skin-level gear is important.
My current planning list looks like this:
Seven Tools of EDC
Hat, Towel, Rope
Medical, Writing, Fire, Knife
Foundation Survival Kit
Blanket, Fire, Knife
Poncho, Water, Toilet Paper, Canteen Cup
Travelling Kit
Navigation, Signalling, Illumination
Washing, Repairs, Food,
Documentation, Money, Clothing, Armament
The item names are memory aids and should be taken generically rather than specifically. “Knife” represents other tools, “blanket” represents sleeping bags and related items and so on.
The Seven Tools of EDC
The Seven Tools of EDC were inspired by the roguku or Six Tools of Travelling. I remember these as three flexible things (hat, towel and rope), three multi-part things (medical kit, fire kit and writing kit) and a knife.
“Hat” represents other protective clothing, such as gloves, goggles and sun-glasses. At “skin-level” this will be whatever headgear and other items suits the current or expected weather. If I am taking a bag I will probably have two hats. One will be to protect from the sun and keep the rain off my glasses, probably a boonie hat. The other will be a warm hat such as a watch cap or headover. If it is really cold spare gloves and headover are a prudent precaution.
“Towel” in this context is a multi-purpose piece of cloth. At skin-level this is a bandanna in my pocket but recently I have also been wearing a shemagh. If I lose or did not bring my hat these can serve as head coverings. Any bag I carry usually has a spare bandanna and/or shemagh in it. In colder conditions the shemagh is replaced or supplemented by a woollen or acrylic scarf.
“Rope” for the ninja may have meant a grappling hook and rope. For me this reminds me to carry some cordage. At skin-level this is a couple of armspans of paracord, a hank of string, a container of dental floss and a retaining cord for my glasses. Packs contain longer lengths of paracord. If heading for the deep wilderness I would have a toggle rope or the modern equivalent.
Medical Kit. On my person I have a small number of plasters, alcohol wipes and pain-killers, plus some personal medication. I have a more extensive medical kit I carry in daysacs, plus a bigger kit in my travelling bags. Medical also includes such items as insect repellent and sun cream. These are usually bag items but certain conditions may require a small supply to be carried on your person. Whenever possible items are consumed from the larger kits before the skin-level kit.
Writing represents communication and recording. In my pockets I carry a pen, pencil and two pieces of chalk (one light, one dark colour). Usually have a phone on my belt. Daysac may contain a notepad in a plastic bag. When on holiday I keep a journal.
Fire Kit. For everyday use this is simply a disposable lighter riding in the bottom of a pocket. I carry a plastic bag with a couple of tissues in, which could be used as tinder. If straying further afield I would add a container of tinder, fresnel lens and spare lighter to my pockets. Daysac has a couple of spare lighters and some candles.
“Knife” represents tools and related hardware. My Swiss Army Knife goes nearly everywhere with me. I also have a Leatherman Squirt and pocket prybar on my person. A diamond impregnated metal card is carried for sharpening.
Foundation Survival Kit
The items on the Foundation Survival List are mainly bulkier “bag” items, with a couple of significant exceptions.
“Blanket” represents sleeping items in general. It includes poncho-liners, sleeping bags, cloaks and long coats. These can keep you warm, even when not sleeping. This category is called “blanket” to remind us about the survival blanket, which is compact enough you can easily fit one or more in a trouser cargo pocket. They are reasonably priced so you can buy a dozen and stick spares in coat pockets and any bags you might carry. As well as keeping you warm, they can keep the rain off, spread out as a signalling panel, possibly even used as a heliograph. One is in the little medical pouch that carries most of my skin-level EDC. For decades now my daysac has carried the survival blanket’s larger cousin, an All-Weather Blanket.
Fire Kit. A fire kit was included in the original Foundation Kit list. It is repeated since the ability to create a fire is an important component of survival. Have a means of making fire on your person, and additional means in your bag. Consume the bag supplies before that on your person.
Knife. Another duplication, but repeated for much the same reason. In this context it can be read as “a bigger knife”. Useful as a pocket knife or muli-tool are, they can only get you so far. This category also reminds us to remember other, larger tools such as a crowbar or entrenching tool. Have a fixed-blade knife on your trouser belt. If you lose your pack, webbing or even your jacket or shirt you will still have a useful survival tool.
Poncho includes other forms of rain-proof clothing and shelter items such as tarps, tents, shelter halves, basha-sheets, groundsheets and so on. Any bag of sufficient size should include a means of rain protection.
Water represents a means to carry water, and the means to ensure that it is drinkable, such as water purification tablets. In rural areas a supply of water and purification tablets should be both on your person and in your pack. Consume the water in your pack before that on your person.
Toilet Paper. A roll of toilet paper in a waterproof bag is a prudent addition to any bag. A small bag with a couple of paper tissues rides in a cargo pocket of my trousers. A bag with additional tissues will be added if I am heading off the beaten track. As well as intended use, such tissues can be used for nosebleeds, nose-blowing and as tinder.
Canteen Cup. A metal canteen cup or similar small cooking vessel is a useful addition to the above items. Boiling water to sterilize it will conserve water-purification tablets. It can also be used to sterilize instruments or blades intended for medical uses. Even if you wear a water bottle on your person, the canteen cup is probably best carried as a pack it. The interior can be packed with some of the smaller items listed above.
There is a survival adage that says you cannot live three minutes without oxygen, three hours without shelter can kill you, you can last three days without water and three weeks without food. The Foundation Kit contains the essentials towards keeping you alive beyond three days.
Travelling Kit
What I have chosen to call the “Travelling Kit” are mainly “very useful” rather than essential. Food is obviously essential, but you can last several days or more without it.
Repairs. If away from home, a small repair kit is worth putting together. My compact little sewing kit has seen many uses over the years. This is supplemented by a couple of rucksac buckles, dental floss, a roll of electrical tape and a tube of superglue. A small screwdriver that fits in my Swiss Army Knife corkscrew has been used to repair several pairs of glasses. I have seen it suggested that a piece of glue stick of the type intended for hot glue guns may also be useful. You can even add a little repair capability to your skin-level kit. A small bag of safety pins can deal with tears and zipper problems. Around the pencil I have wrapped a length of electrical tape then bound two threaded needles to its sides.
Food includes food procurement and cooking means. Put together a small fishing kit, with some wire traces that can be used as snares in extremis. Assemble as much of the kit as is practical before hand. Sitting in the wind and rain as the light fades is no time to be tying on swivels! Add the fishing kit to your trouser pocket items if heading into the wilds. The food you carry should include some items that can be consumed without heating or rehydrating. Some boiled sweets/ hard candy is a useful addition to any daysac, giving a quick energy boost when it is needed.
Illumination. There are numerous small flashlights that are suitable for skin-level EDC. The little Photon lights can be added to a keyring, dogtag chain or whistle lanyard. A larger flashlight is a suitable addition to a daysac or larger pack. My daysac has a handcrank model in it.
Navigation. Personally, I have found a small compass a useful addition to my EDC. Even in town it is sometimes useful to know which direction is which. A number of guidebooks have information such as “…the hostel is to the northwest of the piazza”. If travelling away from civilization better maps and compass are recommended. GPS is nice, but you should plan for when it stops working. Without a compass there are other ways to determine direction, which is why these items are under “very useful” rather than essential. Worth repeating is that in most cases where rescue can reasonably be expected your chances of survival are better if you stay put rather than walking out.
Signalling. Signalling assumes there is somewhere out there to signal to. Flares are not much use if no one is likely to be in line of sight. Tell someone where you are going and when you will be overdue. Signalling overlaps with Illumination and Fire, and mobile phones have already been mentioned. Your skin-level kit should include a whistle. Mine is on my key-ring. A small heliograph is easily fabricated. The back of my phone is mirror-polished, so I would use this instead.
Washing. If you do any travelling you should put together a lightweight wash kit. How to put one together is detailed on another page. I prefer mesh bags over the more elaborate, heavier and more expensive wash bags.
Documentation. Travelling may require visa, permits, passports and other documentation. Make sure you have it all before any trip, and store in a waterproof bag. Make photocopies of important documents, such as your passport, and carry then separately to the originals. I prefer to carry some of these things on my person rather than in a bag.
Money. In some environments, one of your most useful tools. Includes credit, debit and ATM cards. Have information on what to do if you lose the latter. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket!
Clothing. How much spare clothing, its type and quantity will depend on trip duration and conditions. 
Armament. Carry if you can. The world is full of nasty people who will rob you or hurt you just because they can.
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Phillosoph

New Medical Pouch

I decided to give myself a little treat. For decades my travel medical kit has ridden in a silver-grey zip pouch that once held materials for contact lens care. This has worked well enough, partially because it was always stored in the same place. If I needed it and could not get it myself, the directions “front upper pocket of my bag, grey pouch” were clear enough for most. I realized that it would help if the pouch itself were more clearly recognizable as a medical item.
A quick look online secured an item as a tolerable price. As it turned out, this was a fortuitous decision. The top of the TCP bottle had broken with age and would have spilt all over the inside next time my travel rucksac was disturbed.
I now keep the TCP bottle empty until I intend to travel.

The new pouch is 14-15 cm square and about 5 cm deep. It holds everything the old pouch did, although it is a little bit more of a squeeze. In truth, my travel kit has acquired a few extra items over the years. I probably should have migrated some of these to other kits.
The new pouch has two internal zipped mesh pockets. The main zip is two-way and already provided with pull-tabs to make it easier to operate if wearing gloves.

I have detailed how to construct your own kit in other blogs. Items of note, going clockwise from top left:
  • Lice comb: Never needed it, hope never to need it.
  • Roller bandage: useful support for sprained or twisted ankles.
  • Bag of alcohol wipes. I probably have more of these than needed. Some extras came with another kit.
  • Olbas oil, TCP, Oil of Cloves.
  • Vaseline. Sleeve of scalpel blades I happen to have.
  • Plasters. Note bottom of the bag they are in has been reinforced so it makes a better water carrier. This was a gift from a friend of mine and has ended up in the medical kit.
  • Dental floss: this is probably a duplicate of an item also carried in my repair kit. I have one in my EDC pouch too. Could be used to construct an emergency bikini for my Brazilian girlfriend.
  • Roll of tape. I only have this because I got it free with another pouch I purchased.
  • Green plastic sleeve contains fine pointed forceps.
  • Bag of safety pins on large bandage. This bandage was another freebie. I would be happy with the plasters and roller bandage.
  • Two pairs of haemostats, one curved, one straight. I had access to these so acquired some. Hopefully will never need to clamp an artery, but they have proved useful for less sanguine tasks.
  • In the centre, a bag containing aspirin and other general medications.
The “hardware” goes into one of the side pockets. Small bottles, Vaseline tin and dental floss into the other. Items most likely to be wanted, the aspirins and plasters, go in the centre.
Recent Additions: To one zipper pull I have added an ORT spoon. To the other a velcro case with a CPR resusciade.
A Zip-lock bag containing a pair of nitryl gloves might be added.
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Phillosoph

Back Blogging: The Sewing Kit

Back from my trip abroad!
In my last post I described how baggage restrictions limited what I could take with me.
Since we were restricted to cabin baggage only, I was unable to take along my Swiss Army Knife, mini-leatherman or even the little penknife and can opener that usually rides on my keyring.
I will admit that there were several times I missed these tools. I doubt a trip of more than a week would be practical without them.
For one thing, my nails grow rather fast and need regular trimming.
One item I did insist on taking was my medical kit, although I removed the haemostats from it just in case there were any objections.
Most of my general emergency kit remained at home but I did decide to take my sewing kit from it and stow it with the medical kit.
I think it is seldom that I have had a trip where the sewing kit was not needed. Something about being far from home seems to increase the likelihood of breakage.
For this particular trip, its use was more mundane.
My girlfriend wished to modify her bikini to reduce the area of tan lines.
She was initially dubious about the “invisible” thread in the kit but once she tried it was of the opinion that it was rather clever.
As an amusing aside: One restaurant we frequented showed videos from a fashion channel, often promoting bikinis and swimsuits.
My girlfriend is Brazilian, and what many fashion designers regard as “daring” and “sexy” my girlfriend considered “massive” and “suitable for grandmas”.
My little sewing kit fits in a plastic tube of about 1 cm diameter.
At the bottom are two generic white shirt buttons. It also contains five safety pins, one needle, one sailmaker’s needle, a piece of silk, and a length of invisible tread wrapped around half a used matchstick.
The sailmaker’s needle is magnetized so can be used as a compass. It is wrapped in the silk to keep it isolated from the other metal items and can be remagnetized by stroking it with the silk, or the magnet with my penknife.
The safety pins can be used as general pins to hold things together while sewing.
Since my sewing kit saw use this trip, I replenished it yesterday.
To each needle I added about a foot of doubled invisible thread so they are ready to use in the future without any fiddling about.
Sewing is easier if you keep a relatively short thread on your needles and you have less trouble with knots undoing if you simply double the tread and join the ends in an overhand knot.
Several metres of extra invisible thread were wrapped around a new used matchstick and added to the kit to replace that used by my lady.
A repair item that I did not have but would have liked is my little roll of electrical tape.
My hand-powered torch from the 99p store got dropped out of the bag and the plastic lens holder broke. Having some tape and/or a small tube of superglue, as found in my larger kit, would have been useful.
The medical kit did see some use.
My lady rather misjudged how much sun she got on the final day and was in considerable pain since the nearly empty after-sun lotion got left behind.
She had also had something of an allergic reaction to something she had encountered while horse-riding this trip.
We had to buy some expensive products at the Duty Free, one of which she informs me contains so much yogurt it is edible.
Using yogurt for sun-burn is something one of our new Greek friends had introduced me to that very trip!
The painkillers in my kit did provide some relief from her burns, and the TCP in the kit had some effect on the allergy.
I did suggest she try the Oil of Olbas on her skin too, but she stuck with the TCP.
More details on my medical kit and other topics in future post.