Resourceful Traveler: Safety Skills & First Aid Kits

Before you head out on any overlanding adventure – or camping trip – it’s important to ensure you’re prepared. Sure, you’ve packed all the right gear and planned your route, your campsites and your day-to-day adventure plans. But when was the last time you brushed up on your safety skills or checked what’s stocked in your first aid kit? When emergencies or crises strike, being prepared in both skill set and tools is crucial.

To ensure you stay as safe as possible, even when the unexpected happens, we’re covering key safety skills and first aid gear (in addition to other helpful camping and overlanding gear) that you’ll want to prep in advance.

Here’s everything you need to know before you head out, whether you’re going deep into the wilderness or to a new campsite far from home.

Why Safety Prep is So Important

You might think if you’ve taken a basic first aid class, you’re pretty well covered for any problems that might pop up while outdoors. While covering the ins-and-outs of scratches, poisonous plants and basic campground how-tos is useful, it’s important to understand that so much more can happen when your adventures get bigger, you’re outdoors for longer and you’re headed out into the unknown. (That’s doubly true if you’re traveling solo.)

Overlanding and adventuring into unfamiliar outdoor terrain inherently comes with risks. That’s why planning ahead is one of the most important steps you can take. When you’re prepared before your trip, you’ll better know what to expect – and what could happen along the way.

For example, heading out without any awareness of the weather forecast for the next week could wind you in the midst of a storm, dangerous road conditions or even outdoor hazards. If you don’t research your route in advance, you won’t know what potential obstacles lay ahead (or if there may be issues getting key resources like water and fuel). This lack of safety preparation could result in a trip that’s challenging for all the wrong reasons.

So, planning in advance can help you avoid dangers, plot out safe waypoints and know exactly what kind of environment you’re entering. From route planning and weather forecasting to noting local potential hazards and understanding what kind of gear will be most helpful in a given outdoor setting, taking these steps can go well beyond simple first aid in ensuring you have fun and stay safe.

Common Dangers to Be Prepared For

As you’re prepping for your next outdoor expedition, keep certain situations and potential hazards in mind. Some dangers occur more often when overlanding, while others are pretty common in all types of camping and outdoor adventuring.

• Accidents or vehicle breakdowns on unfamiliar roads
• Parts failure (like flat tires, dead car batteries, or malfunctioning technology)
• Off-roading accidents, like getting stuck in mud or rocky terrain
• Lack of cell reception
• Wild animals
• Extreme temperature shifts and weather
• Diseases and illnesses, particularly if you don’t have access to clean water

Keep these scenarios in mind as you pack your gear, your first aid kid and your vehicle for an outdoor excursion of any length.

How to Prepare: Must-Know Safety Skills

With so many different potential dangers awaiting outdoors, it can be tricky to know which safety skills are the most critical – or the most valuable to have. While every camping or overlanding trip is different, certain skills will serve you well no matter where you wind up or what kinds of crises befall you and your fellow campers.

Here’s an overview of what you can practice or study before your future excursions to brush up on existing safety skills or build new ones.

Medical Skills

Because serious accidents and injuries can befall anyone outdoors, it’s a good idea to know how to handle – or potentially treat – certain medical emergencies.

In addition to general first aid, it’s a good idea to have:

• Wilderness first aid skills
• CPR certification
• Backcountry medicine

These skills are specifically targeted for overlanders and campers who plan to be far from cities for potentially lengthy periods of time. They’ll not only show you how to safely deal with medical crises, but also how to stabilize others when you’re quite far from professional help. It could be a lifesaver.

Remember, it’s a good idea to practice or refresh your medical safety skills regularly. Re-training and frequent practice are key, especially since medical expertise and guidelines can change. (For example, CPR steps are often updated as new data becomes available.) Even if you’ve taken one course, you should try another every few years.

Basic Auto Mechanical Skills

Particularly important if you’re overlanding or off-roading, having basic automotive mechanical skills can get you out of a sticky situation. It’s no secret that absolutely anything can go wrong on the road – after all, disaster can strike even when you’re on city roads close to home! But when you’re far from a towing company (or can’t get cell service), knowing how to fix common mechanical issues can help you get home safely.

It’s a good idea to understand the basics of your vehicle, both in terms of maintenance tasks like topping off oil and checking tire pressure, as well as knowing what mechanical issues are common with that particular make and model.

It’s also a good idea to brush up on easy repairs you can tackle both at home and on the road, like swapping out shocks and U-joints, repairing tires, replacing tires or tuning up the engine. Working hands-on with your vehicle will get you familiar with its inner workings, and it’ll also ensure you’re equipped with the right tools you need most often.

To build your skills, you can watch videos online or download the complete repair manual for your particular make, model, and model year of vehicle. You can even check out online forums, where other auto pros (and those who aren’t yet experienced) can share knowledge and help troubleshoot common problems.

Navigational Skills

When you’re far from home or your campsite, maps can get you pretty far – but the unexpected can always happen. Whether you’re relying on cell signal or an offline map, it’s always a good idea to be prepared to navigate without any assistance.

That’s why building navigational skills is a must-do for any outdoor adventurer. You never know what might happen, and being able to find your way to key waypoints, or back to your starting point, can mitigate a whole lot of danger and risk.

A great way to build navigational skills is to bring multiple navigation tools. Your smartphone is a start, but a dedicated GPS and a traditional compass are also helpful. (Remember, technology can easily fail!). A paper map is always a great backup to carry, too.

You can also practice general directional skills through online and in-person courses. Look for options that’ll teach you the basics of understanding latitude and longitude, map reading and compass directional skills.

How to Prepare: What to Pack

In addition to preparing with the right safety skills, it’s also important to pack the right gear and supplies to ensure you’re ready for anything. However, there’s a balance to strike – you don’t want to overpack and wind up carrying far too much gear, weighing yourself and your vehicle down. So, how do you decide what you truly need?

Here’s a look at the essentials, both in terms of first aid and in terms of general safety and preparedness.

Navigational Tools

Like we mentioned above, bringing multiple navigational systems and options can help you avoid dangers like getting lost, stranded, or trapped in inclement weather. We recommend bringing both a modern GPS device (and a backup battery, in case you need to recharge) and paper maps for the area.

Don’t just rely on your smartphone alone; the battery can quickly disappear in cold weather, and you may not have much service. A dedicated GPS device plus paper maps, ensure you can always find your way back to camp.

First Aid Kit

Obviously, you need a first aid kit! But in addition to bandages, gauze, antibacterial ointment and sunscreen, it’s a good idea to pack items inside that are specific to the area you’ll be overlanding or camping in.

For example, you’ll want to include a mix of common medications (aspirin, ibuprofen, allergy medication, etc.) as well as hydrogen peroxide, insect repellent, burn ointment and antiseptic wipes or solution. If you’ll be heading somewhere with heat, pack extra water, snap-to-activate cooling packs and electrolyte powder you can mix with water. In cold temps, an emergency blanket, extra gloves and thick socks and a tarp can be particularly helpful to keep you warm.

Basic Toolkit

Lastly, tools can also be a key emergency aid. Make sure to pack a tool kit that covers commonly-needed tools, from a knife to various-sized screw drivers to pliers.

You’ll also want to include handy extras that can save you time and effort, like zip ties and duct tape. If you need automotive- or camper-specific tools, make sure to include those as well. You don’t have to get fancy, but you do want to be able to fix small problems that could arise.

And of course, you don’t want to leave home without a fire extinguisher. While the chances are slim you’ll need it, it’s one of those items where being safe is really better than being sorry.