From an ER Doc: What to Carry in your Mountain Bike First Aid Kit

Types of mountain biking first aid kits

There isn’t a one size fits all solution when it comes to building a mountain bike first aid kit. A lot of what you carry will be dictated by the level of training you have, the length of the ride, the climate and conditions you’re riding in, and how austere of an environment it is. 

As a doctor and a mountain biker, I would break most outdoor medical kits into two categories with some overlap and mixing and matching between them:

1. A Boo Boo Kit 

This is good for minor injuries like cuts, scrapes, and minor lacerations. It’s probably what you would find if you looked into most people’s “medical kits”.

This type of kit requires minimal or no training to use and there isn’t any expensive or advanced equipment required. 

But you’re only really going to be able to treat minor injuries that could probably wait until you get back to your vehicle or home.

This type of mountain biking first aid kit might include:

You could put together a DIY ‘boo boo’ mountain biking first aid kit by gathering supplies from a pharmacy or drug store or there are plenty of pre-made medical kits that include all of the basics.

I really like pre-made kits from My Medic like the Cycle Medic or the more basic Biker Med Pack.

2. Don’t Die Kit

The “don’t die kit” is a bare-bones (haha) emergency medical kit but it includes the items most likely needed to address serious injuries or emergencies you could encounter on a mountain bike ride.

This kit requires more advanced training and the equipment can hurt or kill someone if used incorrectly. But, in a truly life-or-death situation, this is the kit that will actually make a difference. 

The most likely emergent life-threatening conditions that you may be able to treat on a mountain bike ride are:

• Hemorrhaging from an arterial bleed or significant venous injury
• Anaphylaxis
• Facial or head trauma with loss of a secure airway
• Tension pneumothorax

There are plenty of other traumatic or environmental injuries that could occur while mountain biking but your ability to intervene meaningfully while on the trails is limited mostly to the above scenarios.

Obviously, these are also temporizing interventions and the person needs a higher level of care STAT. Always call 911 when there is an emergency.

This type of mountain biking first aid kit might include: 

• Tourniquet (specifically a Combat Application Tourniquet or CAT for short)
• Epi-pen auto-injector 
• 6.0 Cuffed Endotracheal tube
• #10 scalpel + blades
• 10cc Syringe
• Medical tape 
• Gauze 4×4 pads
• Israeli bandage 
• 2x 14g decompression needles 
• Nitrile or latex gloves 

Again, I can’t stress enough that you need proper training to use most of the above equipment. Consider enrolling in an emergency medicine course or work towards becoming a paramedic. More information on courses below.

As a doctor, what do I carry in my mountain bike first aid kit?

Obviously, as an ER doc, I have a skill set that most mountain bikers don’t have when it comes to medical interventions.

On shorter day rides I always carry some variation of the ‘don’t die kit’.

At a minimum, this always includes:

For longer rides, remote backcountry rides, or really technical and dangerous rides I’ll carry the rest of the kit plus a triangle bandage and SAM splint. 

Unless it’s part of a multi-day medical kit that lives in my vehicle or base camp or a bikepacking kit I don’t bother with the boo-boo kit. I’ll deal with those minor injuries when I get home or back to the car. 

Some people might ask why not other pieces of equipment or gear like ace wraps, burn cream, oral/nasal airways, etc… You certainly can carry these plus anything else you might imagine needing.

I’ve learned over time, though, that I don’t end up actually reaching for and carrying a big kit when I ride. It’s too heavy, too bulky, and it often gets left at home where it doesn’t do any good at all.

Also, think of your kit as modular. Don’t carry the same stuff on a 1-hour hot lap on your local trails as you do on a 6-hour remote backcountry epic or bikepacking trip. 

What is the right Mountain Bike First Aid kit for you? 

Well, that depends again on your training, ride types, location, etc… That being said if I were to put a day-to-day mountain biking first aid kit together for someone without any formal medical training but who was willing to take the time to learn how to use a few pieces of equipment I would suggest the following: 

Storing & carrying your first aid kit

As far as storing and carrying the kit I really like the 2L Sea to Summit dry bags. They fit just enough and keep everything contained and dry in my larger lumbar bag or backpack.

Emergency medicine courses

I also highly recommend enrolling in some sort of first aid or emergency medicine course.

There are basic first aid courses that will teach you life-saving techniques like CPR and how to stop bleeding and then there are 10+ day courses like Wilderness First Responder that will go way more in-depth on topics like anaphylaxis, assessing potential spinal cord injuries, and formulating evacuation plans. 

If you’re interested in signing up for a course, here are a few places to look:

• Basic First Aid: Red Cross
• Wilderness First Aid: NOLS and REI
• Wilderness First Responder: NOLS and REI
• EMT or Paramedic: Many community colleges, technical colleges, and universities offer EMT and Paramedic trainings. Check with your local postsecondary schools.

Final Thoughts on mountain bike first aid kits

This post isn’t meant to scare you, especially if you are relatively new to mountain biking. Most rides end with a cold beer and a hot shower.

But accidents do happen and it is a good idea to get into the habit of packing at least a few emergency medical supplies in your pack especially if you’re headed out on a big backcountry ride. It’s better to be overprepared than underprepared!

My brother has put together a mountain bike first aid kit for me that is a mix of ‘boo boo’ and ‘don’t die’. If you don’t have access to medical supplies (or a brother who is a doctor), My Medic makes a few adventure first aid kits that are a great option to carry with you on bigger mountain bike rides.