After our incident in Estes Park (see Getting Sick in Estes Park), it got me thinking about our readiness to deal with issues while we are camping.  In the Estes Park case, we were really close to the city and were easily able to pick up the supplies we needed.  While this worked out, we were at the mercy of the stores in the town and what they had in-stock.  We also frequently camp in areas where a local store might be over an hour away and gambling with their stock, just isn’t something that I want to rely on.  Now to give myself some credit; I carry a fairly well stocked first aid kit in my truck, but it is mostly focused around wound management and not the general “I don’t feel well.”

In researching what type of kit I wanted to create, I came across a great article from A Bowl Full of Lemons.  The kit, like a lot of them, is contained in a fishing tackle box.  However, this one used an “angled 3 rack” style box which seemed much better for organization.  Our home first aid kit is currently using a traditional, top open style, tackle box.  After going through this project for the trailer, we will be switching it to the angled 3 rack style in the near future.  The article uses a Plano 732 tackle box.  I found that the 732 was a bit large for my needs and opted to go with the Plano 728.  It’s the same design but just a bit smaller and does not have the containers that go into the side doors which leaves them open for stuff.

Each of the 3 trays in the box contain category specific supplies.  While the site suggested “Fever & Pain”, “Bowels & Belly” and “Allergy & Bite”, I opted to categorize mine as “Cut & Scrape”, Pain & Stomach” and “Allergy & Cold.”  I like this approach as you can easily identify the tray you need and can quickly confirm the contents by looking through the top.  I found that when using a traditional tackle box , it was hard to label things and often it got a bit crowded and hard to access.  With the trays, I can remove the tray that I need and move just that tray over to the table or area where it’s needed.  Optionally, you can place labels in the trays to indicate the spots where things should go in the tray.

Since I went with the smaller Plano 728, mine did not include trays in the side compartments.  However, I am still able to store stuff directly in them.  This has actually been a good spot for larger items like ice packs and 4x4s and gauze rolls.  I may look to find a container to place these items in and then put that into the compartment, but for now this seems to be working just fine.  Lastly, there are the 3 top compartments.  These are great for quick access things like a CPR mask and gloves or other odd sized items that don’t quite fit in the other compartments or trays.  All in all, I am happy with how this kit has come together and I am looking forward to having it with us this year during our camping adventures.