FREE FREIGHT AUSTRALIA WIDE FOR ORDERS OVER $139
Hiking First Aid Kit Australia: What to Pack (Day Hikes to Multi-Day Treks)
A hiking first aid kit in Australia has to account for our snakes, our distances, and the reality that help can be hours away on foot. Here's what to actually pack, scaled from a day walk to a multi-day trek.
What should be in a hiking first aid kit in Australia?
A hiking first aid kit in Australia should hold, on our guidance, one snake bite bandage per person, or two standard elasticised rollers each, for snake bite pressure immobilisation, blister care, wound dressings, strapping tape, antiseptic, disposable gloves and your personal medications. For longer trips, add more dressings, wound closure strips, a thermal blanket and enough medication for the trip.
That snippet is the short version. The rest of this article breaks it down item by item.
The Australian non-negotiable: snake bandages
The current advice for a suspected snake bite is the pressure immobilisation technique set out in ANZCOR Guideline 9.4.8. It calls for a broad elasticised bandage, 10 to 15 cm wide, applied firmly over the bite and then along the whole limb from the fingers or toes upward. Our own guidance is to carry one snake bite bandage per person, or two standard elasticised rollers each, and our snake bite bandage guide explains how to count them.
The bandage goes on firm and tight. ANZCOR's test is that you should not be able to easily slide a finger between the bandage and the skin. Splint the limb to stop it moving, keep the person as still as possible, and call triple zero so paramedics can assess and transport. Note the time of the bite if you can.
Just as important is what the guideline tells you not to do. Do not wash the bitten area, do not cut or try to suck out venom, and never apply an arterial tourniquet. If you want the detail on how these bandages work, read our snake bite first aid kit guide, and stock up from our snake bandages range.
The day-hike kit: your baseline
For a half-day or full-day walk on a marked trail, the kit is light and the job is simple: manage blisters, clean and cover a wound, support a sprain, and buy time until you're back at the car. As a suggested starting point, a day-hike list looks like this.
- 1 snake bite bandage per person, or two standard elasticised rollers each (our guidance)
- 4 to 6 hydrocolloid blister pads
- 2 or 3 non-adherent island dressings (5 x 5 cm and 7.5 x 7.5 cm)
- 1 roll of 2.5 cm rigid strapping tape
- 6 to 10 adhesive plasters
- 6 to 8 antiseptic wipes or a small antiseptic
- 1 triangular bandage
- 1 or 2 pairs of nitrile gloves
- Small scissors and splinter tweezers
- Your personal medications: antihistamine, pain relief, and anything prescribed
For blisters, healthdirect advises leaving an intact blister alone where you can, protecting it with a padded dressing cut into a doughnut shape, and, once a burst blister is washed and cleaned, leaving the roof on and covering it with a plaster or bandage, or with a special blister plaster if the roof has come off completely. For the walking side of preparedness, our guide to outdoor safety for hiking covers what to do before you set off.
Overnight scaling: what to add
Stay out a night and the calculation changes. You're further from help, you can't restock, and a small problem has longer to become a real one. Add wound closure strips, a few extra dressings, and a thermal blanket for shock or an unplanned cold night. Carry enough pain relief and personal medication for the full trip, not a single dose.
Multi-day and remote: the heavier load
On a multi-day or remote trek, pack for the injury you can't walk out from in an hour. Add a larger trauma or combine dressing for heavier bleeding, materials to improvise a splint (a foam aluminium splint plus extra tape, or the tent poles you already carry), and spares of anything irreplaceable, especially medications and blister pads. For managing a sprain or a suspected fracture properly on the trail, our guide to first aid for sprains and fractures while hiking walks through it.
One more thing, and only one line on it because it isn't a first aid item: on genuinely remote trips, carry a personal locator beacon or satellite communicator. A first aid kit keeps someone stable; a beacon gets help moving.
Three-tier packing table
| Item | Day hike | Overnight | Multi-day / remote |
|---|---|---|---|
| Snake bite bandages | 1 per person, or two standard elasticised rollers each | 1 per person, or two standard elasticised rollers each | 1 per person, or two standard elasticised rollers each |
| Hydrocolloid blister pads | 4 to 6 | 6 | 8+ |
| Non-adherent island dressings | 2 to 3 | 4 to 5 | 6+ |
| Rigid strapping tape | 1 roll | 1 roll | 1 to 2 rolls |
| Antiseptic wipes | 6 to 8 | 10 | 12+ |
| Wound closure strips | optional | 1 pack | 1 to 2 packs |
| Trauma / combine dressing | no | 1 small | 1 large |
| Thermal blanket | optional | 1 | 1 |
| Triangular bandage | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Splint / improvised support | no | no | yes |
| Personal medications | day dose | full trip | full trip + spares |
Treat these quantities as a suggested starting point, not a spec. The snake bandage counts are our own guidance.
Pre-built or DIY?
A pre-built kit gets the base right and saves you sourcing a dozen items separately. Our hiking kit is designed and assembled in-house in Bendigo, so you start with a sound foundation rather than a padded piece count. From there, check the kit has a snake bite bandage for each person walking, and add your personal medications.
That's the honest version of building a hiking kit. Buy the base, then finish it for the country you're actually walking in.
Spring bushwalking season is here, so sort your kit before your next trip. Browse our hiking first aid kits and outdoor first aid kits, add your snake bandages, or call us on 03 5443 2239 and we'll help you match a kit to your trip. For the bigger picture on staying safe off-grid, start with our guide to first aid in the Australian outdoors.