Jeff Allen

Motorcyclist First-Aid Kit Essentials

A good first-aid kit can be the difference in life or death in an emergency

Nobody ever plans to crash their motorcycle. The odds are you will leave, have a great ride, and return home safely—but what if it happens? Will you be even remotely prepared to deal with a minor injury or, worse, some type of major roadside trauma? Here is a handful of compact, yet extremely helpful medical kit products that may just save a life one day.

RATS Tourniquet

Developed by special forces medical team members, the RATS (Rapid Application Tourniquet System) is designed to stop the bleeding from massive trauma on an extremity.RATS

Arms, legs, hands, feet are all body parts that are commonly injured in a crash. The RATS is designed to be applied by the injured person if necessary so it can be done effectively with one hand. There is also the venerable SWAT-T (Stretch, Wrap, And Tuck Tourniquet), which has been used by law enforcement and personal protection agents for decades. It's light, cheap, and can be just as effective with practice. At under $20 these are likely the best bang for the buck of all the products in this article.

Individual First-Aid Kit

Another product that comes from the firearms industry, the IFAK should be the type that includes gauze with a clotting agent known as Celox that can be stuffed into a wound. This type of wound could occur while crashing into a tree with small branches that could impale a person like a punji stick. Unwrap the kit, stuff the gauze into the wound, and wrap it in gauze.Rescue Essentials

Safety Blanket

This small, thin safety blanket can be used to cover an injured rider, warm a person in shock, or provide shelter if you break down and have to wait for help while riding in a remote area.PREPFIRST

Drugs

No, we don't think it's a great idea to roll blunts while waiting for the first responders. But we do think it's a good idea to have a few ibuprofen, allergy pills, antacid, and any other medication that you know for sure is commonly needed by you, your passenger, or your riding buddies.PrimeMed

Latex Gloves

It could get messy. Having the ability to protect your hands from bodily fluids of an injured rider could be a very important factor in a crash scenario.Ammex

Liquid Bandage

Some crashes will not be quite as scary as the ones associated with the products above. But they can still leave cuts, gashes, or open wounds. In the past, we used to carry Super Glue around with us in our med kit. Now you can just get Liquid Bandage and spread it over the wound to help close it up quick.New-Skin

Cold Compress

Remember how awesome these were in elementary school?First Aid Only

I know that was quite a while back but you may recall how great it was to ice a sprained ankle, twisted knee, or broken finger. Well, it still feels good and can help make an injured rider more comfortable until they make it home. These are tiny, take up very little room in a backpack, and will come in handy one day.

Cohesive Wrap

One of the most useful medical kit essentials is the self-adhesive tape.Ever Ready First Aid

Also known as sport tape, this stuff leaves no residue and sticks to itself like crazy. This can be used as a sling, to support a busted body part, or even to keep pressure on a serious wound. For 10 bucks, this stuff is irreplaceable. Plus, you can color coordinate it with your bike or gear so you get extra brownie points.

If you plan to incorporate any of these products into your personal first-aid kit, then you should take the time to learn a little bit about how to use each of them effectively as well. Most manufacturers have excellent videos that guide you step by step through the process of applying a RATS tourniquet using any of the common first-aid goodies. It won’t do anyone any good if you don’t know how or when to use it.