I agree that a first aid kit should be red.
It is absolutely possible that somebody else has to look for it in my ruck sack, and than I could say: Look for the red pouch!
If I couldn't say any thing, a person who finds me would perhaps surch in my luggage for a red pouch with a white cross.
So if I take a first aid kit, it should be red!
All the other drysacks and pouches in my ruck sack have different nature colours, the large ones are olive, the smaller ones brown, green, grey and black and that for the waterproof suit is sand coloured,still very visible in the pack, the Poncho in a bright grey dry sack.
Would I put every thing around me, it would look from a distance like the surrounding nature. Very small things I choose in orange or red if possible, like the pegs, peg lines and the peg bag, the lighter, the pocket knife, so that I can find them should they fall to the ground.
But the only red pouch would be the first aid kit and very well visible for every body on top in or attached to my ruck sack.
I would perhaps take a first aid kit with me if I would go in real mountains, where the risk of injuries is a bit higher than in flat country, I would probably take one with me for long tours in lonely areas and I would take such a kit with me, should I go with beginners in the forest.
But:
Once I cut myself a bit deeper in the finger, because I didn't pay attention.
I didn't really need it, but I used first aid stuff.
I played around with a knife, carving a spoon while I was talking. No concentration!
Once on a boy scout camp somebody hacket a bit with the hatchet in his knee.
We usually explained the boys how to use knife, saw and hatchet, and usually everybody understood it.
They played with that tools and we usually didn't control them for longer times, after we explained it well.
OK, one from 150 boys didn't hear and damaged the skin at his knee a bit.
That happend at one from round about 100 larger Scout camps I visited.
Once I took in my garden a piece of wood, which was drying next to the fire, which unfortunately was a very hot concreat brick.
That was a bushcrafty fault which can't happen in nature.
In the nature wood and stone look very different.
Other injuries we didn't have. In round about 40 years of camping and bushcraft and 15 years intensive boy scout groups leading.
Of course always some one scratched himself a bit somewhere. But nothing where would had been needed a first aid kit.
That is the reason, why today my first aid kit list is very short:
Ibuprofen and Aspirin Pain killers.
And a tick card.
That's all.
I sometimes get headaches, and should I hurd my self that would make it easier to decide in the situation and to walk to the next pharmacy or doctor.
A mirror I have in the compass, my "Victorinox Compact" pocket knife is rasor sharp and has the scissors included. It's in my pocket and attached with a rope to the belt.
In the outer pouch of my rucksack most times I carry a razor sharp full tang knife.
That's enough tools to cut in my opinion.
I wouldn't put additional scissors in the first aid kit.
I always have clean spare clothing with me.
I change only, when I can wash my worn clothing, and my spare clothing contain minimum one cotton T-shirt.
Light injury's, which I get in town, house, garden and so on 1000 times oftener than in the forest, I never tread with first aid stuff.
I tread it with water, air and knowledge.
To tread injuries with water, air and knowledge works fine. So I can't see any reason to carry a special first aid kit with me.
My bivvy bag and sleeping bag are 1000 times better than such an aluminium table cloth. Carrying a perfect 4 seasons survival equipment I don't need that sheet. Even if I would loose my sleeping and bivvy bag I would have poncho, clothing and fire!
My opinion is, that such a kit isn't really needed if we explain intelligent people who are older than 12 years old how to use the equipment and tell them how to avoid injuries.
On a boy scout camp with beginners I would take it with me, If I would be the responsible leader.
Even as a leader of an older boy scout group I stopped to carry that stuff around.
Instead of this I taught them how first aid without special stuff can be done on, in and under water, land and ice.
I prefere knowledge about carrying stuff.
Stuff is good in a car, because in a traffic accident often one person alone has to help very fast several heavy injured victims.
A szenario like this nearly can't happen in the bush.
