Adventure Medical Kits Ultralight/Watertight .5 Review
The .5 is Adventure Medical Kits' smallest kit, built for one or two people on one or two day trips. Its small size is the reason it gets carried.
The verdictA small, well-packed base kit that rides in a seatpack without a second thought. Add to it for longer trips, and restock it after every use.
Adventure Medical Kits rates the .5 for one or two people on trips of one or two days, at 3.6 oz, about 102 g, by its own figure. The contents sit in a DryFlex inner bag that the maker calls waterproof, inside an outer bag it describes as water resistant. That inner bag is the part that matters, because dressings that have been soaked and dried are no use when they are needed.
The contents cover small wounds, blisters and minor injuries. They are not a trauma kit, so there is nothing aimed at a serious bleed or a broken bone, and the right response to those is calling for help. The Amazon listing and the maker's own list describe the contents differently, so check what is in the kit you receive.
Owners on Amazon US gave it 4.7 stars from 1,839 ratings in October, and Amazon's review summary says buyers find it waterproof. We found no owner report of it leaking, which is an absence of complaints rather than a test. At $31.95 in August it costs more than a supermarket kit, and the waterproof inner bag is the difference.
A kit like this is a starting point. For longer or more remote trips, add personal medication and the extra dressings a first aid course recommends, and replace whatever gets used. A kit that has been opened once and never restocked is the common way a first aid kit fails.
What works
- 102 g, small enough to always carry
- Waterproof DryFlex inner bag
- 4.7 stars from over 1,800 owners
What doesn't
- Not a trauma kit
- Sized for 1 to 2 people on 1 to 2 day trips
- Listing and maker contents lists differ
Buy it if
Solo and pair riders on weekend trips within reach of help, as the base of a personal kit
Skip it if
You ride remote multi-day routes far from help and need a fuller kit, or expect it to cover a serious injury
Others we scored in this category
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