Used tampons also work great for baiting a trap!

Hehe hope that wasn't too gross, just joking (although I don't see why it wouldn't work...)

Good call OP, the tampon does have tons of uses for survival. I keep a small travel sized box of them in my BoB (for survival uses, I'm a man)

Maxipads or whatever they are called are also useful. I have a small box of the super thin ones in my BoB as well. They are SUPER absorbent and work great for covering up wound with a large surface area or that is bleeding a lot. If you are a large area of road rash, a series of deep scrapes that cover an area too large for band-aids or gauze pads, those super thin maxipads work wonders.

While out camping one time I slipped on some rocks that were wet from the river. The rocks gouged out a bunch of flesh from my calf on the back of my left leg. Many deep cuts and some shallow cuts, but overall a pretty large wound that was bleeding quite a bit. I had my standard first aid box with me, but obviously no band-aids are that big, and it would have used all of the gauze we had to make a patchwork of gauze to cover the entire wound.

One of the girls that was there with us had a box of those super thin maxipads, I poured some hydrogen peroxide over the wound, then some alcohol, then rubbed a little neosporin on the maxipad, put it over the wound, and wrapped it with a bandage. Worked PERFECT! Very little bleed-through of the bandage, the maxipad completely covered the wound.

It was that day I gained respect for the maxipad as a BoB item, and decided to keep a box in there afterwards.

Something to keep in mind for women is also considering the "diva cup" or "moon cup" for your kit (and regular use) both of which are usable for between 5-8 years, easy to clean, maintain and do not carry the same risk of toxic shock syndrome. They also reduce the amount of exposure we have to harsh chemicals (such as those used in bleaching) used in the production of both tampons and pads, produce far less waste and also good... cost far less. I bought my diva cup for $35.00 and have been using it steadily for the last 7 years... this type of menstrual cup can certainly push tampons to be primarily used in the ways suggested above.

I second what parrhesia said. Tampons and Pads have chemicals that are bad for women down there.

Originally posted by James1982
Used tampons also work great for baiting a trap!

Hehe hope that wasn't too gross, just joking (although I don't see why it wouldn't work...)

Good call OP, the tampon does have tons of uses for survival. I keep a small travel sized box of them in my BoB (for survival uses, I'm a man)

Maxipads or whatever they are called are also useful. I have a small box of the super thin ones in my BoB as well. They are SUPER absorbent and work great for covering up wound with a large surface area or that is bleeding a lot. If you are a large area of road rash, a series of deep scrapes that cover an area too large for band-aids or gauze pads, those super thin maxipads work wonders.

While out camping one time I slipped on some rocks that were wet from the river. The rocks gouged out a bunch of flesh from my calf on the back of my left leg. Many deep cuts and some shallow cuts, but overall a pretty large wound that was bleeding quite a bit. I had my standard first aid box with me, but obviously no band-aids are that big, and it would have used all of the gauze we had to make a patchwork of gauze to cover the entire wound.

One of the girls that was there with us had a box of those super thin maxipads, I poured some hydrogen peroxide over the wound, then some alcohol, then rubbed a little neosporin on the maxipad, put it over the wound, and wrapped it with a bandage. Worked PERFECT! Very little bleed-through of the bandage, the maxipad completely covered the wound.

It was that day I gained respect for the maxipad as a BoB item, and decided to keep a box in there afterwards.

You make some really great points about the maxi pads. I think these are also a great idea, especially for those of us who may be prepping on a budget. A pack of 48 costs is around $6 for an off brand... I don't know how much gauze costs, but I bet the pads are much more economical!

(sorry, I haven't quite figured out how to reply to more than one person in a post... it probably involves opening another window, huh.)