When we went on our boating holiday, we decided to take a small first aid kit with us, and I bought this one pretty much at random from Boots.

The kit comes in a green bag, which is about a hand-span (6"x 6") in size, square, and labelled with the legend 'Boots Travel First Aid Kit' and the traditional cross. The bag is padded, with sturdy tight-woven material that repels liquid, so the contents stay reasonably dry and secure, unless it's tested too hard. The zipper would probably let water in. In normal circumstances, kept in a rucksack or pocket of a tent, it would be fine. Immersed in water, not so much. While we were on holiday, it lived on a shelf in the boat or in suitcases.

It comes in at about 200g, so it's a light and portable kit, that won't make a huge amount of difference to the weight you're carrying.

It has a double zipper that goes around three sides of the kit, so it can open up fully to get at the contents.

Inside you find micropore tape and some low adhesive dressings & pads, water-proof plasters in various sizes, antiseptic wipes, a couple of blister plasters, crepe bandage, a guide to basic first aid and a spray to relieve insect bites & stings. I stuffed in a tube of germolene and some over-the counter painkillers to cover most (minor) eventualities, and off we went on holiday.

As it turned out, we didn't need to use any of the items from the kit, having a happy uneventful holiday. However, it has come in handy since, just for small cuts and grazes, and it lives in the car in the glovebox. The washproof plasters, like most washproof plasters I've come across, aren't. Unless it's a wash that involves no water at all: a wipe, really. Probably not even a damp wipe. The things just seem to peel off at random. The spray is quite effective, fortunately.

Over all, it's not a great kit - you can't fashion a sling (and I learnt how to recently on a first aid course, and dammit I want to be able to demonstrate with a triangle cloth bandage!) or deal with anything but the most minor of injuries with it. It's better than nothing, I guess; it's a neat way of keeping some basics together. The small first aid guide does explain about the recovery position and such-like, which is useful, and the diagrams are reasonably clear and helpful.

At £7.99 from Boots, it's a little disappointing, I'd say. But you can always add small bits and pieces to it, as far as the bag will allow. It's fine for lumps and bumps, scratches and grazes you or your family might acquire on a day out.