Outdoor First Aid Training That Matches Real Life
Picture a wet woodland, a rucksack open on the ground and a group looking to you for answers. Are you confident you have them?
Outdoor first aid doesn’t happen in neat classrooms or perfect conditions. It happens where paths disappear, weather shifts and decisions matter. What is important when choosing between an 8 hour and a 16 hour Outdoor First Aid course is ensuring you are not doing, and paying for, more training than you actually need. It is about choosing training that reflects the reality of where you work and what you are responsible for.
Whichever you choose, you should ensure that both the 8 hour and 16 hour Outdoor First Aid courses are aligned with Institute of Outdoor Learning requirements, meet UK and European Resuscitation Council guidelines and are valid for at least three years. What separates them is depth, environment and the length of time you may need to manage an incident before help arrives.
The 8 Hour Outdoor First Aid Course: Confidence Close to Help
The 8 hour Outdoor First Aid course is designed for lower risk outdoor environments where emergency services are expected to arrive relatively quickly. It suits leaders and staff working in accessible locations who need solid, practical skills without unnecessary complexity.
Training focuses on scene safety, a clear primary survey and calm decision making. You will learn how to manage common medical emergencies such as heart attack, stroke, asthma, epilepsy and diabetic incidents. CPR and AED use for adults, children and infants are covered, alongside drowning awareness.
You will also practise managing bleeding, fractures, sprains, heat illness, hypothermia, eye injuries and shelter use, with an emphasis on knowing your limits and handing over effectively.
For many outdoor leaders, school staff, youth workers and volunteers, this 8 hour Outdoor First Aid course provides exactly what is needed to respond confidently when something goes wrong.
The 16 Hour Outdoor First Aid Course: When YOU Are the Help
The 16 hour Outdoor First Aid course is built for a different story. This is expedition level training for remote, exposed or higher risk environments where professional help may be delayed or difficult to access.
Alongside the core skills, you will develop advanced casualty assessment using detailed primary surveys and full head-to-toe secondary examinations. Medical conditions are explored in greater clinical depth, including post resuscitation care, catastrophic haemorrhage, metabolic complications and non-breathing hypothermia.
Ensure the course has practical sessions that focus on real challenges faced outdoors: helmet removal, spinal immobilisation, log rolls, casualty movement, advanced splinting and strapping, management of serious chest injuries and improvised evacuation techniques. Mental health and wellbeing should be addressed also, not only for casualties, but for first aiders managing prolonged, stressful incidents.
This 16 hour Outdoor First Aid course is aimed at expedition leaders, supervisors, instructors and professionals who carry responsibility for others over extended periods. It prepares you to manage uncertainty, make sound decisions and sustain care when there is no quick handover.
Which one is best suited for my needs: 8 Hour or 16 Hour Outdoor First Aid
When deciding which Outdoor First Aid course you need, it helps to step back and think honestly about your environment.
Ask yourself:
- Are my activities short and close to emergency medical support? •
- Am I working remotely, for longer periods, with higher levels of risk?
- Would I be responsible for ongoing care and evacuation if help is delayed?
If your activities are low risk, short in duration, and near help, the 8 hour Outdoor First Aid course is usually the right choice.
If your work or adventures take you further from support, involve greater risk or require prolonged casualty care, the 16 hour first aid course is the more appropriate option.
Training Outdoors, Where It Actually Happens
We are very hot on ensuring that training is appropriate to the learner’s needs. The outdoors is unpredictable, emergency situations or simple first aid can be unpredictable so if you can find an outdoor first aid course that is actually taught outside that is going to give you a boost of confidence.
Luckily, we think confidence is just as important as the core skills so both our 8 hour and 16 hour Outdoor First Aid courses are taught outside, in a forest environment. Learning on uneven ground, in changing weather, with limited equipment builds judgement as much as technical skill. It reflects the reality of outdoor incidents and helps learners retain what truly matters.
Our outdoor first aid training is led by an instructor with extensive real world experience as a Community First Responder, search and rescue team member and leader of global expeditions. That background quietly shapes the course through practical examples and decision making drawn from lived experience, rather than theory alone.
For those who want reassurance beyond what we say or the course outlines, our Google reviews offer a candid picture of how learners experience our training. The consistent themes are not sales claims, but reflections on realism, instructor depth and the confidence people take back into their own outdoor roles.
