Posted: 3/30/2008 12:26:39 PM EDT
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Alright, I'm no medic or anything but want a first aid kit to keep in my Jeep. I know there are a ton of options out there but I can't decide what I want or need so I'm hoping you guys can help. I want something in a nice case, either hard or soft, that keeps it all organized and I can stock up easily when stuff gets used. I often go off roading, shooting, camping, etc. etc. and don't need something to treat 20+ people, just some emergency stuff. I also have several children who often use bandaids for little cuts and such so need all the little basic stuff also. Can anyone recomend a good pre-assembled kit I can just order? I don't mind adding an item or two but don't really want to piece together a kit. And what do you guys recomend for just throwing in the backpack to have on hand? As always, money doesn't grow on trees in my world so none of these $200 kits are really in my budget. Thanks in advance. |
| you're probably best suited to having 2 FAK...one with snivel gear (band aids, pain killers ect) and the other with your more serious stuff if you choose to have that. FWIW, the best thing I've found have been shoulder/musette bags for FAK,s they're just faster and easier for me t use and I can carry one in addition to a backpack. |
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Ive never found a FAK preassembled that was worth a crap. For the most likely stuff that can go wrong that you can do something about, pack the folowing. SAM splint, one roll 4 inch Kerlex, one roll Cobaine, half a dozen 4x4s, one roll of 2 inch cloth tape, one bottle of eye wash (eyes and wounds) some band aids and tylenol. Your looking th about $30 and that will cover 90% of what can be dealt with but as always the most important thing is training. All the gear in the world will do no good if you don't know how to use it. |
I was just at Adventure medical's website and they have sme pretty good kits. Nothing saying that you can't just add the stuff you think you migh tneed as well, but the kits are good starts. |
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I just went and looked too, lots of crap that will never be used but better than most. The key is to rember that your goal with first aid is to place stop gap measures inplace untill you can get advanced aid. No need to close wounds, ect. It is nice to have a kit that keeps you from having to go to the store when you get the runs somewhere but that is moving beyond what a FAK is and more into the realm of personel health care. PS, What community? |
Zombie Squad is my go-to site for survival issues. They have a forum area dedicated to First Aid. http://zombiehunters.org/forum/index.php |
 easy to get caught up in buying extra junk if you hang around there.to the OP, buy what you are trained and know how to use...not what looks cool and you have no training for. if you want something I'd say get a decent adventurline kit. Throw in a few ace bandages and maxi pads with some extra pieces of large guaze (the poor mans Izzy). get a toruny or two, doesn't need to be a "combat" one but it should be something you can operate with one hand (worst case you're doing it to yourself, second worse you have to hold pressure on the wound while you apply the TQ one handed). Buy a box of sterile gloves, toss 3 pairs into the kit (should come with 1 pair) and you've got yourself s decent basic FAK. I'm not an advocate of quickclot or other hemostatic agents since most people don't know when to use them (only after the TQ doesn't work to stop/slow bleeding and blood loss). If you wanted to throw in a packet for an "OH FUCK IT WON'T STOP!!!" situation by all means do so but at least read up and know when to apply it. |
| I'd argue that a tourniquet is far more dangerous than Quick-Clot if you don't know what you are doing. The new Quik-Clot sport is a very user-friendly format, and I carry a couple in my FAK. I don't carry a tourniquet, but I could probably fashion one if I absolutely had to. Hard to fashion Quik-Clot if you really needed it. |
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Thanks for all the replies. I ended up ordering the Hunter kit from Adventure Medical. Its more stuff than I know how to use but has all the small basic stuff I want and hopefully if any of the bigger stuff is ever needed either I'll figure it out or someone with me will know how. I just feal its better to have too much stuff than not enough. And the price difference between a bigger kit and basic kit was minimal. www.adventuremedicalkits.com/kit_detail.asp?series=600&seriesNav=Dom&kit=601&kitNO=0105-0288 |
Quik-clot and similar hemostatics are the cool new thing on the first aid scene. The thing is, they're an expensive solution to an effectively nonexistant problem. Bleeding can really, honestly be controlled via conventional means. I've controlled bleeding from everything from gunshot wounds to chainsaw accidents to farm machinery degloving injuries, all without quik-clot. If you want bleeding control on the cheap, surgipads and vet wrap work well. If you want to spend a little more money, I think the H bandage is a very nice piece of kit. Quick-clot should be prioritized below multiple decent pressure dressings as far as budget, space and weight go. Tourniquets are a much maligned and misunderstood piece of gear. Most of the "dangers' of TQ use are misunderstood and overblown. If you have any expectation of having to render self aid for significant exremity trauma, something like the CAT which allows for fast, effective one handed application is definately something you should have available. Understanding the ins and outs of using a TQ is necessary, but if someone cares enough to be spending the money, weight and space on real medical gear, they should sure as hell care enough to learn the basics about the stuff they're carrying. |
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One of the many problems with both QC and tournys is if people have them, they want to use them causing more harm than good. QC causes many problems in the hands of those that know how to use it and use it at the right time. In the untrained hands, it can and will cause burns, blood clots, stroke and heart attacks. Thats why the military no longer recomends it's use. Direct pressure, elevation and pressure points will stop bleeding almost every single time. Also rember your goal is to significantly reduce bleeding, not stop it entirely, you will always have some leakage untill teh clots are well formed. In the civi world, I have never once seen a tourny used properly or when needed. Usualy some boy scout puts a half assed bandana on and does nothing but close off the venous flow causing more bleeding. Just don't use them! |
I've been doing EMS in "the civi world" for 19 years now, and have seen tourniquets utilized properly and effectively a number of times, and done so twice myself when other means have failed to control massive bleeding. Much like firearms, they are a tool that can do a lot of harm if utilized improperly or be a lifesaver with appropriate training and use. |
I'm not up on the history, but I do know that part of the .mil's interest in QC was fueled by the femoral bleed fatality that occured in Somalia. I have a copy of a military medical panel discussion regarding the casualtiues from the 'Blackhawk Down' incident discussing hopes regarding hemostatics. If I can dig up a pdf I'll post a link. The problem with a femoral bleed is that if the artery is fully severed, it retracts way the hell up into the pelvis, and QC, pressure, etc at the site of the laceration is ineffective. The best move seems to be pressure pointing, jamming something as hard as you can right in the crease to the side of Mr. Happy where you can normally feel the femoral pulse. |
Not to play the one upmanship thing but I have been involved with EMS since 1979 and I have NEVER used a tourny with one notable exception. I had a guy run over by a train. Got both legs and one arm. He got three of them but they were not realy needed and the crush injury sealed both fems and the brachial pretty well. My point again is if untrained people have this crap, they will try to use it when it's not needed. First, do no harm! The CATs are a good tool in PROPERLY TRAINED hands. People that don't see a lot of blood and guts tend to get excited and over react. |
I guess where we differ is I advocate training where you advocate equipping to the lowest common denominator. I often hear the 'untrained people doing more harm then good" stance used in arguments against CCW. Sorry man, I find the 'you better learn how to use that if you're going to carry it' school of thought to be much more palatable then the 'you're not professional enough to carry that' philosophy. |
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If you look at every post I have made on any topic, I always tell people to get training if they want to carry this kind of stuff. The CCW argument dosn't fly, Apples and oranges. If they don't have a tourniquet, they will do what they are supposed to and use the big three, dirrect pressure, elevation and pressure points. I wish everyone would train to at least the EMT level........ |