AmosMoses
Regular Member
Does anyone else here other than me carry a First Aid Kit/Trauma Kit?
I have a few, carrying the smallest one most of the time that I go anywhere. When I am out and about around here, I generally carry a better supplied one, and if I am "in the woods", hunting, etc., I carry one that also has some "survival supplies" in it as well. The largest I have is packed into a small yellow "miniature backpack" looking belt case that I got from Wal-Mart. It was actually a First Aid Kit, but I dumped the few supplies it had in it in favor of my own. It is unbelievable what one can pack into that little thing with a little effort and planning. If I dumped mine out, it would be extremely hard to believe that all the contents were in that little pack.
The case for the smallest one that I carry also came from Wal-Mart...a small black "camera case" with a belt loop. It cost like 2 bucks and is roughly the size and shape of one of those real long cigarette boxes, but somewhat larger. Even this minimal one holds a surprising amount of material in it, as follows:
(1) Large Pack of QuikClot*
(1) Survival Blanket ("Space Blanket")
(1) 4" X 4" Pad
(3) Rolls of 2" Gauze
(1) 2" ACE Bandage
(2) Feet of Iodoform Packing Strip
(1) Small Roll Bandage Tape
(4) Small Envelopes of Hand Sanitizer
(6) Alcohol Pads
(1) Tourniquet
(1) Small Pair Hemostats
(1) Small Pair EMT Shears
(1) 5/16" X 3" Plastic Tube
(2) Scalpel Blades
(2) Small Envelopes Vaseline or AntiBiotic Ointment
(1) 6" X 6" "Plastic Wrap"
(2) Pair Non-Latex Gloves
(1) StreamLight "Nano" Flashlight w/ Extra Batteries
*I am currently looking into some other hemostatic agents, but for now I use QuikClot.
It seems impossible to fit the above listed into the above described belt pack, but it's not. If you put the larger material in first (QuickClot/Survival Blanket), and you judiciously pack the other items in and around that (in order of largest to smallest), you can get a surprising amount of material in there. Considering that in the event of an emergency you would simply dump the container to allow easy access to all material therein, there is no need to pack these items to satisfy early/easy access to certain items, with the one exclusion being that one pair of gloves is the last item in, and the easiest to access singly, or first, if need be. Also, under the front flap of the pack, there is a pocket, and it is in that pocket that I put hemostats, EMT Shears, etc., as well as the Nano light, because the light could very easily require quick and single access. I tie the Nano light to the pack, also, so that I can grab the tether to quickly access the light, and because it protects the light from loss...it's SMALL, as you know if you own one yourself.
For the minimal, everyday pack, I simply mentally treated a "common" gunshot wound, and I used that to decide what I would put in the belt pack. It's important to realize that in this instance bigger is NOT necessarily better, and that, quite obviously, it won't matter what you have in the kit unless you have it when you need it, so it is wise to consider this in creating a kit of your own....you aren't likely to often carry anything big, bulky, etc., on a day to day basis, so size is extremely important. My largest belt pack FA/TK is packed into the afore-described yellow "miniature backpack", and when I dump it, it looks like David Copperfield packed it is has so much material in it. It's a FAK as well as a "Survival Kit", and I use it accordingly. I also have extensive First Aid material packed into actual backpacks, with all manner of material in it including small O2 bottle, an AMBU bag (w/ airways), IV Fluid setup, and so on, and that's great to have to throw in a vehicle, or to grab and carry when you know you are going to where someone is seriously injured, but it's extremely important, IMHO, anyway, to have on hand minimal items to treat serious trauma, especially major blood loss/shock. The smallest kit that I have made up goes a long way toward mitigating this sort of injury, and it is very small, light, and easy to carry.
I also include a plastic shopping bag ... which, if you snag a new one off the cashier's rack at Wal-Mart, etc., you can easily fold into a very small size ... to unfold and use to dump the kit out on when you are in need of using it. Then, you can gather your items in it after their initial use. I say this because it takes time to pack all that into these small packs, and in the field you will surely not have the time to repack it after use. So, instead of abandoning what you can't easily cram back into the pack, you can simply dump it all into this bag and carry it with you until you can repack it, or take it home and rebuild it.
I have a few, carrying the smallest one most of the time that I go anywhere. When I am out and about around here, I generally carry a better supplied one, and if I am "in the woods", hunting, etc., I carry one that also has some "survival supplies" in it as well. The largest I have is packed into a small yellow "miniature backpack" looking belt case that I got from Wal-Mart. It was actually a First Aid Kit, but I dumped the few supplies it had in it in favor of my own. It is unbelievable what one can pack into that little thing with a little effort and planning. If I dumped mine out, it would be extremely hard to believe that all the contents were in that little pack.
The case for the smallest one that I carry also came from Wal-Mart...a small black "camera case" with a belt loop. It cost like 2 bucks and is roughly the size and shape of one of those real long cigarette boxes, but somewhat larger. Even this minimal one holds a surprising amount of material in it, as follows:
(1) Large Pack of QuikClot*
(1) Survival Blanket ("Space Blanket")
(1) 4" X 4" Pad
(3) Rolls of 2" Gauze
(1) 2" ACE Bandage
(2) Feet of Iodoform Packing Strip
(1) Small Roll Bandage Tape
(4) Small Envelopes of Hand Sanitizer
(6) Alcohol Pads
(1) Tourniquet
(1) Small Pair Hemostats
(1) Small Pair EMT Shears
(1) 5/16" X 3" Plastic Tube
(2) Scalpel Blades
(2) Small Envelopes Vaseline or AntiBiotic Ointment
(1) 6" X 6" "Plastic Wrap"
(2) Pair Non-Latex Gloves
(1) StreamLight "Nano" Flashlight w/ Extra Batteries
*I am currently looking into some other hemostatic agents, but for now I use QuikClot.
It seems impossible to fit the above listed into the above described belt pack, but it's not. If you put the larger material in first (QuickClot/Survival Blanket), and you judiciously pack the other items in and around that (in order of largest to smallest), you can get a surprising amount of material in there. Considering that in the event of an emergency you would simply dump the container to allow easy access to all material therein, there is no need to pack these items to satisfy early/easy access to certain items, with the one exclusion being that one pair of gloves is the last item in, and the easiest to access singly, or first, if need be. Also, under the front flap of the pack, there is a pocket, and it is in that pocket that I put hemostats, EMT Shears, etc., as well as the Nano light, because the light could very easily require quick and single access. I tie the Nano light to the pack, also, so that I can grab the tether to quickly access the light, and because it protects the light from loss...it's SMALL, as you know if you own one yourself.
For the minimal, everyday pack, I simply mentally treated a "common" gunshot wound, and I used that to decide what I would put in the belt pack. It's important to realize that in this instance bigger is NOT necessarily better, and that, quite obviously, it won't matter what you have in the kit unless you have it when you need it, so it is wise to consider this in creating a kit of your own....you aren't likely to often carry anything big, bulky, etc., on a day to day basis, so size is extremely important. My largest belt pack FA/TK is packed into the afore-described yellow "miniature backpack", and when I dump it, it looks like David Copperfield packed it is has so much material in it. It's a FAK as well as a "Survival Kit", and I use it accordingly. I also have extensive First Aid material packed into actual backpacks, with all manner of material in it including small O2 bottle, an AMBU bag (w/ airways), IV Fluid setup, and so on, and that's great to have to throw in a vehicle, or to grab and carry when you know you are going to where someone is seriously injured, but it's extremely important, IMHO, anyway, to have on hand minimal items to treat serious trauma, especially major blood loss/shock. The smallest kit that I have made up goes a long way toward mitigating this sort of injury, and it is very small, light, and easy to carry.
I also include a plastic shopping bag ... which, if you snag a new one off the cashier's rack at Wal-Mart, etc., you can easily fold into a very small size ... to unfold and use to dump the kit out on when you are in need of using it. Then, you can gather your items in it after their initial use. I say this because it takes time to pack all that into these small packs, and in the field you will surely not have the time to repack it after use. So, instead of abandoning what you can't easily cram back into the pack, you can simply dump it all into this bag and carry it with you until you can repack it, or take it home and rebuild it.
