Pre-assembled first aid kits

[Balrog]

Who makes a good pre-assembled kit that will provide for most emergencies one may encounter while in the field or if help is not immediately available?

 

[psyopspec]

When I looked into this, I found that all the pre-assembled kits were either 1) marked up way beyond the price of the components in the kit; or, 2) stocked with cheap components (e.g. cheap Chinese tourniquets, etc.).

After that, I assembled my own.
• SOF-T Tourniquet
• QuickClot gauze
• Israeli bandage
• Gloves
• Kept in large ziploc bag (field expedient chest seal, along with the plastic packaging for the other components I suppose). The kit lives in the bag I have with me when I leave the house most days.

It's been a few years, but IIRC my total cost for the kit was around $40 (note that I had the tourniquet leftover from time in service).

This should go without saying, but I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that one ought to be trained in the use of whatever it is they're carrying.

 

[SharpDog]

I am not a medical professional and I don't play one on TV.

That said, I usually start out with this $19 on Amazon:

Adventure Medical Kits Trauma Pak with Advanced Clotting Sponge
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B003BS2PW4/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Add This (under $11 on Amazon):

Israeli Bandage Battle Dressing First Aid Compression Bandage, 6 Inch
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B003DPVERM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

And one of these ($15 on Amazon):

Recon Medical BLK-1PAK-FBA Tourniquet:
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01ETMVQOI/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1


Here is a pre-assembled version in a Molle Pouch for $50:

Ever Ready First Aid Meditac Tactical Trauma IFAK Kit with Trauma Pack Quickclot and Israeli Bandage in Molle Pouch (Updated Version...
https://smile.amazon.com/Ever-Ready...A79GSK9HHYPM&refRID=AR9A0X2KA79GSK9HHYPM&th=1

 

[Browning]

Depends on what I’m doing.

If it’s meant to be a small kit always on me (I wear cargo pants/shorts quite a bit, lower left hand pocket) I go with one of the NAR Officers kits just because they’re small and have most of the essentials.

https://www.amazon.com/North-Americ...1565543028&s=gateway&sprefix=quikclot+&sr=8-7

If it’s going to be one of the larger kits in my truck or on my range bag then I go with one of the inexpensive military IFAK kits off eBay and swap stuff around. Get two. Use one for practice. If you don’t know what you’re doing you’ll fumble and screw things up.

I tend have both the SWAT-T and the SOF-T in such kits that I make up myself just because not everyone’s physique is the same. Try putting a CAT or a SOF-T on a kid. It doesn’t really work. The SWAT-T tend to work better on smaller people. I don’t really like elastic tourniquets as it’s hard to get them tight (pull harder), but there it is. For that application they work better.

On the ambulance we have both types, that’s why. The elastic one is for pediatrics.

After that some sort of Celox or QuikClot. Throw in a chest seal. You can improvise these out of plastic or veni-guards, but purpose made ones work quite a bit better.

Then regular old gauze, tape (the 2 inch kind, one inch tape gets bloody and loses its adhesive quick), an ACE bandage, a cravat or two, a marker (for marking down the time of the tourniquet and allergies while they’re actually conscious) and an NPA and lube.

 

[SharpDog]

Medical Training:
https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/medical-training.854600/#post-11199055

 

[Craig_AR]

When I looked into this, I found that all the pre-assembled kits were either 1) marked up way beyond the price of the components in the kit; or, 2) stocked with cheap components (e.g. cheap Chinese tourniquets, etc.).

After that, I assembled my own.

As an active Boy Scout in the 1960's, and again as an adult Scout Leader in the 1990's, that was precisely my experience, too. Prepack kits tended to have stuff I would never need, and be missing items I needed regularly. Rather than suggest the contents here, I recommend you design your own based on the first aid training resources you have used. Having over the years completed Boy Scout, American Red Cross, and Wilderness First Aid training, I noted that each has a slightly different set of recommended kit contents. Design the kit for the locales and situations you expect to be in. For backwoods and remote outdoor activities, I highly recommend Wilderness First Aid on top of your Red Cross or other safety program training.

 

[Jammersix]

Where are the "Chinese" kits? Since you brought it up, I prefer goods from overseas.

 

[Browning]

Where are the "Chinese" kits? Since you brought it up, I prefer goods from overseas.

He’s probably talking about those CAT tourniquet counterfeits where the windlass breaks.

 

[herrwalther]

This is probably the cheapest starter first aid kit I have ever found. Add a CAT and a couple extra dressings to make it even better.

https://lapolicegear.com/lapg-pocket-trauma-pack.html