Trying a new idea - pack my 1st Aid Kit

Lapp_Dance

Lapp_Dance

Joined
Apr 20, 2005
Messages
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Bladeforums -

I'll tell you what gear I have, or can get easily, and you guys pack my 1st Aid Kit for me. My head starts swimming after reading endless threads on first aid kits, and videos on YouTube, etc. It makes me want to carry an entire second bag just for what-if medical reasons. Obviously not conventional, probable, or possible.

I keep a SHTF bag packed, in what I call a get-home configuration. I rarely travel far from home. Work is < 1 mile, and friends & family are all pretty much within a 10 mile radius.

So here's what I have (I may add to this list once I can inventory everything):

HSGI Blowout/Bleeder pouch

Medical shears (obviously stored in the above pouch)

Old school (yet current) REMF USGI first aid kit contents (gauze, eye dressing, etc.) this is the rectangle plastic OD green box inside of a ALICE pouch kit.

El-cheapo Walmart mini first aid kit contents. Bought this for the medicines inside it, alcohol wipes, antiseptic wipes, sunscreen wipes, insect repellant wipes...you get the idea. Not very big at all.

1 fresh roll of 3M medical tape

1 neosporin spray bottle

Purell hand sanitizer

Excedrin and Benadryl in a pill container from the USGI kit.

Assorted band-aids.

Snap light (chem light)

Victorinox classic (mini keychain size)

Mini Mag with LED upgrade

Maxpedition water bottle carrier. This is the one designed to hold a 32oz. nalgene with internal insulation and a 4x6 exterior pouch. I did see the thread here where a member uses this as a mini survival kit.

So to make a long thread longer, tell me the best way to pack these 2 pouches with the contents above, what I should add or delete, and maybe the best place for additional supplies. This kit is simply to hang on long enough until better supplies or personnel are reached.

Thanks!
 
Last edited:
Lapp_Dance said:
Bladeforums -

I'll tell you what gear I have, or can get easily, and you guys pack my 1st Aid Kit for me. My head starts swimming after reading endless threads on first aid kits, and videos on YouTube, etc. It makes me want to carry an entire second bag just for what-if medical reasons. Obviously not conventional, probable, or possible.

I keep a SHTF bag packed, in what I call a get-home configuration. I rarely travel far from home. Work is < 1 mile, and friends & family are all pretty much within a 10 mile radius.

So here's what I have (I may add to this list once I can inventory everything):

HSGI Blowout/Bleeder pouch

Medical shears (obviously stored in the above pouch)

Old school (yet current) REMF USGI first aid kit contents (gauze, eye dressing, etc.) this is the rectangle plastic OD green box inside of a ALICE pouch kit.

El-cheapo Walmart mini first aid kit contents. Bought this for the medicines inside it, alcohol wipes, antiseptic wipes, sunscreen wipes, insect repellant wipes...you get the idea. Not very big at all.

1 fresh roll of 3M medical tape

1 neosporin spray bottle

Purell hand sanitizer

Excedrin and Benadryl in a pill container from the USGI kit.

Assorted band-aids.

Snap light (chem light)

Victorinox classic (mini keychain size)

Mini Mag with LED upgrade

Maxpedition water bottle carrier. This is the one designed to hold a 32oz. nalgene with internal insulation and a 4x6 exterior pouch. I did see the thread here where a member uses this as a mini survival kit.

So to make a long thread longer, tell me the best way to pack these 2 pouches with the contents above, what I should add or delete, and maybe the best place for additional supplies. This kit is simply to hang on long enough until better supplies or personnel are reached.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

Two things I have to say about this. First Why is it a REMF kit? What makes it REMF? on second thought maybe REMF doesn't mean the same to you as it does to a Marine so what do you mean by REMF?


Secondly, this is ( to me) the ideal in a packable first aide kit and I don't see why you would need anything other than that for first aide. Anything that kit won't handle, you probably won't be able to handle either, unless you're a medical professional of some kind.


JMO
David
 
gloves, and lots of them. never know who you might stop to help. pocket shield as well. if you can get a couple isreali bandages, I'd throw them in as well or at least some compression gauze and rollers. I'd put the shears where they are easily accessible. a small headlight lets you work without having to hold the light. other than that seems pretty solid to me.
 
gadgetgeek said:
gloves, and lots of them. never know who you might stop to help. pocket shield as well. if you can get a couple isreali bandages, I'd throw them in as well or at least some compression gauze and rollers. I'd put the shears where they are easily accessible. a small headlight lets you work without having to hold the light. other than that seems pretty solid to me.
Click to expand...

Depends on if he's planning to stop and help other people. If not, the gloves and face shield are basically not needed.
 
this is true, I naturally assume that people who choose to be prepared are the type that would stop and help if they had the ability. but each to their own, there have been plenty of times I haven't stopped either.
 
Keep your pills in their packaging. The reason being is that in an emergency, you want the medicines clearly identifiable. You don't need the whole box, but just the little foil blister pack they come in.
 
I'm writing a very long and pretty simple, inclusive article for WoodsMonkey right now on assembling your own first aid kit (just because this topic comes up so often). It will give you a pretty good perspective on basics and optional gear. It'll be a few days, but I'll try to remember to post a link when I'm finished.
 
Good medkit.

A. pills
1. painkiller/fever reducer - acetaminophen (10 pills)
2. painkiller/NSAID - ibuprofen (10 pills)
3. painkiller/blood thinner - aspirin (5 pills)
4. pseudoephedrine (5 pills)
5. pepto (5 pills)
6. immodium (5 pills)
B. cremes
1. antibiotic creme
2. burn creme
3. antihistamine creme
C. wipes
1. baby wipes
2. alcohol wipes
3. insect repellent wipes
D. hemostasis
1. assorted band-aids
2. 2x2 sterile pads (2-4)
3. 4x4 sterile pad
4. surgical tape (1 inch width)
5. cyanoacrylate glue (crazy glue) - good for any wounds that do not penetrate to deep tissues
E. misc
1. sports tape (2in x 2yd)
2. artificial tears (essentially saline + very mild surfactant)

I am probably missing something stupid, but this is pretty much it.
 
gadgetgeek said:
this is true, I naturally assume that people who choose to be prepared are the type that would stop and help if they had the ability. but each to their own, there have been plenty of times I haven't stopped either.
Click to expand...

Good point. To that note, I'll add: If you're not already, go to your local Red Cross and get CPR/AED/First Aid certified. :thumbup:
 
Did I miss something? If this guy lives 1 mile from work, and family is within ten miles, and this is a "get-home" kit. Why is 90 percent of it there? I assume the get-home idea is because all the real medicine is there, so wouldn't a compress and a few bandaids be sufficient? Hell, he'll be home before any of those pills even start working.
Here's my idea of a "get-home" kit
1. Compress
2. tape
3. 1911
Anything for lesser injuries isn't needed if I'm going home. Wounds can be properly cleaned and treated then. The only thing I'll be concerned with before getting to my house is moving fast and not bleeding out, if the SHTF.
 
bushman14 said:
Did I miss something? If this guy lives 1 mile from work, and family is within ten miles, and this is a "get-home" kit. Why is 90 percent of it there? I assume the get-home idea is because all the real medicine is there, so wouldn't a compress and a few bandaids be sufficient? Hell, he'll be home before any of those pills even start working.
Here's my idea of a "get-home" kit
1. Compress
2. tape
3. 1911
Anything for lesser injuries isn't needed if I'm going home. Wounds can be properly cleaned and treated then. The only thing I'll be concerned with before getting to my house is moving fast and not bleeding out, if the SHTF.
Click to expand...

I want to have enough to be prepared. This is my go to bag, and in the event I travel outside of my normal radius, it will allow me to be ready.

skammer said:
Probably because it had basic supplies only REMF's would need in the rear with the gear.

Skam
Click to expand...

This is my basic intention of calling it the REMF kit. No digs against the folks in the rear, just that it's not a high-speed USMC IFAK, only the bare essentials.

EMT_Lee said:
Depends on if he's planning to stop and help other people. If not, the gloves and face shield are basically not needed.
Click to expand...

Forgot to add those items to my current inventory list, I have 2 pair of latex gloves, and a headband for the mini mag. I could use a face shield though.
 
tampax. Through in a couple of Tampax pads. I used to work with an EMT in a glass studio. He was the go-to guy for "hey, i am bleeding here" moments. He said sanitary pads were excellent, the right size, very absorbent, sterile, etc,. readily available and cheap. Very good to have when you want to wad a bleeder with a compress.
 
Ok, well I lost this thread for a while but I have to comment here once again. A med kit is a med kit, they are all packed the same the only thing that can be changed is the pills that each person puts in the pill bottles provided. We even had to carry them in the same place on our gear. The reason they are identicle and carried in the exact same place is because if some one needs an extra they know where to look on the dead body next to them to find it and they know what will be inside of it.

REMF gear was heavy unnecessary crap like cd players and pillows that REMF's brought to the field.

I still think that if you have a med kit that's all you will need to patch yourself up till you can get real medical care.

By The Way the IFAK is the name of the new med kit that everyone has ( it's really the same supplies in a different case to match the newer molle gear) it's not some high speed low drag kit that only grunts get.

David
 
I used to carry a first aid kit but realize 90% of it was just one type of bandage or another.

Now I just carry

2 large Gauze Pads (can be trimmed as needed)
Small roll of duct tape (can be used for other things as well)
4 pills of aleve
1-2 alcohol wipes
Ace Bandage.

These items cover almost all things a first aid kit would provide and saves a lot of room in my pack.

I received a bad laceration two months ago, deep in the woods, and this kit worked just fine until I was able to get to the hospital.
 
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