Personal First Aid Kit for the range

[jericho89]

Don't just think gsw.... think
-powder burns
-eye wounds (from dirt to trauma)
- shrapnel (friend has some bad factory ammo that blew up his FAL)
-minor cuts

[smle-man]

I always keep a GI field dressing on my person to immediately stop serious bleeding when in the desert or the mountains. Something in the car might be too far to get to in a big emergency. The big first aid kit in the Jeep is for more deliberate and measured work. The Jeep also has blankets, food, water, lights, shovels (plural) and other tools.

[81turbota]

I am an ALSE (aviation life support equipment) tech as a side job for the Army, I have an Aircraft general purpose first aid kit in all of my vehicles. As per Army specs, the kit is good for 5 people...quite optimistic.

The kit includes:
Scissors
1 roll of 2" Medical tape
2 Nasal trumpets
2 Chest decompression needles
2 Chest seals
10 Iodine wipes
10 Band-aids
3 Muslin (cloth) wrap bandages
5 pairs of nitrile gloves
1 Combat gauze (quick clot)
1 pressure bandage (larger quick clot)
1 CAT tourniquet
1 Roll of cotton gauze

The kit is in a compact zipped bag approx 10x7x7 inches.

I am proficient in the use of all components, IMO anything additional requires special equipment such as a defibrillator, ventilator, propaq, zoll, etc. Since I do not hold civilian certification for trauma response, the legal red tape is unbelievable. An Army field medic holds the same certification as an EMT-B, as a cross trained Crew Chief that deployed with Medevac in Afghanisatan....well I have my CPR certification. I will not hesitate to render first aid if the need arises.

The car/truck follows me to the range and anywhere else. It'll do at the range and anywhere else.

[1surfguy]

These guys have several options. See Range & GSW kits.
Practicaltrauma.com

[bshot]

Personal First Aid Kit for the range

These guys have several options. See Range & GSW kits.

Practicaltrauma.com

I ended up going with this kit for $92.20 shipped from http://ex.stcrispian.com/products/stan-fak-minus



Stan First Aid Kit (Stan FAK): All inclusive gun shot wound-centric first aid kit. Includes:

(1) SOF Tactical Tourniquet,

(1) QuikClot Combat Gauze Z fold,

(1) PMI Halo chest seal,

(1) 4" Israeli bandage and (1) 5.5" EMT shear







I will be adding things to this kit as well.

[81turbota]

I ended up going wit this kit for $92.20 shipped from http://ex.stcrispian.com/products/stan-fak-minus

Stan First Aid Kit (Stan FAK): All inclusive gun shot wound-centric first aid kit. Includes:
(1) SOF Tactical Tourniquet,
(1) QuikClot Combat Gauze Z fold,
(1) PMI Halo chest seal,
(1) 4" Israeli bandage and (1) 5.5" EMT shear



I will be adding things to this kit as well.

The trauma wound dressing (pressure bandage in our supply system), EMT scissors and Quick Clot are all components of our Army helicopter first aid kits. Great stuff.

You'll get varying opinions on the SOF-T vs CAT tourniquet, they both work great IMO. Nice choice!

[Maltese Falcon]

I have some expired Israeli bandages. I realize all medical supplies have to have some kind of expiration date for legal reasons and to ensure that the product will still be effective when used.

But for those that know, what is the real useful lifespan?

I understand they are double wrapped and it seems to me they would be usable long past the listed exp. date assuming package integrity is intact. Mine have been stored in a cool room most of the time, generally in the car for at most a day at a time.

Can't see just throwing them away, I also have some expiring in 2022.

.

[Librarian]

For things like bandages, expiration is 'when the packaging is damaged' or 'when the stuff is wet or dirty'.

QuickClot, for example, is kaolin in the current formulation. Kaolin is basically dirt. It can't deteriorate. But the bandages can get wet, and then they are pretty much useless.

Eventually (years), alcohol prep pads dry out.

Aspirin seems to deteriorate, especially exposed to moisture in the air.

[JDay]

I have some expired Israeli bandages. I realize all medical supplies have to have some kind of expiration date for legal reasons and to ensure that the product will still be effective when used.

But for those that know, what is the real useful lifespan?

I understand they are double wrapped and it seems to me they would be usable long past the listed exp. date assuming package integrity is intact. Mine have been stored in a cool room most of the time, generally in the car for at most a day at a time.

Can't see just throwing them away, I also have some expiring in 2022.

.

They should be fine as long as the packaging is intact. If you're not familiar with their use I'd open one and use it for training purposes.

[RobertMW]

-Israeli dressings are good, but there are some newer multifunction dressings like the Oles that gives you additional treatment options (the absorbent pad has gauze that can be pulled out and used for wound packing).

-Get a decent occlusive dressing like Halo or Hyfin chest seals that come in a 2 pack

-Make sure you get a couple of PROPER tourniquets

Get some training on using this stuff, it'll come in handy one day (even if you're not at the shooting range, think accident w/ the car, camping, home/garage, work, natural disaster, etc.). Have an idea of where the nearest higher level of medical care/Trauma center is and how to get there and some sort of evacuation plan in mind. Comms to call for help is always good!

PS - For what it's worth, I do this stuff for a living and I'm involved in the training of combat medics.

Thank you. I saw the OP's list and saw the glaring holes in his list too. He has just enough stuff in there to die slower if he punches an artery or lung.

Multiple tourniquets, multiple large dressings. A big guy might take a few of each before you can control bleeding. It would suck to not have anything, but it's rubbing salt in the wound to get your only tourniquet on and realize that it's not enough to give you a chance to live.

[code_blue]

Keep in mind that some of these items have expiration dates and will need to be replaced. Hope you never need to use them, but if you do ensure that they do their jobs.

[Kabitz]

Tampons!

[SMarquez]

The standard protocol for tourniquets is to have 2. The second is applied 2-4" above the first if you don't get a complete stoppage of blood flow.

[DCNB]

I like the vacuum sealed/vacuum packed dressings not only b/c they're more compact, but you can tell at a glance/squeeze if the packaging has been breeched and no longer sterile (they puff and are no longer compressed/dense/sealed). Otherwise, given that most dressings are sterilized via some sort of heat treatment or irradiated w/ a radioactive isotope, as long as the vacuum is intact you should be good for at least the better part of a decade.

In addition to the resources already mentioned, these are 3 good vendors for quality medical supplies. Look for items packaged for longevity (nice durable packing, vacuum sealed, water proof that is pre-scored/marked for easy opening):

http://www.officersurvivalsolutions.com

https://www.tacmedsolutions.com

http://www.narescue.com