Off The Shelf “Wilderness” First Aid Kits

A look at two off the shelf first aid kits sold at REI.

[Mila_BK]

Great video. I’m really glad that the focus of the video is that these FAKs aren’t used for life threatening scenarios and combat situations. These kits are for people who are hiking and camping, where the chances of suffering a gunshot wound is extremely slim.

I work out in the woods pretty extensively and always carry one of these in my pack and my truck.

Any wilderness first aid course worth its salt teaches how to improvise splints, stretchers, etc. and when you’re outdoors where weight matters, being able to improvise these tools is much more effective than carrying them with you.

Some stuff I personally always carry if I don’t have a full IFAK with me is hockey tape, water, and some kind of multi tool. I’ve had to deal with situations where myself or a coworker has been injured and that’s all I’ve had, and it goes A LONG way, trust me. Having something to clean/flush a wound (water, tweezers or knife), and something to wrap a wound efficiently (hockey tape, some gauze or clean cloth) is all you need in 90% of scenarios you’ll run into.

Definitely be familiar with any kit you’re carrying, and just remember that knowledge and practice will save a life. I won’t say that I’d prefer a booklet to a course, but I’d prefer a booklet to nothing. Stay safe!

[fearsomefawkes]

Love how practical this is. I watch a lot of pepper channels, but sometimes they fully lose the plot. I don't need every FAK I have to get me out of the deep woods alone after surviving a bear attack. I need something that will stop a minor wound from becoming infected and turning into a major wound.

[Doc_Egan]

Good video as always. I'm a big fan of using one of these kits as a base and adding to them. I always have 2 parts to my med kits, trauma/TCCC and boo boo. It's important to have IFAK supplies for emergencies but you also need the boo boo stuff. Honestly I have given out a lot more bandaids and Tylenol than tourniquets and pressure dressings. You still need both but some people think an IFAK is all you need on a trip in the woods. It may work for trained military personnel who can suck it up and push through discomfort for periods of time but it's not going to work for most people. Plus even our IFAKs still have bandaids in them. Adventure medical has a wide rage of kits with increasing capability as you go up in price. Some of the more expensive ones do have packing gauze, Quick Clot and tourniquets. They even have some trauma or IFAK like kits. I do like that the normal kits have a lot of minor would care supplies especially in the bigger kits. That is a lot of the work that I have actually had to do in the field. Great video as always.

[CarbonModZero]

I love the adventure medical kits, for the money they’re a great value and packed well to deal with common non-traumatic injuries. I frequently find myself using them even at home

[palierto]

Great rundown/walkthrough. I picked one up before a trip a few years back which just stays in my travel backpack for the everyday bumps and bruises.

[thomasarmstrong]

I mostly think of such kits as "owie boo-boo" kits, fine to clean and cover minor wounds and reduce chance of infection, but not much good for more complicated/traumatic injuries.

That doesn't mean they're worthless, by any means, even if it seemed to me that they pad the piece count with a lot of trinkets that I've never needed in my years working as a car mechanic or carpenter.

No, I'm not a first-aid expert, even if I've taken some employer-required courses and keep having my EMT spouse teach me stuff informally.

[jamescummings]

I would love to see a video on age based medical kits. I’m working on building kits for my kids 5, 7, and 10.

[robch]

The BIG design flaw in that .5 medical kit for solo expeditions is that opening it and accessing the materials inside is such a damn fiddle, and needs both hands to do. When one of the most probable types of injuries in the bush is a deep cut to hand or finger, a kit that is easy to rip open one-handed (even at the expense of waterproofness) and quick to sort through the contents (rather than just empty everything out) is a fundamental priority IMO.

[joshualariviere]

I like Adventure Medical Kits, they do a pretty good job for a big box store FAK. I’ve had a couple different ones before I started making my own to suit my specific needs.

[scarling]

Love some of these kits. I got the Sportsman 400 from Adventure Medical. Decent kit for camping or home use. Got the green kits for each of my cars. My only gripe is the latter doesnt have bandaids, but they are resealable.

[torrent]

I've never heard of anyone carrying an IFAK (with a CAT/quikclot/nasal airway/etc) on a backpacking trip. Of the hundreds of miles I've hiked, I've never even heard of a situation that'd require it. Not saying it can't exist, but seems exceedingly rare. You're almost certainly better off carrying extra water than an IFAK, or maybe a pair of hiking sticks. Consider of the thousands of people who hike the Pacific Crest Trail, deaths are exceedingly rare. Here's the stats:
6 – Falling
3 – Heatstroke
2 – Drowning
2 – Cars
1 – Falling trees
1 – High altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE) (unconfirmed)
1 – Unknown
I'm not saying don't carry an IFAK, but rather people should consider the relative risk of say not carrying enough water or falling compared to bleeding out. Maybe carry a Garmin inReach as well.

[mikezeller]

I love the explanation of quality of life vs saving a life.

[RE-ueoz]

These kits, limited as they are, can be used as a basic boo boo kit or for a hike. I usually add some better guaze, quikclot, a TQ, and some other items and it is OK for certain situations.

[petesheppard]

The off the shelf kit I like the most is the 'Trauma Pak' by Adventure Medical, which was also shown on the REI rack. I tend to buy them like TQs to have stashed around, since it is oriented towards more severe wounds, and not just boo-boos.
I looked through your archive, but didn't see a review; would you do one for this kit?

[kevinjazz]

Preparing for the backcountry. Do you have a vid on what you consider to be the essential first aid and IFAK kit?

[frugalmum]

We call those 'boo boo kits'.

The bags are handy. High vis and ultralight.

[frenchroast]

Watching your vids has lit a fire under my butt to become more knowledgeable on this stuff. Have put together a couple IFAKs and took an online stop the bleed course with the hands on course in the future. Do you have a vid that covers trauma 1st aid where it might be days before you could get professional help? I'm thinking infection protection, how long can a wound be packed, or considerations concerning a tourniquet in this situation.

[EBMisKing]

The first kit could work if you were to add a TQ (SOFT etc), packing z-fold gauze, and some sort of occlusive.

[austinmwalker]

Most avid backpackers that are not ultralight elitists keep the yellow adventure medical kit in their packs. I've personally carried one on all of my hikes and have used a lot of what's contained to make the hike more enjoyable, which is really the intended use case for these packs.

[battleborngrafix]

In a pinch, those QTIPS could help with a make shift splint