Hi all, I'm new here, and thought I'd put my 2 cents in.

In my triage kit I carry a couple inch stack of sterile gauze, which is probably around 25 pieces. I also carry 30-40 homemade non-sterile bandages. The wound gets covered with a layer of sterile gauze, then the rest of the layers and compression is done with cheap homemade non-sterile bandages.


Homemade non-sterile bandages:

They are 4" wide, and 54" long. They are made from discount fabrics I got at Wal-mart for $1 a yard. Thats about 12 bandages for a $1.

I've cut a 2x4 down to 2.25" wide, by the original 1.5" thick.

I wrap the fabric around the board about 8-10 times, then run a razor knife down opposite sides of the board, this produces two stacks of bandages about 4" wide.

I roll these up and keep them in my triage pack. You can place a couple of rolls directly on the gauze layer, then wrap with another bandage. When you tie the bandage, the rolls place a lot of direct pressure on the wound, much like a blood stopper type bandage.

I try to stick to light blue and green fabrics, and stay away from reds and dark colors.

Welcome to the fire newguy! That is a great idea, but not sure of the absorption qualities?? Do you use it rolled up like an unrolled roll of kerlix, or flat like a 4x4?

Welcome Newguy!!!

welcome Boone_Cert and stay a while.

Lee

I carry them rolled up, but to be honest, I'm not all that worried about absorption qualities. If you can place 2 rolls directly over the wound (or on the sterile gauze that's directly on the wound), then tie a tight bandage over that, placing the knot directly over the rolls, you get a great deal of direct pressure on the wound. Just be sure your getting circulation past the wound.

Maxi-pad would be great for absorption, but I just don't have the space to carry a lot of them.

After looking at the site, I made an order with them. It just arrived, and everything looks good. They've definitely got good prices for such things as boxes of 100 4x4s, things in bulk, etc.

However, I'll be ordering soon from Red Flare Kits for the stuff to round out my kits - individual items like single doses of Tylenol, anti-diarrhea tablets, etc. That seems to be where Red Flare excels - for most folks, who wants to order 250 single servings of Tylenol? I've bought the big bottles of Costco acetominophen and watched them go past their date before I make it halfway through a bottle.

Dave

thanks for the update, how long did it take to ship?

I'm workin on my Fak redflare's getting my order for supplies.

Thanks everyone for your input

Lee

2-3 days, but mostly that was due to a cash Paypal transaction that had to clear out from my bank account to Paypal to them. I'd say it shipped next day after the funds cleared.

Pretty fast.

The non-sterile home-made bandage rolls seem like a good idea to me. Once a sufficient layer of those sterile 4x4s are on the wound, the others are right - something else can be used to secure them or create a pressure bandage. Using your (very expensive)Kerlix for that seems unnecessary, but I don't think using Wal-mart fabrics, that could likely be non-absorbent polyester blends, are the way to go. I think I might hit the fabric shop for some muslin. And while I'm at it, I could make some triangle bandages too.