I've had a couple AMK personal FAKs for years now, and I've been nothing but impressed with them. I also have the Ritter PSK made by AMK, and love that too.

I recently noticed that Atwater Carey makes near identical kits, and was wondering about everyone's experience and/or thoughts on their product line, as compared to AMK.

From what I can tell, aside from the color of the pouches, the kits seems exactly the same, even down to the brand of OTC(generic) medicines used.

Anyone else noticed this?

Let me start be saying I'm sure there are many folks on here far more qualified than me to answer.

I hadn't looked at any kits in a while so I went and took a quick peek at the kits from both. A quick comparison of the AMK Backcountry and Atwater Carey Pro 3.0 did show some differences. (Please don't kill me if I missed some items. I didn't even try to compare bandages!) It looked to me like the only item the Pro 3.0 had over the AMK was the Potable Aqua tabs. The AMK Backcountry had a digital thermometer, scalpel, duct tape, providone iodine, pill vials, Spenco 2nd Skin and aloe vera gel. If someone has more time to compare things PLEASE chime in. I also noticed that the AMK kit is 2 lbs 6 oz and the Pro 3.0 was 3 lbs even. The Pro 3.0 runs $100 and the AMK kit runs $118. If you don't need the additional items you could buy the Pro 3.0 and save 18 bucks but it looks to me like the AMK at least justifies the price difference. The weight difference alone would justify the $18 to some.

Campmor markets a house brand FAK that is made by Atwater Carey - comparable kits are significantly less expensive than the AMK FAKs - I personally think these are probably the best value in an off the shelf kit (as stated above, the differences between comparable kits is minor, but in the comparison between the campmor/AC kit & AMK kit, the difference in price is significant).

I am personally a fan of AMK over all other comercial outdoor first aid kit manufactures, for a number of resons include quality of bags, softgoods and the none medical stuff they make (like Dougs PSP, Heat Sheet, and the Survival Bivy to name a few)

That being said, Atwater makes a quality product and probably gets most of their soft supplies from the same distributer are AMK does.

I will probably raise some ire here but here goes........make your own. If someone cannot determine whether or not a particular FAK meets their needs or not then they probably need more training in the use of what is in there. A scalpel blade is great for lancing blisters, but a needle works just as well with some thought. Bandaging material, local drug store. I have moved towards a lot of ibuprophen and less other anelgesics (sp?). I acutally use my kit more as a med kit and less as a FAK. The difference, a med kit is constantly used and a FAK is more for emergency use only. I packed mine into a Spec Ops BDU pocket organizer using the aloksaks. Vacuum packed bulky gauze. The convenience store Advil tube can be repacked with quite a few (full strength) doses (maybe 8). A set of bandage shears from CVS and a battle dressing ride in the outside pockets. This is always with me either in the house or in my work backpack or tucked into my travel bag. When I can figure out how to attach a SAM splint I will, but until then it is improvisation. Now to find a 1 or 2 oz squeeze bottle for betadine.

Regards,
Bill

When I was comparing AMK kits I put their contents into an Excel spreadsheet so I could compare them side-by-side. It wasn't difficult to add a column between the AMK Fundamentals and Weekender to compare the Campmor Advanced Medical Kit. The same was done comparing the Campmor Hiker to the AMK Day Tripper. In both cases, the CAMK contents compare favorably with the AMK contents. What's missing is the bag.

The Campmor kits comes in what look like a basic zip top bag with side pockets but little organization, so you may need to dig for what you need. The AMK kits comes in foldout bags with clear vinyl compartments that are really well organized. If the organization doesn't mean much to you, go with the Campmor kits. I prefer the layout of the larger AMK kits. In the smaller kits where organization isn't as important, the Campmor kits seem to have more stuff for the money. $.02

AMK organizes most of the kits (EZ care) by injury and comes with a more comprehensive first aid book. If you are not highly trained the AMK kits will help you deal with a larger variety of injuries with more expert guidance. AMK tells you how to actually use the stuff (see Wound Care for example) and how to improvise materials.
AMK has two Physicians overseeing the development of the kits; one is a ER / Trauma Professor at Stanford plus a pro Rafting guide and the other is the founder of MedSail and a USCG liscenced captain. Atwater has no doctors, Buck Tilton is cool but is not an MD.
If you are trying to compare "bags of band-aids" there is less difference than if you compare the organization and expertise put into each kit.
If you are already an expert it probably matters less.

You cannot treat a heat attack with ibuprofen. So you may want some aspirin.

A quality comercial first aid kit is a great start for someone to build a personalized first aid kit with. While the quanities I buy medical supplies in it is more cost effective to purchase the supplies individually and build up a kit from the ground, but for most it isn't.

While I have a number of AMK's bags, none of them are stock I add and remove items to fit my needs for that specific kit. Some kits are barebones and others are full on field medical support kits, what you need only you can decide. But by using companies, like Atwater and AMK who have staff who have BTDT in wilderness/remote medical and have done the research and field trials, kits as foundation or guide you won't go wrong!

While I don't currently have asprin, the list includes ibuprophen, acetometephin, sudafed, immodium, chlortrimeton, benedryl, and aceto/asprin/cafeen (excedrin) [I will appologize for any spelling mistakes now] I now just tend to go to the advil first for most things, so I bumped up the quantities. Typical amount for the rest is 4 doses. I am actually a great believer in plain asprin for any things and should put some in there.