Would anyone know who might offer a selection of empty FAK soft cases for sale?

My vehicle kit was in a weatherproof metal box in the bed box of my truck, and it did not hold up well over time (rusted). I think I'd like to switch to a soft bag kept in the cab. I bought one many years ago to make a FAK for the bike (with emphasis on roadrash), but now I can't recall where I got it from (might have been REI). Worked out beautifully, about 4x6x1", individual pockets on one half, large mesh pocket on the other half for the bulky stuff, zipped together nice and compact. Looking for something along the same lines only larger.

do a search for an "emt" bag. Nice bright colors, too.

Teacher

Doh! (slap to forehead). I didn't think of looking for an EMT bag.

This is the type of bag I had in mind:

http://www.optactical.com/atcafafiaidk.html

Might just buy one of these and do some substitutions.

Here's a few places and product lines as a starting point. Good luck!

EMP has lots and lots of bags and medical gear:
http://www.buyemp.com/

Gear 911 Specialties has some neat bags:
http://www.gear911.com/

Spec-Ops Brand makes some good stuff:
http://www.specopsbrand.com/main.html

And so does Maxpedition as far as pouches:
http://maxpedition.com/menu.htm

Then there's always Gall's (and old Dynamed):
http://www.galls.com/

http://www.conterra-inc.com/

http://www.chinookmed.com/

Look for a small- medium sized toiletry/makeup bag - you can usually find them for about $10-15 in various sizes. Many have very good layouts for organization.

They can be found at many discount stores as well (Target, Walmart, etc...)

I use an inhaler case for my kit. It was discussed in this thread earlier

I keep most of my first aid kits in freezer Ziplocs. For my big kit, I use the pint or quarts to make different modules, then it all packs into a gallon bag. Well, now it's expanded to two bags, but you get the idea.

If I needed something sturdier, I'd stuff the ziploc into a camera case, since I seem to collect those in various sizes. They (and the different media cases, etc.) can be very cheap on clearance sales.

Thanks to all for the great sources and ideas. I'm still looking around. Along the lines of a toiletry bag, these look pretty good (though I'm sure there are plenty of less expensive sources):

http://www.orgear.com/home/style/Home_OR/storage/storage_organizers/BCO

I've seen these redesigned ones in a local shop already. They look and feel good, but I don't think they'll be as robust as the origional design. (Shame on OR for trying to fix something that isn't busted.)

If I'd have thought you were looking this size, I'd recommend one of my favorites, the Pack Rat . Just about bomb proof and you can stuff it full. Even the mesh pocket doesn't tear easily. Blackhawk makes a clone of it that is a few bucks less, but lacks the hi-viz liner, which really is worth it if you need to get into it in the dark.

I've seen the Rat Pack and it looks really interesting. Might even consider replacing the "man-purse" I carry around with one some day. With the FAK, I've found that I like being able to zip it open and lay it out like an open book and have everything as immediately visible as possible. Most of the stuff in an FAK is flat and labeled on the broad side, so it would seem the "book" format work best. The boxed kit I'm replacing had most everything in poly ziploc bags, stacked such that I could rifle through it like a file cabinet. This worked pretty well also.
I had one the older OR organizers, sorry to hear they've changed the quality/design. It was a pretty tough and handy bag.

While I would have agreed with you when I first bought one of the newer lightweight OR organizers, I can now say that they are actually MORE durable then the original medium weight cordura organizers.

I have used a number of OR organizers for years, mini-survival or E&E kits, repair kits, sub/specialty kits in my medical packs and just as an organizer in larger packs.

I purchased one of the new OR oganizers to try, it was put into service carrying everyday stuff in my wildland pack (batteries, sun block, gum, etc). In this fuction it was handeled and tossed around, opened and closed multiple times a day in a less than optimal enviroment. The pouch remained cleaner then the older ones, as did the contents. The outter fabric showed fewer signes of wear and was more difficult to tear than the older cordura cases. The quality of every OR pouch I have owned has been great, but these are truely an improvment.

As for a first aid kit for your vehicle, there are many many choices out there. And as Doug noted you can't go wrong with anything from Conterra (you can go to www.lightfighter.net, where my nickname has become "Mr Conterra" to some, and read a review of some conterra packs). Conterra's packs are by far the best medical kits I Have found for off road/remote medicine. They are expensive, and they require you to know what you want to carry before you order (so you can buy the coorisponding organizing products) but a pack like their Infinity Pro Fanny Pack or Responder I & II packs would make excelent medium/large first aid kit bags. I used a Infinity Pro fanny pack for years as a First In EMS bag and loved it!

If you are looking for something less expensive, I found the Country Comm's EOD bag to be a great foundation for a first aid kit Although not brightly colored or marked as a medical pack it is big enough with just enought organization to be the foundation of a good first aid bag. I built up a few of these for a BSA troop locally and used simple plano Plano Moldings Organizer Boxes to organize the small items (labling the top of the box for east identification). A few dividers had to be cut out for some items, but in the end we had a well organized durable kit. The out side has a velcro strip for a military name strip, so I had a local shop embroider a name strip with TROOP 690 with red cross before and after. All together the total cost of the bag, organizers and name strip was $44. These packs are great because they have PALS webbing and attackment webbing, so they can be attached to a backpack, made into a fanny pack, or whatever fits your needs.

I made my truck's FAK using a zippered rubber worm/lure case. The one I used was made by Tackle Logic and is even FAK red. It has 8 heavy duty, zip lock type bags on binder rings in the zippered case. I have everything broken down to separate needs in the bags: various pain relief tablets; assorted bandaids; triple antibiotic, burn gel, sting relief; larger bandages; wound closure; EMT shears and light surgical needs; gloves and prep wipes; etc...

It's very convenient and easy. Just unzip and flip through to what you need, everything is visible. I think I paid $9 at a local Academy, but something similar and in a variety of sizes can be found in most fishing supply depts.

I have a M3 Medic bag that I purchased from a seller on ebay. The contents within are packaged in Aloksak waterproof bags. I like it well enough especially when it comes to organization, but it's just too small for what I want at this point. It's overpacked.

I liked the upgraded versions that Chinook had on their site.