My old camera broke, but got my hands on another for these shots... the white balance is horrible, I'll try to take better pictures tonight or this weekend.



(Direct Link, large picture: http://img176.imageshack.us/img176/4361/largejh4.jpg )

This is basically the same as my last revision but with just a few changes...
-Added a couple feet of 550 cord (yay!)
-Added some zipties
-replaced the plastic pencil sharpener with a metal one (slightly smaller dimensions)
-Used up a couple of the tinder quik (Need to get some more)
-Added some claritin
-Removed the no-doze (expired)
-Included the metal eye screws again. Trees are common in my area and I figured they'd be useful for light lashing duties - they seem solid enough screwed into the tree trunk, and I can tie directly to the eye instead of having to wrap all the way around the tree.
-Added some of the tiny chemlights, mostly because I had a little room. They'll probably come out
-Duct taped a space blanket to the bottom of the tin (it's in a small plastic bag so it won't tear)
-Replaced the leatherman micra with a cheapo needle nosed multitool... still trying to decide if this was a good move or not. This is of lesser quality, but has small needlenosed pliers which might prove more useful.. It still has scissors, but they're smaller and they fold out. Also has a small saw.

That's about all I can think of right now. I'd still like to do a few things to it, like
-Getting some broad spectrum antibiotics
-Replacing the small coast flashlight with a better one, maybe an arc AAA... but that may require major changes in packing strategy to fit.
-Add more meds and vacuum pack them
-Replace cheap fishing line with something stronger like spiderwire so it can be used for light lashing as well.

Why Band-Aid brand adhesive bandages? "They occlude the wound and make it gooey. You know that white, wrinkly skin you find under a Band-Aid? The medical term for that is 'maceration,' and it not only impedes healing but also promotes infections." -- Brent Blue M.D.

A couple of alternatives are Swift Brand, employed in Doc Blue's Emergency Medical Kit or Dynarex employed by Adventure Medical Kits.

Jeanette Isabelle

Wasn't aware of that

me neither!

As far as bandaids go, Band-aid Flexible Fabric brand is the way to go IMHO. Better adhesive, doesn't go bad in high heat conditions and they don't occuled the wound like the plastic ones do. Dynarex are OK, but the adhesive Swift uses goes bad in one Arizona Summer.

Are you talking about getting broad spectrum antibiotic tablets or ointment?

The term maceration should only be used when there is separation of the skin components, epidermis from dermis. The wrinkly skin from being wet isn't at the state of maceration. The MD needs to be educated ; )

Actually...

Maceration of the skin occurs when it is consistently wet. The skin softens, turns white, and can easily get infected with bacteria or fungi.

The term Maceration itself simply means to soften.

I agree. I've replaced the adhesive bandages in all my FAKs with the Band-Aid Flexible Fabric brand. They conform to the area they're applied to and flex and stretch with movement. I always had a problem with bandages that loosened and fell off until I made the switch. The only downside is that because they're fabric, they will absorb liquids. Just keep them dry and replce if they become saturated.

Ah, well get some Liquid Bandage, I prefer 3M's, but Band Aid's isn't bad either. It keeps smaller wounds clean and dry, you can cover it with a standard adhesive bandage for added protection.

This is overkill for the most part, but it is useful if you need to keep working in a dirty/wet enviroment.

Is that the stuff that smells kinda like old bananas?

If so, test it before you go too far from the blacktop. Seems like a third of the people I know who've tried it say that it itches like nuts, which makes me wonder if they aren't sensative to it.

I ahve had pretty good luck with both Band-aid brand and the 3M brand and a number of people. I have only had two or three complaints of itching (and I have used this stuff on hundreds of patients).

Absloutly test this, and EVERYTHING you have in you FAK and Survival kits. It is a bad time to try and learn something new in the middle of no where, when things already aren't going quite right.

Not quite sure I'd describe the smell as "old banana's"... Acetone, more ketone-ish is more like it.

I got the liquid band aid intending to use it for my kids to keep stuff out of little scratches and cuts, but fortunately, I tried it out on myself first. It didn't itch, but it hurt like the dickens when applying it. So I have only used it for myself a few times when I felt too lazy to keep cleaning a cut as my hands were constantly getting dirty. But it hurt each time.

Is there a brand that doesn't hurt a lot going on? Until I find that, it isn't going on my little kids.

I would remove the pencil-sharpener because you already carry a knife and small blade on the multi-tool.

Nice kit!!

Even with a knife I can't get shavings as thin or as consistant as with a pencil sharpener, but if I did need room for something else it may go

Pics with better white balance, thanks pizzaman!



(direct link: http://img517.imageshack.us/img517/8028/largejh4io1.jpg )

Tablets

I think I see where you are coming from, but unless you are in a long term survival situation (weeks-month), you don't really need oral antibiotics.

The bananas smell is really oil of cloves, at least in the second skin brand. When I worked in the ER, washing my hands all the time, I swear by this stuff.

Good recommendation. I would also lose the razor blades since they will rust in a pinch if they are exposed to water or humidity. Mine never got out of the kit but were rusty after just a few weeks of car trunk storage. Besides, you have individually-wrapped scalpel blades and a knife. I would remove a swivel or two since those are rarely a problem. It's just me but I would lose the matchbox since you have a mini-Bic and a Spark-Lite with several Tinderqwiks.

Nice kit !

Fair enough. I just threw in the razor blades because they take up practically no room and I thought they might find some use, but you're right they will probably end up being rusty fairly quickly. The redundancy in blades was pointed out last time I posted pics too.

The matches do seem a bit redundant since I already have 3 other methods of fire, each of which takes up far less room and can start more fires. For the moment it's alright, but if I need more room they can go.

I noticed you had a tiny candle in there too ! As long as the wind is calm (or you are protected from it), a candle is a great way to save lighter fuel to start a fire. Lose the matches and use the saved space for some Advil, and maybe two chicken/beef bouillon packet and sugar. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Re bandaids: there is an otc product called tegaderm available at the local drug store-it is a semi-permeable membrane with adhesive. lets water vapor out, prevents liquid water from coming in. Use it in hospitals and ems to secure and protect iv sites. if you place a 2X2 gauze over the wound, maybe a little bacitarcin ointment, then a teg, you get a water-proof breathable dressing: no maceration, no wetting of the wound from the outside. Nextcare bandaids use this membrane in some editions-particularly those that look like tattoos. Avoid the barbie bandaids for survival situations, its just...wrong.
RE drug out dates-ignore them. Outdates are placed on the packages by the marketing department, not by the scientists. if you get the pill wet or damaged, it is out dated right then, no matter what the package says; if you keep the pill in intact packaging reasonably cool and in the dark, it remains effective for a long, long time. Military ran some tests 10 years after the gulf war to see if it needed to discard millions of dollars worth of outdated meds. Efficacy tests were conducted, and they decided not to discard them.
Re oral antibiotics- problem is, you gotta figure out which kind of infection you want to treat. Levaquin is good for sinusitis, pneumonia, urinary tract infections; duricef is good for wound infections. maybe the answer is to purchase a bottle veterinary-use penicillin or amoxacillin-hmmm

I didn't realize that Tegaderm is avalibe at drug stores etc. I love that stuff, but I get mine from my medical supply company in bulk.

Great stuff, +1 to all NurseTim said about it.