My FAK needs help!

Since JIM has done such an amazing job with his new FAK, I decided it was time to update mine but I have no formal training beyond self study and a limited amount of space so I'm hoping you all can help me out a bit.

One of the limitations is that I've decided to contain it all in a Pelican Micro Case 1060. I decided a while ago that I wanted a compact and tough kit that would cover my main activities...mainly camping with my wife, taking multi day hiking trips, and motorcycling. As a motorcycle rider training instructor I needed something that would cover the minor injuries somebody might get as a new rider...as well as something that would survive to patch me up if it were ME to go down. There are still items I'd like to add to it but as it stands now it's already what I'd consider to be over full. It's so perfectly snug that if I pull any number of items out, it could take me 3 or 4 tries to get it all back in without crushing it to close the lid. I likely have some un-needed items as this is a home brew kit that I've pieced together over the last year. Here's a picture and the list in no particular order.

• Red Pelican 1060 Micro Case with lanyard
• 25mL bottle of 2.5% Tincture of Iodine
• 6x Sterile Swaps (3 packages of 2)
• 1mL Tube of 3M Nexcare liquid bandage
• Book: Back Country First Aid & Extended Care 5th Edition
• Book: Don't Get Sick! The Hidden Dangers of Hiking and Camping
• 1 Road Rash Management Card (from the adventure medical road rash kit)
• 1 Sheet moleskin
• 2x Wet Ones moist towelettes
• 4x Refresh Celluvisc Single Use Disposable Eye Drops
• 1 (nearly empty) tube Polysporin
• 1x Second Skin burn pad (small)
• 2x Second Skin burn pad (large)
• 1 Tube Durmarest anti itch gel
• 4x 'Magic' instant wash cloth tablets
• 1 roll medical tape
• 2x After Cuts & Scrapes anti septic towelettes
• 4x Benzalkonium Chloride towelettes
• 4x 2"x2" Gauge Sponges
• 1 Gauze rope
• 1 pair nitrile gloves in a zip lock baggie
• 2x After Bite towelettes
• 3x Knuckle bandages
• 4x std. adhesive bandages (extra wide)
• 2x small adhesive bandages
• 6x coated Tylenol ultra
• 15x Tylenol for back pain (Tylenol + muscle relaxant)
• 15x Tylenol 'Cold & Flu'
• 20x Herbal Gravol
• 9x Immodium (plus usage instructions)
• 8x Reactine Antihistamine (plus instructions)
• 1 pr. EMT shears

I'd still like to add more bandages, some Ibuprofen, another pair of gloves, scalpel blades, tweezers and/or forceps, and a triangle bandage.

I'm not adverse to getting a bigger pelican case but they are pricey and it needs to fit into a backpack, BOB, or the bags on my motorcycles.

I'm eager to hear how any of you might make this kit better.

the kit looks good to me..lots of gear you can really use.
the triangle bandage and forceps i would leave out..what
would you use a scalpel blade for..trying to dig something
out is best left to a Dr..tweezers..just the tiny ones for
pulling ticks or slivers is fine..the burn packs are a very
good idea and i would see my Dr about some real pain meds.
first aid kits are tricky..not enought or too much seems to
be the rule..

Where did you get your little SecondSkin? I've learned that if you have amber bottles and teflon septas you can repack Nuskin, but this looks so much easier.

I've used the plastic cases from the old style military FAKs, and one thing I've done is use ranger bands (pieces of old inner tube) to hold a pair of gloves and some of dressing stuff to the outside. If someone has to give aid to me, it saves them time from digging. That is also were I'd put the sheers- on the outside where you can just grab them RIGHT NOW without having to dig.

How much difference is there between the two books, I'm not familiar with them. I might say "pick one".

Iodine wipes, rather than the bottle- smaller.

Immodium can take up less room if you buy it in the bottle and repack in the little ziplocks. Look for smaller ones than you ahve now- 10 Immodium in a 2x2 takes up about as much space as two stick matches.

Reduce the other meds- just a day's course for Tylenol, and then a day's course for the specific "add in". Too much Tylenol and your liver won't like you very much. A dozen tylenol, an OTC muscle relaxant, and a half dozen Sudafed in the blister pack (this you don't want to repack) should take up less space. If you need more, put it in another bag with your every day stuff.

Smaller tube of anti-itch stuff, or possibly wipes.

Two of the washcloth taplets at the most. Probably just pull them. Or am I missing an obvious purpose?

They came with the Adventure Medical Road Rash Kit (as did some of the other items) I picked up. I was never taking it with me as it was just packed in a big zip lock so I decided to integrate it into my main kit.

Not a bad idea. The gloves don't take up much space but the shears are an odd shape and don't back as cleanly.

If I had to pick one I'd pick the first aid book. The other is all about the things that can make you sick and provides a lot of diagnosis tips on being able to tell the difference between things like virii vs bacterial vs parasites as well as a lot of preventative information regarding food prep and storage and sanitation. It's just extra peace of mind in case I forget how deep to dig the latrine hole or how far away to dig it.

Also a good idea...I picked up the bottle a while ago as a backup for making water safe to drink. Since I now carry Katadyne tablets and MIOX pen in another part of my kit, wipes would save me some space.

The pills in blister packs are there because that's the only way I can find them. I like having the expiration date handy too. Carrying Immodium and an Antihistamine (something I've never had a need for in real life) are new for me which is why I tossed in the datasheets...in case of trouble.

I do carry a couple of each in my personal pocket kit...I worry about running out things constantly. I want to put in some Ibuprofin to suppliment or replace the Tylenol. I used to have Asprin type pain killers and had a bad experience mixing it with the Gravol. Both Asprin and the Ginsing in the Gravol thin the blood...I was fortunate enough to get a bloody nose that wouldn't clot.

The anti-itch is one thing that gets used a lot but I could likely do with wipes and/or just carry it outside the kit since it's a regularly used item.

These are a bit of an experiment. They're not 'sterile' or at least not labeled as such but they're just so darned handy. One tablet is about the size of a couple of Tums. Add a bit of water and you get a damp washcloth about 12"x12" the consistency of a lightweight J-cloth. They've only been in there a short while but the possibilities keep coming to me. Everything from cleaning the area around a wound (maybe wet it with iodine?) to using it to absorb blood from it's dry form...the little thing literally sucks water in like a vacuum. The blisters are so close together I'd cut into them to seperate the 4 pack...and if they're out of their blister and get wet they could be a problem as they swell to several times their size...I guess I could repack them in a little zip lock as 4 really is too many.

Thanks for the advice, I'm going to play around with some of your suggestions before packing it all up again...and while others have a chance to chime in.

First of all: It's a pretty good FAK. How large is the pelican-case?

- Choose just 1 book or get a basic instruction sheet. Even better: follow a first-aid/CPR course or the best: WEMT (wilderness EMT)

- I would choose either the Benzalkonium chloride wipes or the After cuts and scrapes wipes.

- try to replace the 2x2 gauze pads with 4x4.

- get a wider roll of medical tape, then wrap it around a pencil or something to make it less bulky.

- Do you have contact lenses? It not, I would remove the eye-drops

- What's a gauze rope? I suspect you mean a gauze roll? Get a new one, but it can be somewhat narrower. something like 3 inch.

- remove the packaging of the moleskin to save space.

- choose either the sting-refief pads or the anti-itch cream.

- as IR mentioned, less tylenol and Herbal Gravol.

- add a bloodstopper, such as a triangulair bandage, field dressing, etc. if you have room.

- You could get a little pouch (whe ones where CPR-masks come in http://york-poquoson.redcross.org/.%5Cstore%5Ckeychain_cpr_mask.jpg ) , add your gloves to it and attach it to the lanyard of your pelican case.

- as you mentioned, tweezers should be added. You could get a 'Uncle Bills Silver Gripper' ( http://www.campingsurvival.com/unbislgrelma.html ) wich don't take up much space at all.

And lastly: good luck, because a FAK is never really finished!

Hi,
I agree with most of the above. I'd say ditch the Gravol (what IS it?). Carry only enough meds to get you home, and for goodness sake, you don't need anywhere near that much tylenol usually. IMHO, you don't need the back pain or cold&flu versions, but it's your kit. Pick one, or none, of the first aid books, since are you really going to be looking up how to help someone in the heat of the moment? Trauma shears fit nicely between your belt and pants, stuffed through a belt loop. BTW, shears come in a large and small size. Ditch the Wet Ones. Replace the tube of polysporin with 1 or 2 of the individual use packets. Ditto the 2x2 for 4x4. Ace wrap, triangle, and trauma bandage and you're set (or a few heavy-flow menstrual pads).

I'd consider a soft case anyway, unless you're over water a lot. Most ambulances and SAR teams carry their kits in heavy duty cordura nylon, and most of the FAK items are pretty soft.

Maybe he meant tube gauze. At any rate, do you think tube gauze is a good addition?

Thanks
Frankie

Tubulair gauze is usually used for wounds on finger(tips) as a secundairy dressing (used with a gauze pad).

I just use a gauze roll because you can also use it on other places of the body, not just the fingers. (multiple uses=good )

Using a ordinairy gauze roll to dress a finger requires a special technique, but practice makes perfect:

(But in a emergency you can also just tape the injured finger to the other finger(s) )

H.T.H.

Thanks for the picture. And for the primary gauze, I found this idea which maybe useful if you have scissors:

Frankie, a quick note about that picture:

You can see that a fairly large piece of the fingertip is gone.
It will probably bleed a lot. I would just wash it (if possible), put a towel or trauma-pad on it and go to the ER. (Take the fingertip with you if possible)

If you're going to the ER with it, don't use antibiotic ointment or Betadine in the wound. It makes it harder for the ER-doc to asses and treat the wound.

The main reason they stated for applying antibiotic is that it prevents the gauze to stick to the wound, but that isn't really a priority if you're heading for the ER. They will irrigate the wound anyway.

Of course this changes if your in a survival-situation or if it's a minor wound. Then you give the final treatment of irrigation, desinfection (with or without antibiotics), primairy and secundairy dressing.

Thanks for the tips folks. I'm going to start whittling it down today.

The Gravol is an anti-nausiant and a must have IMO. There's only one thing worse than wanting to vomit during a hike...and I have Immodium for that

The gauze rope (the only name I have for it) came with the road rash kit. I just looked at it more closely and realized that it is in fact a tube. I've been considering getting rid of it anyhow as it's not separately packaged and might not be sterile if I ever wanted to use it (I've certainly handled it enough times packing and repacking the kit)

One of the reasons I'm packing so many meds is just from my experience and because this isn't an emergency only kit. I often take week long camping trips and sometimes it's not just my wife and I. There have been many occasions when we're with another couple and they're completely ill prepared. Something that can sooth the symptoms of a cold or the flu (or whatever discomfort it happens to be) can make the difference between toughing it out and going home early because somebodies wife is a little sick.

The 1060 is the largest 'micro' case in the line up and has the interior dimensions of 8.25" x 4.25" x 2.25". Purely from a SAK point of view I'd rather have something like the Adventure Medical Pelican kit but that's a pricey kit and is too big. This case fits like a glove in my motorcycle bags and all three of my backpacks.

Thanks for the help so far...Keep that feedback coming guys!

I appreciate your enthusiasm Jim. I'll remember to bring my accidentally amputated limb to the ER if I don't faint

Hmmm.. It doesn't make sense to put something like a fingertip-dressing into a road-rash kit. Maybe it's a net-dressing (don't know the name exactly, but in the hospital it's called Bandafix):



It this it? If so, It's used to fixate a gauze pad/dressing,and it could be a useful addition.

That could be Jim. If so, could be handy to keep in...would also explain why it doesn't need a sterile wrapper.

PS about the eye drops:
I had laser eye surgery about a year ago so my eyes can get dry...I also like to have something sterile to flush them with in case something gets in there...the flap they cut never actually heals you know!

No alchol sanitizer? I'd add some mid sized safety pins.
What is your EDC? Does it include a lighter, blade, pen, paper?

My EDC stuff is almost overboard.

Inspired by Doug Ritter I have a small personal pocket survival kit which I never leave home without:

• GSI 420 waterproof case
• 18" Duct tape wrapped around the case
• 24" paracord wrapped around the tape
• 6 assorted band aids
• 6 assorted safety pins
• 20' of brass snare wire
• Modified firesteel
• 4 Spark-lite tinders
• Utility knife blade (wrapped in heavy paper)
• Small spool of black thread
• 3 needles and 3 strait pins wrapped with some thread
• 2 Immodium
• 2 Reactine antihistamine
• 2 Tylenol Ultra
• 2 Gravol
• $20 bill
• 6 assorted fish hooks
• 6 assorted split weights
• 50' fishing line
• 4 Aquatabs (each good to lean 1L of water)

Plus the stuff in my pockets:

• Ronson Jet Lighter
• SPF 30 lip balm
• Kershaw Cyclone
• Gerber EAB pocket folder
• Fox40 whistle
• Suunto mini thermometer/compass (attached to the whistle with a split ring)
• Gerber Infinity Ultra flash light
• Victorinox Cybertool or Gerber Needlenose Multipliers (on belt)

...and that's just the 'must have' stuff. I also often have a home brew gear repair kit (actually I have a ton of kits for different purposes) which also has alcohol and safety pins in it.

My FAK lives in a small nylon pouch with clear sides, like this one :



Since you EDC a knife, I would not carry medic shears around. Way too heavy and bulky.

I would also remove the burn pads, but that's just me. I think that the simplest way to soothe minor burns is to use cool water, i'm not actually saying that your pads are crappy or anything, but that I would rather use the space/weight for something else, such as... some 4x4s. Someone taking a nasty fall off a slippery rock can easily end up with a bloody wound the size of your hand ! (i've seen several).

Like someone said, unpack the moleskin and only carry one "sheet".

The After Cuts & Scrapes is more a comfort item, the benzalkonium towelettes are best for all your wound cleansing/cleaning needs.

In my book, a triangular bandage is an essential item. You should have one in your kit.

Alcohol sanitizer is also a good item to have.


Btw... nice kit, i'd use it in a pinch!


P.S. : In all these years i've been carrying a first-aid kit in the backcountry, do you know which item actually *DID* save a life or prevent something from going really wrong? Benadryl caplets. A lady on dayhike was going into anaphylactic shock after being stung by a wasp. This happened roughly 5 minutes before we were out of the trail. She was complaining of not being well, becoming semi-conscious... I took control of the situation, made her comfortable and gave her three Benadryls. We had to radio the coast guard for help, they sent an ambulance and we met it half-way. To make a long story short, doctors said I may have saved that lady's life by giving her the Benadryls.

If those are the AMK shears, I'm pretty sure they can cut through lot more than clothing, which could come in handy.

The shears are the AMK shears and they're quite light. My only beef is their odd shape makes it hard to pack around without wasting space in the kit. Now that you mention EDC I often carry a SAK with scissors in addition to a knife so I guess they are expendable. I picked up some 4"x4" pads today that will need a bit of room anyhow.

The burn pads aren't specifically for burns, they're for road rash. Road rash hurts! Proper care for road rash involves scrubbing or picking out all of the foreign matter from the wound...which hurts even more! The pads really soothe the pain.


I didn't start carrying anti-histamine until my dad developed a deathly allergy to stings like that. The first time it happened he didn't know what to do and by the time he got to the hospital his leg was swollen so badly they had to cut his pants off as they were cutting off his circulation due to the swelling. He carries an epipen of adrenaline now but I don't ever want to be in a situation where I know that's happening to somebody but I can't help.

I did some whittling this morning (and some shopping yesterday) and here's the changes so far:

I've removed:

• Book: Don't get Sick
• Magic instant washcloth tablets
• EMT shears
• Itch Gel
• All but one sheet of Moleskin
• Many of the meds

I've added:

• 2x 4" square gauze pads
• 4x After Bite towelettes (for a total of 6)
• 8x Alcohol prep swabs
• 6x Standard size adhesive bandages
• 4x Med-Small adhesive Bandages
• Recycled 10 caplet Advil container with:
  • 6 Advil
  • 2 Tylenol Ultra
  • 2 Tylenol Cold and Flu
  • 2 Tylenol Back Pain
  • 6 Gravol
  • (all the loose pills are in the container, the blister packs remain as is)

It's still VERY full but at least now when I pack it I can hear a tiny bit of slop when I shake it. My first instinct is to fill the holes! At least with a bit of space I'll have room to add a little bit yet and if I ever have to repack it in the dark one day, the extra space will be nice to have so that it doesn't have to go back together EXACTLY the way it came apart.

I don't think it's quite right yet but it's damn close. I'd still like to add another pair of nitrile gloves for example. Could be a good time to experiment with the 'store it on the outside of the case' ideas!

I go back and forth on the case. On one hand its heavy and expensive. On the other is is waterproof and probally saves some wear and tear on the supplies inside.

have you considered asprin? for heart attacks?

Also a good suggestion though a couple of asprin might serve better in my pocket kit than my full FAK.

I've started a small list. It never fails that when I'm out and want to pick something up for one of my kits I always forget something.

Put asprin in all kits. A few tabs take up little room, but when you need it for heart issues, the faster the better.

Ditch the Pelican case. 8oz case to protect 4oz of stuff. Be careful when your container weighs more and costs more than what it is designed to contain!

Take a couple of small Alosaks. One for wound care, the other for meds.

Ditch the shears. They are designed for cutting off clothing in the field or removing thick bandages in the hospital. For FAK, a small SAK, such as a Classic is more than enough.

Add a small splinter forcep such as a Sliver Gripper.

Add a needle for picking out splinters.

Tick forceps if you are in the woods much.

Label your med ziplocks with the contents.

Too many types of tylenol.

For a small FAK, my med list is primarily OTC meds and just enough for the day.

One or two doses (which means one or two pills) of:

Aspirin (for heart attack) I would carry if you are over 40 even if no cardiac history
Motrin-good for pain, fever, muscle strain, minor ortho pains
Tylenol good for fever and pain, NO ANTI-INFLAMMATORY actions, that is what motrin is for
Antihistamine ie Benadryl
Decongestant ie Sudafed
Topical antibiotic ointment
Immodium
Couple of tums maybe a Prilosec maybe a couple of chewable peptobismol.
Dose of any prescription med you need and shouldn't miss.

Carry the EMT shears.

If you ever try cutting away leathers with SAK scissors, it will be a race to see if they or your thumb wears out first. :P

The FAK posted at the beginning of this post is pretty good for small cuts and scrapes. I would add betadine ointment and betadine prep pads to the kit to really keep down the chances for infection in small cuts and scrapes.

Don't underestimate the chances of suffering a more serious wound in a traumatic event: slippage of fishing knife, hand ax, car accident, natural disasters, etc. If there is space in the FAK use it for larger bandages such as a 5x9 dressing and kerlix. Some people believe its overkill, but having been a first responder (and in my time, me and my partner was the only responder), some people could have suffered a little less with a better FAK at hand.

Jeff

Your kit is not overboard at all. I'm sure your friends know about "our" obsession with these kits. When a situation is bad, you know who your friends are going to run to.

Look at his kit again. Is he going to cut off leathers so he put a band-aid on a boo-boo? Shears are overkill for a boo-boo kit.

Well I'd consider my kit a bit more robust than a boo-boo kit but it was born out of the AMK ultralight kit and the AMK Road Rash kit so in many ways what duckear says true...maybe I'll call it the 'Ultra BooBoo +'?

In regards to the shears, it's quite possible that I could be in a situation where I'd have to cut into leathers. I spend A LOT of time around motorcycles and motorcyclists. I took them out because I EDC a knife and a Victorinox Cybertool. I go back and forth though because it's definately way safer to cut clothes with the EMT shears than an ultra sharp folding knife.

If there is room for the shears in the FAK, then keep them. I've had to cut through winter gear to get to an injury and trying to use a knife to do the same thing could easily cause additional injury to the patient.

Guess it depends on who is driving the knife!

"...Guess it depends on who is driving the knife..."

And how much you want the victim to bleed from new places. Having stripped more than one victim naked with my EMT shears, I highly recommend them for safely cutting away clothing to get to a wound...

Cold, tired, in the dark, but you can see well enough that you know that there something warm and sticky dripping out of the cuff of your best friend's jacket, and his arm has a really odd looking new joint. After his head slapped the belly of the moose no one saw in rain.

You want sheers.

But you only get limited uses. Somewhere in the main site Doug Ritter writes in favour of tubes and bottles and against single-use packages. I currently like to have a 10ml bottle of antiseptic liquid. If the iodine will do that job I'd keep it.

I don't know much about the MIOX pen. Does it involve making new antiseptic on demand? Is it something to be bothered with when you are in a hurry?

From the article that you (must have) read:

Many kits now include small towelettes, pads or swabs of various antiseptics, adhesives, cleansers and the like packed in individual application packets. While very convenient, the shelf life of this packaging tends to be pretty short, much less than if the product was in liquid form in a bottle. While very convenient, all too often you tear open the package to discover the pad is dried out and useless because the packaging leaked or was punctured. If you rely on these sorts of packaged products, be sure to replace them with fresh ones every year or two. Another serious drawback is that they are of such limited quantity. Better to pack small containers of the preparation, either instead of, or perhaps better, in addition to the packets.

Small 1/2 or 1 oz. plastic bottles of things like Betadine (Povidone Iodine 10% solution), an antiseptic scrub, or Mastisol, an adhesive (much better adhesive than Tincture of Benzoin, often found in kits. It also doesn't sting like Benzoin does if you inadvertently get it in the wound), can often be obtained from your physician, who receives them as samples, or at a good medical supply house. Alternatively, you can decant from a larger bottle into a small one. The one drawback, such as it is, is that you also need to pack small gauze pads or cotton balls to apply these preparations.

Similarly, single application foil packs of antibiotics, salves and the like, while convenient, aren't necessarily the best choice for our uses. If you only need a little of the compound, the remainder is wasted and cannot be saved for possible future use. If you need more than a few applications of the compound, the number of packets on hand, you are also out of luck. In a survival situation, with the possibility of numerous dressing changes, you'll run out too soon, unless you add lots. Small tubes of these preparations are a better bet for survival use. However, if you do open a tube for some other first aid requirement, you should probably replace it at your earliest convenience since it loses its sterility once opened. Once again, the best bet may be to have some of each, single use packets and tubes.

I agree, they are limited. But when volume is a priority, the wipes do have the advantage over tubes. They also have the edge when it comes to situations where environmental contaminants may be a serious consideration.

As the original article points out, a mix probably best. But if you don't have the space for both, you have to pick to fit. Buy your ticket, take your chance.

As for the MIOX, it wouldn't be compatible in terms of space with this kit without significant revisions.