Urban/office EDC kit, suggestions please!

I've been putting together urban/office EDC kits for my employees who work on client sites. The goal is to put a few items in a small, rugged case that they can keep in their desks, briefcases or jackets. I've tried to include items that could useful in a variety of situations from a paper cut to a power outage to stuck in the office because of bad weather. Total cost of case and contents is about $10-12.

I'll also be including a written instruction sheet using a PocketMod custom sheet.

The case is about 4" x 3" x 1" with a rubber gasket to keep it water resistant. I have attached about 3' of paracord to the case with a storm whistle tied onto that. I'd love to braid a longer piece of paracord as a lanyard but I am a complete klutz at that sort of thing.


On the outside of the case I've put two pieces of glow tape. Here's a picture of how that looks.

It's a tight squeeze to get everything in there, I had to use a piece of Velcro to keep the mini Bic stuck in the lid of the case.

Got any suggestions? Anything new would mean taking something else out as there's virtually no empty space. (Doug, I feel your pain in packing the PSK's)

Here are the contents of the UEDC:

1. Credit card Fresnel lens
2. Lifesaver candy
3. Compressed towel
4. 5 4" zip ties
5. Disposable toothbrush w/toothpaste
6. Mini chemlight
7. Duck tape 2" x 18"
8. Coin cell LED light
9. Paper tinder
10. Moleskin
11. Credit Card tool
knife
scissors
pen
tweezers
toothpick
nail file
12. Mini Bic (Velcro holds it in the lid of the case, rubber band makes it easier to get out)
13. Golf pencil
14. Reflective flagging tape (5')
15. FAK (assorted bandaids and antiseptic wipes)
16 48" of 1/8' cord
17. Dental pick (reusable)

such a clever kit. I'm very impressed with the ingenuity and space use. and also impressed that you're bothering to make this effort for your employees, most don't.

some thoughts:

the light-charged glow tape on the outside is a nice idea. that gives the option of possibly using the case itself for signaling.

those teeny chemlights are actually kind of useless. they're so small that they don't give off much light and there's no way to hang them or clip them. you have to hold onto them, which means your hands are covering most of the light since the sticks are so small. the only way I've been able to use them was to attach them to something else with a rubberband. You have one on the lighter, so that might work.

you have a pencil, but no paper to write on (the paper is tinder, so that leaves them kinda at a loss). you may want to stick a sheet or two of small notepad paper in there. shouldn't take up room and allows the person to write down key instructions, phone numbers, etc. that they'd need to keep and not burn. Another thought: the credit card tool has a pen, so if it's effective then the pencil isn't needed at all.

personally, I'd take out the travel toothbrush and toothpaste, as well as the dental pick. for an office type emergency they're not really important and you can use that space for something else. especially since there is a toothpick on the credit card tool.

I'm not really sure what they'd need the Reflective flagging tape for. but I guess it can't hurt. though if you're stuck for space you could probably remove it to use that slot for something else.

I'd suggest having a bandanna. you could attach it to the outside with a rubberband if needed. you have that expandable towel, but that requires water and water is likely to be scarce unless they're carrying it on them.

you already have cord on the cover holding the whistle so I don't think you need the extra inside. that should also free up some space.

if possible, the thing I'd most want to see upgraded is the flashlight. those little button key chain things don't last long and I've found often the battery goes dead just sitting in your bag before you even have a chance to use it. with a few of the dental items removed you could probably put a small pinkie-sized LED light in there, which would be more beneficial.

I'd replace the lifesaver with some pain reliever: tylenol or advil (or the generic equivalent). pain reliever is much more likely to be useful and one of those little single-serving packets would take up about the same space.

ETA:
additional thoughts:
- some dental floss. thinner than the cord and can be used for repairs.
- sewing needle (midweight or heavyweight) and 1 or more safety pins.

I agree regarding the toothbrush. Given the big picture, it is low on the priority totem pole.

Safety pins are the one thing I can see adding. They require little room and they can be used for things such as improvising a sling, removing a splinter or act as a temporary solution to torn clothing.

Jeanette Isabelle

I would take out the toothbrush, use the space for pain meds. I would leave the lifesavers, or switch them to glucose tabs. Bigger zip ties. like Y_T said a better light source.

Since this is for employees I wonder if it would be a good idea to put instructions on the case, i.e. list and what its for, so they can look at it from the outside?

Have specific notice that to return to you for restocking, they are an awesome idea but not if they are not fully equipped.

Have you looked at this from a liability angle? This seems like a great idea, but in today's sue-happy world it's worth a mention.

Kudos for your efforts!

I would leave them as is and deploy them. You will get feedback from the field and make adjustments accordingly.

No small kit can be perfect.

Please post a report on how the kits go over and what you learn in say three months.

I would bin the tool in favour of a SAK classic.

Also: as this is issue to staff as PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) I would issue them with a separate small first-aid kit which would make room in the kit for more useful items like wire and a phone card.

Are you sure you don't want to enter the wireless consulting industry?

I second the idea of a few safety pins.
I think the toothbrush is a good idea.
The life saver breath mint is a good touch.
(nothing worse than something stuck to the teeth or bad breath before a meeting, it is something most folks don't think about)

I agree with the idea a dental pick is redundant with the tooth pick already in the SAK card.

Human nature being what it is they will likely use them for things you didn't expect, lose them in drawers, quietly discard them because they just don't think they matter much and other odd responses.
But it is the thought that counts and these carry the message that you care about your employeees. so when you see them being set in the back of an office drawer or the tooth brush used to clean a keyboard don't get upset.

By the way, a large sewing needle might be a good addition.
It can be used for stitching a button back on and it takes up very little room.

Are you planning to have them use the back of the instruction sheet for notes? If they need to leave a note somewhere, that would require them to tear up and/or leave the instructions.

So I second adding some blank paper.


Does the keychain light have an actual on-off switch or is it push-button only? If it has a "stay-on" mode, it can free up the hands, and if you add a safety pin, it could be pinned to a shirt/jacket/whatever. If it has a decent amount of "scatter", it could eliminate the cyalume, too.

Second to adding safety pins.


It's trivially easy to fold duct tape around a business card. Make your own tape packs, and save a bit of money?


Are you going to supply replacements/refills for used items?

Thanks much for all the advice. This is a prototype mainly built with items I had on hand and with an eye to low cost. It's really meant to be a once in a while, disposible kit with the focus on the kind of emergencies that wouldn't require EMS or FD. I'll let the users fine tune the kit according to their needs. One of the ideas behind this effort is to give the employees an impetus to start their own preparedness exercises.

Responding to your comments in no particular order:

I've had good luck with these coin cell lights. They've been on key rings for a couple of years and still work fine. For incidental use they're good. Not in budget to put in Arc AAA lights or similar prtoducts. They have both a momentary and locked on switch. The battery is easily replaced and it comes with a substantial attachment point.

The PocketMod is an 8.5 x 11 piece of paper that is printed on one side, blank on the other folded in 8's. I'll put some basic instructions, list of contents, perhaps 'borrow' some of Doug's S.T.O.P copy from his PSK instructions. I'll leave a couple of sections blank for notes that can be torn off and left behind.

The mini chemlight does have draw backs but it makes a good marker especially if the seeker has NVG's. They could attach it using the cord or some of the duct tape to affixt it.

The reflective flagging tape takes no room but I thought it would useful to tie around an arm or a bag strap if you get stuck walking home in the dark or inside a Metro tunnel. The duct tape packs are cheap and I'm a klutz.

The light duty cord was for those things where paracord doesn't work, like a broken shoestring. Though I might swap the orange for black.

I made a choice to not include meds, I think that's a personal decision.

I'm stretching the rules of engagement already with the card tool knife; building rules prevent even a SAK Classic.

Safety pins! Got to find a source. I'm sure I can fit a couple in there.

Will probably take the tinder out (it's a cardboard-like material that fluffs up to catch a spark). They could always burn the instructions...

I was thinking about putting a hotel giveaway sewing kit in there but didn't have any at home. And didn't feel like buying 500 of them from the hotel supply site. Taking a trip next week, I'll try to find some.

You gotta admit that the mini-tooth brush is neat! I'm going to leave it in as sometimes an emergency is having a spinach cheese pizza for lunch and them remembering you need to brief the client at 2.

I don't really care how they make use of the kit, more important is that they start thinking about preparedness. I'll make refills an employee benefit.

Again, thanks for the advice, even if I'm too stubborn to take it all!

Andy

Desperado, can I make a living without freezing my butt off in the wilds of Canada?

www.minimus.biz

http://www.packitgourmet.com/Condiments--Seasonings-c26.html

Single serving items for kits.

OK T_Co, you just proved yourself to me. Burgandy and chablis powder on the first page, along with PURE beef stock and au jus powder, none of this bullion silliness. Next page has powdered honey, which leads us into powdered molassas. Then their meals- oh my gods, the bangers and mash sounds wonderful for winter camping, <6oz in the pack, add boiling water, and 640 calories of something that sounds pretty good.

*thumbs up*

Andy, this sounds like it is intended for office uncrisises as much as anything real world, right?

As it sounds like the fauxton can be locked on, I'd say dump the chemlight. As YT said, these little guys aren't worth much. Don't count on someone using a NOD in an urban rescue situation. Fire deparments use FLIR because light enhancement does diddly in smoke.

If you worried about freaking out the customers with hallitosis, BreathSavers instead.

I'm mixed on the signal tape. How is the bulk and texture compared to survey tape? Can you write on it with a sharpie? A mini sharpie would let you write on more surfaces than a pencil and is a lot cheaper than a space pen.

But it sounds pretty good for suit and tie territory. For people running the roads, something like a PSP and Heatsheet might not be a bad choice.

Another potential use for the flagging tape would be to literally flag off a danger, ie, a doorway or stairway that shouldn't be used in an evacuation situation. Tear off small bits and attach as you go to mark a safe path.

Thanks IR. Thought it would also be a good site for backpackers who do not want to buy smaller dropper bottles to take along a few good seasonings.

Signal tape... Does anyone know the reflective qualities through smoke when a light is shined on it?

My brief experiements (not in smoke conditions) shows that it is not highly reflective (in fact there are grades of this stuff) but is much more noticeable than the non-reflective tape. This is film-based tape, non-adhesive and a Sharpie writes nicely on it. It takes up very little volume in the kit. Try TapeBrothers to see all kinds of tape at reasonable prices. That's also the place where I found the glow tape and duct tape packages.

I have several different kinds of non-adhesive reflective tape and ribbon (don't ask, I like shiny things) so I figured I'd share my observations. I agree that there are different grades of quality. I have some that are super bright and seem to catch even small amounts of light, others are more dim and/or require strong direct light. The industrial variety is of course the most effective (the stuff used in safety materials and clothing). I haven't used the adhesive kind because adhesives don't tend to stand up well to heat and dust here. Instead I use the sew-on kind for clothing and gear.

Regarding visibility in smoke, I'd have to say I don't think it would be very effective. For 2 reasons:
First, in order to "shine" or "light up" the reflective strip needs light. Smoke blocks, diffuses, or otherwise interferes with a beam of light. I think the light source would have to be very strong to cause a reflective reaction on the strip *and* the strip would have to be high quality to be seen by the light source.
Second, reflective tape "lights up" white. Smoke is white or grey. Therefore the rescuer would be trying to see white "light" through white or grey smoke. I don't think there's enough contrast there to be distinguishable, which is probably why most signal lights are red (indicating emergency) or green (often perceptibly the brightest color in most EL, LED, or chemlight materials).

You'll have to excuse me since I am a newbie . But while the sentiment is certainly in the right place, I might suggest the following. Let me illustrate with this. If you placed me in the nearest Mercedes Benz dealership at midnight (with every conceivable mechanic's tool in the shop), then asked me to fix something on one of their sweet looking cars, I wouldn't have a clue. If your trying to help your employees putting together a toolkit wouldn't it be better yet getting someone really qualified in house for half a day to teach them basic survival techniques? When an emergency arises reading an instruction sheet might not be doable. Am I off base? Just trying to help out.

The third reason - smoke particles may clutter the fine retro-reflective structure of some of the tape materials (not completely sealed), so it wouldn't reflect the light so effectively after a while. However, every firefighter's jacket I saw have the retro-reflective stripes. And logically, they should be more visible than any other color stripes on your clothes under directed light.

That's why they wear traffic vests over their turnouts when responding to a MVA.

one thing I would suggest would be to remove the toothpick the chemlight and the bandaids and add a small tube of superglue. The superglue has not only the practical applications but was created for closing wounds and works better than a bandaid. Another possibility would be to exchange the candy for breath strips.

And in that lay my two cents.

FWIW, my understanding are there are certain risks using Superglue for closing wounds such as:

1) closing unclean wounds
2) use of non medical grade Superglue may have certain undesirable and possibly toxic contents

It seems if *you*, well informed and aware of the risks, include/use Superglue in *your* kit that it is perfectly fine, but inclusion in a kit for others might have some possible poor side effects if problems arose from its use.

Just a thought.

-john

i used Pet Bond as my superglue wound closer.if it's good enough for Rover it will do for me,and it has with no problems so far on small,clean cuts.

Random thoughts:

I'd consider using a couple of the following on the outside of the case instead of the GID tape:

http://www.thefirestore.com/store/product.cfm?pID=305

It is both retro-reflective *and* GID. Doing that, you probably don't need the material *in* the kit as they could use the kit box itself as a reflector/marker.

Here are some photos of Gloflex (reflextive + GID vs a high quality GID tape): http://navitsky.org/photos/gloflex/

(kit with reflective decals, attached to the cord could be swung as signal device, for example)

Like others, I'd probably drop the toothbrush, pick and GID sticks. I think the coin light stands in for the GID sticks anyways -- just protect against accidental activation.

I'd also probably drop the Lifesaver as it is just going to get nasty over time. If you really want a glucose tablet, I'd just include one. They don't get as nasty, come in individually packed, and have expiration dates.

Personally, I'd try to get a bigish (4"x4", or at least 4"x3") non-stick pad in there. You can use it with the duct tape and handle larger wounds.

You might consider swaping the pencil for a mini Sharpie. The Sharpie can be used to write on doors, whatever to leave messages where the pencil won't be able to.

I know you decided not to have meds in the kit, but I think some Aspirin would be a good idea. And anti-diarrheal as well.

You might be able to use the cord to attach the whistle in such a way you both don't need some inside the kit, and potentially could include more.

The safety pin idea is good.

A mirror would be nice, but not sure if you have the space budget even if you remove items.

I'd like a packet of burn gel, can be used with the 4x4 pad as noted above.

Personally, I'd also like a 4x4 BloodStop gauze, but it is pretty expensive and I suspect some here won't agree.

http://www.yylabsmedical.com/product_inner_details.php?id=20

Fold flat N95 mask would be good.

A pair of Nitrile gloves can come in handy.

As a sidebar, many retro-reflective tapes are fully sealed. Agreed, the stuff that looks like gray paint is not.

-john

"Superglue was used by trauma surgeons in Vietnam to glue the edges of lacerated livers together (ever try to SEW liver?). Works great. It also works perfectly fine in normal skin wounds, and is non-toxic.
The only reason it hasn't been approved by the FDA for this purpose is that the studies would cost millions, and who's going to pay them? Superglue has long since passed off-patent.

I work occasionally at a private research lab which does
experimental surgical research on animals. In dogs, we had a lot of
problem with oozing and infection at sites where arterial catheters
were left in. Now we superglue them and all that problem is gone.

The glue doesn't interfere with healing, and it seals excellently. It is as resistent to abscessing as staples, and seals far better. For
wounds in animals which have been anticoagulated, it's a godsend.
Survival animals which have catheters pulled later suffer no ill
effects, and the wounds heal fine."Steve Harris, M.D.

"Dermatol Clin. 2005 Apr;23(2):193-8.

Cyanoacrylates for skin closure.

Eaglstein WH, Sullivan T.

Cyanoacrylates (CAs) were not widely adopted for medical use until recently because of lingering concerns regarding the initial tissue toxicities of the short-chain CAs. The medium-chain CAs, primarily butyl-cyanoacrylate, have been widely used in Europe and Canada for several decades and have gone a long way in dispelling any lingering concerns about tissue toxicity. The newer, longer chain CA, octyl-2-cyanoacrylate (2-OCA), now has been approved for multiple uses in the United States and has achieved widespread acceptance by the medical and lay communities. The current authors believe that this is probably only the beginning of the use of 2-OCA and other CAs in cutaneous medicine. This article discusses the use of CAs in their original cutaneous use as glues for the repair of lacerations and incisions and in their more recent use as dressings for the treatment of abrasions and wounds."


the thought of it being toxic is disproved Band-Aid "liquid bandages" are cyanoacrylate

Perhaps I was unclear. I'm talking about using non-medical grade glue, which is what I assumed (perhaps incorrectly) the person who mentioned "Superglue" was referring to. Despite having the same active ingredient, it doesn't mean the formulation will be the same or as contaminate free as medical grade glue.

Obviously glue intended for medical use should be safe from a toxicity perspective.

That said, it still seems to beg for contra-indicated use, where someone permanently closes a wound before it has been properly cleaned.

YMMV.

-john

... it would be a Very Bad Thing, at least for a larger or deeper wound. Use prudently.

Indeed. I've used superglue for minor wound closure for years with no ill effects. In fact, for many of the cuts I've closed with non-pharma grade CA based glue, the resulting scars were minimal comparatively.

We're talking cuts that do not typically penetrate all the epidermal layers, or small than one inch in length. Anything more than and it probably needs professional medical attention.