Crate Club's first aid kit: Courtesy of North American Rescue

When it comes to successful gear in the medical world its hard to beat North American Rescue. When Crate Club wanted to develop and send out a medical kit we knew there was only one company worth teaming up with. North American Rescue makes some of the best medical gear on the market, from pouches to Gauze NAR makes it all. Crate Club’s First Aid kit is all North American Rescue, minus the easy tote pouch we included.

What’s in the Crate Club First Aid Kit?

Responder 4-inch Emergency Trauma Dressing
Responder Compressed Gauze
Large Nitrile Gloves
Survival Blanket
10- Band-Aids
Roll of Medical Tape

The kit is simple and designed for the everyday citizen. You don’t have to be an EMT or a Corpsman to use this gear. Medical gear can be tricky if you don’t know how to properly and safely use a piece of gear you shouldn’t even attempt it. You could easily make things worse by jumping in feet first. Always go head first folks and know your limitations.

This kit is designed to provide the basics for treating everything from boo-boos to traumatic injuries for those with a base understanding of bleeding control. We wanted to keep the contents light and easy to carry in a backpack, a glove box, or even a cargo pocket.

The Crate Club First Aid kit isn’t a replacement for an IFAK or a medic bag, it’s an EDC kit designed for those with little to no medical training. The biggest concern was the quality of the components. We knew that teaming with NAR was the way to go.

Breaking Down the First Aid Components

The NAR Responder Trauma Dressing is the biggest part of the kit and is designed for applying immediate pressure to the wound and to help stop the bleeding. Vacuum sealed and sterile the ETD is perfect for compact and concealed carry. One of the features we found perfect for beginners was the simple hook and loop closure method. It’s less confusing that bars or hooks for someone who has never applied a pressure dressing. The dressing is 60 inches long and 4 inches wide and weighs only 2 ounces.

The Compressed Gauze is well suited for both wrapping injuries and being used with the trauma dressing for packing wounds and stopping a hemorrhage. NAR uses this interesting crinkle weave in their gauze that maximized blood and fluid absorption.

The inclusion for gloves is for both you and your patient. The gloves will protect you from whatever your patient has and render you mostly sterile when treating the patient. These are a simple addition that can make a big difference in your health and the health of your patient.

Band-aids are pretty self-explanatory. As is medical tape. They treat smaller wounds and do help prevent infection and stop very minor bleeding. Medical tape applied with an improvised bandage is great for lacerations, but don’t ask me how I know.

Lastly, the survival blanket. A small, light piece of kit designed to reflect 90% of the body’s heat back to it. The blanket can be used when you’re chilly sure, but it can also save your life. It beats back hypothermia and reduces the heat lost by a person immediately. It weighs 2 ounces, is easy to carry, and a very versatile tool when it comes to survival and first aid.

Save Yourself

The Crate Club First Aid kit is simple, and anyone can use it. Your goal is to be able to use it. The included kit is simple, but you should seek medical training immediately to add to the kit. Toss in a tourniquet, some Combat Gauze, maybe even a Pneumothorax emergency air release. To use them requires training, and you need to get out and train, seek competent instruction and make 2019 the year you learn how to save a life.