medical kit

Click here to win this MyMedic RangeMedic Kit that’s worth $150!

Chances are, you clicked this link because you could use a good quality medical kit (or just like free stuff). In either case, you’re in the right place.

MyMedic assembled their RangeMedic kits by compiling injury data associated with hunting accidents, shooting ranges, and direct testimonials provided by military and law enforcement professionals. What they ended up with was a streamlined kit that includes all the essential gear to manage the types of injuries you can expect while out running and gunning. These kits comes in two trims: basic and advanced, and for the purposes of this review, we’re going to stick with the advanced kit. Why? In my opinion, it’s the better option if you really intend to be prepared… but it also happens to be the kit we’re giving away as well!

These kits come with a wide variety of emergency medical essentials, from a tourniquet to a chest seal, as well as a few creature comforts that’ll help make a tough day at the range just a bit easier. Right off the bat, you’ll notice that these kits come with a RATS tourniquet, which I know many of our readers are not fans of. While I don’t personally carry a RATS tourniquet, I do believe that they get a bit of a bad shake online. While they may not be the best tourniquets on the market, independent testing has shown that they are actually competitive with most other brands when it comes to efficacy in stopping blood loss.

As the National Center for Biotechnology Information put it, “All three tactical tourniquets showed substantial capacity for hemorrhage control. However, the two new tourniquet models (RATS and TMT) did not offer any improvement over the C-A-T, which is currently issued to military services.”

Once you’re past the tourniquet, two zippers and some velcro opens the kit’s main body where you’ll find the rest of the gear. This design is my favorite part of the RangeMedic kit: it makes it extremely easy to access whatever you need within the kit without tearing it apart and making a huge mess. All too often, medical kits are packed so tight with stuff that pulling out a band aid creates a full fledged gear explosion — not so with the RangeMedic Kit. In fact, this kit is so well organized that once you get accustomed to it, it’s pretty easy to manipulate without looking at it — something that’s essential for use in many military and law enforcement duty situations.

The full kit includes:

Chest Seal
R.A.T.S. Tourniquet®
QuikClot® | 3in. x 4ft.
Emergency Trauma Dressing
Liquid Skin®
Dyna-Stopper
Compressed Gauze
Fabric Bandage | 1in. x 3.25in.
Burn Gel | 3.5ml
Advil® | 200mg
Benadryl® | 25mg
Tylenol® | 500mg
Pepto-Bismol® | 262mg
EMT Shears | 5.5in
Tweezers
Nitrile Gloves | Large
Lip Balm | 0.5g
Sunscreen | 3.5g
Hydrocortisone | 0.9g
Triple Antibiotic | 0.9g
White Petrolatum | 5g
Sting & Bite Relief
BZK Antiseptic
Alcohol Prep Pads
Saljet® Bullet Wound Wash | 30mL

This kit retails for around $150 and, to be honest, it’s worth every penny. Being worth it doesn’t mean you have to pay full price, however — you can actually save 20% ordering your own RangeMedic kit by ordering one from MyMedic.com and entering the promo code LOADOUTROOM20.

But what are you really here for? A FREE KIT, right? Well that’s the easy part. All you need to do to enter to win the free kit is leave a short comment below telling us what you’d use your RangeMedic kit for. Maybe you’re a hunter, a police officer, or in the military? Maybe you’re just looking for an easy to carry kit to help make sure you’re better prepared for a bad situation. It doesn’t matter because I’ll be choosing the winner at random!

All you have to do is leave a comment before the end of the day on Monday, August 5th below this article. We’ll choose a winner and respond to them with how to claim their prize.

And don’t forget! Follow this link to buy your own kit with a 20% discount using the promo code LOADOUTROOM20

When DIY is your only option: The Voodoo Tactical Minor Surgery Kit

For many of us, it’s our worst nightmare: someone in your group has a serious injury and you’re in an environment or situation that doesn’t permit a quick trip to the hospital. Maybe you’re in a foreign country you’re not supposed to be in, maybe you’re on the trail thirty miles from your vehicle — whatever the reason, blood is flowing and it’s going to take more than gauze, pressure, and a call to 911 to stop it.

That set of circumstances may be a worst case scenario, but that’s what self reliance is all about: preparing for the worst so you can do your best. That’s what the faux-military “Minor Surgery” kit from Voodoo Tactical offers: the fundamental components of a field surgical kit you’d need to handle the sort of emergencies that are usually destined for the emergency room.

As a U.S. Marine, I received precious little medical training over the years. I can recite the life-saving steps (and execute them), triage victims, and do my best to stabilize them until help arrives — but I’m certainly no combat medic. Unfortunately, I’ve been left with no choice but to serve in a similar capacity once or twice. Medicine, like math, is widely considered to be beyond the mental purview of lugs like me — but fortunately I’ve been blessed with a mother and spouse with a breadth of experience in emergency medicine. I’ve never been more popular around my house than when I unveiled the tools included in this kit. Medical professionals are a weird type.

The kit includes a 6” wound probe; 3-1/2” stitch scissors; 3-1/2” tweezers; 5-1/2” bandage scissors; 5” straight and curved forceps; a #3 scalpel handle with disposable blade; pupil flashlight with mm gauge; alcohol pads; antiseptic towelettes; some 5/0 monofilament; and a gram of antibiotic ointment. In other words, it’s got everything you need to clean and stitch a serious wound, as well as everything you’ll need to remove those stitches after the requisite ten or so days of healing.

In terms of survival, stopping blood loss is so important it comes in as the second of the basic life saving steps – just behind clearing the airway and starting the breathing. That means a wound that’s serious enough to need stitches can’t be ignored due to a lack of equipment. At just 7”x5”x2.5” this kit (enclosed in an included canvas pouch) weighs next to nothing and can slide right into your bag, backpack, or vehicle kit. It’s the sort of peace of mind you might stash away and forget all about… that is, until it’s exactly what you need to survive.

I’ve had great success using this kit to treat some more minor injuries as well, such as removing wood splinters from beneath my fingernails (after 7 surgeries, I still consider that to be the worst kind of pain) and it really came in handy when my wife needed to pull a small metal sliver out of my eye… wear your eye protection when grinding knives, kids.

All told, this kit may be intended for “minor” surgery, but the tools included will serve a major purpose in any long-term survival situation. Some things can’t be fixed with neosporin and athletic tape. In serious situations, not even a handful of Motrin and a bottle of water will do it (sorry Navy Corpsman). If you ever find yourself having such a bad day, you can’t do much better than having this kit on you along with a good quality IFAK.

Remember, if you need stitches or any other kind of minor surgery, your best bet is your local hospital. If you don’t have quick access to a hospital, any medical professional is still a better option than the DIY approach… but if you’re serious about surviving the worst, then this kit is perfect for when DIY is the only option left.

These kits are now all sold out, but you can get your own with a subscription to the Crate Club!

Surviving a gunshot: SWAT officer’s review of the Gray Man Training IFAK

I got linked up with Gray Man Training through a mutual friend and was sent this IFAK (Individual First Aid Kit) to see what I thought. The short answer is, “I’m a fan.” But for those who want some more details, keep reading.

What I like most about the Gray Man IFAK is it is exactly that, an IFAK. No unnecessary bells and whistles. The owner (Shea Stewart) spent some time as a Navy Special Warfare Combatant –Craft Crewman (SWCC) and was selected to attend the Joint Special Operations Medical Training Center in Fort Bragg, N.C. where he received extensive training in combat medicine, earning the distinction of Special Operations Combat Medic. So it’s safe to say he knows how to design an IFAK.

Gray Man’s IFAK is a modified version of the DA Medic Pouch from CRO medical. The two did a little collaboration to bring you a slim and low profile kit that can easily be concealed in a purse, briefcase, EDC backpack, vehicle etc. It can also function as a legitimate IFAK for duty without taking up too much belt space. Gray Man also built the kit with the idea that the person accessing it would need to be able to do everything by feel and that everything would stay in place.

The medical gear inside is laid out in the order that someone would need to grab them according to the MARCH algorithm of TCCC (Tactical Combat Casualty Care) and TECC (Tactical Emergency Combat Care). Tourniquet first, then hemostatic gauze and pressure dressing material for massive hemorrhage, then an NPA (nasopharyngeal airway) with lube (hand glued on to make opening the NPA and lube with gross motor skills possible) for airway management, then a chest seal for holes in the box (chin to navel).

As an ALERRT (Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training) First Responder Medical Instructor this is exactly the way we train police officers to apply treatment before we can get medical personnel on scene. Bleeding and airway comes first, and then tension-pneumothorax and hyperthermia treatment follows. There is no decompression needle in this kit but by the time that is needed, I pray medical professionals are on scene. Not to mention needle decompression is a semi-invasive procedure that needs training signed off on by a doctor and I myself as a police officer am not authorized to use or teach such a technique at my department.

All and all I think Gray Man Training did a jam up job at designing this kit and I would definitely recommend it to others. Jump on his Instagram page @graymantraining or shoot him an email to [email protected] to order. Checkout the video to see the kit in action.

Stay healthy on the trail with 40% off this EDC medical kit from the Crate Club

In a survival situation, there’s no such thing as an inconsequential injury. Small cuts and abrasions can compromise your ability to do the things you need to do, and the looming threat of infection is ever present in a field environment.

Whether you’re lost in the woods or you’re fighting your way through the streets of a third world country, if you want to last longer than a few days, you’ll need a way to treat small injuries before they become significant threats. That’s where kits like the Crate Club’s new Ouch Pouch, or Every Day Carry Med Kit, come in.

Unlike trauma kits meant for emergencies, the Ouch Pouch comes with everything you need to manage the sorts of wounds you can expect to accumulate during a long hike, camping trip, or covert run for the border. Inside the sleek black pouch, you’ll find all the gear necessary to clean, treat, and cover cuts, scrapes, bruises, and even burns, along with other essentials that’ll help keep you moving when the going gets tough, like Ibuprofen, Aspirin, an antihistamine, and antidiarrheal meds.

If you’re lucky, you’ll never need to use a trauma kit, but the Crate Club Ouch Pouch is meant for frequent and easy use, addressing small wounds before they can get infected, and helping to manage the aches and pains of life in a tough situation. The Ouch Pouch is an essential part of a well rounded kit.

To purchase all the gear included in the Crate Club’s new Ouch Pouch would run you just shy of fifty dollars, but right now you can get the complete kit for just $29.99 for however long supplies last.

Snatch up your Ouch Pouch from the Crate Club for just $29.99 while supplies last by following this link

Magpul Daka pouch is now part of my medical loadout

It seems like I’m never done ‘dialing in’ my gear. I’m always looking for better-streamlined ways of setting up my gear so that I can access it quickly when needed. Most importantly my medical gear. When it comes to medical emergencies, seconds count when first responders are minutes away. That’s why we, the capable citizens, need to step in and fill that void. Be ready and capable to react to a bad situation. For a while now I’ve carried both the mini trauma kit and first aid kit from Dark Angel Medical. Nothing wrong with those kits, they are great kits, but I’m constantly evolving my gear and that sometimes means changing things up. That’s where my medium sized Magpul Daka pouch comes into play. I’ve actually had it for a while, but never really found a dedicated use for it. Until now.

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So to set the stage for why I moved to the Daka pouch, let’s talk about the backpack I use daily when I do commute to somewhere to work. I’ve been through many packs and have always gone back to the Camelbak Urban Assault pack. It’s not set up or designed to be a hydration pack, but to be an EDC bag for the digital nomad and it excels at that. I’ve done a few ‘one bag’ trips using only this backpack and it has never disappointed.

The front of the backpack has a vertical slip pocket, which is where I have kept the Dark Angel medical kits for fast access. They typically would just ride in the bottom of the slip pocket and I would just need to reach in and pull them out. After taking a closer look at the size the medium Daka pouch with regards to the size of the vertical slip pocket, the wheels started turning. Take a look at the video for a better look at what I mean and what medical supplies I choose to carry inside the Daka pouch.

Dark Angel Medical Ouch Pouch: New and improved design

We have reviewed the original Dark Angel Medical Ouch Pouch previously but wanted to show the new an improved design. While the contents remain the same, the pouch has been improved upon.

If you’re prone to slicing, dicing or otherwise dinging yourself up, you might want to invest in our new Ouch Pouch. Just throw it in your gear and be prepared for those little Ouch! moments in life. Each Ouch Pouch comes complete with a high visibility red nylon pouch made in the USA. The Ouch Pouch is a compact and lightweight first aid kit perfect those minor first aid emergencies on the go or at home. – Dark Angel Medical