IFAK - first aid kit

[Robb]

I should have a IFAK or 2 for the cars and my son and I.
I've never built one, used one, or taken a class.
This will probably be stored in the cars and then then taken during hunting season and fishing / hiking trips.
I seriously doubt I'll ever have to deal with a gunshot wound, but I don't want to totally discount that possibility. Mostly I worry about someone getting laid open with a knife gutting an animal or falling.
I'm mostly interested in just stopping the bleeding, should it ever happen.
I was thinking a small pack, quickclot, the ability to stitch up a wound, tape, gauze...
Should I buy a premade IFAK or make my own? Any thoughts on what I really should have in the pack?
Really any thoughts or insight into what to have would be awesome.
And does anywhere around Denver stock IFAK's?

[waffles]

Build your own. You've already identified your skill level on this, which is most of the battle. Tons of the IFAK/"Tactical first aid" kits up for sale contain a lot of unnecessary (for most of us) stuff that adds bulk. You don't need a lot of the stuff you don't know how to use, and you don't want to be messing with all the airway shit even if you've got some idea what you're doing on it, much less if you don't. I'd say at a minimum a CAT/similar tourniquet, the bandages of your choice (I had a lot of the Israeli bandages kicking around so I used those), some of the quick clot gauze, shears, tape, and lighting. Beyond that some smaller bandaids for the everyday scrapes, some ibuprofen and Imodium, and an ankle brace are nice to have (though with tape this is easy enough to do if you had to). I had a couple of injuries not too long ago that would have been real shitty if I was more than 7-8 miles from the car, and it got me to buy a Garmin Inreach Mini. That or another PLB to get help to you if you/your friend was really badly hurt is also worth looking into if you have the spare cash on hand.

Unless you're good stitching up wounds I wouldn't bother with that, this is a get your ass out thing rather than a make it ok for next week thing.

[def90]

Look up posts by member cmailliard.. he runs tactical combat casualty care classes around town, great class. IFAK aren’t just for gunfights, as seen in videos in his class a simple mountain biking crash can cause a femoral artery to be severed and without a tourniquet on hand can turn into a fatality pretty quick. He aslo sells some pre packaged kits with the necessities.

[Irving]

It's not a bad idea. One year a buddy and I were clearing the trail for a cow elk we had on a game cart. We were pushing on a fallen aspen or something, laughing, and when it snapped and we hit the ground, I saw his face change. While I fell harmlessly to the ground, he fell onto a small tree that had broken off standing straight up and stabbed himself in the throat. Fortunately, it turned out to be relatively minor, but it gave the whole party a fright, especially him. After hours of dragging this game cart, I had just left my bag at the last place we rested a couple hundred yards away and had to jog back to get it. At 9-10,000 ft, it was rough. Anyway, what Waffles said above is basically what I have. The bag I have it in is kind of bulky and probably weighs 50% of what is actually in the bag, so be mindful of space and weight. I don't know about you, but what I start with in my bag every year, and what I end with every year is different, and I'll never take out the IFAK kit.

[ray1970]

If I can piggy back on this thread, I?m looking for a bag to put a kit together for my truck. I already have all of the supplies I want but just need an easily identifiable soft side bag to put everything in.

If anyone has suggestions or links I would appreciate it.

[FoxtArt]

Pro tip: Go down the baking isle of your local grocery store. They have small little tiny tubes of cake icing. Put that in your kit. It's pretty much pure glucose and you'd be surprised how often diabetic events (or suspect) can crop up. Remember: If you don't know if they are hypo or hyper, just give them sugar and see if they improve. Too much sugar... more of a long term problem. Too little... kill you dead right now.

[Irving]

If I can piggy back on this thread, I?m looking for a bag to put a kit together for my truck. I already have all of the supplies I want but just need an easily identifiable soft side bag to put everything in.

If anyone has suggestions or links I would appreciate it.

Another member on here has a molle thing that goes on the back of his front seat. He has a couple bags attached here and there and the IFAK kit is velcro'd on so it can quickly and easily be ripped off. I like that idea and am probably going to steal it.

I have a tourniquet in my work tool belt. On one hand it seems silly, but on the other hand I have actually sliced myself open on a roof before, and the actual weight and space a tourniquet takes up (almost none) makes it dumb not to carry. I have it in the same pocket that I have my metal gauge in, so I'm always reminded of it before I get up onto a metal roof, which is where I'm most likely to get cut anyway.

[beast556]

Skinny medic on you tube has a very good channel. He does demo's of the stuff he sells. His stuff seems very reasonably priced. I got one of his pre made kits and some other stuff to make a kit that I think would serve me well if I ever have to use it.

[waffles]

If I can piggy back on this thread, I?m looking for a bag to put a kit together for my truck. I already have all of the supplies I want but just need an easily identifiable soft side bag to put everything in.

If anyone has suggestions or links I would appreciate it.

Most everything listed is pretty small, my car kit rides in a gallon ziplock taped under the seat, just to keep it out of view. If you want a more purpose built version, look for empty military IFAK pouches, the ACU ones I'm familiar with usually have an insert with all manner of elastic loops to hold shit that's tethered to the main bag.

[brutal]

For cuts, stuff maybe requiring stitches but not so deep you would normally pack, I recommend adding wound closure strips/butterfly strips/steri-strips and dermabond (have to control bleeding first to use on a clean cut) to your kits.

[Skip]

I have two. One on the carrier and one in the range bag. We shoot far enough from rescue that a 911 call won’t be enough.

I am rusty on the skills part and that is not good. It is a perishable skill.

[hurley842002]

I am rusty on the skills part and that is not good. It is a perishable skill.

Best skill you can have is to remain calm, everything else usually falls into place IMO, but yes, refreshers and "what if" scenarios are good.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[ChickNorris]

Look up posts by member cmailliard.. he runs tactical combat casualty care classes around town, great class. IFAK aren?t just for gunfights, as seen in videos in his class a simple mountain biking crash can cause a femoral artery to be severed and without a tourniquet on hand can turn into a fatality pretty quick. He aslo sells some pre packaged kits with the necessities.

This ^^^ 100% CMailliard

I took one of his classes @ Bowers tactical last fall. I need to take more.

Bowers also has an excellent small kit as well as piecework to build or augment some of your own. Ill find the video & post here shortly.


https://youtu.be/DZIQT69-luo

[Batteriesnare]

Buy the training first. As many have said Chris Malliards class is one if the best locally. While the curriculum is based on combat injuries, these topics will often cover worst case in the backcountry as well. A refresher on CPR is also a good investment.

Once you have the knowledge of how to solve problems and the skills to apply the proper tools then I would list out what to buy and assemble your own kit depending on your size/weight constraints and budget. Remember that in an emergency you are buying time to get to a greater level of care, not solving the problem in its entirety.

[SuperiorDG]

I've taken Chris' class a couple of time and built a few IFAKs. I just bought a couple for the shop and work truck. These seem like a go option at a good price for what you want. https://www.rescue-essentials.com/bleeding-control-station-ifak-individual/

[cmailliard]

I should have a IFAK or 2 for the cars and my son and I.
I've never built one, used one, or taken a class.
This will probably be stored in the cars and then then taken during hunting season and fishing / hiking trips.
I seriously doubt I'll ever have to deal with a gunshot wound, but I don't want to totally discount that possibility. Mostly I worry about someone getting laid open with a knife gutting an animal or falling.
I'm mostly interested in just stopping the bleeding, should it ever happen.
I was thinking a small pack, quickclot, the ability to stitch up a wound, tape, gauze...
Should I buy a premade IFAK or make my own? Any thoughts on what I really should have in the pack?
Really any thoughts or insight into what to have would be awesome.
And does anywhere around Denver stock IFAK's?

Thanks all for the kind words about the class.

Robb - I have some pre-built kits with the following:
Combat Application Tourniquet
Combat Gauze
Pressure Dressing
Hyfin Chest Seal
Hypothermia Blanket
Trauma Shears
Gloves
Duct Tape
Sharpie

I do my pre-built kits a bit different than most. Most have the gloves rolled up inside. This makes extremely difficult to put on when you need them. Second they are sized large. These two things make putting gloves an after thought rather than a forethought in medical care. So I use a packing slip envelope on the outside of the kit with the gloves in the size you want in it. This is now the first thing you do with the correct size. Also the card that comes in the kit usually has a blank back side to it, so I added custom info like MARCH info, Aid Request (what to tell 911), Patient Info (MIST) and some basic Triage. I've got one left right now but can order more to be built. https://www.responseready.us/store/p27/Casualty_Care_-_Individual_Trauma_Kit_.html

I also sell North American Rescue and TacMedSolutions products if you want something else.

As many have said, the training is the most important part. I do a 4 hour Casualty Care Class at Bowers, Centennial Gun Club and Bristlecone. Not many places up here by us in Thornton unfortunately. The Casualty Care class is based on Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC) and it's civilian counterpart Tactical Emergency Casualty Care (TECC). I have been teaching them for more than 10 years now and the class is updated at least annually but usually every couple of months and better data becomes available.

[cmailliard]

If I can piggy back on this thread, I?m looking for a bag to put a kit together for my truck. I already have all of the supplies I want but just need an easily identifiable soft side bag to put everything in.

If anyone has suggestions or links I would appreciate it.

How big of kit are you looking for? I have a few around the house that may work for ya.

[beast556]

Chris

Have you talked with LFI(liberty firearms institute) in johnstown to see if you can do classes there for people up north.

[packratt75]

Looking to take a class up north if possible. Makhaira Group does the training at LFI but looks to be just basic first aid/cpr.

[def90]

Here are a couple reasons to carry an ifak and take the combat casualty care class with cmailliard I mentioned earlier:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGVy55eUCkg


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ejJG_bRenU


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkyodoc7GAs

[Shooter45]

There's a number of different places you can purchase individual pieces for your IFAK for way cheaper than you can buy the kit for, plus you can detail it to your abilities/needs. I use a lot of stuff from Tac Med Solutions in my personal stuff and for work. Compare prices but take advantage of the numerous videos they have for training as the price is right:

https://www.tacmedsolutions.com/Training-Resources

[ray1970]

How big of kit are you looking for? I have a few around the house that may work for ya.

Sorry. Didn?t see this. Maybe something roughly a foot long and maybe eight or ten inches high and wide. Or somewhere about that size.

[Rucker61]

Check and see if your Flexible Spending Account covers first aid supplies, too.

[Irving]

There used to be a website that only listed FSA applicable things. It was posted here, but that could have been 10 years ago.