It appears more common today to hear of folks carrying a tourniquet as part of their EDC, but how many have made a true effort to understand when and where a tourniquet, pressure bandage, hemostatic gauze, and/or an occlusive dressing should be used?
How many recognize when and where to use those tools in addition to a few other potentially lifesaving protocols when it comes to an immediate emergency medical incident?
The training for emergency medical procedures and use of related gear is front and center at Mountain Man Medical. Brian “Doc” McLaughlin is the Director of Training and Product Development for the company.
Brian has a solid history in the military as a Combat Medic (Navy Corpsman) in addition to being a paramedic on the civilian side of life.
He, along with Mountain Man Medical, have developed several emergency medical training videos. You can find these on the company’s website, and they will provide a great overview for a quick down and dirty “how to” on a variety of emergency medical procedures.
So, what type of gear and medical equipment is good to have along in the field, in your car or at basecamp? Let’s take a look at just three med kits available from Mountain Man Medical.
Tracker EDC Med Kit:
Mountain Man Medical offers the perfect EDC kit, known as the “Tracker.” This kit is both compact and lightweight weighing only 12.3 ounces. It can easily be worn on the belt, attached to a vest or pack with compatible molle straps, or simply dropped into a cargo pocket.
Components of the Tracker Kit include:
- SWAT-T Tourniquet (one of the most versatile tourniquets on the market) and can be used as a pressure wrap, for splinting and even a chest seal.
- Blue Nitrite Gloves
- Compact Trauma Shears
- Flat Fold Duct Tape
- Mylar Rescue Blanket
- Rolled QuickClot Gauze
- 2 Rolls of Standard Stretch Gauze
Dimensions of the Tracker are approximately 9 inches in height, 4 inches in width and just 1 inch in depth. Weighing less than one pound, there is no reason not to have this kit along every time you leave the house.
MSRP for the Tracker is $70.00.
Yellowstone Trauma Kit:
Moving up in size and additional components is the “Yellowstone Trauma Kit”. This is a basic, but comprehensive, trauma kit from Mountain Man Medical. When designing it, the company set out to build something that they felt would suffice for 99% of trauma emergencies.
It was built with compactness in mind and can easily be repackaged into a smaller pouch, an ankle IFAK, or any day pack.
Components of the Yellowstone Trauma Kit include:
- Black Falcon Pouch with First Aid Patch
- SWAT-T Tourniquet (CAT Tourniquet or TacMed SOF-Tourniquet can be added at an extra cost)
- Quick Clot Combat Hemostatic Gauze
- Hyfin Compact Twin Chest Seal
- North American Rescue Mini Emergency Trauma Bandage
- 2 Pairs of Large Nitrile Gloves
- Trauma Shears
- Black Permanent Mini Marker
- 2X Gauze Roll Bandage
- 1 Elastic Wrap Bandage, Hook/Loop
All of this fits in the Falcon Pouch measuring 7.5 inches x 4.3 inches.
MSRP base price is $97.34.
Basecamp Med Kit:
Next up is The Basecamp. According to the company website, “the Basecamp Kit is designed to be a comprehensive trauma and first aid kit that is too big for the trail but ideal for the vehicle or campsite.
A lot of backpackers, hikers, hunters, and outdoorsmen establish a base camp from which day hikes and excursions can embark.”
With major blood loss always a cause for concern, the Basecamp Kit provides more than adequate tools for such an emergency, including 2 CAT Tourniquets, 1 SWAT-T Tourniquet, 2 QuickClot Gauze Rolls (Hemostatic Bandages), and 1 OLAES 4″ Pressure Bandage.
Complete Basecamp Kit components include:
- Two C-A-T North American Rescue Tourniquets WITH Soft Molle Tourniquet pouches designed to help you stage your tourniquets on the outside of the pouch.
- 1 SWAT-T Tourniquet from H&H Medical
- 1 OLAES 4″ Pressure Bandage from Tactical Medical Solutions
- 4 Pairs of Blue Nitrile Gloves
- 1 Pair of Compact Trauma Shears
- 2 Hyfin Compact Chest Seals from North American Rescue
- 1 Mini Permanent Black Marker
- 1 Mylar Rescue Blanket
- 1 Pre-lubricated NPA
- 2 Elastic Bandages with hook/loop self-closure (compare to ACE Wrap)
- 2 QuikClot Rolled Gauze (Hemostatic Bandages)
- 1 Dynarex Krinkle Compressed Gauze
- 1 Mountain Man Moldable Splint (Compare to SAM Splint)
- 1 North American Rescue 4″ Burntec Dressing
- 1 Triangle Bandage / Cravat
- 1 Roll of Cloth Medical Tape
- 1 First Aid Pack: 4 Packets Burn Cream, 4 Packets Triple Antibiotic Ointment, 8 tablets Ibuprofen, 8 tablets Acetaminophen, 2 Tablets Diphenhydramine, 2 Sting & Bite Wipes, 4 Antiseptic Wipes, 10 Adhesive bandages (compare to Band-aids) and 1 Pair of Tweezers
These components are packaged in the tough Ready Up Gear “Osprey” molle pouch. This durable pouch is 8 inches tall, 6 inches wide, at least 4 inches in depth, and includes additional organizational pockets. MSRP for the Basecamp is $239.99.
Mountain Man Medical states “we believe in sourcing and providing to the customer existing name-brand proven products. With the number of companies currently manufacturing quality bandages, dressings, tourniquets, gauze, etc., we made the decision early on as a company to not reinvent the wheel if we don’t have to.”
Because of this approach most Mountain Man Medical kit components are from highly regarded companies such as, H&H Medical, North American Rescue, QuickClot and, Tactical Medical Solutions, to name but a few.
Make no mistake, I am a firm believer in the last-ditch medical training concept, including the use of tourniquets, and strongly suggest you and your family get trained in this life saving knowledge.
Don’t forget, part of having this knowledge is having the gear with you. Take a look at Mountain Man Medial for additional kit options and training videos.
Next, read Josh’s review on their Wind River Kit.
