IFAKs Group Buy?

[opfor]

I've been wanting to put together some IFAKs (individual First Aid Kits) for a while now, the whole idea is that this would be your own personal FAK for when we go shooting, hunting, hiking, climbing, or on volunteer trips. I'm trying to put together a list of gear, then see how many people want a piece, and then go to the suppliers and see if we can get a deal on the gear. This would strictly be a trauma kit that someone would use ON YOU should you be injured. The idea is this kit contains all the disposables to treat a variety of major injuries and get you to the hospital alive.

Initial Equipment List:
OP Airway
NP Airway
Chest Seal(s)
2 CAT tourniquets
4" Gauze rollers
Abdominal Pads
Sets of Gloves
Pouch

So we need to decide what we want in the kit, find a pouch that it will all fit in, and then go through getting it ordered. It may also be possible to order a custom pouch.

[PBF]

Make sure you get the Gen7 CATs. They don't require the going through the buckle twice for a femoral bleed.

[opfor]

Solid Recommendation.

I found this company googling around, he is one of the Seattle area tactical gear makers, does stuff on ETSY, I'm going to hit him up about running the pouches. What color you guys thinking? Coyote? Multicam? https://www.empiretactical.org/

[nacho]

Coyote or Multicam. I need one for my range bag.

[opfor]

So working out a list of gear and a price list, this is initial, I have not persued quantity discounts yet:

CAT G7 Tourniquet - $30
Berman (OP) airway kit (you will need 1, kit comes with 8 sizes) - $6
Rusch (NP) airway - $4 (if we buy 15 at a time)
Asherman chest seal - $16 - These were kinda on the way out as of about a decade ago, they are still effective. I'm going to run it by some people.
Israeli Combat Bandage - $7
Individually packaged Sterile Gloves (pair) - $2/ea
EMT Shears - $5
Pouch - $20

Total: $117

Comparing this to the ITS "tallboy" kit:

Kit: $109 (includes less than is in our spec kit)
https://store.itstactical.com/medical/i ... llboy.html

Pouch: $59
https://store.itstactical.com/medical/i ... llboy.html

I think at this point, I really wanna try to squeeze costs out on the tourniquet and the pouch, which I think if we get 20 kits should be doable. Even if that means we need to eat the cost for a while.

[PBF]

Bit pricy on some of these items. Should be able to get the sealed w/instruction CATs for $20-$25 on ebay from a US vendor.

Chest seals are still used in army IFAKs as far as I'm aware.
It's true, you can tape a plastic bag on 3 sides over the entry (and exit) wound but the Halo chest seals are probably a better bet and are army issue.

[opfor]

Bit pricy on some of these items. Should be able to get the sealed w/instruction CATs for $20-$25 on ebay from a US vendor.

Chest seals are still used in army IFAKs as far as I'm aware.
It's true, you can tape a plastic bag on 3 sides over the entry (and exit) wound but the Halo chest seals are probably a better bet and are army issue.

There are a few different varieties of chest seals out there, most of them vary on how the valve works. The big thing with using an occlusive dressing (fancier way of the "plastic bag trick") is that you always need to point it down so that any fluid coming out drains. This is part of the reason you have systems like the asherman, as it's designed to be self-clearing and it doesn't matter how it's applied or what the final position is of the patient.

I was hoping to be able to leverage some quantity discounts as well as "ordering as a company" to knock it down to a wholesale price rather than full retail. In looking at the options out there, (between the self-assembled kit and the ITS kit) it's pretty clear the ITS kit isn't a deal, in fact it's an order of magnitude more expensive than just doing it yourself from retail sources.

[opfor]

So, I found this: http://www.adventuremedicalkits.com/sto ... kclot.html

Bandage Materials
1 - Bandage, Conforming Gauze, 3"
1 - Dressing, Gauze, Sterile, 2" x 2", Pkg./2
1 - Dressing, Gauze, Sterile, 4" x 4", Pkg./2
Bleeding
1 - Gloves, Nitrile (Pair), Hand Wipe
1 - QuikClot® Sport™ 25g
1 - Trauma Pad, 5" x 9"
Duct Tape
1 - Duct Tape, 2" x 26"
Fracture / Sprain
1 - Bandage, Triangular
Wound Care
4 - Antiseptic Wipe
Medical Information
1 - Trauma and Accident Management Instructions

We reserve the right to add, substitute, or delete items if necessary
Please note: Some medications may not be available in products sold outside of the US, additional items may be substituted.

Which is also included with this kit: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GAAMS2M/

Which has just about everything we wanted, except for the Cat-7 Tourniquet. According most of the amazon reviews the pouch is garbage.

[arclight]

There are a lot of imitations of the name-brand tourniquets for sale on eBay and Amazon. I try to buy from a reputable vendor like Chinook Medical or EMP.

If funds are tight, I'd go for an expired genuine CAT over a questionable new one.

Arclight

[arclight]

Also, Chinoook has an absolutely bomber pouch:

http://www.chinookmed.com/01327/covert- ... k-ctp.html

Arclight