Prudent Prepping: First Aid Every Day Carry

The dust has settled and the First 72 Hours have passed. Follow along as I build a long term plan via Prudent Prepping.

I'm always tweaking what I carry, and from what I read,
that makes me a normal prepper.

What's New
Not too much, right now. I have a small first aid kit in my bag with band aids, bigger pads, triple antibiotic and gauze. I bought the much more complete Voodoo Tactical Trauma kit way back in May 2016, which is in my GHB since it takes up more room than I'd like in my work bag. I'd consider wearing it on my belt, if it had proper belt loops instead of Molle straps... but this would put me into the Batman Utility Belt zone, and I don't want that at work since I'm already carrying close to two pounds of work gear in a pouch. The other thing I'm trying to avoid is the Gunslinger look, with items on my belt and a separate belt to support my work gear, which might be how things end up.

The other option is not to carry a full-on kit at all, but pare it down to the really basic and important stuff and leaving the band aids in my tool bag. This means taking things in different directions.

Really Different
Sean Sorrentino, friend of this blog and host of the late GunBlog VarietyCast, has been carrying supplies in an ankle 'holster' for a while now. What he has is the SFD Responder from Safer Faster Defense.

http://saferfasterdefense.com/product/sfd-responder/

The company lists items on the Responder page that will fit comfortably in the pouch, but that list is not carved in stone. Sean has modified the contents on his, and if I get one of these I will ask for lots of advice.

What has started me on the search for a different way to carry first aid supplies is the addition of a tourniquet to my gear. I am still looking at the various types and while I own two different styles, I am still confused on the finer points of why one is superior to the three available choices. I am also waiting for the local Red Cross chapter to have their training classes on the proper use of tourniquets before I start carrying one. Classes are in June, so if I decide on "Ankle Carry", that will allow me enough time to order and receive a SFD Responder with the listed shipping time of 4-6 weeks factored in.

Basic Different
Another option is to go minimalist and carry a tourniquet and not much else! Another friend Jonathan Sullivan still blogs at his new site, Home Hardening. One of his posts, A Blowout Kit for Your Belt, discusses a potentially smaller setup, along with a medium and a larger kit which gets into my 'too big for work' carry zone just like the Voodoo Tactical.

Of his options shown, I liked (and bought) the slightly larger phone case, Maxpedition PLP iPhone 6s Plus Pouch.

I've fooled around with the case and carried it for a while, but I stopped taking it with me since I tend to overload things. I wrote about what I put into it in this post and when a tourniquet is added later this year, I will have to modify the contents again to make room. As I said, I am fiddling with my gear every week.

The Takeaway

• It's wonderful to have options, but on a BCP budget I need to pick one and then stick with it. 
• Of the two options, the phone case I have is less expensive than the ankle pouch, but ankle carry keeps stuff off my belt and prevents the Utility Belt look. 

The Recap

• Nothing was purchased this week, but new info needs to be thought over and a decision, one way or another, has to be made soon.

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NOTE: All items tested were purchased by me. No products have been loaned in exchange for a favorable review. Any items sent to me for T&E will be listed as such. Suck it Feds.