I tend to stay out of these recently as, in my opinion, the best advice usually come early and it's always along the lines of: Get trained, stay trained, do what you have been trained to do, and carry as much as you are comfortable carrying for that, in your fak. I have considered posting what is in my kits for curiosity but the rule above means that that it's only relevant for me (Except the kits I get issued I guess)
However
There are a couple of things here that are factually incorrect. Law enforcement Medics and Ambulance HART teams carry Hemostatic dressings, like Celox and Quikclot, in the civilian world; so I am pretty sure that A&E staff know what to do with them. No chemicals just debriding with water which will happen anyway. Also PHTLS currently teaches that, as it happens, elevation doesn't have a track record for dealing with a catastrophic arterial bleed. " These interventions can no longer be recommended for situations in which direct pressure or a pressure dressing have failed to control a haemorrhage ".
http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=...a=X&ei=UbRWU_jdGa-u7Aa2qIDoDw&ved=0CDkQ6AEwAQ
Direct pressure is definitely a big thumbs up or occasionally thumbs in.
Fair enough.
One thing i will say is that Law enforcement medics and ambulance HART teams in the states are not the norm in the UK.
We are talking about a hiking/camping trip FAK, the type of incidents the LE medics and HART teams treat is NOT going to be the type of injury found while camping or hiking.
The article you linked to was under a section specifically talking about tourniquet, if you read the paragraph above it states.
It would be a serious error to deliver a well-packaged trauma victim to the receiving facility with two IV lines inserted and neatly taped in place, but who is dying from a haemorrhage of a wound that has only trauma dressings taped in place and no direct pressure applied
The type of clotting bandages we are talking about comes in that same category.
You are also talking about trained, experienced, professional paramedics who deal with severe injuries literally on a daily basis, they have the skill and experience to analyse a trauma and treat it accordingly.
These clotting type products have been on the market for years now, any NHS hospital can buy them, any paramedic or ambulance station can stock them.
The fact is though that hardly any do (in my experience and i have asked).
Is any civilian organisation like the NHS or St Johns training it's staff and trainees in the use of these types of dressings?
I can't honestly say as i have my ear to the ground, but in the year or so since i lasted looked into it there was not one civilian organisation training or recommending it's use.
To clarify i'm not saying it's useless in all situations.
Obviously in war zones, police shoot outs and big open wounds like chainsaw injuries they have a place, my point is that i don't see a realistic scenario for a camper/bushcrafter/hiker where it would be as good as pressure and elevation.
I do see a scenario where premature clotting could cause problems on a injury, i also see problems where a amateur not trained in the use of clotting products will not clean a wound enough (easy to do with a screaming casualty up a mountain with very little clean water) and that be prematurely clotting the wound it will complicate further treatment needing painful opening up on the wound.
As i've said though, please don't take my word for it.
Speak with a emergency nurse, doctor or paramedic and get their view on it, it is important to let them know you are talking specifically about a outdoors, hiking, camping, bushcraft type injury.
