FAK supplier

[SARHound]

www.adventuremedicalkits.com

AMK make good kits for the money and are very well thought out.

The more training you get the less kit you require as you can improvise more.

A kit is only as good as your training.

Hound

 

[medicineman]

The more training you get the less kit you require as you can improvise more.

A kit is only as good as your training.

This is a very good point. I always advise people to get themselves trained before getting any kit. Not only will it help you improvise when needed, it will help you realise how little use some of the items supplied in commercial kits actually are. The other reason for getting trained is, of course, that you can carry all the kit you want (you can even get whole ambulances on e-bay) but it's useless, and maybe even dangerous, if you don't know what to do with it.

For basic training, try your local St John Ambulance or Red Cross unit. They will charge much less than a company offering a 'wilderness first aid course', while covering a very similar syllabus.

Just a thought St Johns supplies say they price match. They may have the same stuff at a bit less money.

Unfortunately, I have not had much luck with SJS. Although they will price match, they are frequently out of stock of what I want and take a long time to deliver. That, however, is just my experience.

I would recommend either SP Services or Dynamed for all the first aid kit you could ever want. They have never let me down and deliver very quickly. As a kit for a group heading outdoors for a camping trip, I would suggest the basic first aid kit from SP Services.

Chris

 

[Andy]

A note on training

IIRC the Red Cross has the First aid at work (FAW) as the advanced course but St Johns does it as the basic one.

 

[EdS]

400mg Ibroufen sound OK- but I've got Tylex and Tramadol in mine.

 

[medicineman]

Unless your employer is sending you on a first aid course, I'd stay away from FAW. Its very expensive for what it covers. St John's Lifesaver and Lifesaver Plus are probably good courses to go for. They cover most emergencies that you ever likely to come accross. The Red Cross probably offer similar courses, but I don't know what they're called off the top of my head.

 

[MalIrl]

For a good, cheap FAK, keep an eye on Aldi. I got a car first aid ket there last year for 10.99euro. It has the following:

2x triangular bandage
2x 4m by 6cm bandage
3x 4m by 8cm bandage
2x small compresses for burns
1x medium compress for burns
3x 10cm sq. gauze swabs
1x Large first aid dressing
3x Medium first aid dressing
8x 10cm by 6cm Adhesive plaster strips
1x 5m by 2.5cm adhesive tape
1x scissors
2x pairs vinyl gloves
1x rescue blanket (gold foil)
a neat little first aid guide.

All this stuff is in a clear plastic pocketed sheet (8 pockets, all labelled with contents) which folds in four and fits into a zip up nylon pack.c. 24cmx16cmx7cm.
The only thing I've added is an Isolaide Resus sheild.

The Aldi stuff comes around on a yearly cycle, so these should appear again. I think it was April last year that I got it. This stuff is to a German standard,(DIN 13164) and the only thing cheap is the price (well, maybe the adhesive plasters, but they're not bad ). It's all in date 'till 2008!

Finally a note on Ibuprofen etc. According to our course instruction (Irish Red Cross Society), First aiders cannot administer medicines to others, not even over the counter stuff (not sure if you can offer it to them and let them take it themselves!)

Best,
Mal

 

[innocent bystander]

Hi guys, regarding the FAW training, according to a meeting i attended today there is a change in that the requirement for refresher training has changed to a yearly one rather than the 3 yearly one. Also, some of the techniques do appear to change everytime we send someone on a course.

Regarding SJS, i use one of their folding multi-pocket puches, and you can fit an amazing amount of kit into them...

Martin

 

[Adi]

I use SP Services for all my first aid supplies except for P medicines and POM’s. They provide a very fast and efficient service.