FAK - What do you carry, what do you base camp with and what's your EDC.

[tim_n]

What do you keep in your FAK?

I have an old mountain rescue hip kit I carry, which has the usual assortment of bandages, plasters, burn gel etc from a standard eBay FAK refill.

In addition for carry I add
Tick Tools
dispersable paracetamol
calpol sachet
tweezers
steristrips
couple of blister patches
glucose sachet.

In addition to this, for my "basecamp" kit

a couple of paracetamol
a couple of asprin
a couple of Loperamide/Imodium
a length of Buscopan
blood sugar tester
blood pressure monitor
Mini ECG
Defib with paedatric pads
oralphlangerial airways
bag & mask
Israeli bandage

This all pretty much stays in the car unless there's someone suitably trained with me (I used to be an ambulance tech)

When I travel to work I have a much smaller kit, more of an EDC
Plasters, trianglar bandage, crepe bandage & medium ambulance dressing
Multitool & some sprung steel. Ed will know what I'm on about.
ECG
blood sugar tester & glucose tablet.
Israeli bandage.

I'm fortunate the wife is diabetic, so I can keep a small supply of sterile needles & test strips for the tester in rotation so they're not wasted.

I should point out the basecamp stuff is mostly because I do scouting and I do like to be prepared...

 

[TeeDee]

What do you keep in your FAK?

I have an old mountain rescue hip kit I carry, which has the usual assortment of bandages, plasters, burn gel etc from a standard eBay FAK refill.

In addition for carry I add
Tick Tools
dispersable paracetamol
calpol sachet
tweezers
steristrips
couple of blister patches
glucose sachet.

In addition to this, for my "basecamp" kit

a couple of paracetamol
a couple of asprin
a couple of Loperamide/Imodium
a length of Buscopan
blood sugar tester
blood pressure monitor
Mini ECG
Defib with paedatric pads
oralphlangerial airways
bag & mask
Israeli bandage

This all pretty much stays in the car unless there's someone suitably trained with me (I used to be an ambulance tech)

When I travel to work I have a much smaller kit, more of an EDC
Plasters, trianglar bandage, crepe bandage & medium ambulance dressing
Multitool & some sprung steel. Ed will know what I'm on about.
ECG
blood sugar tester & glucose tablet.
Israeli bandage.

I'm fortunate the wife is diabetic, so I can keep a small supply of sterile needles & test strips for the tester in rotation so they're not wasted.

I should point out the basecamp stuff is mostly because I do scouting and I do like to be prepared...

You purchased a Defib?

I know the latest units have come down in price but thats still quite a sizable investment isn't it?

 

[billycoen]

You purchased a Defib?

If i was having a heart attack,all it would take is for someone to tell me the price of a defib,the shock alone would get me up and running again.

 

[TeeDee]

If i was having a heart attack,all it would take is for someone to tell me the price of a defib,the shock alone would get me up and running again.

I did a F.A refresher course ( for work ) a little while back and I think the price of a unit in now circa £600-£1000 - which for a company or organisation I guess is quite a large margin of reassurance at less than 3rd hand car Market prices.

 

[tim_n]

You purchased a Defib?

I know the latest units have come down in price but thats still quite a sizable investment isn't it?

I paid about £200 for mine in 2020, Philips FR2. They're EOL now which means no new batteries but the adult pads are easy to get hold of. There's one on eBay https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/115480258590 (They self test so it's pretty easy to know when one is broken). You can still get an install by 2022 battery now, the batteries last 5 years when installed in them. You can find some from retailers for £230 by the looks of it. It was the one I trained on so I was quite happy to find that exact model!

It's an investment, but very handy to have in the woods where you're not exactly adjacent to ambulance care. In Essex the average waiting time for an ambulance is about 9 hours now and I have a moderate heart condition myself. Wife is also FA trained so made sense to have one in the house.
edit: Blimey the batteries have gone up - I paid £35 for my 10/2022 one. Should have sold it before I installed it and bought a new defib instead!

 

[Laurentius]

My EDC FAK is pretty basic, wound dressings, bandages, tape, latex gloves, scissors, tweezers, tick remover, antiseptic wipes, burn gel (which I have never used) and a few sticking plasters. I don't bother with painkillers as in my experience adrenalin takes care of that when you have anything nasty enough to warrant a trip to A&E. If I have a heart attack and cannot get help it will be a case of; Oh dear, never mind, how sad. (we do have a defib on our allotments and a retired cardiac consultant who knows how to use it.)

 

[TeeDee]

I have Three exact made up First Aid Kit for each car.

Have a more basic one for my bergen.

I have to admit what I probably need even more of is realistic stress testing education and instruction.

Adrenaline is equally a nice trigger to action but can also induce memory dump adrenaline shock.

 

[Broch]

I have a day-pack kit, a trekking kit, and my 'working in the wood on my own' kit. The latter includes tourniquet, Israeli bandage, small, medium, and large wound dressings, and Celox gauze. It would probably take longer to evacuate from my wood than from the top of Ben Nevis!

I have also invested in a Defib. For the price of a mid-range mountain bike, a family tent, or even a basic canoe, I have the tools to deal with heart failure - we are 45 minutes from the nearest A&E and my other half has a heart condition. I think it's money well spent and, as with most insurance, I will probably never use it

 

[TeeDee]

I have a day-pack kit, a trekking kit, and my 'working in the wood on my own' kit. The latter includes tourniquet, Israeli bandage, small, medium, and large wound dressings, and Celox gauze. It would probably take longer to evacuate from my wood than from the top of Ben Nevis!

I have also invested in a Defib. For the price of a mid-range mountain bike, a family tent, or even a basic canoe, I have the tools to deal with heart failure - we are 45 minutes from the nearest A&E and my other half has a heart condition. I think it's money well spent and, as with most insurance, I will probably never use it

Can i enquire which defib unit you went for?

 

[Wayne]

Sounds like we should approach a manufacturer for a BCUK group buy.

 

[Broch]

Can i enquire which defib unit you went for?

I bought the Zoll AED Plus fully automatic

 

[Buckshot]

we did have a discount code for Reflex Medical after i wrote the article about the T3 pressure bandage.

 

[Wildgoose]

Discount or not I’d really recommend Reflex medical, it’s a small team who really know their stuff.

There is a new concept in personal defibs I was reading about

https://rapidresponserevival.com/2022/03/31/worlds-first-personal-defibrillator-launches-in-the-uk/

Called CellAED it’s in the preorder stage but I can see it being the first of many

 

[Broch]

That looks interesting - not a lot of detail. It looks like it's a 'one use' device but that may be just the pads (as on other defibs). At "a tenth of the price" means it should come out at sub £200

 

[knowledge=gain]

That looks interesting - not a lot of detail. It looks like it's a 'one use' device but that may be just the pads (as on other defibs). At "a tenth of the price" means it should come out at sub £200

https://cellaed.io/uk £199.99 it does seem as single use only with automatic replacement after use or twelve [12] months thus that must be taken into account

 

[Wildgoose]

It appears for £9 a month you get a replacement every 12 months and/or after use.

Over time perhaps not particularly cheap but it’s simplicity and size makes it quite useful.

For a group a full defib with spare pads, razor etc is probably a better option

 

[knowledge=gain]

It appears for £9 a month you get a replacement every 12 months and/or after use.

£199.00 per unit
£9.00 per month x 12 months = £108.00 per year

£108.00 +
£199.00
---------
£307.00 for first year with continued ongoing costs

 

[Wildgoose]

Yes that does seem to add up.
Still less than a pound a day and significantly cheaper than a funeral.
As I said it’s not particularly cheap, but as a concept it’s pretty good.
I can see more products like it in the future.

 

[Wildgoose]

Kit wise, each car has a identical kit with a TQ, trauma dressings, tuff cuts and pocket mask in one side and an assortment of plasters, a burn dressing, tick tool, saline pods and such in the other.

I have a small kit for travel with a couple of dressings, bandages and plasters Along with standard over the counter meds.

 

[nigelp]

I have two group/leader FAK’s - they are fairly compact because I have to carry them and they are for delivering first aid only - I would be surprised if I had to need or use a full on trauma dressing so carry ambulance dressings and extra menolin instead. Even on more remote excursions into the mountains I only add a few extra bits.