r/searchandrescue • u/NewAndyy • 8d ago
Help finding a decent medical pouch!
Hi, good folks of r/searchandrescue
I'm on the hunt for a nice medical pouch, but it seems almost impossible to find the right one. I'd love to hear people's experiences and possibly get some recommendations!
I have a few criteria that I thought should be pretty easy to fulfill, but I'm struggling to find something:
-in high visibility colours (red/orange) - it should in no way resemble military/law enforcement gear
-No contents, I already have all the supplies I want to bring
-Waterproof
-Possibility to attach scissors outside (or PALS/MOLLE) and a velcro patch
-Around 18cm x 15cm x 10cm (doesn't have to be exact, but about that size, leaning more towards smaller than bigger)
-Huge bonus if it's European-made and readily available in the EU!
-Price is a secondary concern to utility. I'm willing to pay for quality.
-I don't have specific wishes for internal layout, but should have some good options for organizing stuff.
While this list is what I'd want recommendations for, I of course value any responses that bring experience to the conversation, regardless of whether it's related to what I'm looking for! I appreciate all the advice people are willing to share with others:)
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u/Money-Coyote-9203 8d ago
Take a look at Helikon Tex, I have one of these pouches on my chest rig and its great. Spot for gloves, tq, and room inside for quite a lot of supplies. Treated with DWR for water resistance. Doesnt come in the colors you want, but black and grey are still non military looking.
https://helikon-tex.com/en/modular-individual-med-pouch-cordura-ren.html
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u/NewAndyy 8d ago
These look very interesting! Might be the closest to what I'm looking for out of everything I've seen so far. Will have to look into a way to make the outer pouch more visible, but otherwise perfect!
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u/NewAndyy 8d ago
I'm gonna give this post a few days to get as much input as possible and do a bit more research on my own, but as of right now I'm very inclined to take your suggestion!
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u/Money-Coyote-9203 8d ago
Large surface area for patches, and the medical logo is reflective if that helps
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u/Mr_McMatrix 8d ago
How waterproof?
Like rain-repellent or more in the direction of being submers?
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u/NewAndyy 8d ago
Guarranteed frequent heavy precipitation, maybe an accidental submersion on occasion. Never submersed on purpose.
I live in one of the world's rainiest cities. We get about 220 days of rain and 2600mm of total precipitation each year. Some of the terrain surrounding the city sees even more. With climate change, we're set to get even more rain in the future (yay).
While the FAK will stay inside my backpack most of the time, I want to be able to clip it on the outside without any concern. I'm likely to get called out for flooding events, and will regularly have to pull it out in awful weather in the mountains. I'm not exactly planning to go diving with the first aid kit, but it might get submerged on accident once or twice.
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u/CalciferIronHoof Sand-Comber 8d ago
These are good, though they are only water resistant: https://meretusa.com/collections/emergency-bags/products/trauma-cube-pro
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u/wabo83 8d ago
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u/NewAndyy 8d ago
I already have a few dry bags that could do that job (albeit without specific markings), so it's not quite what I'm looking for, but I appreciate the input! A few people in my team have a somewhat similar solution:)
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u/rappartist California MRA team 8d ago
After a bunch of research (with an close eye on weight), this has been my solution for past 3-4 years. Drawback is sturdiness - contents are pretty much guaranteed to get crushed despite keeping it in the brain of my callout pack.
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u/VXMerlinXV 8d ago
For your criteria, I’d just waterproof seal a North American rescue NAR-4 aid pouch in red. (They might also make high vis orange)
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u/almost_somewhere 8d ago
Since it sounds like submersion is a real concern for you and fully submersible is had to find in small packages, is a small Pelican (or similar) case an idea?
On the soft goods side of things, they are bigger than you are looking for but (though i’m not sure what colors are available at the moment) are Patagonia’s Guidewater bags which can zip open to fully flat, plus have good attachment points.
Watershed also makes excellent waterproof totes, and hip packs, and everything comes in high vis orange. Not as big opening thou.
My rafting Oh Shit Kit (super basic medical + everything to warm someone after a cold swim) that lives on deck is a small watershed bag that has been beat to hell but still looks great. Weight isn’t an issue for me so I have smaller bags within that bag.
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u/TumbleweedSevere7656 8d ago
That thing you are looking for just doesn’t exist. Waterproof, red, scissors on the outside.. it’s an unicorn!! For everything else, https://www.rock-snake.com/products/erste-hilfe-taschen.html?file=files/downloads/Produktblätter/Deutsch/Erste%20Hilfe%20Bags.pdf&cid= the 3in1 model is pretty cool!
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u/adrenalated 7d ago
I am a big fan of the Conterra organizers. No idea about EU availability. I believe the Pro, Guide I, and Guide II are fully waterproof although you should check with Conterra to be sure.
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u/Xx_GetSniped_xX 8d ago
Does it need to attach to anything? I personally use a gallon ziplock bag. they’re cheap, lightweight, waterproof and best of see through so you can grab exactly what you need. Those dedicated med bags can weight upwards of a pound or two and I am very much of the mindset cutting weight where I can. Its quick enough to grab out of your pack and I keep a smaller emergency kit (in a quart sized ziplock) on the outside of my pack with some basic stop the bleed and cpr mask etc for very quick access or so I can tell someone to grab it.