The Ultimate Med Kit/Survival Kit/Bug Out Bag!

By JD on May 14, 2019 • ( Leave a comment )

Anything worth doing is worth overdoing. Moderation is for cowards.

– Marcus Luttrell, retired United States Navy SEAL

Well maybe not the ultimate…but pretty awesome anyway. I decided that it was long past time for me to put together a first aid kit for the range. Perhaps something that I kept in my car and was generally always at my disposal. Because as much as I hate to admit it, my car is almost always close by. I wanted to make sure in particular that the kit included everything I might need in case I or another shooter suffered a life-threatening injury at the shooting range, especially a gun shot wound. So the core of my bag would need to include at the very least: a tourniquet, some quickclot gauze of some sort and compression bandages. With those basics in mind I began to make a list of all the other things I would like to include. That list grew, and grew, and no doubt will grow some more. Until I’m out of room or can no longer rationalize the expense. Which is just about where I’m at now, I can no longer rationalize spending any more money on this bag. So as you might imagine, this kit has evolved from a basic medical kit to a survival kit and can rightfully serve as a specialized bug out (or in) bag.

The heart of the project of course is the bag itself. I have had sitting around for a long time a bag from LA Police Gear that I always knew would end up serving this kind of purpose. They must sell a ton of these and I see them on sale regularly. It’s such a handy and well made bag that I have been tempted to buy another, even before having found a use for the first. Its not a particularly big bag, measuring only 16″ x 11″ x 6″, but what it lacks for in size it more than makes up for in pockets! I could do an entire review of the bag alone based on the many useful pockets and other features of this bag. I can’t remember exactly what I paid for it but I do recall it being exceptionally cheap. As it happens, it is on sale right now for $19.99. I have seen very similar bags, if not flat-out copies that go for more than twice that price. Made from 600 denier nylon, this is a sturdy and well made bag. I can’t imagine it wearing out anytime soon.

My original intention when putting together this article was to make a comprehensive list of items with pictures and links to every piece of gear. I have that list and it is long and unwieldy. Instead I decided that I would include the inventory of the bag in a simpler format and instead provide links to how to use several of the most important components of the bag. Having these items in your emergency bag isn’t going to save any lives without knowing how to properly use them.