My first aid kit (Countycomm medic/tool roll)

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I’ve used the Countycomm medic/tool roll for my 1st aid kit for a long time; 3 years or so. It served me well for my first couple of apartments after college. It lived in a closet in one apartment, and under the sink in another, and was the thing I grabbed when my roommates, guests, or myself needed anything medical related.

Here’s a photo of the kit rolled up (dark-humored morale patch attached) next to an object that you presumably have readily available, to show scale.

I bought the bag because I like the concept. The execution wasn’t too bad, actually. Things I liked:

-immediate viewing of everything
-lots of organization (with ability to easily label individual pockets)
-fair amount of space
-elastic down middle of entire roll for larger items
-opaque pockets for items you might want to have not so visible (meds, expensive equipment)

Things I didn’t like

-open design lets in dust + dirt
-smaller things get stuck in bottom of pockets
-bigger things don’t fit in pockets at all
-not enough space for me overall

Here’s a view of it, unrolled. Contents are listed by pocket, left to right.
The stuff outside the bag are things I would LIKE to have in my kit, but don’t have room for in the roll.

—Top row of roll: Waterproof EMS notebook. Bandaids. assorted gauze, steri-strips and butterfly closures. 2nd skin burn gel. odd-shaped bandaids and vacuum-packed gauze. Needles (18g and 27g) and syringes. Long pocket all the way on the right has an ace wrap and a bottle of saline.
—Bottom row of roll: Eye-refresh drops, eye patch, moleskin in first pocket. Iodine, alcohol wipes, non-alcohol cleaning wipes, Neosporin packets in “clean” pocket. Hand sanitizer, gloves, thermometer. Anitbiotic cream, steroid cream (not for bulking up :laugh, Oragel. Pepto-Bismol pills, Cipro, benadryl, Tylenol, Ibuprofen in “Rx” pocket. More vacuum gauze. #11 scalpel, lidocaine, alcohol wipes, sutures, suture set.

Now, for the stuff Outside of the roll, which is stuff I recently decided I “need” in my bag.

—Top row: Kerlex dressings, Cheap-o stethoscope that I don’t care about getting bloody/vomit-y, sterile gloves, betadine, extra #11 scalpel, Big ace wraps, medium ace wraps, lots of alcohol wipes and single-use KY packets, big and small tape.
—Bottom row: ABD pads, surgical staplers + stapler remover, Nasopharyngeal airways, petroleum dressings w/ antibiotic.

I’ll also be adding some pre-fab trauma dressings like Israeli dressings or H bandages, which are also bulky items.

As you can see, with the stuff I would like to have in my kit, it’s just too small. Any bulky, non-flexible thing you might stick in the elastic or in the opaque pockets add too much bulk to it when you roll it up, to the point where the Velcro won’t match up, and you’ll have to use the click-straps (which are more than enough to keep the roll shut).

If I trimmed the kit down to stuff I use on a regular basis, it’d work out much better. For instance, as a household boo-boo kit with no “oh crap” supplies (ABD pad, Vacuum Gauze, petroleum gauze, extra ace-wraps, trauma dressings, lido/suture) it would roll up just fine.

Although, there is still the important point that most household 1st aid kits are left in closets and under sinks, and this design can and does let in much more dust than a hard-cased design would. Couple this with the fact that it’s a lot more fun more fun/cool to roll the kit open on the floor, on your knees, than on a table, and it can get dirtier than a medkit probably should.

I think I’ll be buying an updated, Cordura version of the old trifold M-3 medic bag, or maybe a Spec-Ops “All Purpose Bag” (or both ! :idiot2 for my kit. When I do, you’ll all see photos.

Overall, the quality of the roll is good, it just wasn’t what I needed.

Oh, and I almost forgot. The bag can –Tailstand-, an important point with any and all EDC gear, as we all know. 

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