{"id":121325,"date":"2020-05-31T16:33:57","date_gmt":"2020-05-31T20:33:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gunsamerica.com\/digest\/?p=121325"},"modified":"2020-05-31T16:33:57","modified_gmt":"2023-09-06T10:12:57","slug":"how-to-building-an-ifak","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/how-to-building-an-ifak\/","title":{"rendered":"How-To: Building an IFAK"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"How-To:
Dark Angel Medical IFAK<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

If there ever was a wildly underutilized and misunderstood piece of gear in the gun world it\u2019s probably the IFAK (or what\u2019s in it). An IFAK \u2013 Individual First Aid Kit \u2013 is the name given to a small pack of vital medical gear that you carry with you, typically on your body. IFAKs are smaller than the full-on medical bags some of us throw in our trucks and contain the items you are most likely to need in case of a life-threatening emergency. Those pieces of gear can be packed into tiny carrying pouches that fit on your belt or around your ankle. So, why don\u2019t more gun owners carry an IFAK \u2013 or at least a tourniquet? Good question. Read on for our suggestions for what to put in your IFAK or where to get a solid complete kit from a company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But First, Safety<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\"How-To:<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Before we wander off into the weeds about IFAKs and proper first\naid training, remember the best way to stop gun-related injuries is to follow\nthe four golden rules of gun safety. Those rules according to Gunsite Academy\nin Paulden, Arizona:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. All guns are always loaded.<\/li>
  2. Never let the muzzle cover anything which you are not willing to destroy.<\/li>
  3. Keep your finger off the trigger until your sights are on target.<\/li>
  4. Always be sure of your target (and I will add, what is beyond your target, too).<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    It’s simple, really: follow the rules.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Why<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    Yes, you really do need an IFAK. At the very least you should be carrying a tourniquet (TQ). Statistically you are far more likely to need a TQ than you are to ever need that handgun you carry on a daily basis. TQs are useful for responding to that rollover car accident you witness through your windshield, handling a horrific injury during a hike, and, of course they\u2019re ridiculously important for gunshot wounds. If you are going to carry a tool designed to start the bleed you should also be armed with a tool made to stop the bleed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Basic IFAK Breakdown<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
    \"How-To:
    Dark Angel Medical EDC IFAK<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

    Since what we\u2019re going for is a relatively basic IFAK consider\nthis list a starting point, not a stopping point. And if it seems like a lot just\nstart small. Where? Get the TQ first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    • Tourniquet (SOFTT-W or CATT)<\/li>
    • Rolled gauze<\/li>
    • Nitrile gloves<\/li>
    • SAM Splint<\/li>
    • Hemostatic gauze (QuikClot BCD)<\/li>
    • Silk tape (3M Durapore 1-inch-by-10-yards)<\/li>
    • Tape (3M Micropore Paper Tape)<\/li>
    • Band-Aids<\/li>
    • Tweezers<\/li>
    • Trauma Shears<\/li>
    • Survival Blanket (AKA Space Blanket)<\/li>
    • Diphenhydramine (brand name Benadryl)<\/li>
    • Aspirin<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

      If you\u2019re trained in their use, include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      • Decompression needle<\/li>
      • Chest seal <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

        Tourniquet Details<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
        \"How-To:
        SOFFT-W tourniquet (Photo courtesy Dark Angel Medical)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

        Not all tourniquets are created equal. Just because a product has the word \u201ctourniquet\u201d in its name doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s a good choice as a life-saving tool. It\u2019s also worth noting your belt is not a TQ. Neither are your shoelaces, paracord, or whatever other cord-like material is around. That\u2019s not to say they cannot or should not be used as last-resort materials but simply to say those items are not appropriate or truly effective TQs and must not be treated as such. There\u2019s nothing wrong with improvising when there are multiple injuries or victims to treat in a short timeframe but there is something wrong with failing to be prepared. Get yourself a proper TQ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        There are quite a few options out there when it comes to tourniquets. The top two are the SOFTT-W \u2013 \u201cW\u201d for Wide \u2013 and CATT. The SOFTT is also a good choice, it just lacks the wider strap of the SOFTT-W. Additional features of the SOFTT-W \u2013 ones you should be looking for on any tourniquet – include a 1.5-inch wide constricting band and rugged windlass machined from aluminum bar stock. When you\u2019re treating someone who\u2019s bleeding out, rapid constriction is of the utmost importance and so is a tough windlass that\u2019s simple and straightforward to use. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Other considerations: a second tourniquet can be placed overlapping the first for further constriction. In addition, a R.A.T.S. tourniquet is useful for children and hunting dogs, so consider including one in your pack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        ID’ing a Wound<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
        \"How-To:
        (Photo credit: First Aid for Free)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

        Wound identification can be tough especially if you don\u2019t have the training or experience to go with it. This is why training matters. If you end up in an emergency you have to do your best based on whatever training you\u2019ve done. Of course, that means actually taking the initiative to get good first-aid training. In short, a life-threatening arterial wound pulses and spurts. In addition, the blood has a bright red, oxygen-rich color. Because veins return blood to the heart the blood from a venous bleed will be darker red and produce a steady flow without the tell-tale spurting of an artery. That doesn\u2019t mean a venous injury can\u2019t be deadly. Think of it this way: arteries pump and veins dump.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Bottom Line<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
        \"How-To:
        Galco Gunleather Ankle Trauma Medical Kit<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

        This list is meant to get you started. It\u2019s not a\ncomprehensive first aid supply list for the medical kit I hope you\u2019ve got\nstashed in your truck. And much like owning a gun, having an IFAK doesn\u2019t mean\nyou can handle an injury. Get some training. I highly recommend Kerry Davis\u2019\nclasses he teaches through his company, Dark Angel Medical. His gear is quality\nas well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        It does take effort to carry an IFAK but you learned\nto carry your handgun on a daily basis, right? Can\u2019t you get used to carrying\nsomething you\u2019re more likely to use? Galco Gunleather has an Ankle Trauma\nMedical Kit \u2013 ATM Kit – available designed for ambidextrous use. The ATM-Kit is\nmade from neoprene, fits ankles up to 16-inches in circumference, and holds everything\nfrom a TQ to QuikClot to trauma shears. Dark Angel Medical has several options\nas well. There\u2019s no excuse not to have a properly-stocked IFAK with you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Get to work. If you can start a bleed you should be\nable to stop one.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        If there ever was a wildly underutilized and misunderstood piece of gear in the gun world it\u2019s probably the Individual First Aid Kit, IFAK. If you can start a bleed you should be able to stop one.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":89,"featured_media":121326,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_specdata_upc":"","_specdata_placement":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1134,91],"tags":[2372,132,102,2370,1859,2371],"featured":[],"hunt365":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-121325","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-kat-ainsworth","8":"category-columns-prepping-survival-tips","9":"tag-be-prepared","10":"tag-buzz","11":"tag-feature-articles","12":"tag-first-aid","13":"tag-gear-review","14":"tag-wound-care"},"yoast_head":"\nHow-To: Building an IFAK<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"How-To: Building an IFAK - Kat Ainsworth\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/how-to-building-an-ifak\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How-To: Building an IFAK\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"If there ever was a wildly underutilized and misunderstood piece of gear in the gun world it\u2019s probably the Individual First Aid Kit, IFAK. If you can start a bleed you should be able to stop one.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/how-to-building-an-ifak\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Gun Reviews and News | GunsAmerica.com\/Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/gunsamerica\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/KatAinsworthBOOM\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-05-31T20:33:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-09-06T10:12:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/ifak1.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"319\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"158\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Kat Ainsworth\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@gunsamerica\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@gunsamerica\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Kat Ainsworth\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/how-to-building-an-ifak\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/how-to-building-an-ifak\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Kat Ainsworth\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/#\/schema\/person\/26cb3e61bc04531aaa781a4ed61f369b\"},\"headline\":\"How-To: Building an IFAK\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-05-31T20:33:57+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-09-06T10:12:57+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/how-to-building-an-ifak\/\"},\"wordCount\":1033,\"commentCount\":4,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/how-to-building-an-ifak\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/ifak1.png\",\"keywords\":[\"be prepared\",\"Buzz\",\"Feature Articles\",\"first aid\",\"gear review\",\"wound care\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Kat Ainsworth\",\"Prepping 101\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/how-to-building-an-ifak\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/how-to-building-an-ifak\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/how-to-building-an-ifak\/\",\"name\":\"How-To: Building an IFAK\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/how-to-building-an-ifak\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/how-to-building-an-ifak\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/ifak1.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-05-31T20:33:57+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-09-06T10:12:57+00:00\",\"description\":\"How-To: Building an IFAK - Kat Ainsworth\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/how-to-building-an-ifak\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/how-to-building-an-ifak\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/how-to-building-an-ifak\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/ifak1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/ifak1.png\",\"width\":319,\"height\":158,\"caption\":\"How-To: Building an IFAK\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/how-to-building-an-ifak\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How-To: Building an IFAK\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/\",\"name\":\"Gun Reviews and News | GunsAmerica.com\/Digest\",\"description\":\"Gun Reviews, Industry News, and Product Reviews for Rifles, Pistols, Revolvers, Shotguns, Optics, and Ammunition. 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Her love and enjoyment of firearms extends to both self-defense and hunting, and she's driven to teach safe gun handling. Kat's the author of several books and thousands of articles as well as a successful editor with more than a decade of experience in marketing. With experience in everything from defensive handgun use to field dressing a deer, Kat's background is varied and extensive. She firmly believes in the importance of protecting the Second Amendment as well as the First. When she's not behind a gun or processing her own game meat, Kat can be found trapping, boating, doing yoga, and mudding. The outdoors and the Lone Star State are where she belongs. Experience Author: Handgun Hunting and anthologies including The Deer Shot Back: And Other Hunting Tales and How Not to Shoot Fish and Other Deer That Got Away.\u00a0 Dedicated Outdoorsman: Year-round enthusiast of hunting, trapping, and fishing. Advanced Training: More than 1000 hours of training in defensive handguns, long guns, edged weapons, self-defense law, force-on-force, handgun retention, and related topics. Focused Specialty Skills: Expert witness. Massad Ayoob Group certified Deadly Force Instructor and graduate of Active Self Protection The Practice & Preparation of Being an Expert Witness.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/KatAinsworthBOOM\/","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/derteufelkatze\/"],"url":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/author\/kat-ainsworth\/"}]}},"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/ifak1-150x74.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121325","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/89"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=121325"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121325\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":186183,"href":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121325\/revisions\/186183"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/121326"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=121325"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=121325"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=121325"},{"taxonomy":"featured","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/featured?post=121325"},{"taxonomy":"hunt365","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hunt365?post=121325"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}