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First Aid Pouch Kits ~ From BCB International

[©BM]
In my Factory Visit feature last month I briefly mentioned the new First Aid Pouch Kits from BCB International and promised to bring more detail, writes Bob Morrison.

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At the time of my BCB Factory Visit report I was gearing up for near back-to-back assignments taking in Yakima Training Centre in Pacific Northwest USA and the Jõhvi area of Northeast Estonia, pretty much at opposite sides of the NATO Alliance, and was sorting out the kit I would take to cover two different duration trips. As I would be travelling primarily by air on low cost airlines – at J-F we simply don’t have the resources of say the BBC or The Sun – and then picking up hire cars at my arrival airport, weight would be a consideration but I still wanted/needed to take a basic first aid kit with me; being prepared for most eventualities probably comes from two decades of editing the no longer printed COMBAT & SURVIVAL Magazine.

Life Saver 6 in the boot (trunk) of my hire car while on assignment in NW USA [©BM]

In the past I used to carry two first aid kits under the driver’s seat of my own car, one a bright dayglo quick response pouch and the other a purpose-made marked plastic box which contained additional but less likely to be used items, and when going off on a trip or assignment I would just transfer the pouch to my suitcase or bergen at the airport. However since BCB gave me prototypes of their new 2019 range Pouch Kits earlier this year I have taken one of their bright red purpose-designed First Aid Kits with me on every assignment. The larger Lifesaver 6 kit went in my case when Ramilla and I popped over to Italy for a few days in mid March and then again when I flew out to Seattle for the Yakima assignment in late April and the smaller Lifesaver 4 went with me to SOFINS in France in early April and KEVADTORM in Estonia in late May plus I also took the Lifesaver 4 with me in my hand luggage when visiting the Iturri factory in Spain in late March but I had to temporarily take out the scissors as these will not pass Airport Security restrictions. Between the pair, these pouches have clocked up a fair few air miles.

Smaller Life Saver 4 fits suggly in the front compartment of my camera bag [©BM]

In essence both these first aid pouches are identical other than in size, but with more contents in the Life Saver 6. Pack dimensions are approximately 6x6x2.5” (150x150x65mm) for the Life Saver 4 and 10x6x2.5” (250x150x65mm) for its larger sibling, with weight being approximately 10oz / 280g and 18.5oz / 520g respectively. Each of the standard design pouches is made from bright red nylon with a transparent front panel and waterproof zip around three sides to allow full opening. There is a dayglo yellow carry handle on the top, two dayglo yellow belt loops on the rear face and a matching pull cord on the zip: These pouches are most definitely non-tactical but are deliberately bright to allow them to be speedily spotted in an emergency.

Both Life Saver 6 (left) and Life Saver 4 pouches have belt loops and a clear pocket on the rear face [©BM]

On the rear face of the pouch there is a transparent pocket into which the Life Saver instruction leaflet (not illustrated as my pack contents were early prototypes) can be slipped for easy access. Inside each pouch there is a sheet of fold-out transparent pockets to allow the user to configure the contents for fast access. I have photographed the basic contents of both pouches, which vary slightly from the final published list, but at this stage I should probably point out that these are dry sets, intended to have a very long shelf life and include no creams or wet items with relatively short use-by dates, so you might wish to add (like I have, but not illustrated here) antiseptic and burns cream tubes plus a travel pack of anti-bacterial wipes picked up cheaply from supermarkets or chain chemists.

Life Saver 4 fold-out pockets [©BM]

My only medical training comes from my Boy Scout days, St. Andrew’s Ambulance (the slightly earlier Scottish equivalent of the St John Ambulance) volunteering, and a workplace First Aider course undertaken a long time ago. However, in an emergency I could probably offer, and on odd occasions over the last couple of decades have offered, basic assistance to others in need. Having a simple First Aid Kit close to hand often markedly increases the amount of medical help one can provide until others with more training arrive on the scene. Bear in mind Sod’s Law dictates that you only need something when you don’t have it and, conversely, when you have something you’ll probably never need to use it, so I reckon it makes sense to carry a First Aid Pouch Kit whenever you have space.

These BCB first aid kits, and many other first aid or survival kits and tins, can be purchased from good outdoor shops or through the BCBadventure.info online shop.

Loose contents of the Life Saver 6 in the boot/trunk of my US hire car [©BM]

Life Saver 4 pouch contents:-

  • Calico triangular bandage 90x127cm
  • No.8 medium dressing
  • No.9 medium dressing
  • Conforming bandage 7.5cm x 4m
  • Cotton gauze swabs
  • Elastic adhesive bandage 2.5cm x 4.5m
  • Paraffin gauze 10x10cm
  • First aid scissors
  • Safety pins
  • Burn bag
  • Assorted waterproof plasters
  • Lifesaver instruction leaflet.

Life Saver 6 pouch contents:-

  • Triangular bandage 90x127cm
  • No.8 medium dressing
  • No.2 ambulance dressing
  • Cotton gauze swabs
  • Extra large dressing No. 3
  • Elastic adhesive bandage 7.5cm x 4.5m
  • Paraffin gauze 10x10cm
  • First aid scissors
  • PE gloves
  • Burn bag
  • Assorted waterproof plasters
  • Zinc oxide tape
  • Lifesaver instruction leaflet

[images © Bob Morrison]

[images © Bob Morrison]

Gallery image captions, from top left to bottom right:-

  • Life Saver 4 includes bandages, gauze, tape, plasters, pins and scissors
  • Life Saver 6 pouch is an up-scaled version of the Life Saver 4 with more contents
  • Fold-out pocket panel of the Life Saver 6 First Aid Pouch Kit
  • Pockets allow the user to configure the kit for speedier access to contents
  • Life Saver 4 pouch contents – the folder polythene item top centre is a Burns Bag
  • Life Saver 6 pouch contents – more bandages are included along with disposable gloves

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