The Gun Counter

Which is good.
Gatorade is much cheaper than O- whole blood.

Oh, I've had my share of both. Got to the point where I would just tourniquet on scene. I miss american drivers on the autobahn.

Netpackrat wrote:My first aid training doesn't really go beyond what you could get in the boy scouts, but I do work on things in the dark often enough. A headlamp is probably a better idea than a regular flashlight, so you can devote both hands to your task.

A pretty girl in a specialty outdoor store sold me on a Black Diamond Storm Head Lamp. Turns out she wasn't just pretty, but smart. I love it. It's my go to light for just about everything I'm working on in anything but decent light.

ETA: Lest I sound totally shallow, she was a climber who had demonstrated good knowledge on many of the other products from actual use, and she owned this one. This store hires good-looking young people who actually use the gear they sell. It's has such good service that I happily pay the premium for the stuff I've bought there.

Regarding headlamps, my local Costco (they aren't listed on Costco.com) has these for $9.99: http://www.amazon.com/Ultra-Bright-Head ... amp+2+pack

Cheap enough to buy a few packs and keep handy in vehicles and around the house. I haven't sufficiently abused one to give a reliability report yet, but they seem to be fairly well-built. I wouldn't yet rely on one as a primary light while camping or during a blackout (I have higher quality headlamps for that role), but as a backup, they fit the bill.

Aesop wrote:Both Gatorade/equivalent and a light source are both excellent additions to any kit.

N

That caveat aside, I usually carry a tube of cake frosting for diabetic emergencies, some electrolyte powder to mix with available water.

This.

Was doing prisoner escort from Nogales to Tucson International. They were flying the illegal aliens back down to Mexico city. One of the DoJ officials stopped sweating and damn near passed out. I opened a couple of these, (http://www.iherb.com/Alacer-ElectroMix- ... 20-g/17246) into a bottle of water, and he came right around. When you stop sweating in 120+ heat, you got issues.

I used those at least twice a day when I was working for Blackwater over in Baghdad. Never once had a problem. Handed them out like candy till the others started buying their own.

Aesop wrote: (Being that good, they're currently unavailable indefinitely, blast it all, which means evidently they didn't have enough planned-obsolescence inferiority built in to keep the retailers happy. Or they've sold all they could make until the French elves who make them crank out another few conex boxes full of them, when they come back from their two-month vacay.)

Figures. Both models of headlamp that I actually like, have an annoying propensity to break the battery retaining catches. The one I have at work, is currently held together with F4 tape.

I'll ask what's up at REI the next time I'm in.
As recently as a few months ago, the Tactikka+ was available there and online with no problems.

I've had my first one for 5+ years, and I have yet to need to replace a set of batteries in any of the 5-6 of them I've acquired since then.
Headlamp, signal light, even used them as an ad hoc bicycle marker light on night rides.
The only thing I'd like even more would be one with a separate IR LED with the same 4 lo/med/high/flash modes.
So why they'd drop them without an improved version I can't figure, but it wouldn't be the stupidest thing a manufacturer could do, nor the first time.

Aesop wrote: (Being that good, they're currently unavailable indefinitely, blast it all, which means evidently they didn't have enough planned-obsolescence inferiority built in to keep the retailers happy. Or they've sold all they could make until the French elves who make them crank out another few conex boxes full of them, when they come back from their two-month vacay.)

Just an FYI: REI has them, so does MyPilotStore, and there's some on Ebay.

I also pack a really nice sissy kit when I go out, and it has come in handy more times than I can count. Just because a tension pneumo can kill you, doesn't mean a small but painful burn won't ruin your evening. A ten-cent individual package of topical lidocaine gel and a Spongebob bandaid would've made everything better.

As far as EMT school, I've looked into it. Here anyway, those 100 hours are 3 days a week for 8 hours a day - daytime workweek only. Damn.