November 2023: We updated this list to remove NAR Rescue Squad kit and Rescue Essentials kit.
We’re usually about putting holes into stuff. But today, we cover things designed to treat holes in you.
Well, not just holes in you…but scrapes, burns, cuts, lacerations, and other tragic affairs. Of course, that means we are talking IFAKs.
What’s an IFAK? An IFAK is an individual first aid kit.
It’s a military concept that’s spread into the police and military world. In the military, the IFAK has saved countless lives. No longer is “Doc” the only one who carries medical equipment.
Just because my time in the military is over doesn’t mean that my time with IFAKs is over. After my service, I became a big proponent of IFAKs, and at a minimum, I always keep one in my car.
Today, I’ll cover what goes into IFAKs, the best pouches to carry, and some complete IFAK kits.
THE QUICK LIST
-
Editor’s Pick Pouch
-
Best Budget Pouch
-
Best Ankle Kit
-
Best Large Kit
-
Best Compact Kit
Table of Contents
Loading…
How We Chose the Best IFAK Pouches & Kits
Recommendations are based on the experiences of our staff — which range from U.S. Marine Corps veterans to American Heart Association-trained Basic Life Support instructors.
The IFAKs recommended are ones we’ve researched extensively and/or used as our own personal IFAKs. We’ve based our decisions on value, features, durability, and ease of carry.
Best IFAK Pouches
If you are building your kit, choosing a pouch will be a big deal.
1. Best Basic Pouch – USMC Pouch
-
25% off all OAKLEY products - OAKLEY25
Copied! Visit Merchant
Pros
- Simple and basic
- Affordable
Cons
- Not a lot of bells and whistles
Well duh. The USMC was my first, and even though it’s simple, it is useful. It’s also quite cheap and very roomy.
It lacks the sexiness of the new IFAK pouches out there, but it works, and it’s been proven in combat by a few thousand infantry Marines.
I had the same IFAK for five years and two deployments, and it never even frayed.
There isn’t a whole lot to say. It’s a pouch that holds supplies and holds quite a bit of them. It’s sturdy, affordable, and widely available.
2. Editor’s Pick Pouch – BFG Trauma Kit Now Micro
-
25% off all OAKLEY products - OAKLEY25
Copied! Visit Merchant
Pros
- Modern
- Can wear on a belt
Cons
- On the smaller side
- Pricey
Another favorite and one of the most modern kits is the BFG Trauma Kit. It’s a nice pouch, so you can fit a lot of goods in this kit, and it won’t give up on you.
The Trauma Kit Now Micro can easily slip onto your belt, making it great for range days!
You can stock the must-have essentials, and, since it’s on you, you don’t have to fumble in a range bag to get what you need.
3. Best Budget Pouch – Blackhawk STRIKE First Aid Pouch
-
25% off all OAKLEY products - OAKLEY25
Copied! Visit Merchant
Pros
- Great for a range bag
- Budget friendly
Cons
- Easy-to-organize kit that doesn't have a removable aspect to it
The STRIKE Pouch is an affordable design that’s very simple but excels in organization. The inside sports two internal dividers and a lot of elastic bands for simple and secure storage of medical items.
The Strike pouch hinges open, and the bottom of the pouch doesn’t just flap in the wind. Everything is easily accessible and straightforward to use.
This is my go-to range bag IFAK — it can squeeze in a lot of gear.
The design is well thought out, and if you want an easy-to-organize kit that doesn’t have a removable aspect to it the Strike Pouch is for you.
Best IFAK Complete Kits
If you want to avoid having to build your kit, some pre-built kits will need very little to nothing added to be a useful piece of equipment.
A pre-built IFAK can be a very viable choice as long as you understand its contents and what you are using it for. I always suggest adding at least one CAT tourniquet to any kit. You might want to upgrade the scissors, too.
4. Best Ankle Kit – Dark Angel Medical Ankle Kit
Prices accurate at time of writing
Prices accurate at time of writing
-
25% off all OAKLEY products - OAKLEY25
Copied! Visit Merchant
Pros
- Slim and compact
- Easy to wear on the ankle
Cons
- Only the basics, no extras
Carrying a MOLLE Mounted IFAK can be tough to accomplish in jeans and a T-shirt.
You might get some looks about it. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t carry an IFAK. You just need to be smart about it.
The Dark Angel Medical Ankle Kit is how you beat the glares. This kit gives you the basics for a traumatic wound, including a CAT TQ, a chest seal, Quickclot, and a compression bandage in a hand-dandy kit that wraps around your ankle.
This ensures it’s concealed, although skinny jeans probably won’t work with the ankle kit. Toss it under your jeans and hit the ground running.
Every day, you’ll be ready for whatever life throws at you.
What do you think of the Dark Angel kit? Rate it below!
5. Best Large Kit – MyMedic MyFak Large Pro First-Aid Kit
Prices accurate at time of writing
Prices accurate at time of writing
-
25% off all OAKLEY products - OAKLEY25
Copied! Visit Merchant
Pros
- Various sizes
- Loaded with things you need
Cons
- Can be bulky based on what you order
Want to skip tracking down all the little bits, and just add in the big stuff that you have an actual opinion on? Start with a kit from MyMedic.
They design these kits with usability under stress in mind, so they’re fantastic for those of us who don’t have the experience of working while under fire.
If you want to learn more about this kit or its little brother size, check out our full, hands-on MyMedic first-aid kit review!
6. Best for Pets – Adventure Medical Kits Me and My Dog Medical Kit
-
25% off all OAKLEY products - OAKLEY25
Copied! Visit Merchant
Pros
- Perfect for pets
- Nice extras like a leash
Cons
- Obviously not for people
It’s not uncommon to take your favorite pup on adventures, hikes, and more. If this applies to you, then you might need to consider first aid goodies for your best friend.
Dogs on the trail can’t always be treated with your normal medical gear, and Adventure Medical Kit makes an adventure kit for both of you.
The Me and My Dog Medical Kit includes the basic medical gear that works for you or the pup.
On top of that, you get a spare leash, a Pet First Aid Manual, a tick remover, a cold press, a bandage that can double as a muzzle, and more that make it well suited for use on a dog.
It’s a simple setup that doesn’t pack the goods for a gunfight or serious traumatic injury, so you might want to add a TQ for you and a TacMed K9 TQ for your pup.
I’d also add a collapsible bowl for water for your good boy or girl — and some treats, of course.
7. Best Compact Kit – Mountain Man Medical Sweetwater & Yellowstone
Prices accurate at time of writing
Prices accurate at time of writing
-
25% off all OAKLEY products - OAKLEY25
Copied! Visit Merchant
Pros
- Loaded with essentials
- Can add on
- Small and easy to carry
Cons
- Expensive
PPT Editor-in-Chief Jacki also really digs the Mountain Man Medical Sweetwater & Yellowstone IFAK kits.
They come with pretty much everything you need for a good IFAK — shears, gloves, sharpie, gauze, chest seal, tourniquet…you name it, it’s probably in there.
And bonus, you can order extra stuff through them if you want an extra CAT or two.
You can read Jacki’s full review here!
8. Best Range Kit – North American Rescue I-ROK Kit
Prices accurate at time of writing
Prices accurate at time of writing
-
25% off all OAKLEY products - OAKLEY25
Copied! Visit Merchant
Pros
- Rugged
- Good for range days
- Polymer case so it's durable
Cons
- Can't stow as easily as fabric pouches
Do you camp, hike, kayak, fish, hunt, or do any general adventuring? If you take an arrow to the knee, it’s not the time to stop adventuring and guard Skyrim.
No, bring a kit, specifically the North American Rescue I-ROK Kit.
Like most NAR goods, it’s shoved full of efficient and effective gear. You get everything from a tourniquet to a CPR face mask and even a mini roll of duct tape.
Plus, a set of instructions to help walk you through some basic medical treatment.
What makes this kit stand out for adventuring is the case design. It’s a high-impact polymer that is crushproof, dustproof, and waterproof.
The I-ROK won’t fail you and will keep up with whatever adventure you take it on.
What Goes in an IFAK?
An IFAK should address the most common and most dangerous injuries that can occur in the big and dangerous world. Without serious medical training and the best equipment in the world, you can’t save everyone.
An IFAK isn’t a miracle worker, and neither are you. But it can keep you or someone else alive long enough to get them to real medical care, and that is what an IFAK is all about.
The first line of the above paragraph says it all. An IFAK treats the most deadly and most common injuries that someone on the ground can treat in the first place. This is why we aren’t packing an AED, a hospital bed, a wash station, and other hospital gear.
We pack what we can carry and what we can use with the minimal medical training we have. Most of the time, that’s enough to keep someone alive until they reach higher medical care.
The Journal of Trauma: Injury, Infection, and Critical Care lists the most common forms of preventable death as:
- Compressible hemorrhage – 60%
- Tension pneumothorax – 33%
- Airway obstruction and ventilatory compromise – 6%
Blood Loss
Bleeding was one of the most common battlefield deaths before an IFAK. Your body is just a giant meat sack of blood, and in general, you want to keep as much blood in your body as possible.
Several tools will allow you to keep that blood where it should be. Some are for extremities, and some are for the torso, while some work for both.
Tourniquets
The Modern Tactical Tourniquet has saved more lives on the battlefield than any other medical tool. As a Marine, we carried tourniquets with us in bulk.
One on the flak jacket, one in the IFAK, one in the cargo pocket, and one on the rifle, really one everywhere you could fit one.
Our tourniquets were known as CAT tourniquets, and they were absolute lifesavers. Unfortunately, since they became so popular, a lot of low-quality clones arrived on the market. These clones are not built to any real standard.
Prices accurate at time of writing
Prices accurate at time of writing
-
25% off all OAKLEY products - OAKLEY25
Copied! Visit Merchant
They are not built up to snuff but are okay for training purposes. Your life is not worth saving a few bucks on, so buy the best.
We go over myths, proper usage, our favorite tourniquets, and the best tourniquet holders in our Best Tourniquets article.
Hemostatic Agents
Hemostatic agents have evolved a lot in the last few years and have gone from burning-based powder to the more comfortable, more effective, and safer Combat Gauze.
I don’t suggest powdered QuikClot anymore, but QuikClot combat gauze is a must-have.
Prices accurate at time of writing
Prices accurate at time of writing
-
25% off all OAKLEY products - OAKLEY25
Copied! Visit Merchant
While it was developed with the military in mind, QuikClot is now making these dressing for the civilian market and advertising them as such.
These are Hemostatic agents that you fill a wound with. It aids in hemorrhage control and helps the blood clot.
QuickClot has some different sizes and designs available at very affordable prices.
Israeli Bandage
The Israeli bandage is called a lot of things, but the original name is the most well-known.
These bandages are revolutionary when it comes to hemorrhage control and compression. Once you shove a wound full of hemostatic gauze, what do you do?
Prices accurate at time of writing
Prices accurate at time of writing
-
25% off all OAKLEY products - OAKLEY25
Copied! Visit Merchant
You keep it in there with this Trauma Wound Dressing.
It’s a pressure dressing that is a sterile dressing with an elastic bandage and a pressure applicator that puts 30 pounds of pressure on a wound. The Israeli Bandage incorporates a closure bar which makes it easy to ensure the bandage stays in place.
It’s really easy to apply, and the user can apply it to themselves with a single arm. A quick Youtube tutorial is all that’s needed to learn to use this simple bandage. It’s a must-have.
Sucking Chest Wound
Sucking chest wounds are another common and preventable killer.
Long-term treatment of a sucking chest wound is dealt with at a hospital, but you can help prevent damage and save a life by treating a sucking chest wound as quickly as possible.
If untreated, a sucking chest develops into Tension Pneumothorax, which listed above, is the second significant preventable killer.
A sucking chest wound occurs when there is a hole in the chest that creates a new and not needed airway into the chest. You don’t need or want extra air in the chest, and too much extra air will collapse a lung.
To treat a sucking chest wound, you need to keep the air from getting in and hopefully let the air out. I was taught many battlefield methods using duct tape and MRE wrappers, but we’ll avoid that here. Much better options exist, and they are called chest seals.
There are quite a few well-made chest seals out there, and they come in a wide variety of sizes.
These things work very well and will stick and adhere to the body very well. Even when you are soaked in sweat, hair, and dirt it’s not an issue.
Oh, but it is gonna hurt when you yank it off if you are a hairy gun. Be prepared to Shout, “Oh Kelly Clarkson.”
North American Rescue, one of my favorite companies, is also producing chest seals that are square-shaped and a little easier to carry in small IFAKs. I trust North American Tactical enough to suggest them and recommend them with my full support.
Prices accurate at time of writing
Prices accurate at time of writing
-
25% off all OAKLEY products - OAKLEY25
Copied! Visit Merchant
Burns
Burns suck; the constant pain, the smell, and the long-term effects are terrible. Helping relieve the pain is the first step in treating the injury.
Treating big burns requires more than an IFAK can carry, but small burns along the body can be treated, and pain can be relieved significantly by a quick-acting and well-equipped first responder.
Burn gel is the key to helping reduce pain and treat a burn. We carried a big packet of burn gel in our IFAKs by a company called Water Jel.
-
25% off all OAKLEY products - OAKLEY25
Copied! Visit Merchant
This burn dressing is a sterile, gel-soaked dressing with a few qualities you need for treating burns.
First, it’s non-adhesive, which is critical for treating a burn. It also stops the burning process immediately.
These dressings save skin and reduce the injury profile. It also relieves pain and keeps the area from becoming contaminated.
Cleanliness and Infection Prevention
Both sides of an injury should be in mind when it comes to contamination and infection. In a rapidly evolving emergency, you may not have time to wash up. If you can, you should, though.
For the provider of first aid, I also say keep gloves on hand. Nitrile sterilized gloves in a bag are a simple and cheap addition to any IFAK…bring a few sets.
Prices accurate at time of writing
Prices accurate at time of writing
-
25% off all OAKLEY products - OAKLEY25
Copied! Visit Merchant
Gloves keep you from being exposed to contaminants and prevent you from potentially infecting your patient.
A spray with antiseptic is another way to control germs and infection.
A small 2.75-ounce can of spray is small and easily stored if needed. This spray isn’t a must-have but a handy-to-have. Dermoplast even has a pain reliever in it — bonus, it’s pretty cheap.
-
25% off all OAKLEY products - OAKLEY25
Copied! Visit Merchant
Boo Boos
For the little wounds, I suggest buying a few things.
These, again, aren’t designed to save lives but to make life more comfortable. If you are lucky, this is the only part of your kit you’ll ever need.
-
25% off all OAKLEY products - OAKLEY25
Copied! Visit Merchant
Here are a few little things for little boo-boos.
- Variety pack of Band-Aids
- Sting Relief Wipes
- Pain Relief Pills
- Neosporin
The Little Things
These are a few other things I think every kit needs to be complete. These are tiny but important pieces of equipment that aren’t necessarily medically required.
A Good Flashlight – I’d go with something small and simple. I used to carry a Streamlight Stylus as a penlight, and it’s an excellent choice. But I recently moved to a headlamp. A headlight lets me keep things hands-free, which may be a necessary consideration.
-
25% off all OAKLEY products - OAKLEY25
Copied! Visit Merchant
For everyday carry lights, you’ll want one of the 5 Best EDC Flashlights we reviewed.
Trauma Shears – Cut through clothes with ease! These things are great for a variety of tasks. They are large, which makes them hard for small kits, but for hiking or bug-out bags, I’d pack them.
Prices accurate at time of writing
Prices accurate at time of writing
-
25% off all OAKLEY products - OAKLEY25
Copied! Visit Merchant
Large Tweezers – From splinter to infectious materials, a pair of tweezers is a great thing to have. It makes it easy to precisely pull stuff out of where it shouldn’t be.
Sharpie – A black Sharpie is perfect for writing the time a tourniquet was applied, as well as vital information on the patient. Yes, directly on the patient for higher medical to see.
Training (Get it!)
The thing about first aid is that if you aren’t trained in how to apply it, does a bunch of gear help you?
First aid is a lot like shooting a gun. All the gear in the world isn’t going to make you better at it.
Now outside of the most advanced and well-made medical gear in the world, you can get some of the best training in the world. No matter where in the United States you live, there is a company or group that offers medical classes.
But where do you go to get training? Well, we’ve done the hard work for you.
Check out our list of the Best First Aid Classes to find the best training near you.
IFAK vs. First Aid
An IFAK is a First Aid kit technically, but I hate calling it that.
Generally, a first aid kit is a dinky little kit designed for bumps, bruises, and small cuts. An IFAK is designed to care of those bumps and bruises too, but its real focus is a traumatic injury.
The distinction is more or less just semantics. An IFAK is just more complete for curing the nastier wounds.
You can buy a pre-made kit, or you can build your own. We’ll cover a little bit of both in this article, but before that happens, let’s talk about what an IFAK should be and what it should do.
Prices accurate at time of writing
Prices accurate at time of writing
-
25% off all OAKLEY products - OAKLEY25
Copied! Visit Merchant
An IFAK is all about addressing traumatic injuries and preserving life until you can get yourself or another to a higher level of care.
Final Thoughts
Individual First Aid Kits have become quite widespread since they became the norm during the War on Terror. It’s become quite reasonable for the outdoorsman, the concealed carrier, and the prepared individual to keep one on hand in one way or another.
I keep one in my range bag and my car, just in case. IFAKs have become affordable, easy to find, and are coming from a variety of reputable manufacturers. If you conceal carry a gun, you know you have had a responsibility for your safety.
This is the same reason I keep an IFAK close at hand. I’m responsible for my safety, and an IFAK is part of that.
Do you or would you carry an IFAK, or am I paranoid? Let me know below. Also, check out our list of SHTF Essentials.
30 Leave a Reply
I keep IFAKs ready at home, in my car, and in my work bag. Each contains a tourniquet, Israeli bandage, 4x4 gauze pads, a pair of nitrile gloves, trauma shears, individual packets of Tylenol, benadryl, and Imodium, band-aids, and triple antibiotic ointment. I've found that Vertx Overflow small and medium velcro pouches hold all these items nicely.
Rule # 1: At the worst time possible in your defense encounter by you or someone else being wounded or you encounter other injury trauma, your thoughts should not be "I left the F^&kLȆ first aid kit at home!" or "Where is the F^&kLȆ first aid kit?". Unless its the bad guy wounded, then your thoughts should be along the lines of "What first aid kit? He was going to kill me, he should have bought his own first aid kit."
Rule # 2: Remember Rule # 1 and plan accordingly.
Why no mention of Refuge Medical? All American-Made and high quality products, plus amazing training courses through Refuge Training. Guaranteed for life and they'll replace anything you use to save a life for free!
The Wilderness First Responders course might be the best overall course I have ever taken. Add Stop The Bleed and you will be in great shape.
Great article! As a Nationally and AZ certified EMT, I recommend that everyone check out stopthebleed.org for an online instructional video course before attempting to use a tourniquet. There are also local courses available if you learn better on the ground. The course teaches how to stop traumatic bleeding using pressure and torniquets will no frills or bs. If you're going to carry chest seals, Hyfin are the best. I personally carry at least 4 sets of two chest seals. That way I can treat multiple entrance/exit wounds. Given the rate of opiate overdoses, it's also a good idea to carry Narcan (Naloxone) nasal spray doses. In many states, Narcan is now over the counter and anyone can administer effectively with the instructions on the box. Unfortunately, Narcan isn't always at a low price. Check with your local pharmacy for the laws in your state and pricing.
You should have mentioned that carrying a first aid kit in your vic is a good idea just as long as it can be easily accessed location where it doesn't get too hot. Under the seat works but inside console is even better.
Yea, I have one of 3 IFAKs with me just about 24/7, you're not paranoid lol. The one I've used most is a car kit because of wrecks and stuff I've encountered, but I also carry a small on one me inside an big building's, mostly cuz of the mass shootings. Good list though, very thorough.
I do carry an IFAK just about everywhere I go because of all of the mass shootings that have happened.
So many mass shootings! How many times have you actually used your IFAK during a mass shooting? Say once, and I will call you a liar. Say a 10x for vehicular accidents and I will likely believe you more. Guns are not the problem.
interesting they don't list the LAPG med pack. they listed as their favorite in the tourniquet
It's not too interesting really, this article was written by Travis in May of 2019. The Tourniquet article was written in August 2020 by me. Different writers had different opinions and our opinions can change over time as we get the chance to use more gear :D
I like your list. My kit I've carried hunting and backpacking for years was an Adeventure Medical Kit's Hunter Kit (no longer sold) that I upgraded with a SAM Splint, SAM finger splint, and QuikClot. It was such a nicely fitted kit that all I felt I needed to add were those three things. I loved that it came with its own nice set of bags. The larger main kit contained a small kit marked "Trauma" that had belt loop straps that I could attach to my belt, rifle, or backpack straps while keeping the larger main kit in my pack.
No one is ever Paranoid for having an IFAK. you're just being prepared like any good scout. Ive had and "IFAK" in one form or another since I was 16 , now at 66 I've never had to treat but a few wounds requiring stitches and other minor injuries on people around me but always had the tools for the job.
Thank you for your service and the great information.
Just put one together for my wife and I. I am thinking about giving them out as Christmas gifts.
Good write up and read.
This is a really good write-up and goes over the basic components very well. I personally do not like the Israeli Bandage for most applications and prefer simple roller gauze (I work in EMS in a large city). The larger versions made for gut wounds are really nice though!
At the very end of your writing (which was well done) you ask if we/you think you are paranoid for carrying an IFAK. I carry a firearm for preparedness, not because I am paranoid. I also believe that carrying any type of IFAK and or medical kit is extremely sensible. We/you might be the people to pull up on a vehicle accident where seconds count to potentially save someone’s life well before first responders get there. And we all might not be Trauma surgeons but doing something is a heck of a lot better than doing nothing. And if we have the right tools it is going to help. So no, We/you are not paranoid.
The Gunfighters Kit is showing not available on Amazon, and is not even listed on the NAR website. I even tried searching by part number, no joy.
Great article! Only thing missing is the ifak bag dimensions. Most oem ifak bag contents are vaccuum sealed, compressed in a 50 ton press, then run through a hydraulic garbage compactor for good luck. Once you open the contents of the ifak, make sure you have safety glasses on, and duck, as it explosively expands! If you take the Marine issue ifak, add 30% more space for putting the once opened contents back, and adding personal picks like hemostatic gause, and CATS, and bandaids, antiseptic spray, and ibuprofen/alieve.
I was thinking car holster and IFAKs days before you guys put articles on the topics. I already have an IFAK but it never hurts to double check things and compare with other people checklists. Thanks for reading my kind Pew Pew Tactical!
Great information, I'm on blood thinners and still want to fix HVAC equipment. I'll get one for my truck.
Awesome article. Great reference material for getting my IFAK together. Keep up the great work
I am from Texas and the very first item that goes into any survival kit is a snake bite kit. Did not see this in any of the selections. In TX we have the Diamond Back Rattler, Copperhead, Water Mocisen and Coral snake, all deadly.
Correct, there is no mention of snakebite kits in the article. As someone who also grew up in snake country and spent a lot of years hiking in it, I would never take a snakebite kit with me. Snakebite kits are well proven to be nearly useless and in many cases harmful. The US National Libray of Medicine has many great studies that all agree that snakebite kits are the very best completely ineffective and at worse harmful to the person bitten.
Additionally, the Mayo Clinic and the World Health Organization both recommend against the use of snakebite kits. Although the wording is different between they two, they have effectively identical treatment recommendations. Both include clearly stating that you should not cut the wound or otherwise attempt to remove the venom.
We have the same in FL except for the eastern diamondback rattlesnake vs your kind. Yes technically a water mocassin (also called cottonmouth) can kill you but they usually do not inject enough venom. Same with copperhead. And coral snakes you really have to be unlucky to get bit by one. I have never spotted one, and they are not known to be agressive. Rattlesnakes alone however are a very good reason to have a kit. I am not sure how well they work, and I hope I’ll never know.
"Band of Brothers, one of the best shows of all time – period." TRUTH
Great Article
Great article. Always considered taking first aid kit to range but never have. Given me a lot of great choices too. Put something in my wife's vehicle and mine. Can't be too safe nowadays.
Outstanding article-thanks for all the info!
Excellent article Travis! As an Airborne Infantryman, 2 tour combat Vet, Purple Heart recipient, after helping a platoon of Marines ambushed on Route Tampa, and fellow Firearms Instructor, this read was very refreshing to say the least. I love my guns but I love a good trauma kit in the hands of a trained individual near by almost as much! I am always expanding my collection of both and you gave me some solid products to check out! God Bless You, and thank you for your sacrifice for our country!!!
Awesome article! You seem to put out an article on almost every topic I have been considering lately and this one becomes a NO -BRAINER once you actually think about it. I've been coming across a lot of interesting deals on Plates and Carriers- can we get some suggestions from you?
Yes these folks are reading our minds lol