Recon Medical Pack -Includes Recon Medical GEN 4 Tourniquet Kevlar, Titanium Trauma Shears, Trauma Bandage, Compressed Gauze, Emergency Blanket, Carbon Pencil. First Aid Tactical (Green, Canvas Bag)

I'm a professional EMT, 15 years experience, bought this for my own testing of productsCompressed gauze is suitable, 4 yds x 3 inch & z folded, making it perfect for packing. Only issue is the tear tabs aren't the most visible. You may want to darken them with a Sharpe so you can find them easier under duress.Izzy is standard Chinese imitation, they work well, elastic just slightly looser of a weave then the Persys emergency bandage the military uses, or the Israeli First Aid (OG) IzzyEmergency blanket is standard Mylar, that was been blackened on one side, so its non reflective.Trauma shears are good, 7 1/4 inch so may be harder to pack them into smaller cases.Carbon pencil works, will write on the TQ & a casualty card.Case is garbage, non mollie, simple belt loop, thin material, but I didn't buy for the case.Now for the reason I bought it & am writing this, the TQ. The TQ is a CAT clone, so I was leary about it, but I've heard good things, so I wanted to test it. upon opening it, I was disappointed it didn't come staged for use, but that isn't a huge deal. Length is equivalent to the CAT, which is great. Hook & loop band is almost as heavy in pile thickness as the CAT, & isn't noticeably different unless you're really looking. Windlass is fantastic. Aluminum & knurled, so it won't slip in your hand as easily as the CAT when its covered in blood. I applied it to my left thigh at its thickest point. The grommetted finger hole is a fantastic improvement, as it allowed me to really get the band tight around my thigh. Tighter, then what I've ever been able to get a CAT on, I couldn't even slip a finger under the band, but the CAT I can usually get my pinkie to fit somewhat. Turning the windlass I noticed that it would hit the retaining clip or catch the securing time band, so it wasn't as smooth as the CAT. However, it only took one 360° revolution to occlude blood flow, the CAT usually takes 540° to 720° to occlude. This is because that finger hole permitted me to get a very tight fit with the band. My leg went immediately numb. I wore it for about an hour on my thigh, which was all I could tolerate due to the pain. I inspected the TQ body, & no signs of wear or stress fractures. I then applied it to a rough log (approx. the size of a thigh in diameter), spun the windlass a full 900° (2.5 revolutions, which was as far as I could tighten it without severely staining) & drug it violently on the concrete for ten minutes to simulate abrasive failure from dragging & it held firm. I left it in place for 4 hours (the amount of time the TQ can be safely in place) & found no signs of stress breaks or weakening in the TQ body. TQ band is Kevlar reinforced & stitched which withheld against the concrete abrasions & the rough edges splinters of the log.I would still recommend a CoTCCC TQ are your primary TQ, but I'm really impressed with the Recon. It gets my approval for a secondary TQ, which , as I've said numerous times, you need to have. I staged the Recon & it packs much smaller then the CAT, which I really liked. It gets down to the size of a staged SOFTT-W in length, just a little thicker. It is now replied to the log, at the same tension for a 24 hr stress test.For $25 bucks this kit will get you everything you need for an IFAK, minus a case, primary TQ, chest seals, gloves, & an npa w/ lube. Not a bad deal.

At ~$25, this Recon Medical Pack is an excellent, affordable trauma kit to keep in your car, range bag, or home in case you or others sustain a traumatic injury such as a gunshot wound or severe cut/puncture wound. The kit consists of a red zippered nylon pouch, which contains a vacuum sealed bundle of gauze (for wound packing/dressing), a vacuum sealed emergency bandage (4" Israeli style with the compression clip), a well made tourniquet, a decent pair of emergency scissors (for cutting away clothing, etc. to expose the wound), and a rescue blanket.This kit has everything you need to treat a traumatic injury, but might benefit from the inclusion of a couple of Celox packets (blood clotting/coagulating agent). There is very little extra space inside the pouch--which is a good thing for a compact kit--but if you wanted to improve it further, you might opt to include a couple of Celox packets (blood clotting/coagulating agent), an occlusive bandage/HyFin chest seal, a few large adhesive bandages (for less severe but still significant injuries), and/or a few pain tablets (Ibuprofen, etc.).What I love about this kit is the following: (1) the price is excellent, at less than half of what many other, similarly stocked trauma kits cost; (2) the quality of the materials is very good, insofar as the items appear well constructed and more than sufficient for the single-use emergency scenario this kind of kit is intended for; and (3) there's no attempt to inflate/pad the value of the kit by cramming in unnecessary "extras" to turn this into an "all purpose" first aid kit. The entire point of a good trauma kit is that it be easy to identify and access in an emergency, contain the most essential items for treating said trauma, and small/light enough to carry around with you so you have it. Lots of people fall into the trap of building the "ultimate" medical kit for all scenarios, as if they are creating a mobile hospital room, but the kit ends up so large, bulky, or heavy that it sits somewhere in a closet after they tire of lugging it around. This kit is slim enough you can stuff it in the side pocket of most range bags, easily stow it in the console or glove compartment of your car, or even carry it in a large coat or cargo pant pocket (if you're committed enough to want to have it "on body" at all times).The weight of mine as received (i.e. no additional items added) is 363 grams (12.75 oz. or roughly three-quarters of a pound). I assume the weight will vary slightly from kit to kit based on slight variances in the amount of gauze included and/or variations in the materials used for some of the components. Dimensions of the pouch as received are 7" x 5.5" x 2" (measured).If you're looking for a good affordable trauma kit, this is highly recommended. If you're considering purchasing another kit at two or three times the price, my advice is to buy two or three of these kits instead and put them in the two or three areas you're likeliest to have access to them when you need them (i.e., you car, home, range bag, and office--or some such). It's a good kit, and no kit is useful unless you have it when an emergency strikes AND you know how to use it. (Make sure you know how to use these items or there's no point in having it!)