<www.blueforcegear.com>
DIMS: Approx 5.5"W x 7"H x 3"D
Most are figuring out that a tear away design is the way to go for a personal medical pouch due to the time sensitive nature of a life threatening injury.
BFG started with this concept and took it a step further with ease to deploy. Rather than needing to release a SRB, give a strong velcro tear, then unzip the pouch; The Trauma Kit Now can be deployed in one smooth motion of pulling the main exterior pull tab which will tear out the interior. The interior panel then can be placed as desired, goods ready for immediate access. How the interior panel connects with the exterior pouch is a careful balance of flaps and velcro to optimize ease of use while still being secure enough for the battlefield. If the situation becomes grim, a mere pinky can be enough to to grab the pull tab and extract the panel. The exterior pouch is even slightly tapered to further aid extraction.
The pull out panel is simple, but with a well laid out elastic webbing matrix. If you purchase the package deal version of the Trauma Kit Now, it comes with:
(1) Cinch-Tight Combat Dressing NSN 6510-01-503-2109
(1) PriMed Compressed Gauze NSN 6510-01-503-2117
(1) TK4 Combat Tourniquet NSN 6515-01-542-7696
(1) Combat Medic Reinforced Tape NSN 6510-01-549-0927
(1) Petrolatum Gauze Pad 3"x9"
(4) Nitrile Surgical Gloves
For those who already have goods, this pouch can accommodate most issued IFAK packages so you can use what you have been trained on, but have a higher speed pouch. For further options there are grommet holes on both the panel and exterior to allow a cord connection if desired or also give great places to secure chemlights.
The exterior also has a small velcro flap pocket on the side for securing shears or rescue hooks while webbing on top is built in to accommodate the Tourniquet Now strap as shown with the Army issue CAT tourniquet. As a bonus, that top webbing is velcro covered to allow the user to apply patches / ID. Since not holding ammo, 500d cordura is used in many places to minimize weight without much loss of durability. For the PALS connection method BFG uses their own variant using velcro tabs combined with snag loops. The result is fairly easy to weave and I'd give it a medium security rating.
Although not included, the Tourniquet Now strap can also be used on any other kit with PALS webbing such as vests or packs. It is one of those simple ideas that you can't figure out why no one has made it before. Just weave it where a tourniquet is desired and you are good to go. It perhaps could also be used as quick access mounting of some bandage types.
At the moment I think the Trauma Kit Now is the easiest to deploy IFAK system on the market. Every detail is well thought out and executed resulting in my high recommendation of the pouch. The only con side I can think of is security worries of an accidental rip out, however the chances of something snagging to the non-looped pull tab are quite slim. Be sure and check out the video to see it in action:
<BlueForce VIDEO 2>
