New to our Safety Shop this week, is the Survival Home/Workplace First Aid Kit– the bigger, red version of the kits. Survival First Aid Kits are not the cheapest First Aid Kit that you’ll find. However, there are a number of things that I think justify the cost, and I’ll talk through these shortly.

The outer of the kit is very durable, and also has Molle attachments

The outer of the kit itself is made of a cordura style fabric, with molle straps, and clips. It is very heavy duty, and designed to last. It is also a soft housing, which means the kit will flex and squeeze into a range of spaces for storage, which I like over a plastic style kit.

As an approved workplace first aid kit, the list of items it contains is pretty extensive:

Contents

• 50 x Adhesive dressings, sterile, individually wrapped
• Antiseptic/Wound Care – saline, sterile, 30ml x2
• 1 x Bandage shears, 19cm stainless steel
• 1 x Combine dressing, sterile, 10cm x 20cm
• 3 x Conforming bandage, 7.5cm x 1.8m unstretched
• 3 x Conforming bandage, 5cm x 1.8m unstretched
• 5 x Cotton gauze swabs, (3 per pack), sterile, 7.5cm x 7.5cm
• 1 x CPR Card
• 1 x Emergency blanket, 2.1m x 1.6m in zip lock bag
• 4 x Eye pads, sterile
• 3 x Fever scan strip
• 1 x First Aid Booklet
• 5 x Hydro gel, sterile 3.5ml sachets
• 1 x Hypo allergenic adhesive tape, 25mm wide roll
• 1 x Ice Pack (instant). One use only.
• 5 x Nitrile gloves (1 pair in CPR KIT)
• 6 x Non-adherent wound dressing, sterile, 5cm x 5cm
• 3 x Non-adherent wound dressing, sterile, 7.5cm x 10cm
• 1 x Non-adherent wound dressing, sterile, 10cm x 10cm
• Note pad (located at the back of the First Aid Booklet) & pencil
• 3 x Plastic bags (3 sizes)
• 2 x Pressure bandage – 1 SMART Bandage, heavy duty, 10cm x 2m; 1 medium weight, 10cm x 1.8m
• 1 x Resuscitation face mask, disposable, incl 1 pair gloves & 1 skin cleaning wipe (in CPR KIT)
• 6 x Safety pins
• 4 x Saline, sterile, 30ml
• 10 x Skin cleaning wipes, with cetrimide (1 with CPR KIT)
• 10 x Splinter probes, 5 per pack, sterile
• 2 x Triangular bandage, 96cm x 96cm x 136cm
• 1 x Tweezers, rust resistant with tip guard, stainless steel
• 3 x Wound closures (3 per pack), sterile
• 1 x Wound dressings, No 14 medium, sterile
• 1 x Wound dressings, No 15 large, sterile

All of the gear inside these packs is of a very good quality, reflecting a strong Australian owned family business and their commitment to quality first aid. What really sets the kits apart though is the layout.

Each space in the kit is clearly labelled, along with the quantity the kit should have, making it easy to find things, and to replenish.

When you open the kit up, everything is labelled for where it goes in the kit, and there is even a qty marked on them. This is brilliant because it makes it easy to find things, and it also acts as an easy reminder when items are low or have run out – I don’t know about you, but with other first aid kits I find that I lose that inventory list of items the first time the kit is used, and then never really know what I need to replenish. Not an issue with these kits!

The guys at Survival also make it easy to re-stock the kits too – you can visit their website, choose re-stock pack, and either buy the contents of the pack, or items individually.

It is easy to restock the whole kit, or individual items…

The other really cool thing about the guys from Survival First Aid is that they developed a ‘smart’ bandage. One of the challenges with applying a bandage can be getting the tension right, especially under pressure. Recognising this, they guys at Survival designed a bandage with visual markers on them, which start out as rectangles and stretch to squares when the optimal pressure is being applied. It makes a highly stressful situation that bit easier, which I think is fantastic.

SMART Bandage (Snakes & Funnel-webs)

The smart bandage – the rectangles stretch into a square when the tension is ideal to prevent cutting off circulation which is a brilliant idea!

I haven’t had to use the First Aid kit for a real emergency, but I can say with certainty that I feel very prepared to manage one with the comprehensive contents of this particular kit. And with the clever design, there is space for me to augment the kit myself if I feel the need to

This kit is now a permanent fixture in our Club 4X4 vehicles

Plenty of space to augment for your individual needs too!

Also available:

• Vehicle first Aid Kit
• Snake Bite Kit

The Survival range of First Aid kits is now available in the Safety Shop. Prices are below. Shop members save 5% off the RRP, and Policyholders save 20%.

RRP Member Policyholder

Workplace First Aid Kit $144.95 $137.70 $115.95

Vehicle First Aid Kit $94.95 $90.20 $80.71

Snake Bite Kit $69.95 $66.45 $55.95