Every Day Carry Options | Medical Gear
Make a quick search online and you’ll find tons of aesthetic pictures filled with every piece of Gucci gear imaginable. Do these people really carry all of this stuff? Probably not, but they get to spend all day circle-jerking on Instagram, so that’s good enough. This post isn’t for them. This is for those of us in the real world, that actually carry our gear for (mostly) practical reasons, not for internet stardom.
If you’re anything like me, then your every day carry (EDC) load-out has drastically changed over time; learning what is and isn’t comfortable, upgrading when the cheap gear craps out because you still haven’t learned that “buy once, cry once” is real life. One category of gear that frequently goes overlooked is medical.
The Reasoning
If you’ve decided to carry something that makes a bad guy leak, then you should probably carry something to patch your own wounds, or those around you. In my four years of carrying a gun I thankfully have never once needed it, but in that same time frame I have repeatedly needed the medical equipment that was either on my person or in my vehicle. And it would be reasonable to expect that others would have the same need.
One extreme example is the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013. Most likely nobody would’ve been able to stop the attack with their gun or knife due to the nature in which it was carried out. But had more people carried tourniquets, hemostatics, and similar supplies, it is possible that the severity of injuries could’ve been reduced.
The Gear
I first started carrying a small medkit in mid 2015, attaching an ITS Tactical EDC Slimline Pouch to my belt at the 7o’clock position. Inside I had a small pack of Quikclot, band-aids, antidiuretics and other boo-boo type items. Band-aids were used weekly, and even the antidiuretics got passed out a handful of times over the few months I used this setup. Eventually I stopped carrying the Slimline Pouch due to back pain from the uneven pressure it caused–having a desk job, and two hour round-trip commute. I still throw this in my cargo pocket daily, but no longer wear it in plain clothes.
It wasn’t until earlier this year, that I began to carry medical gear on my body again, this time opting for a SOFT Tourniquet from Tactical Medical Solutions. For the first few days I kept this in my pocket, but after deciding that I needed space to carry other equipment, I ordered an IWB Rifle Mag Pouch from Snake Eater Tactical. When folded properly, a SOFT-T fits perfectly in this pouch that was originally designed to hold an M4 magazine.
Carrying
Since the SET pouch is elastic, and the SOFT-T is nylon, the two will conform to your body, making concealment a breeze; I carry mine at the 11o’clock position next to my G19. For our larger readers, you may want to wear an undershirt, as the knurled handle of the SOFT-T could dig into your gut causing some discomfort. That being said, I’ve worn this for up to 36 hours straight in both dry desert and humid midwestern heat while hiking, rock climbing, and more without issue.
The two downsides I can find are that the metal buckle on the SOFT-T will occasionally rattle, and that the SET pouch will soak up sweat–though it dries out fairly quickly.
Carry methods are nearly as diverse for medical gear as they are for handguns, and the variety of medical supplies is mind boggling. Do some research on what is truly effective, try a few carry methods, and get training on how to properly apply your equipment. Your gun is important, but for most of us, you’re a hell of a lot more likely to come across someone who needs saving rather than someone who needs slotting. While this only covers what I have carried, there are plenty of options out there, so feel free to leave suggestions in the comments.
