Chinook First Aid Kits

[WDCboater]

I know we've discussed first aid kits on the forum before, but does anyone have or use kits from Chinook Medical Gear?

They look pretty extensive. We currently have two first aid kits on our boat. One in the ditch bag, one in the cabin, but I'm thinking of doing an inventory over the winter to see if they can be improved and to throw out the expired meds.

Here's a link to the kits from Chinook.
http://www.chinookmed.com/cgi-bin/category/CO-KITS

 

[LTD.330]

I've purchased various medical supplies from Chinook and they are a pleasure to deal with. Their medical kits look good too. They are pricey but you are getting quality supplies.

 

[blaster]

Why would you want a first aid kit on a boat, its not an ambulance. Nothing bad ever happens on the water.

I suppose next you will be getting a fire extinguisher, geez.

 

[pepper]

Hey Blaster, I assume your reply was a joke comment. My boat came with a fire extinguisher mounted in the Engine room. Also one below each sink. Head, Galley and top side bar. I also have a first aid kit onboard. Have used it several times.

 

[blaster]

Hey Blaster, I assume your reply was a joke comment. My boat came with a fire extinguisher mounted in the Engine room. Also one below each sink. Head, Galley and top side bar. I also have a first aid kit onboard. Have used it several times.

Yes, we had a wonderful thread about first aid a while back. I think you are a well prepared boater, the type we need more of on the water.

 

[Do Over]

They're REALLY proud of those :wow:

 

[blaster]

http://clubsearay.com/showthread.php/65737-Do-You-Have-An-Adequate-First-Aid-Kit/page12

Here it is.

 

[WDCboater]

I've purchased various medical supplies from Chinook and they are a pleasure to deal with. Their medical kits look good too. They are pricey but you are getting quality supplies.

Pete

This is good feedback. The kits look like you get what you pay for.

We use our current kits frequently for band aids and such, but I would feel more comfortable being better able to deal with bigger emergencies should they arise. My biggest concern is when we're on longer trips we could be an hour from a destination on land with access to EMS.

 

[k-nutz]

My wife is part of my medical kit since she is a nurse

The kits look good and I have been looking for something similar for our home and boat, so I appreciate the link. To me they look like a good base kit with most essentials that you may need. I would say if you do get it, examine the possible scenarios that you may come across in your travels and add additional supplies as needed. From the looks of it, they have supplies that would cover a variety of situations depending on how much money you spend.

 

[Gofirstclass]

Rather than buy a pre-assembled first aid kit, I looked at several big ones and small ones, made a list of what was in each and assembled the supplies I wanted from that list. I use a decent size fishing tackle box for my kit and apparently it works well in preventing injuries because we've never had to use it.

 

[MonacoMike]

I know we've discussed first aid kits on the forum before, but does anyone have or use kits from Chinook Medical Gear?

You now have run the risk of being made fun of for months, some here do not think boating has a risk level requiring preparedness.

Never considered boating to be a dangerous activity, never mind most dangerous. Maybe you can elaborate on exactly what your doing that's so dangerous. Personally I go out to relax.

Rather than buy a pre-assembled first aid kit, I looked at several big ones and small ones, made a list of what was in each and assembled the supplies I wanted from that list. I use a decent size fishing tackle box for my kit and apparently it works well in preventing injuries because we've never had to use it.

I did similar by building lists made from the content lists of high end kits, like this.

http://www.adventuremedicalkits.com/medical-kits/marine/marine-2000-1.html

The kit you posted looks nice and the case is very cool, the only way to know for sure is to compare contents one by one.

MM


Do keep in mind a kit for a business or school is likely counting on 911 to arrive quickly in contrast to the adventure/marine situation where first responders could be up to several hours away.

 

[WDCboater]

You now have run the risk of being made fun of for months, some here do not think boating has a risk level requiring preparedness.





I did similar by building lists made from the content lists of high end kits, like this.

http://www.adventuremedicalkits.com/medical-kits/marine/marine-2000-1.html

The kit you posted looks nice and the case is very cool, the only way to know for sure is to compare contents one by one.

MM


Do keep in mind a kit for a business or school is likely counting on 911 to arrive quickly in contrast to the adventure/marine situation where first responders could be up to several hours away.

One of the things I like about the kits Chinook puts together is that they make kits for the military and first responders. This tells me they thought through what's in it. The ability to quickly stop bleeding and handle burns are my two big concerns. They also rate their kits for when help is at least 24 hours away. My feeling is go with Kit #2. It's a good mix of stuff for a fair price.

It's not that boating is inherently dangerous, but you may be away from help. For any boater who thinks I'm wrong, why does the USCG require a first aid course for anyone obtaining a captains license? (This goes for a 6-pack and up) What if you have someone on your boat who has a heart attack or falls and hits their head and is bleeding. Medical emergencies can happen anywhere and if you're a 30-60 minute cruise from port that is a long time. Think how long it takes to pull your anchor, start your engines and head for shore. Calling for help is probably not any faster.

As a boater I'd rather be over cautious and prepared. We carry more safety equipment than required and while we may not use everything, I'm glad it's there. I hope my EPIRB is a $600 tool I never use.

Gofirstclass, that's what I've done in the past. I used to have a home first aid kit in a tackle box. It worked well. Unfortunately on my current boat we have used enough of the supplies from the two kits we have that we should replace them. One of the kits is two years old and the other is five, so they've been around a while.

We tend to go through a fair amount of bandaids and small bandage wraps. We've also had two guests burn themselves on the grill! I kid you not. Maybe it's where it's placed, but people have put their hand on it while opening the cabinet below to get to the fridge. We had one guest this season cut their thumb and need stitches! They went to open a bottle of home brew beer and the bottle opener pulled the top of the bottle off and they got stuck with glass. (their home-brew not mine ;-)

 

[MonacoMike]

We typically keep routine first aid supplies separate from the emergency kit so it is not depleted. When we do use something from the kit it is put on the urgent replacement list. We keep Band-Aid's, Bacitracin, and bug bite relief etc. available for routine use and keep the items in the kit for emergencies. The Chinook kit does look very good and a quick comparison shows it seems similar to the Adventure brand kits. I would add moleskin for burns to it, as well as some compact finger splints and inflatable air splints for arms and legs.

MM

 

[LTD.330]

WDCboater you make a good point on the potential injuries (severe bleeding and burns). For those reasons I have supplemented my kits with Thin-Cinch bandages, pri-med gauze, burn-gel, quickclot, and even a SAM Splint. All of the other stuff in the kits are nice to have, but for big injuries, the supplemental items can be game changers.

 

[dmorris800]

Rather than buy a pre-assembled first aid kit, I looked at several big ones and small ones, made a list of what was in each and assembled the supplies I wanted from that list. I use a decent size fishing tackle box for my kit and apparently it works well in preventing injuries because we've never had to use it.

I have done the same with the same results (never used but it looks pretty in it's bag). Having done EMS for many years and now gone on to new frontiers in the hospital setting... If I was going to spend 250 on gear or taking a basic medical / wilderness class with CPR, I would say take the class. Knowledge + cool head tends to be much more powerful.

 

[MonacoMike]

WDCboater you make a good point on the potential injuries (severe bleeding and burns). For those reasons I have supplemented my kits with Thin-Cinch bandages, pri-med gauze, burn-gel, quickclot, and even a SAM Splint. All of the other stuff in the kits are nice to have, but for big injuries, the supplemental items can be game changers.

Thus is the type of response I hope my thread would garner, good input on what to add to my kit.

MM