MyFak from MyMedic: It’s Gold

“Mom, you’re probably the only person ever who gets so excited about medical kits.”

That’s what my teenage daughter said when the new MyMedic MyFAK Large first aid kit arrived. I opened it up, took out all the contents, and told the family about what the various supplies are useful for. Maybe she’s got a point, but seriously, the right tools at the right time can make all the difference.

To me, medical kits are golden. Hopefully, I’ll never actually need to save a life with one, but on the chance that I do encounter that kind of situation, this medical kit is going to be the most precious asset I own.

MyMedic MyFAK Large review.
Even if I’m never faced with a life-threatening emergency, chances are pretty high that at some point I’ll run into a situation that requires some level of First Aid administration.

Many of you readers are interested in gun stuff like self-defense, training, hunting, and the firearm industry at large. Did you know that statistically, you are much more likely to save lives with a medical kit than you are with a weapon? So, just as firearm and self-defense training is crucial for all of us, so is the ability to administer first aid.

Let’s get down to the review. First you should watch the product video to get a general overview of the MyMedic MyFAK (Large). After that, we’ll break the kit down into sections and explore the contents.

By the way, let’s get the acronym out of the way. FAK stands for First Aid Kit. Generally, kits similar to these are called IFAKs, or Individual First Aid Kit. MyMedic made it a little more personal, I think, by changing it to MyFAK. so when you get one, you’ll think of it as yours. It’s your kit to make a part of your everyday life, always prepared to handle a first aid situation.

Owning one of these and knowing how to use it can improve your peace of mind and the people you help will be glad you had it.

Let’s get to the review. We’ll start with the bag that contains it all, then we’ll move through the supplies. I’ve included the training videos that the folks at MyMedic made available so you can see how those products are used.

MyFAK Bag

First off, the bag is constructed with a durable, water-resistant material, which is good because that means it’s likely to stand up to whatever outdoor adventures you take it on.

The front is covered with velcro and MOLLE panels so you can attach whatever you want to it, like other pouches or patches. The top of the bag is smartly designed for practical use.

MyMedic MyFAK large, handle, securing strap.
The sturdy handle makes it easy to carry this pack by hand, but lets say you’ve got a day-long hunt or hike planned, you’ve got other gear to carry, and you don’t want to use your hands to carry the MyFAK. Just unclip the securing strap and carry the bag around your waist like a fanny-pack or over the shoulder.
MyMedic MyFAK Large, hands-free carry: fanny pack or over the shoulder.
Either way you wear it, it’s going to be hands-free.

Tear-Away Back Plate

This is a feature I didn’t realize was part of the bag until just recently. And, really, it’s brilliant.

For out-of-the-way storage, you can use the lacing straps or MOLLE PALS to secure the kit in the location of your choice (most likely in your vehicle). In the event of an emergency, you don’t’ have to waste precious moments undoing the strappings to get the MyFAK free. The kit is secured to the back plate with velcro, so just tear it away from the back plate and attend to the situation.

MyMedic MyFAK Large back plate velcro attachment.
Two thick strips of velcro on either side of the carry strap secure the back plate in place for convenient storage with the capability for quick deployment.

Clamshell Design

When you open the bag, it opens to lay completely flat so you can quickly find the items you need.

MyMedic MyFAK Large clamshell bag, open, two drop-out bags with wound care supplies and OTC medications. Pockets and elastic bands hold the rest of the first aid supplies.
Two drop-out bags fold down, one with items for wound care and the other with OTC meds. These bags are attached with velcro so you can grab them and go. Other First Aid items are secured throughout the rest of the interior of the bag with multiple pockets and elastic straps.

MyMedic MyFAK (Large) — What’s in the bag?

Let’s start with the two drop-out pouches.

I really gotta hand it to the designers of this bag. The fact that these pouches are attached by velcro shows the amount of consideration they put into it. Sometimes you don’t want or need to carry the whole kit. Just pull the pouch off, and go take care of your person.

The bag on the left contains basic supplies that you’ll need to take care of a minor flesh wound. The bag on the right has OTC medications.

Minor Flesh Wound Pouch

I’m not really sure what MyMedic calls these pouches, but that’s what makes sense to me. As you can see below, this first pouch has items that can help you take care of minor flesh wounds. Of course, the gloves can be handy for more impressive flesh wounds so remember where they are.

This pouch has two microMend Cut Kits, three bandage packs, three pairs of gloves (because, you know, blood and stuff), two Secure Strip Adhesive Wound Closures, and three Superskin bandages that look and feel like a Cadillac version of bandaids. They’re useful in preventing and covering blisters on high-friction areas—slide-bite comes to mind…

The Bandage Pack contains assorted bandages for cuts on jointy, bendy places like elbows, knuckles, knees, and fingertips. There are 12 bandages in each pack, so with the MyFAK large, you get 24 total.

The microMend Cut Kit is for lacerations that need to be pulled together a bit. Each pouch has two microMend devices, two gauze pads, 1 BZK towelette, and instructions on how to use them. Since you’re here already, go ahead and watch the video demonstration.

How slick is that? I’m thinking, “Heck, yeah!”

All kinds of things lead to a laceration that could be taken care of relatively stress-free with one of these microMend devices. At the very least, it’ll keep the laceration closed until you can get somewhere for further medical attention.

The Secure Strip Adhesive Wound Closures are surgical tape strips that can be used laterally across a wound to secure it closed

OTC Meds Pouch

Its amazing that so many useful supplies can be packed into this little pouch.

MyMedic MyFAK Large OTC medications pouch.
The OTC meds pouch is loaded with supplies.

Inside the pouch you’ll find one large zip-bag containing six smaller zip-bags. Each of those smaller bags contains various meds for specific uses.

Basic Meds

The bag with the basic OTC meds has has five packets of Ibuprofen, two tablets per bag. There are five packets of Diphen, used for temporary relief of hay fever, allergies, and the common cold. APAP is another term for Acetominophen, and there are four packets of those with two tablets per pack. Also, there are four packets of Diotame, which is an anti-diarheal used to treat upset stomach, heartburn, and nausea.

Dramamine and Aspirin

MyMedic MyFAK large, otc medications, Dramamine and Aspirin.
One of the bags has five packets of Dramamine for motion sickness relief, two tablets per packet. Three packets of Aspirin are also included, with two tablets each.

Hydrocortisone Cream and Triple Antibiotic Ointment

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is MyMedic-MyFAK-Triple-Antibiotic-Hydrosone-Cream-1024x571.jpg
There are five of each salve in this bag. The Hydrocortisone Cream is used to treat redness, swelling, and itching while the Triple Antibiotic Ointment is used to reduce chances of infection in minor skin wounds.

Antiseptics

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is MyMedic-MyFAK-Antiseptics-1024x623.jpg
This bag has five packets of Super Sanitizer with aloe vera, three Ammonia Towelettes, five Sterile Alcohol Prep pads, five Povidone Iodine Prep pads, five BZK Antiseptic Towelettes, and four Medi-First Sting Relief wipes.

Ok, so let’s delve into this bag a little further. How do you know which one to use? The Super Sanitizer gel and the Sting Relief wipes should be fairly self explanatory. But what about the towelettes and prep pads?

They actually have quite different uses! The ammonia towelette is used as an inhalant. It stimulates respiration, treats dizziness and fainting, and wakes the unconscious. The BZK towelette, on the other hand, is a non-alcoholic sterilizing wipe to be used in any situation that requires no-sting skin sterilization.

As for the two kinds of prep pads, the Sterile Alcohol pad kills bacteria on the surface of the skin, so it’s used topically any time the skin needs to be sterilized. The Povidone-Iodine pad is an antiseptic preparatory pad used to wipe the skin before making an incision.

Ointments

The ointment bag has White Petrolatum (petroleum jelly), DynaLube, and Sunscreen. The Petrolatum is useful to moisturize dry skin, soothe burns, and the DynaLube is a sterile lubricating gel used to reduce friction and discomfort when inserting Nasal Airway (more about that further down, with a training video).

Mouth Meds

MyMedic MyFAK large - lip gloss and oral pain relief gel.
The final bag in the OTC meds pouch is seen at the bottom right in the image above and it’s got stuff to keep your mouth happy. Seriously. It has five packets each of Lip Guard and Oral Pain Relief gel. So if you happen to end up out in the field on a dry, windy day and your lips start cracking and that bad tooth you’ve been ignoring for the past three months starts to ache, you’re covered.
MyMedic MyFAK large OTC medication pouch
It’s hard to believe so much is in this little pouch.

What else is in the Bag?

When you open the bag so that it lies flat, both sides are packed with awesome First Aid and emergency supplies.

Here’s the left side (depending on how you look at it, of course):

Look at all the goodies.

We’ll just unpack this side starting from the handle and moving in toward the center of the bag.

The top pocket has an Instant Cold Pack to use for pain and swelling from burns, bruises, and sprains. The Super Lightstick can provide up to 12 hours of glowing light. The QuickClot Bleeding Control Dressing is a hemostatic that accelerates clotting to stop bleeding fast, and the 4-channel vented Chest Seal is to be used in case of a puncture to the chest.

What is QuickClot Gauze? Watch this and see:

The next pocket has five types of gauze in a zipper bag.

MyMedic MyFAK gauze pack
This bag has five 4×4 Sterile Gauze Pads, five 3×4 Non-Adherent pads that are made with a special gauze that won’t stick to the skin, two Oval Eyepads, five 2×2‘s, and a 3″ x 5-yard Comforting Gauze Roll that stretches and forms to the body for wound compression.

The rest of the supplies in the left side of the bag:

Below the two pockets, elastic bands hold a Pressure Bandage which is a multipurpose wound dressing used to sustain pressure on a wound (and also doubles as an arm sling), a 20-foot length of Paracord, and two packets of Glucose Gel in case anyone in your group needs to raise their blood glucose levels. The Emergency Whistle pierces over ambient noises with a long-distance reach.

MyMedic MyFAK Large Burn shield for first aid treatment of burns and space blankets to prevent hypothermia.
Moving toward the center of the bag, the next pockets have a zip-bag of burn treatments with three different burn treatment supplies. You get two sizes of the Burnshield medical-grade cloths soaked in Hydrogel which soothes and cools burns while preventing infection. You also get five Burnshield topical gel for minor burns. The Space Blankets are designed to insulate the body to protect against hypothermia and overheating.
The Rapid Tourniquet is used to quickly stop major bleeding. Super Wrap is a stretchy, 5-foot long self-adherent bandage that you can use to secure gauze or other bandages to the body.

The folks at MyMedic made this training video for the Rapid Tourniquet. If you order a kit, it’s probably a good idea to go through the training videos so that you and your family know how to use the supplies.

We’re not done. Here’s the right side!

The pockets and elastic bands in this bag are so intelligently placed. Take, for instance, the items in the picture below. With the instruments tucked into a zippered bag, all of these items are secure with a two-opening pocket and two straps over the top of that. Everything is secure and easy to find.

The Triangular Bandage is long and wide enough to use as an arm sling or head bandage. In this MyFAK model, you get two hemostats, one with a curved clamp and one with a straight clamp. They have a locking mechanism and can be used to clamp bleeding vessels or pick up small items. You also get tweezers, a scalpel handle, and two of each kind of scalpel blades, one with a curved cutting edge and the other has an elongated pointed blade. Also included is a thermometer with covers, and a tube of 13 electrolyte tablets to prevent dehydration.

Look through the rest of these supplies.

The Arm/Leg Splint is a 4″ x 33″ moldable piece of aluminum enclosed in foam that you can use to stabilize a broken arm or leg. The EMT Shears can cut through denim, seat belts, and even thin metal. You get 30 feet in the roll of Surgical Tape to secure dressings or bandages to wounds. Use the Eyewash to rinse out eyes after exposure to an irritant.

Note: this MyMedic kit is supposed to have two finger splints in it. My kit is missing those, but MyMedic enclosed a note explaining that this is because of supply chain issues related to COVID-19. The note includes a gift card to cover the missing items.

This last picture has a tool in it that might scare you off. I mean, who wants to stick a tube up somebody’s nose, right?

The thing is, if you need to stick a tube up somebody’s nose to keep them breathing—you just do it. Watch the training video below so you’ll know how to do it if, heaven forbid, you have to someday.

MyMedic MyFAK nasal airway, CPR Shield, Elastic bandage with self closure.
You get two different sized Nasal Airways in case you need to secure an open airway. Watch the NPA training video below to see how you figure out which size to use. The two CPR Shields act as a barrier should you need to administer CPR, and two elastic bandages with self-closure to compress a wound or secure a dressing.

Get Yourself a MyFAK

Get one for your kid’s truck. Get one for your Mom and Dad. Seriously, everyone should have access to a First Aid kit. You never know when you might need it, and you don’t want to find yourself wishing you’d have gotten around to it before you needed it.

The kit in this review is the MyFAK Large, but MyMedic offers several different kits, medpacks, PPE and other supplies.

Find them at MyMedic, on Amazon, on FaceBook (at the time of this writing there are over 4000 reviews), on Instagram, and YouTube.

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