Did I say before that I completed the TCCC CLS course? Probably I didn’t. Tactical medicine is one of my favorite disciplines, so in June 2022 I decided to complete the CLS (Combat Life Saver) course, so now I can know stuff a little bit more than average people. Since that time, I personally have tested about 20 different IFAK pouches, and today I’m ready to recommend you the best IFAK pouches.
Here’s my list of the best tactical medical bags (in the meaning of the medical molle pouch, not a backpack):
- KRYDEX Tactical Blow Out Kit Bag (Medical Pouch);
- High Speed Gear Reflex IFAK System;
- MOLLE II IFAK (USGI) Pouch;
- OneTigris Tactical Medical Pouch (Rip-Away IFAK);
- The Roll 1™ Trauma Pouch by Ferro Concepts.
Contents
KRYDEX Tactical Blow Out Kit Bag (Medical Pouch) – The Best Budget Med Pouch
Yes, I know and you know that this is a Chinese replica of the LBT-9022B medical pouch. But don’t be scared of that – many medical pouches (even from well-known brands) are made in China. What’s good about this one – it’s a really, really high-quality medical pouch. Moreover, it’s almost the same as LBT’s pouch, but not for $90+. What I don’t really like about it (as well as the original LBT) is that the pouch is quite small for my purposes. I’m a person who prefers to store med stuff as much as I may need. But for the small build (1 TQ, 1 chest needle, 1 hemostatic gauze, 1 bandage, 1 nitrile gloves) this medical pouch is awesome.
- Quick-release? Yes;
- Weight – 9 oz;
- Dimensions: 9x6x2 in;
- MOLLE Compatible? Yes;
- Material: Nylon 500D;
- Country of brand: China.
High Speed Gear Reflex IFAK System – The Best Overall
The HSGI Reflex IFAK pouch is one of my favorite pouches overall, and one of the best IFAKs I’ve ever tested so far. Can’t even say anything bad about it – it has a lot of useful features, perfect build, outstanding capacity, extremely sturdy, inner loop for the tourniquet, modular system… And here’s a picture of some of the main specs of this pouch from the official website:
- Quick-release? Yes;
- Weight – 7 oz (0.4 lbs);
- Dimensions: 8x3x5.5 in;
- MOLLE Compatible? Yes;
- Material: Nylon 500D;
- Country of brand: USA.
- Additional points: military approved, used by the US Special Forces, lifetime warranty.
What’s good again, Reflex Pouch will fit the contents of a standard issue US Army IFAK II.
What’s not so good about it? There’s only one cons about the HSGI pouch – price. But thinking about all the features and pros, the price doesn’t seem too high.
MOLLE II IFAK (USGI) Pouch
Don’t want to dig into dozens of brands and features? Just take a standard MOLLE II IFAK pouch. It’s used by the military personnel, has been created by the US Government Contractor specially for the military, and has recommended itself as a good and reliable gear.
This medical pouch isn’t quick release, has a quite bulky design, and has no additional tactical features. But it’s simple, quality, and cheap.
Small hint: look for the IFAK pouches with the removable insert included:
OneTigris Tactical Medical Pouch (Rip-Away IFAK) – Great Value For The Money
If we didn’t have Reflex IFAK in this list, I would call this IFAK as the best overall. This is a pretty good example of how Chinese companies can create outstanding gear. Almost every parameter of this IFAK is pretty good:
- Quick-release? Yes;
- Weight – 6.2 oz;
- Dimensions: 8.5×2.64×7.09 in;
- YKK zipper, UTX clips;
- MOLLE Compatible? Yes;
- Material: Cordura 500D (USA material);
- Country of brand: China.
As I wrote in the subheading, one of the best points is the great value for the money.
The Roll 1™ Trauma Pouch by Ferro Concepts
If you want tacti-cool photos with the blur or black squares hiding your face, you can’t go without the Roll Trauma Pouch. It’s just a joke, of course. Speaking about the Roll 1 Trauma Pouch, it was originally designed and fabricated as the prototype pouch for fellow SOF in Syria by the Forward Observations Group.
The Roll 1™ is intended to be worn in the opening of the rear body armor plate pocket: occupying unused real estate, staying out of the way, and adding lumbar support for full-kit vehicle rides. And as for me, this is one of the most epic and genius solutions for the medical pouches. The Roll 1’s open ended, ambidextrous outer pouch enables access on both sides of the casualty if trauma care is required. Simply grab the left or right deployment pull tab, yank out the insert to gain access to IFAK contents, and go to work.
What about capacity? As it noted at the official website, you can put the next content in this pouch:
As you may see, there is no place for the tourniquet (you can place it on the plate carrier), H-Bandage or Israeli bandage, eye shield, shin splint, gloves, etc. And that’s why (for my opinion), you can use this tactical pouch just for the rapid action, and should have an additional medical pouch with additional contents.
How To Choose The Best IFAK Pouch?
There are only two crucial points you should look at, when you’re choosing the best IFAK pouch: size (dimensions), and type of release.
Size (dimensions)
Shortly: the bigger, the better. You shouldn’t buy travel-sized makeup bags, but buying the medical backpack INSTEAD of the IFAK pouch isn’t a good idea as well.
Small hint: look at the sizes of the military IFAKs and take your choice based on that.
Type of Release
There are two types of release in the first aid pouch: plain, and quick-release. If you have such an option, I strongly recommend you to buy a quick-release medical pouch. Why? It’s simple: you’ll have the ability to use your IFAK as quickly as possible in an emergency situation.
Simple tactical IFAK may look like the next:
Quick release medical pouches look like the next:
Do You Need… Two Medical Pouches?
In my opinion, you do. This may be kinda weird to see this for the first time, but… In practice, you may need two medical pouches. There is so-called first-line medicine (aka individual first aid kit), and second-line medicine.
First-line medicine: this is your IFAK/JFAK pouch completed according to the TCCC recommendations. At least, you should have 2 tourniquets, Israeli bandage (or my favorite H-Bandage™ Compression Dressing), hemostatic gauze or dressing, 14g decompression needle, occlusive chest vent seals, 28F-32F NPA (nasopharyngeal airway) with gel, nitrile gloves, the DD Form 1380, trauma shears, tape, rigid eye shield.
Your IFAK content may be like this one:
Or this one:
Second-line medicine: and here we’ll store all the “personal” medicine. If you’re going to places where medics wouldn’t be available ASAP, you may also need additional EDC medical treatments for diarrhea, nausea, headache, blister prevention tape, emergency laceration closures for small cuts, small clotting gauzes, bandage rolls, shin splints, grandma’s amulet, etc.
Don’t make a mess around and DON’T mix the contents of two medical pouches. The first one is the IFAK for life-threatening conditions. The second pouch is to prevent uncontrolled shitting and vomiting.
Should I Buy The IFAK Pouch With Contents?
Yes and no, simultaneously.
Why “Yes”:
- Save your time;
- Stopping you from buying shit-tier content;
Why “No”:
- You may (definitely) buy a top-shit-tier content;
- You may buy whatever except you’re really need for the IFAK;
- You should know every position you buy.
Here are some examples of shit-tier IFAKs contents:
It’s really hard to understand who and for what purposes create these “2500 pcs Super Ultimate Survival IFAK Kit”. Pin kit and soap wipe, seriously? Iodide sticks and emergency poncho? Grimlock and tape for preventing blisters? And all of these offered as IFAK? Don’t want to offend anyone, but it looks like someone’s high-temperature delusion.
If you’d like to buy the complete kit, I recommend you to look at the NAR (North American Rescue) kits, Med-Tac International Corp kits, Rescue Essentials®, etc.
What IFAK Pouch Do I Use?
I have two medical pouches, and both of them are M-TAC pouches (made in Ukraine): M-TAC Medical Pouch Large Elite Multicam, and M-TAC Admin Pouch Large Elite Multicam. Here’s the first one:
And the second one:
Hope that my list of the best IFAK pouches helps you to choose your own option. If you still have any question, or wanna see additional recommendations — feel free to write in the comments below, and let’s talk more.