Want to carry medical equipment with you, but don’t do it because of the bulk? Let me introduce you to the Pocket Lifesaver from Student of the Gun. This is a small personal first-aid kit that was purpose built with everyday carry (EDC) in mind.
If you have this medical gear on you, you will be prepared for most basic trauma-care, regardless of where it occurs. Let’s jump into the review.
Who is Student of the Gun?
Student of the Gun is a content creation company that covers down on content within the firearms industry. Their range of topics go from firearms review to in-depth training guides. With a motto that states “You’re a beginner once, and a student for life,” the ethos of the company is ever-present in everything that they do.
Founded by Professor Paul Markel, and operated as a veteran-owned family business, Student of the Gun puts education first. On top of creating outstanding written and video content, they also produce several lines of product that are intended to enhance the individual person’s ability to exercise their rights. If you want to know more about them, click here. You can also check out their channel on Full30 here.
Meet the Pocket Lifesaver Medical Kit.
When it comes to medical gear, there is no such thing as too much. That said, it is increasingly difficult to carry everything you need for trauma care on you. There’s simply too much equipment for one person to carry on them at any time. Enter the Pocket Lifesaver from Student of the Gun.
The Pocket Lifesaver is a vacuum sealed medical kit designed with EDC in mind. It gives you everything that you need to treat a traumatic injury, all in a package that will fit in the back-pocket of your jeans.
We can type all day, but the best person to introduce any product is always the company themselves. So we’re gonna let Student of the Gun take it from here. Our review continues below the video.
Contents:
Ease of Carry and Practicality of Contents.
Bottom line, this is where the rubber meets the road. There are a ton of great medical kits out there on the market. All of these kits are going to range in their ability to be carried, and the practicality of the contents inside.
It’s also worth noting that each and every one of these first-aid kits has been designed to accomplish a mission. We rate first-aid kits on their ability to accomplish the intended mission of the product. Below, you can see how we rated this Pocket Lifesaver based on it’s ability to accomplish the intended mission. The intended mission of this small first-aid kit is to be something that will help you save lives, and be something that you actually remember to carry with you everyday.
Ease of Carry for the Pocket Lifesaver: 5/5
First and foremost, let’s dive into the ease of carry. The most important thing on anything you carry everyday is, how likely are you to actually carry it? With the Pocket Lifesaver from Student of the Gun, I can confidently rate this item with five our of five stars in this category.
The vacuum sealed plastic bag that this micro-medical kit comes in awesome. Also, whoever packs these things deserves a gold star. Every item is placed into the medical kit with care before they are shipped out to the end-user. Because of this extra special attention to packaging, the item remains small and compact enough to fit into most pockets.
For me, I wear jeans and shorts quite often. This thing tucks into the back-pocket of my jeans easily, doesn’t bulge out a ridiculous amount, and isn’t terribly uncomfortable to have in my pocket. When I wear cargo pants or shorts however, it’s like this thing was tailor-made for those nerdy pockets. Call me a nerd all you want Karen, I’ll still be able to slap a tourniquet on you.
We give it a 5 out of 5 for ease of carry.
Practicality of Contents for the Pocket Lifesaver: 4.5/5.
For the size, this thing has a lot in it. We can probably attribute to whoever does the packaging on these bad boys, but lets drill down on the contents here. Inside of the Pocket Lifesaver, you’ll find everything you need to conduct the most basic of trauma care. Massive bleeding? This thing has a tourniquet and gauze. Need an airway? NPA included. Minor cuts in the webbing between your fingers? Tampons work great for that kind of thing on a basic level.
Our only real ding to the SotG Pocket Lifesaver isn’t really much of a ding at all. The intended purpose of this is for the kit to be single use. That’s where we’ve dinged it. In a mass casualty situation, the Pocket Lifesaver isn’t going to be the answer to all of your problems. For that, you’ll need a larger, and much more comprehensive trauma kit. At least if you’re carrying the Pocket Lifesaver though, you will be able to render aid in a traumatic situation.
We give it a 4.5 out of 5 for practicality of contents..
Why EDC Medical Equipment?
If you’re in the camp of people who EDC a firearm, but don’t carry an IFAK, you need a reality check. If you’re prepared to end a life, you should also be prepared to save one. As someone who carries a firearm everyday, I go out of my way to ensure I’m also able to treat basic injuries. By no means am I emergency medical technician, but I am capable of stopping the bleeding. You should be as well. When seconds count, you need to be the first responder.
A lot of people who don’t carry medical equipment every day fail to do so because of how bulky that gear can be. The Pocket Lifesaver from Student of the Gun solves that issue quite handily. Eliminating the excuse by giving you a piece of gear that easily fits in the pocket of your jeans. With this piece of gear in your pocket, you can confidently go about your day knowing that you have not only the training, but the ability to save a life.
Final Thoughts on the Pocket Lifesaver.
At the end of the day, you need some sort of first-aid kit in your EDC. If you have been carrying a pistol everyday, and you’ve been ignoring the possibility that you may be needed to save someone’s life, you’re slacking. When the primary excuse for not carrying medical gear is size, this thing steps up. The Pocket Lifesaver from Student of the Gun is overall one of the best EDC medical kits we have seen in a long time. Coming in at under $50, we can confidently recommend this product to anyone who thinks they may need it. If you don’t think you need it, but you carry everyday, then we want to know what you’re carrying as an alternative.
If this first-aid kit isn’t your speed though, give the MyMedic Range Medic a look as well. I keep one of these in my range bag, and find that it handles everything the SotG Pocket Lifesaver can’t.
As always, we’re just one small group of individuals running a written blog. Let us know down in the comments what your personal experience is with the SotG Pocket Lifesaver. Did you ever find yourself in a situation where you needed this kind of equipment? We want to hear from you.