By: Jaymz Cervantez

Rising from the Ashes

On the night of October 1st, 2017, the Route 91 Harvest Music Festival was in full swing. With performances from up and coming artists, all the way to heavy hitters in the industry like Jason Aldean, the night was sure to be one to remember by everyone who attended. When bullets began to rain down on the festival, the night quickly became one to remember by the rest of the country.

58 people lost their life that night and that number could have been reduced. No, not through gun control, but through trauma medicine. According to https://www.stopthebleedday.org/, “The top cause of preventable death in trauma is bleeding. 20% of people who have died from traumatic injuries could have survived with quick bleeding control.”

Through tragedy, programs and products have made their way into the hands of the average citizen. National Stop the Bleed Day got involved in communities across the nation to teach basic life-saving skills. North American Rescue has been at the forefront of development for trauma supplies, most notably the Combat Application Tourniquet (CAT). Finally, Ryker Nylon has risen to the challenge of creating a way to comfortably and discretely carry trauma supplies on your person.

Initial Thoughts

I first came to know about Ryker Nylon through Primary and Secondary on Facebook. Since the Las Vegas shooting there was an immediate need and desire to carry an emergency trauma kit without a huge bag. The Ankle First Aid Kit rose to the challenge and quickly took the spotlight. It is a simple design, only using Three major components, and it can hold enough supplies to keep someone alive long enough to get them to a trauma facility.

I jumped in on a group buy that was organized and placed my order for an AFAK in a coyote brown color. Ryker Nylon is run by a member of law enforcement in his spare time so the massive surge of orders meant an extended wait time. I placed my order around mid-October and received it about mid-December, very acceptable for the quality of the product.

Hands On

The quality of the rig is up there with top tier companies, like, London Bridge Trading, First Spear, and Eagle Industries. There were no loose pieces of thread, jumbled up fabric, or off-center pieces of hook and loop.  The stitching is clean with perfect corners and back stitching, overall it is professional quality that will last. The empty weight is 2.3 ounces and has four main pockets to hold your essentials. The interior pocket runs horizontal behind the three outside pockets which run vertically. The outside pockets are secured with hook and loop and a piece of webbing over that runs over the center. Also included is a five-inch piece of elastic that acts as an extension depending on the size of your ankle or the type of boot you are wearing and can even be removed all together.

The Essentials

In the first exterior pocket there is a QuikClot Z-Folded Combat Gauze, a pair of medical gloves, a small roll of duct tape, and a surplus cravat. The Combat Gauze has a hemostatic agent in it which cause blood to clot and reduce the amount of bleeding, it is a temporary fix but it can buy you valuable time. Always have gloves with you as you need to be able to protect the patient from foreign matter and you need to protect yourself from anything that the patient might have. The duct tape can temporarily seal a wound and in extreme circumstances it can help make an occlusive dressing. The cravat is an all in one tool that can be used for a pressure dressing, a sling, and even a makeshift tourniquet.

The center exterior pocket is narrow but it is currently holding a set of trauma shears and a needle decompression. Cutting off clothing is always a safer option as opposed to yanking clothing off of someone, as it can cause further injury. The needle decompression is to correct tension pneumothorax, a collapsed lung caused by air in the chest cavity which is detrimental to your heart.

The last exterior pocket holds a SOF-TT, it is a tourniquet that functions similar to the Combat Application Tourniquet. The difference is that the SOF-TT utilizes an aluminum windlass and no hook and loop, whereas, the CAT utilizes a polymer windlass and hook and loop for closure. The tourniquet can stop bleeding for extended periods of time, in some extreme cases it has stopped bleeding for over 20 hours (extreme circumstances in a combat zone). The tried and true method is to place the tourniquet as close to the torso as possible and as tight as possible, it will be painful for the patient, but you will save their life!

As of this post I do not carry anything in the interior pocket, but I do plan on purchasing a Halo Chest Seal as it is not impacted by folds or creases.

Impressions

I have worn the Ankle First Aid Kit almost every day since mid-December and I am beyond pleased with it. All of the materials have held up with no rips, fraying, and all of the stitching is as good as the day it was made. It is comfortable and is not noticeable by any means, even with the way it is stocked right now. I have not had to use any of the items that I carry, but I am ready to do so at a moment’s notice. Not only can you use this as an ankle rig, I roll it up and stuff it in my cargo shorts pocket as the weather has gotten warmer and very humid.

I would recommend this to anyone for a standard Everyday Carry item. I would strongly urge you to get some sort of training with whatever you plan to carry. You can spend hundreds of dollars on top of the line life-saving equipment but if you don’t know how to use it then it is completely worthless. I also feel morally obligated to carry this kit because I do take it upon myself to concealed carry and if I can take a life then that means I can sure as hell save one too. The plus side is that if I am in an area that I am not allowed to carry my firearm then I can still carry this and be effective.

Final Thoughts

I don’t care what your political beliefs are because in the end tragedy will always happen. The best thing that you and others can do is to be prepared for when it happens. Having the proper gear and training will serve everyone better in the long run. The Ryker Nylon Ankle First Aid Kit is a must have in my book. The quality and function are well worth the price and the ability to save a life is priceless.