Hello, my friend and welcome back! I apologize for my absence, but I hope you will find it worth the wait. You see, it all started with a review that I was doing on a Personal First Aid Kit. The people at MyMedic.com sent me one of their’s to review. Now, grab a cup of coffee my friend, and have a seat while we visit.
When I first looked at the kit, I was stunned at what you get for $60.00. Wow! I thought, they must be making a killing on these. With this in mind, I set out to build my own PFAK (Personal First Aid Kit). I began to purchase the items I needed in bulk to get the prices as low as I could. $600.00 later I was ready to start putting together what I thought would be the best Tactical FAK.
These are the items I included:
| Tourniquet |
| 6″ Israeli Bandage |
| EMT Trauma Shears, 7.5″ Premium Quality |
| 3M Steri-Strip Reinforced Skin Closures – 1/2″ x 4″ |
| 3M Steri Strip Skin Closures 1/4” X 3” |
| Curad CUR47148NRB Medium Non-Stick Pads |
| Surgical Tape, 1″ x 10yds |
| Dealmed Medical Surgical Sponges, 3″ x 3″ |
| 2″ Cohesive Stretch Tape |
| Stretch Bandage Roll, 4 x 4 Yards |
| Hydrocortisone Anti-Itch Cream Packet |
| Tylenol Extra Strength Caplets (Packets of 2) |
| Advil Coated Tablets Pain Reliever |
| Flexible Fabric Adhesive Bandages |
| Metal Tweezers |
| pair of Nitrile Gloves XL |
| Triple Antiboitic |
| Benadryl Packets |
| Sterile Alcohol Prep Pads |
| Burnshield Burn Relief Hydrogel |
| Electrolite Powder |
| Diotame Tablets |
| Hand Sanatizer |
| Triangle bandages |
| Chest seal |
| Rescue Blanket |
| Antiseptic Wipe |
| Dry Wipes 9 X 13.5 |
| FAK Pouch |
I added up the total cost including tax and it came to $57.38. I thought that was pretty good until I added in the cost shipping which is about $15.00. Now the total cost is $72.38. I was hoping to make at least $20.00 on each one considering the money and time I had invested for each kit. So now the price is $97.38, but then Amazon .com charges 22.5% just for letting me list it. That is an additional cost of $20.79. This makes the grand total of $118.17.
That might not sound bad to you, but other kits with about the same contents are selling for $65 – $99. So why am I telling you all of this? As it turns out, the prices of most PFAKs on Amazon and eBay are actually pretty good and represent a large investment on the part of the seller. Before you ask, no one is paying me to say this. I just wanted to clear the air on PFAKs and why most cost so much.
It wasn’t a complete loss though. I produced 4 of them for my family and the rest of the supplies will go into my medical SHTF supplies. Now I don’t know about you, but for me, this has been a real eye-opener. I hope it has been the same for you.
I know from now on, I will look at personal and Tactical FAKs in a whole new light. Well, that’s it for today, and I hope you have found this to be as beneficial as I have. Until next time my friend, stay safe, stay strong, and stay prepared.
Sarge
The bottom line is…what is it worth to the user. A lot more than you may think. Good article, Sarge.
Well put Dan, well put!