REVIEW James Bath
It’ s funny how your perception of danger changes over the years. With the addition of a new family member my focus was suddenly drawn to how unprepared I truly was if anything serious went down on one of our camping trips.
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Would I have the gear to treat a serious cut and stop bleeding? Keep warm and dry if we got caught out or lost on a day hike and had to spend the night out? What about a snapped arm or leg while backpacking? Even worse, what if we were in or came across a bad accident out bush and help could be hours away? Could I keep someone alive, through the night on the side of a 4WD track, deep in the Victorian high country?
These were the conditions that I had in mind when I started to look around for our new medical and survival kit. Gone are the days of just cutting up a t-shirt, sticking some antiseptic on a cut, then covering it with some electrical tape. Which, I might add, did get me out of a nasty one back in the day and can still be a last resort.
But I now had other people to consider. My old ‘system’ consisted of some plastic zip lock bags containing a roll of tape, band aids and some various bandages, a bottle of antiseptic that was 5 years past its use by date, a few gauze pads and an old space blanket that appeared to be delaminating in its packaging. In addition there was some Panadol, snake bandages and some old waterproof matches.
I was looking for something a bit more comprehensive and built for the right purpose. I had a rough idea of what I needed in the kit, after doing a bit of looking around online, so then I started looking at trying to source the components as well as a storage case to keep things together. I also wanted to be able to throw it in the backpack, so that ruled out the old tackle box I had set aside for the project. I wanted to include materials that could help me repair gear in the bush too, taking it from more of a first aid kit, to more of an all-round bush survival kit.
I found a few good premade kits online, but they were always quite large, and I figure if it’ s too bulky I probably won’ t stick it in the pack. Then I found the KEA Outdoors Survival System. They are a New Zealand company that has its origins in wilderness guiding and adventures deep in the backcountry, where help can sometimes be days away.
The kit has a modular design so it allows for easy customisation, ensuring that I would have the right tools at hand when most needed. They offered a range of different premade packs, as well as the refill equipment to suit or if you wanted to build your own kit.
The kit that ended up with me was the KEA KIT GO Loaded Pack, which is their on-the-go kit and is intended to have all your essentials covered. It includes four pre-loaded pouches that you then load up as needed into the main carry bag.
The pouches were:
BASIC MEDICAL. This contains all the essential first-aid gear to manage any minor injuries in the outdoors. With over 50 pieces of gear included, this pack is a must have for all adventurers.
ADVANCED MEDICAL. This contains a range of products to support major trauma injuries. It’s best suited to adventures where vehicles are involved or there is major injury risk such as hunting or cycling.
GEAR REPAIR. This contains everything you need to respond and fix failing gear when in the outdoors. The range of products allows you to tape or sew up any holes in gear as well as cordage to tie things together and a tool-card to complete minor repairs.
FIRE STARTING. This contains all the gear you need to get a fire going when in the outdoors. Featuring a large ferro/flint rod, multiple types of tinder and a wire saw so you can continue to fuel the fire with larger pieces.
The kit comes with its main storage bag, which is a durable and water-resistant satchel that folds open in the middle into two divided sections, one for all your bandages and so forth, while the other side is tool specific, so think tweezers, scissors, compass, and fire-starting gear. It also has a Molle panel on the back and loop attachment points so you can attach it anywhere.
The idea behind it is that you can keep all the gear stored, maybe in the 4WD, boat or caravan, so it’ s all at hand should you need it, but then you can reduce the contents of the satchel to suit your adventure if you’ re leaving from camp.
So, my load for a quick day out bush hunting or fishing would change up and require a different amount of gear compared to a multi-day backpacking trip for example. I love the ease of use with the satchel, having it divided up makes storage and organising super easy. It has multiple pockets inside as well as a blaze orange lining to make things stand out.
It should be noted that not everything supplied in the kit at purchase can fit into the bag, but I didn’ t want to be lugging around unnecessary gear. I think having it as a swap in and swap out system works really well. You can tell there’ s been a lot of thought put into the selection of the gear included in each package, and knowing it’ s come from the background it has given me some confidence it will apply to situations that are relevant to me and the family.
Overall, the KEA KIT GO, Outdoor Survival System excels in enhancing safety and preparedness during hiking and camping trips. Its compact size and lightweight design make it easy to carry in my backpack, ensuring that I’ m always equipped with essential tools for whatever may come my way.
The one thing I would like to see added by the company is a snake bite kit that can tie in with the system. Like most hunters, I already have some bite bandages that go everywhere with me so I’ ll add them to my setup, but I’ m sure there may be a lot of Australian customers that may not already have some and I think it would round the kit out nicely.
As mentioned, they do offer a few other fully loaded options that contain a few more bits of equipment and accessories and I think these would be great options to be a permanent fixture in any touring set up, but I feel the go kit was probably the most practical for one you want to take on your next adventure.
Australia Deer magazine Editor