Ankle First Aid Kit – Ryker Nylon Gear – Review

An Ankle First Aid Kit is a great way to carry your trauma gear. Due to an increase of violent events like Las Vegas and the Boston marathon bombing, carrying medical gear has become more important. Ryker Nylon Gear developed the Ankle First Aid Kit (AFAK) to address the difficulties in carrying medical supplies.

Ryker Nylon Gear is a small outfitter out of Gilbert, Arizona. They have a single product, the AFAK. AFAK stands for Ankle First Aid Kit. It’s an ankle cuff designed to hold the contents of a individual first aid kit.

Ryker Tag…

Made in the USA, the Ankle First Aid Kit features 3 vertical pockets and 1 long horizontal pocket on the back. The AFAK was built to carry a package of combat gauze, compression bandage, tourniquet, trauma shears and a chest seal. The AFAK has plenty of room to fit additional equipment like an NPA or a chest dart if needs/training requires.

The Ankle First Aid Kit comes in a four standard colors, black, manatee grey, ranger green and coyote brown.

The Ryker AFAK sets itself apart from other ankle carried first aid kits on the market in two ways. The main being the horizontal pocket for chest seals and the second, a boot extension. The horizontal pocket allows users to fold their chest seals once to fit it in to the pocket. If you are using compact chest seals, you may not have to fold them at all. The boot extension allows users to wrap the ankle kit on top of their full size boots without compromising sizing. Other manufacturers have issues with sizing, they are either too big or too small depending on if you are using a full boot or not.

What does the Ankle First Aid Kit carry?

Contents of my Ryker AFAK

The Ankle First Aid Kit runs 2.3 oz empty and 10.8 oz full. I carry the following in my AFAK:

– NAR CAT Tourniquet: http://amzn.to/2DwHhnu
– Quickclot Combat Gauze: http://amzn.to/2FFhwaz
– Nitrile Gloves: http://amzn.to/2FE5r5s
– HH Mini Compression Bandage: http://amzn.to/2pibfHu
– Mini Trauma Shears: http://amzn.to/2FQFtaZ
– Compact Hyfin Chest Seals: http://amzn.to/2FEOqIj

My experience with the Ankle First Aid Kit

Outside of cargo/tactical pants, it’s difficult to pocket carry medical supplies.  I decided to give the AFAK a try after reading about ankle carry for medical. I joined a group buy via Primary and Secondary, waited a few weeks and had my Ankle First Aid Kit in hand.

The kit loads fairly easily, with 1 larger vertical pocket holding gloves/gauze/bandage, the other holding the tourniquet. The smaller vertical pocket carries my shears. The AFAK becomes a compact package once you figure out how to pack your medical supplies.

My first time using the AFAK was a disaster. It felt unnatural, uncomfortable and was causing chaffing on my leg. Even after readjusting it a few times through out the day, I felt that it was going to end up in the “Bin of Bad Purchases”. My second attempt was a bit better. By removing the  extension piece and rotating the AFAK, I was able to reduce the chaffing.

I made a few more adjustments throughout the first week and by the end of the second week, I found my stride. In the past three months, the Ryker has gone from uncomfortable when wearing, to feeling like I’m missing something when I’m not wearing it.

What do I think of the Ryker Nylon AFAK?

AFAK loaded up and ready to go

I hope to never use my trauma kit. However, it is nice knowing that I’ll have gear in hand if the need arises.

The Ryker Nylon Gear Ankle First Aid Kit is a great piece of kit. After a few weeks of wearing it, the nylon has broken in and feels comfortable. Nearing 3 months of daily use, it looks and feels just like it did a week into wearing it. The AFAK is well thought out and built solidly. I would recommend it to anyone looking to add an easy way to carry a trauma kit on the daily.

You can pick yours up at http://www.rykernylongear.com and they MSRP for $54.95.

Review Disclaimer:

How the product was obtained?

Product was purchased from Ryker Nylon Gear as part of Group Buy for a slight discount

Compensation?

No Compensation was received for this article.