All manner of sexy gear gets bolted to overlanding rigs these days, but in an emergency, a good first aid kit can matter more than hi-lift jacks, recovery boards, and plastic jerry cans. After all, you’re not recovering anything if you yourself don’t recover first. In such environments, you need a comprehensive assortment in a durable case, so before we headed off on our Trans-America Trail adventure in Rivian’s all-electric R1T pickup, we hit up Milwaukee Tool for its new Milwaukee Packout first aid kit.
Knowing we’d be on the trail for 43 days covering over 7,700 miles off-road in everything from extreme heat to snow, sand, mud, and rocks, we wanted a first aid kit that’d stand up to some abuse. The Packout kit looks the business with its tough plastic case, clear cover for easily locating what you need in the moment, divided compartments to keep supplies organized, and impressive ratings for contents, durability, and water protection.
As a first aid kit, the Packout is rated to the ANSI/ISEA Z308.1-2015 Standard, which outlines a specific caliber for both the content of a workplace first aid kit and the quantity of supplies. We went with the Packout 204-piece Class B Type III kit. Class B means it’s a larger kit meant for bigger job sites with more people, and it contains additional types of equipment (namely, a splint and a tourniquet) and a greater quantity of bandages and other supplies. Type III means it’s portable (but can also be mounted on a wall) and has weather-resistant seals so it can be used outdoors. The Packout is rated to IP65, which means it can’t be submerged in water, but it can be hosed down for at least 15 minutes without any water getting in.
Milwaukee also makes a smaller Packout 76-piece Class A Type III first aid kit with fewer supplies in a more compact case for smaller job sites. Knowing how long we’d be off-road, how large our crew was, and how far we’d be from emergency services most of the time, we opted for the larger kit.
We’ve tested other emergency first aid kits in the past, but they’ve all been smaller arrangements in soft cases meant to be stashed in a backpack or go-bag. The big Packout is certainly bulkier, but it’s not huge or heavy, and the advantages in keeping supplies organized and easy to see makes up for a lot. As we knew it would spend a month and a half in the cab, cargo holds, or bed of our 2022 Rivian R1T trucks, the hard-shell case and weather seals were a major selling point.
Thankfully, we never needed to use our first aid kit on the trip, and after nearly six weeks on the trail it was scratched and dusty on the outside but otherwise as good as the day it arrived. The case neither cracked nor broke despite all the gear stacked on it at various times and all the jostling around in the truck. The weather seal kept the dust out, and the dividers kept all the supplies neatly arranged.
Although it wasn’t of any benefit to us on this trip, the Packout first aid kit is part of Milwaukee’s larger Packout modular storage system. It can be connected to a stack of Packout toolboxes, organizers, crates, carts, and even coolers and radios. If you or your employer has gone in on the Packout system for the rest of your gear, the first aid kit is a no-brainer.
The Packout 204-piece kit we used comes with 50 adhesive bandages, 5 yards of 2.5-inch adhesive tape, 25 packets of triple antibiotic ointment, 50 antiseptic towelettes, a CPR face shield with one-way valve, two burn dressings, 25 packets of burn cream, two instant cold packs, two oval eye pads, one container of eyewash, one American Red Cross Emergency First Aid Guide, 10 packets of hand sanitizer, four disposable nitrile exam gloves size large, two 4-yard rolls of 2-inch conforming gauze, 4-inch offset scissors, a two-pack of 3×3-inch sterile gauze dressing pads, a 1×18-inch tourniquet, four 5×9-inch trauma pads, two triangular bandages, six two-packs of aspirin, six two-packs of non-aspirin pain reliever, and a wall hanger with screws.
The Milwaukee Packout 204-piece Class B Type III first aid kit retails for $129.97.
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