The new Marine 600 Adventure Medical Kit departs from the company’s blue soft-sided marine design and features a hard, yellow, impact- and water-resistant plastic container. Useful in emergency rafts, at sea or when heading down the Colorado River, the readily visible, airtight container will float if it falls overboard. The container also keeps medical supplies safe and dry in the humid marine environment and when stored on board for long periods.
Although the Marine 600 kit is designed for coastal cruisers, the company has other more comprehensive medical kits for offshore ocean passages.
Chock full of essential and useful supplies, the Marine 600 kit features an excellent 286-page book, “A Comprehensive Guide to Marine Medicine,” by two renowned marine and survival experts, Eric A Weiss, M.D., and Michael Jacobs, M.D. I have a copy of Dr. Weiss’ “Survival at Sea,” and while I have been fortunate never to have needed it, I feel secure knowing it’s on the bookshelf. “A Comprehensive Guide to Marine Medicine” covers how to handle numerous marine and emergency situations when access to medical personnel isn’t possible.
The well-organized medical kit has six logically arranged, heavy-duty, resealable pouches. Each pouch has a quick guide for easy reference:
- CPR/choking/drowning: CPR mask with instructions
- Bleeding/shock: QuikClot Advanced Clotting Gauze, nitrile gloves, trauma pads, sterile gauze dressing, antiseptic towelettes, Adventure Medical Heatsheets reflective blanket
- Wound care: irrigation syringe, antiseptic towelettes, After Cuts & Scrapes pump, wound closure strips, Skin Tac Topical Adhesive, triple antibiotic ointment, povidone-iodine, fabric bandages, gauze bandage, gauze dressings, eye pad, sports tape, cotton tip applicator, EMT shears, splinter remover
- Burns/blisters: AfterBurn aloe vera gel, moleskin, tubular bandage, triple antibiotic ointment
- Medications: aspirin, antihistamine, ibuprofen, Diamode (loperamide), acetaminophen, meclizine, cortisone cream, Adventure Medical AfterBite sting and itch relief, eye wash, antacid
- Fractures/sprains: C-Splint (4 inches by 36 inches), finger splint, triangular bandage, elastic bandage, cold pack, ibuprofen, safety pins
A complete listing of the quantity and size of each item is available at the Adventure Medical Kit website, adventuremedicalkits.com.
One of the most comprehensive marine medical kits I’ve seen on the market, the Marine 600 contains essential supplies for treating the most common onboard injuries. The case is small enough to fit in a large ditchbag or a locker on a small ski boat. I have had numerous medical kits over the years, but this one will travel with me wherever I go, even on road trips.
You can replenish supplies by visiting Adventure Medical Kits website, refillyourkit.com.
Craig Grosby, P, is an avid sailor and has been a member of the United States Power Squadron since 1986. He lives in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and sails aboard Flyer, a Hunter 35.5 Legend.