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Need to re-evaluate the quantity of firt-aid gear that I carry around. One obvious glaring oversight was that it was centered around the need for one incident. But if two people are hurt, then I may wind up being short on some things. Drawback is, where do I limit it? If I carry enough for, say, four people, the kit goes from being easily portable to bulky and annoying. Hmmmmm. I mention this because last weeks incident while hiking brought it home to me..I used two antispetic wipes on one kid and had to use iodine wipes on the other.

The TRC3A wireless intrusion set showed up and now I just need to pick up a portable scanner that picks up the frequencies it operates on (133.5mHz~). Ive been needing a new scanner anyway, so that isnt a big deal.

I do need to stock up on some more ammo though, and I need to cache a bit of it off-site. The LMI’s and myself keep enough on hand to completely equip several other people but I still dont like having all my eggs in one basket. I especially need to have some more .223 in reserve. At least a few thousand rounds.

Summer is here and Im very pleased with how the Camelbak and HydraStorm ‘hydration systems’ have been working. These things are great. The other LMI’s dont use them yet but Im going to move that we all get a couple more. If not, I’ll get them each one for Christmas.

Fourth of July is next week and thats usually our summer field exercise…unfortunately it looks like Im going to have to miss it. I need to work and make money after taking a weeks vacation…so I’ll make it up somewhere down the road…maybe hunting season.

7 thoughts on “”

  1. Which hydration system style do you use? I’ve been looking into getting one, but I’m not exactly sure whch style would work best.

  2. There are reports of the Camelbak brand not holding up too well to military use. I have three Camelbaks and one Hydrastorm. Im more impressed with the HydraStorm…I like the valve and I esepcially like that the baldder has a ‘seam’ running down the middle to keep it from expanding like a balloon when filled. In practice, I havent seen much difference between the two, so it may come down to pricing and availability of the particular models we like. The HydraStorm, as I said, has some nice features to their bladders and that might make a difference but the Camelbaks are getting the nod from the LMI’s simply because accessories and spare parts/bladders, tubes are avaialble at any camping store.

  3. Actually, I meant which particular one have you used. I keep looking at the ones that are just bladders, but then I look at some with the pack space and wonder if I really need that extra carry room.

  4. You know, I thought that was what you meant but wasnt sure.

    All of my Camelbaks are of the bladder type without a pack. They have nylon carriers with lashing points to attach to various gear and thats usually the ones I use since they’ll slip into my ALICE pack or my Blackhawk packs. However, I do have one ‘daypack’ type in the Hydrastorm. It doesnt afford much space but for biking and short hiking its handy..depends on how much gear I plan on carrying. It accomodates spare ammo, first aid kit, a sandwich and maybe a ponch. Thats about it. Lemme see if I can find it…Hydrastorm Tsunami. Not bad…for day hikes, biking, long car rides, etc its not bad. I sometimes use it during the summer to carry my standard gear in. Quality is quite good though.

    So, the Camelback units by themselves are nice for putting into packs, for an integrated unit the HydraStorms are nice because they have a military bent to them – ALICE lashing points, quick-release straps, camo color, etc, etc.

  7. Looks pretty good. If you get one let me know how it works out…we’re always looking for some real-world experience and reviews before we fork over $ for a group-standard purchase.

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