IFAK – the short answer
An IFAK (Individual First Aid Kit) is a personal first-aid kit meant above all for stopping severe bleeding. At its core are a tourniquet, bandages, gloves and shears, packed so you can get to them fast. The pouch is just somewhere to keep it all. The most important part is knowing how to use it – and that is something you can't buy.
This guide is no substitute for first-aid training. Where and how to get it is covered below.
What usually goes in an IFAK
The list of recommended supplies from Lithuania's Fire and Rescue Department (lt72.lt) includes a first-aid kit, a tourniquet, bandages, plasters, a mask, gloves and disinfectant.
Military kits usually add more. The US Army, for example, added a second tourniquet to its IFAK II, along with a marker, a casualty card, an eye shield, a chest seal and a strap cutter.
What you'll find in our shop – and what you won't
Our catalogue has IFAK pouches, tourniquet pouches, shears and two tourniquets. We don't currently stock bandages, haemostatic gauze or chest seals, and all our IFAK pouches are sold empty. You'll have to source the rest elsewhere – from pharmacies or specialist medical supply shops.
Tourniquets: what the CoTCCC list means
The US Committee on Tactical Combat Casualty Care (CoTCCC) publishes a list of recommended devices. The tourniquets on it are ones that have been tested and evaluated. In the December 2021 version, the non-pneumatic limb tourniquets are CAT Gen 7 and Gen 6, SOF-T Wide, SAM-XT, RMT, TMT, TX2 and TX3. A newer version of the list is only available after registering, and we haven't seen it.
To be straight with you: none of the tourniquets we sell are on this list.
- Dnipro TQ Gen 2 – a Ukrainian windlass tourniquet that can be applied one-handed. In a simulation study published in 2026 (MDPI Medicina, 51 healthcare professionals), it stopped blood flow in the upper limb in 94.0% of attempts, against 94.1% for the CAT Gen 7. On the lower limb the result was weaker: 80.4% against 94.1%.
- Mil-Tec Rhino Rescue – a windlass tourniquet sold as a set with shears and a MOLLE pouch. We found no independent tests of it.
If it matters to you that your tourniquet is on the CoTCCC list, choose one from it. Buy only from reliable suppliers: the CAT, the most popular model, is often counterfeited, and its manufacturer states that genuine ones are made only in the USA.
More important than the model
A tourniquet only works if you know how to use it – quickly, one-handed, under stress. Even in the study above, the participants were trained before testing. Choose the model you train with, and don't head into the field with a tourniquet you've never put on.
The Lithuanian Ministry of Health leaflet "How to stop bleeding?" (Kaip sustabdyti kraujavimą?, in Lithuanian) highlights two things worth knowing in advance: mark the time the tourniquet was applied and do not remove it until specialist medical care has been provided. Exactly how and where to apply it is taught on courses – sources give different distances, so we don't repeat them here.
The IFAK pouch
Rip-off or fixed
A rip-off pouch sits on a base: one pull tears it free, and you can open it wherever it's needed. M-Tac Elite Rip Off – 22 × 12.5 × 7 cm, 1000D Cordura, MOLLE attachment. The M-Tac Medic Rip Off Pouch works in a similar way.
A fixed pouch stays on your kit, and you take the contents out of it. M-Tac Vertical Large Gen.II – vertical, 18 × 12 × 8 cm. Invader Gear Medium Utility Pouch – 120 × 160 × 70 mm, 150 g, a simpler option.
Where to mount it
Somewhere you can reach with either hand, and where someone else will find it if you're the one who needs help. When the kit is always in the same place, nobody has to look for it.
Tourniquet pouch and shears
The tourniquet is carried separately from the IFAK so it's to hand straight away. The M-Tac Elastic Tourniquet Pouch is open and elastic; the M-Tac Closed Flap has a flap that keeps dirt out. The elastic pouch's description specifies a CAT tourniquet; the Closed Flap description names no model. Whether a Dnipro or a Rhino Rescue fits in them, the manufacturer doesn't say – ask us before you buy.
Shears for cutting away clothing: Mil-Tec trauma shears (18.5 cm) or Invader Gear Trauma Shear (50 g).
Training
In Lithuania, the Riflemen's Union (Lietuvos šaulių sąjunga) has a medical support specialisation and runs first-aid training for civilians. First-aid courses are run by other organisations too. A kit without the skills is just stuff in a pouch.
Frequently asked questions
Do your IFAK pouches come with contents?
No. All our IFAK pouches are sold empty – you choose the contents yourself.
Why two tourniquets?
Military kits, such as the US Army's IFAK II, include a second tourniquet. One may not be enough if there are two wounds, or if a single tourniquet doesn't stop the bleeding.
Can I take the tourniquet off once the bleeding stops?
The Lithuanian Ministry of Health leaflet says that a tourniquet is not removed until specialist medical care has been provided. Mark the time it was applied.
Which tourniquet should I choose?
The one you know how to use. If the CoTCCC list matters to you, choose from it – and only from a reliable supplier. The models we stock are not on the list; for the Dnipro Gen 2 there is an independent study, and we've given its results above.
A quick way to choose
- First-aid training comes first.
- A tourniquet you know how to use, in its own pouch.
- An IFAK pouch: rip-off or fixed, depending on how you wear your kit.
- Contents: bandages, gloves, shears, a marker for noting the time.
You'll find pouches and tourniquets in the tourniquets and IFAK pouches category.