This sleek first aid kit fits everything you could ever need into the handle of a flashlight
Todd Weimer, the founder of outdoor brand VSSL, grew up going on self-supported adventures in the woods of British Columbia. One day, when Weimer was holding a flashlight, he realized: the handle could be used as a the perfect “vessel” to store and carry essential outdoor gear. VSSL, his outdoor brand, now focuses on packing curated, critical gear into compact, durable, modular units, so that you can have what you need without adding unnecessary clunk. And while the VSSL Camp Supplies Kit includes 70 pieces of gear (including a fire starter kit, water purification kit, and even a sewing kit) into a unit the size of a small water bottle, it’s not practical for everyone.
The VSSL First Aid Kit ($125), however, is. Tubular and compact, this first aid kit/flashlight combo fits into your glove box, backpack, purse, or bathroom medicine cabinet with ease. And it completely cancels any excuse you’ve ever had in the past to not keep first aid essentials on your person.
“We wanted to create something that was easy to carry, yet completely reliable and durable,” Weimer explains. “We relied on expert advice from local emergency first responders, who helped us select only the first aid supplies that will be the most essential and useful–from your backyard to the backcountry and everywhere in between.”
The design is sleek as hell and highly functional: it’s completely waterproof, exceptionally rugged (it’s made of military-grade aluminum), and each component of the kit is easily accessible (thanks to the rollout design of the kit’s components). Oh, and it weighs less than a pound. The bottom of the Kit is a 200-Lumen, waterproof, flood beam flashlight that has four different lighting modes: bright, dim, red, and SOS. The top of the kit is an oil-filled precision compass.
Inside, you’ll find multiuse tape, bandages, 3M Steri-Strips, disposible thermometers, antiseptic towelettes, antibiotic cream, burn cream, Aspirin, Advil, tweezers, an emergency whistle, safety pins, gauze, medical gloves, and blister pads—all rolled up neatly into a see-through, pocketed organizer.
But if you’re looking for an even more pared-down First Aid Kit, VSSL also offers the First Aid Mini Kit ($99)—which includes only the essential of the essentials. This kit stands at 6.75 inches tall (compared to the full-sized VSSL’s 9 inches), weighs only 9.9 oz., and holds three tins of curated supplies. Tin 1 includes supplies to clean and cover wounds, Tin 2 contains first aid tools (like tweezers, gloves, and a sewing kit), and Tin 3 holds supplies like medications, creams, and thermometers.
After you’ve used supplies that come with your VSSL kit, you can refill it (or swap out) with any number of affordable refills, from bug repellant to trail markers to miniature candles. The brand offers curated refill tins like the Guard Compact Adventure Pack (which comes stocked with face masks, rubber gloves, thermometers, and hand sanitizer) and the First Aid Hike Essentials tin. (The company also has a Build Your Own option that you can customize from scratch, if the premade kits don’t suit your needs.)
Suddenly, carrying a first aid kit seems more convenient than not carrying one—doesn’t it?
The VSSL design has won the company design awards at both the German Design Awards and the Edison Awards for its innovative, robust, and sleek composition.
Additionally, the company also gives back. VSSL has partnered with Communitas—a nonprofit that serves young people with special needs—by employing members of the Communitas community. After all the parts of a VSSL Kit arrive at the warehouse in Abbotsford B.C., they are assembled by Communitas members and VSSL employees. Over the four-year history of the partnership, VSSL has maintained a defective rate of less than 1 percent.
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