Review of the Shield-2 and Deployment Trauma Kit II from PHOKUS research group

I received two medical kits to review from Spotterup.com both kits are very different. One is the Shield-2, a small kit that can be carried easily in small pockets in your uniform or be placed in a gear pouch on your armor.

The other medical kit is the Deployment Trauma Kit II a kit that’s designed to be worn behind your strike plate inside your armor, or in your armor in the thin pouch in front or back, depending on your setup.

First lets talk about the Shield-2 Kit. The pouch is small measuring 6×4.5 in. with a weight of around 6oz.

The contents of the kit include

Z-Fold Gauze

Secondary Tourniquet

Improvised Occlusive Dressing

Medical Tape

Obviously a quick look at the contents tells you this kit is focused on hemorrhage control. The kit has an easy open tab along the top.  PHOKUS call this tab the ripcord. This tab is easy to grab, with bare hands or gloves.  When you pull this tab you better have a good grip on the kit, the tear isn’t extremely easy. This isn’t a bad thing; the plastic encasing the kit is heavy and will resist premature tears and punctures.

After opening the kit, I got 6 pieces of 2×9” medical tape, 1 Z-fold gauze, and a SWAT-T tourniquet.  The contents list an improvised occlusive dressing which isn’t included, unless by improvised they mean the packaging from the kit.  Which for a cost of $100.00 for this, I think an actual occlusive dressing could be included without adding any real bulk.

Also, I’ve carried a lot of trauma kits and a good turniquet is like gold. The one provided is good because it fits in the kit. It takes a bit longer to apply than say a CAT, or SOF-T. And if you don’t take your time and apply it correctly the end can slip and if its not tight the first time you need to unwrap it and reapply.

Overall this is a good kit, easy to use, but I feel like for the cost you could have an occlusive dressing, and hemostatic gauze, instead of just standard gauze. The size of the kit is perfect for carrying on your armor, in a backpack, or glove box.

The Deployment Trauma Kit II is a full IFAK  excluding a touniquet.  This is a unique kit made to fit behind you strike plate on your armor. This kit has a strong sealed vinyl outer cover that seals in the IFAK.

Contents

Combat Gauze

NPA

14g Needle

Occlusive Dressing x2

Casualty Card

4” Z-Fold Gauze x2

2” Safety Pins x2

3” Elastic Bandage

Nitril Gloves

Sharpie Marker

The kit uses the PHOKUS groups rip cord pull tab to open the kit. The rip cord pull tab requires a bit more force than a standard shrink wrapped IFAK. This isn’t bad because the outer nylon seal provided good protection. Next to the opening tab there is a larger tab that allows you to pull the kit from behind your armor plate.

On the sample I had, I added a small 550 cord loop around the pull tab, made the intial grab smoother. Besides using this as suggested, I also carried it in my ruck, which has a space at the back panel for holding a laptop, or a water bladder. The kit fit inside perfectly.

The retail price is around $143.00. Which I feel is a bit pricy because it doesn’t have any type of tourniquet included. But you do have hemostatic dressings, which is a big plus.  I handled the kit with wet nitrile gloves (to simulate blood) the kit felt a bit slippery in my hands, which isn’t great thing. It could also make it difficult to grasp in the rain. This is another reason I would throw a 550 loop onto the grab tab.  These kits would work well for a trauma medic to have three or four layered into a pack ready to grab.

This is a well thought out versatile kit. This company thinks outside the box and is working hard to put out a product that makes sense. These kits are lightweight and fairly efficient. If you have the money definitely check them out.

Functionality: 5/5

Weight: 5/5

Durability: 5/5

Cost: 4/5

Comfort: NA

Total: 19/20

Description by Phokus Research

Product Details

• Battle Tested Durability – Heavy-duty Medical grade vinyl keeps gear protected during long deployments. Outperforms the competition by a ratio of 3 to 1.
• Pressure Sealing & Precision RF Welding creates waterproof protection for valuable medical supplies.
• Designed for quick deployment, the contents are packed around injury patterns in order of priority for care.
• TCCC Compliant
• Content List: Combat Gauze, NPA W/ 550, 14G Cath, Occlusive Dressing X2, Casualty Card, Z-Fold Gauze X2, 2″ Safety Pins X2, 3″ Elastic Bandage, Nitrile Gloves, Sharpie
• Size: 9 x 11 x .75 | Wt: 11.7 oz

Patrick is a Special Warfare Combatant-Craft Crewmen (SWCC) member and also one of the cadre with GoRuck. On his free time he builds his company GPMKIT.