There are a lot of medical pouches out there these days so always good to see some unique designs like this one. ITS Tactical has been around as a tactical resource site for a while now, and like us started to apply that knowledge to gear designs of their own. Collaborating with Zulu Nylon Gear, their kit is made in the USA and at the mil-spec standards expected of hard use tactical gear.
This Fatboy version measures approx 7″ Tall x 5.25″ Wide x 2.5″ Deep which is about the typical size for an IFAK (Individual First Aid Kit), however the rest of the design is fairly non-typical. The main opening is optimized for quick access utilizing a good sized webbing pull handle and dual zippers offering a tear open functionality. Being more of a half ellipse shape instead of a classic rectangle adds noticeable smoothness opening. A little bit of hook and loop closure up top makes sure the zipper doesn't slowly open accidentally with normal use. If worn in a fairly accessible place like up front on a chest rig, then all goods are easily accessed by both hands. Malice clips are provided by default, but for those who still need a full pouch tear off option, ITS also offers Molly Stix which provide a disconnect by pulling their connection cords away from one's body. That could be a whole other review, but check out the video on ITS's site for now :)
I've been rolling with my med kits on the back of my battle belt since not as likely to need it priority wise, yet still able to reach it when needed. Unfortunately this was about the only place I had trouble using the Molly Stix; between it being on my back side and armor in my vest being right above, I could not get reliable releases. Everywhere else seemed fine though; such as frontal, side, and dropleg mounting. As you'll see in my pics, I even made a more rowdy pull cord for the Stix and experimented with default placement thanks to a little bit of one-wrap.
On that subject, each pouch comes with a ITS medical symbol patch and red one wrap for the handle to make it obvious the pouch is a medical pouch. For those more worried about blending into their environment, both features are easily removed. There is a little bit of PALS webbing on both sides of the ETA Pouch to allow mounting of smaller modular pouches, but most people will see it as a good option for external tourniquet mounting. The rubber bands that come with the SOF-T work fine to route through the PALS webbing if one doesn't want to add on another pouch. Feel free to use some shock cord as well if worried about accidental release. Worth noting, the back has a full set of PALS webbing to give expanded mounting options is always a bonus.
Finally opening up the pouch getting into the interior, the layout is overall straight forward and effective. The back has a stash sleeve pocket and then additional sleeve pockets on the sides for longer / skinny items. Things get a little more interesting on the frontal side where a shock cord and webbing slot setup offer the equivalent of customizable elastic webbing loops. One can control placement and size with the additional benefit that shockcord is easy to replace if it ever gets worn out over time.
To complete the package, ITS offers their own trauma kit insert that of course fits great in the ETA Fatboy. It comes nicely vacuum sealed, but to get ready for actual use you'll want to open it up to then get the items placed in the pouch. I found this very intuitive as I didn't even look at the ITS site while filling the pouch, yet ended up with almost the same layout. The ITS ETA Trauma Kit includes what most folks expect out of a combat oriented medical kit these days comprised of:
QuikClot Combat Gauze LE (1)
HALO Chest Seal (2)
MojoDart Decompression Needle (1)
Nasopharyngeal Airway (NPA) Adj. 28fr (1)
Pressure Dressing (1 — 4″)
Elastic Bandage (1 — 2″)
Z-Fold Dressing (1)
Combat Casualty Card (1)
Nitrile Gloves (1 Pair)
Pencil (1)
Contents List w/ TCCC Care Under Fire Instructions (on reverse) (1)
For the space this loadout offers good solutions to patching holes, covering and getting pressure on wounds, dealing with airway issues / Tension Pneumothorax, and even documentation tools. Some folks are on the fence on whether or not to carry a decompression needle, but I agree with the concept it is good to have one in a kit even if it can only be used by a qualified other person. Although the ETA kit fills out the pouch pretty well, one can manage to fit some additional smaller items in there one way or another to further customize the loadout. For example it would be no sweat to toss in some clothespins.
If you overall like the features of the Fatboy, but want a different size format, ITS also offers a Tallboy pouch and Medkit insert variant that is shaped more like a filled rifle mag pouch. Although I can't put the ETA Trauma Kit Pouch where I personally usually wear medical pouches, I do overall dig the design for how easy it is to open and access items inside. The organization is there, while still being quickly accessible as opposed to some older designs that are over sized and having the issue of the pouches inside of pouches effect requiring lots of compartment opening.
