GearPods Health Kit Review

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This second review of components in the GearPods Wilderness system looks at the included GearPods Health kit. GearPods offer “modular, lightweight adventure and survival gear to help the outdoor enthusiast to prepare for the unexpected.” In all their systems, they combine interconnecting, “waterproof” containers with survival kits. Because the system is modular, I’m reviewing each component separately. I’ll wrap-up the reviews in a final overview and opinion of the products with a separate post.

Because a first aid kit is only used when an injury occurs, I’m looking at the parts of this kit without having to use them. The kit is contained in a small nylon pouch inside of a GearPods Medium container (3.25” diameter, 3.25” height). It includes:

Ibuprofen – 200mg (2)
Aspirin – 325mg (2)
Burn Cream with Aloe Vera
Cleansing Wipes (2)
Insect Protection Cream
Sunscreen Lotion – SPF 30+
Insect Sting Relief Towelette
Poison Ivy/Oak/Sumac Cleanser
Lip Ointment
Hydrocortisone – 1%
Iodine Wipes (2)
Antibiotic Ointment
Moleskin – 2″x2″ (2)
Cotton Swabs (5)
Medical Tape (0.5”x2.5yds)
Tweezers
Alcohol Prep Pads (2)
Butterfly Closures (3)
Knuckle Band Aid (2)
Small Bandages (5)
Large Bandages (5)
Gauze Pads (2)
Stuff sac with drawcard and fastener
Contents Sheet

Because I’m a Wilderness First Responder, I like to customize my kits to suit the situations that I anticipate encountering. My personal lightweight first aid kit weighs 8.3 ounces and is designed for 2 to 4 people on a 10 day trip. I typically beef up the medication on longer trips based on the people coming along. The GearPod kit weighs only 4.8 ounces including the container. If I were to use this first aid kit on a trip, to make it acceptable, I’d add to it. Most importantly:

Latex or Nitrile gloves
More medicine, including Acetaminophen (Tylenol 500mg), Antihistamine (Diphenhydramine 25mg), and Diamode (Loperamide HCI 2mg)
More and larger gauze pads
Co-hesive, Elastic Vet Wrap, 2″
Triangular Bandage
Syringe with 18 Gauge Tip, 10cc

A few items, I’d remove. Most of the following, I’d be carrying as duplicate items elsewhere in my kit.

Insect Protection Cream
Sunscreen Lotion – SPF 30+
Insect Sting Relief Towelette
Poison Ivy/Oak/Sumac Cleanser (I don’t run into these too often and train those I’m with to look out for it. Only on one trip did someone I was with get Poison Ivy. She wiped with a leaf.)
Lip Ointment

It’s hard to find a commercially available first aid kit that’s perfect, so I end up building my own. In the case of the GearPods Health kit, I’d have to restructure it significantly to take it to my standards. For about the same price both of Adventure Medical Kits’ UltraLight / Watertight .7 First-Aid Kit and their UltraLight / Watertight .9 First-Aid Kit offer a more complete kit that is just as watertight. As a separate component, I give the GearPods Health kit a pass. Included in the Wilderness system, it’d have to be beefed up to make it worth carrying.

On a side note not specific to the Health kit, I’ve found that the containers leak slightly. I let a container float in a sink full of water. After four hours, I wiped off the outside of the container to make sure no water splashed in and opened both ends. Inside each end, water beads were creeping up the threads and into the container. Not a ton of water, but a bit. Looks like my tests are concurring with Derrik’s tests.

My Other Reviews of the GearPods Kits