Frequently Asked Questions

IFAK stands for Individual First Aid Kit. The term comes from the military, where every service member carries one kit sized for one casualty: themselves or the person next to them. A real IFAK is built around the injuries that kill fastest, so it carries a tourniquet, hemostatic gauze, a pressure bandage, chest seals, and gloves rather than adhesive bandages and ointment. Our D.A.R.K. Trauma Kit is the IFAK we are known for. See all of our IFAKs.

A first aid kit handles the small stuff: cuts, scrapes, blisters, minor burns, and sprains. A trauma kit handles the injuries that can take a life in minutes: severe bleeding from a limb, deep wounds, and penetrating chest injuries. The contents are different because the jobs are different. A trauma kit carries a tourniquet, hemostatic gauze, a pressure bandage, and chest seals. Many people carry both. If you want one kit that covers both jobs, the D.A.R.K. Explorer Kit has a trauma side and a first aid side, and the HARD Case is a full first aid case with a trauma module. Shop trauma kits and first aid kits.

Start with where you will carry it.

• On a belt, in a pack, or in a range bag: the D.A.R.K. Trauma Kit, or the D.A.R.K. Slim if you want a lower profile.
• On a battle belt or plate carrier: the S.P.E.A.R. Trauma Kit.
• Concealed daily carry: the EDC Trauma Kit or the Ankle Kit.
• In a vehicle: the HEDR on the headrest, or the VISR.
• Home, office, or family vehicle, trauma plus first aid: the HARD Case.

Still not sure? Ask us. We will point you at the right kit, not the most expensive one.

The short list is the gear that stops the bleeding that kills fastest: a tourniquet for limb bleeding, hemostatic gauze for packing deep wounds, a pressure bandage to hold the packing in place, a pair of vented chest seals for penetrating chest injuries, and nitrile gloves. Shears to cut clothing away and a mylar blanket round out most of our kits. That is the same list you will find in a Stop the Bleed kit, and it is what we build the D.A.R.K. around. What is not in there matters just as much. See "Why do your kits have so few components?" below.

In a vehicle you want a kit that stays put, stays visible, and comes out fast. The HEDR (Headrest Emergency Deployment Rig) mounts to a headrest with a Hook & Loop system so the kit is in reach from the front or back seat. The VISR (Vehicular Individual Safety Rig) is a low-profile rig with a red grab handle for fast deployment. If you want trauma gear plus a full first aid inventory for a family vehicle, the HARD Case is a high-visibility, watertight case that floats. Browse all vehicle kits.

No. Our kits are built on a principle we call Simplicity Under Stress: only the essential components, laid out so you can find them with shaking hands. That said, a kit is only as good as the person holding it. Learn the three skills that matter most: tourniquet the limbs, pack the junctions, seal the box. Our two-day Direct Action Response Training teaches all three hands-on, and our online training covers the basics from home.

Both are proven, and both are available on most of our kits at no extra cost. The CAT Gen 7 (Combat Application Tourniquet) is the most widely used tourniquet and the one most people have trained on. The SOF-T Gen 5 (Special Operations Forces Tourniquet) is the alternative many military and law enforcement users carry. They do the same job. Our advice: carry the one you train with the most. If you have never used either, choose the CAT. Either way, buy a trainer and practice with that, never with your real tourniquet.

CAT stands for Combat Application Tourniquet. It is a windlass tourniquet designed to be applied with one hand, so you can put it on your own arm or leg. You route the strap around the limb high and tight, pull it snug, twist the windlass rod until the bleeding stops, and lock the rod in place. The Gen 7 is the current generation. We sell the CAT Gen 7 on its own and as the standard tourniquet in our kits. For practice, use a dedicated training CAT. Applying it fast under stress is a skill, and it is the first one we teach in class.

Hemostatic gauze is gauze treated with an agent that helps blood clot faster where it is packed. The QuikClot gauze in our kits uses kaolin, a mineral that works with your body's own clotting process and creates no heat. Length matters because deep wounds swallow gauze: you pack it into the wound until it is full and then hold pressure, and a longer roll gives you more to work with on a large wound. Our gauze collection carries QuikClot in 4-foot and 12-foot lengths. Do not open your real hemostatic gauze to practice. Use training gauze instead.

A chest seal is an occlusive dressing that covers a penetrating chest wound so air cannot be pulled into the chest cavity through the hole. Vented seals, like the Hyfin Vent Compact seals in our kits, let trapped air escape while keeping outside air out. Kits include a pair because a penetrating wound often has an entry and an exit, and both need to be sealed. Shop chest seals.

Yes. Hemostatic gauze, chest seals, and other sterile components carry expiration dates printed on their packaging, and tourniquets have a published service life. Check your kit every quarter, and when something is close to its date, replace it. For the D.A.R.K. and D.A.R.K. Slim the easiest way is the vacuum-sealed refill insert, which swaps the whole insert in one step. Other kits have their own refills in the refills collection. Expired components are not covered by the Kit for Life guarantee.

Once a tourniquet is on and the bleeding has stopped, leave it on. Do not loosen it to "let some blood through," and do not take it off yourself. Write the time it went on somewhere visible, on the tourniquet's time strip or on the casualty, and hand that time to EMS when they arrive. Only a medical provider should decide when a tourniquet comes off. Why that is, and what to do when the bleeding does not stop, is exactly what we cover in Direct Action Response Training.

The insert is sealed to keep the contents clean and compact, and the pouch adds a second layer of protection. If the seal fails on its own, email info@darkangelmedical.com and we will send instructions for returning it to be resealed (customer covers shipping). Avoid pulling the insert in and out of the pouch: friction on the high points is the usual cause of a lost seal. Even unsealed, every component is still in its own manufacturer packaging and protected from the elements.

No. Treat your kit like a fire extinguisher: it is for the emergency, not for drills. Opening sealed components ends their shelf life, and a tourniquet that has been practiced with can lose the integrity you will need when it counts. Buy dedicated practice gear instead. Our training supplies include a training CAT, a blue SOF-T trainer, training hemostatic gauze, and chest seal trainers so you can drill as often as you want.

Every quarter. Check that the seal is intact, the tourniquet is staged where you can reach it, nothing has expired, and the pouch and straps show no wear. Put it on the calendar with the rest of your quarterly checks, and do it after any trip where the kit took a beating.

Because when you need this kit, the situation is already stressful enough without digging through markers, tape, notepads, and surveyor's tape to find the tourniquet. We pack only what stops a life-threatening bleed, in a layout that is simple to learn and fast to deploy. Quality over quantity. Every component earns its place, and in a time-is-life situation that puts the odds in your favor.

Take a class. Direct Action Response Training is two days of classroom instruction and hands-on practice with tourniquets, wound packing, and chest seals, taught by instructors with military and law enforcement medical backgrounds. There are no prerequisites and no medical background needed. If you cannot get to a class, start with our online training, which covers the fundamentals from home. It does not replace an in-person class, but it is far better than nothing.

Classes are hosted in cities around the country, and the schedule on the training page is always current. You register by adding the class to your cart. If you want to bring the class to your agency, department, company, or group, you can host one: hosts arrange the venue and help fill the seats, and the host receives one complimentary slot. Minimum class sizes apply. Email info@darkangelmedical.com to start the conversation.

Mindset first: how your body and mind react under stress, and how to keep working through it. Then the skills: hemorrhage control with tourniquets, hemostatic gauze, and pressure bandages; wound packing; recognizing and treating chest injuries with chest seals; basic airway management; recognizing shock; moving a casualty; and how to work with 911, law enforcement, fire, and EMS when they arrive. The course also covers response to active shooter situations, cover versus concealment, and mass casualty triage. Every student gets a manual, and all training aids are provided.

If you use your Dark Angel Medical kit to save a life, we replace the components you used, free. Send us documentation of the event and your proof of purchase, and the replacement components ship to you at no cost. Read the full guarantee on the Kit for Life page.

Use the claim form on the Kit for Life page. You will need official documentation that the kit was used to save a life, plus your proof of purchase, and the form lets you upload both. You can also email info@darkangelmedical.com. We will reply with the next steps.

The guarantee replaces the components used in a lifesaving event and nothing else. It does not cover damage or wear from normal use, misuse, abuse, or modification, and it does not replace components that have expired or passed their published service life. Replacing those is on you, and the refill inserts make it easy.

Yes. Dark Angel Medical products are HSA/FSA approved. Keep your order confirmation as your receipt for reimbursement, and check with your plan administrator if you have a question about your plan's eligibility rules.

Yes. Active military, veterans, first responders (fire, police, and healthcare workers), and teachers get 20% off, verified at checkout through GovX ID. Verify once and the discount applies to your order. Training classes are excluded, and the discount does not stack with other codes.

Yes. We supply military units, federal and local law enforcement, and first responder agencies. Our CAGE Code is 6R7W4 and our DUNS number is 078472585. For agency quotes or bulk orders, email info@darkangelmedical.com or call 720-836-7150.

Fraud prevention. Orders whose billing and shipping addresses do not match are held until we can speak with you and confirm the order is legitimate. It protects you and it protects us. APO addresses are the one exception. If your addresses differ for a good reason, call 720-836-7150 after you order so we can verify it by phone.

Yes. We ship USPS and UPS, and APO addresses are the one exception to our billing and shipping address match rule. Orders are processed Monday through Friday. We are closed weekends and federal holidays, so an order placed Friday evening is processed when we are back in the office. You will get a shipping notification email with tracking when your order leaves. Full details are on the shipping and returns page.

Unopened, unused products in their original packaging can be returned within 14 days of receipt. Request a Return Authorization number first by contacting us. Returns without one are not accepted, and the return must reach us within 30 days of the RA being issued. Non-defective returns carry a 25% restocking fee and the customer pays return shipping. If the mistake was ours, we send a prepaid label. Exchanges of equal or greater value within 14 days have no restocking fee. Class registrations follow the cancellation policy in our terms. Full policy on the shipping and returns page.

Monday through Friday, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM Mountain time. We are closed weekends and federal holidays. Call 720-836-7150 (leave a message if you reach voicemail), email info@darkangelmedical.com, or use the contact form. We will get back to you as soon as we can.