TreeLineBackpacker

The ARB Sportsman 400 is a first aid kit designed to provide up to 10 people first aid supplies for up to 14 days. It includes a convenient field guide, a breakaway trauma kit, and products to treat burns, bleeding and more. My review:

The Sportsman 400 is a $150 package designed to treat minor injuries. It comes in a convenient nylon carry pack, complete with carry handles and double zippers for easy access. Inside, there are two main compartments.

One side houses a portable, water-proof trauma kit that can be removed from the main kit. This is extremely convenient for shedding weight, as the main kit can be left at base camp or in the car while the trauma kit is tucked into a backpack and brought along. The trauma kit is packable and lightweight, yet includes most of what you would need in the event of an injury. Essentially, products to stop severe bleeding and to provide CPR. The waterproof bag is re-sealable via a slide zipper, which is also handy.

The second side is more or less a catch-all, containing more traditional supplies for cuts, scrapes, burns, bug bites and splinters. Bandages and antibiotic ointments are supplied as well. This is great to have around camp, the car, at home, or even at work as these types of minor injuries come up all the time.

As a whole, the kit is very inclusive, including scissors, gloves, bandages, antiseptics, swabs, dressings, bite treatments, face shields for CPR, pins and more. It’s a well thought out package that includes everything I normally include in a first aid kit already, alleviating a lot of the guess work from attempting to build your own. The only thing I personally added was an Ace bandage, for wrapping ankles and other injured joints on the trail.

The build quality of the kit is fine. It’s a lightweight, simple pack that is designed to be easy to carry and unobtrusive. It does this well. Its construction quality is fine for what it is so I have no complaints here. It sheds light rain and is easy to pack everything back inside once it’s all pulled out and more importantly, it is easy to get things out of when things go south, so that’s a win in my book.

The field guide is rather impressive in its own right, including fast, concise instruction broken down by the injury or situation. It’s easy to read, provides fast instructions that are easy to parse in an emergency, and includes recommendations for when to seek medical attention. Having this along is absolutely vital, as most people don’t have specialized first aid or CPR training. It’s not going to make you a doctor or act as a substitute for actual medical attention, but it could help you make it off the trail.

Overall

It’s a great little pack at a decent price. The fact that everything is already pre-supplied as an effective travel ready kit removes the guesswork out of trying to build your own. It includes a supply list that is printed directly on the pack itself, making it easy to track what is inside and re-supply as items are consumed. The field guide is absolutely genius, and when paired with the breakaway trauma kit, could in fact save lives as it provides easy to follow, practical steps of how to act and treat common occurrences that can happen on the trail. It’s a fantastic kit that I’ll be keeping with me at all times, be that at home or on the trails. I would recommend adding some sort of joint wrap, like an Ace Bandage, but aside from that I have no complaints here, making it easy to recommend.

Highly Recommended

For more information on the Sportsman 400, consider checking them out the Prepared Bee site. They are a preparedness focused retailer with a nice selection (not an affiliate link).

For information on our rating system and our testing procedures, check out our About us/ Contact us page.

I want to extend a huge thanks to Preparedbee.com for providing this product for review. We couldn’t do it without their help.

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