I think street medics can readily fall into a situation where it’s impossible to be completely happy with your kit. Somewhere between the hope of having everything all the time and not having too much, a street medic may run through a dozen bags and never feel like they’ve accomplished what they want.
Truth be told, part of the cool stuff and part of the uncool stuff is figuring out...you know...your stuff. After my 20-hour and trial-and-error, I’ve come to the setup I have now, which I’m gonna share now.
First, my helmet:
I will say honestly that I never ran with a helmet, and I still haven’t. But after the 20-hour and watching a series of videos where protesters were hit in the head by projectiles, I decided it might be wise to be as is as simple Bern bicycle helmet and a pair of impact resistant goggles from my local hardware store. The goggles are more or less for chemical weapons, but can also stop a full impact hit from a projectile, which is nice.
You probably noticed in the first picture that I have a modular set up (read: a fanny pack and a backpack). I wasn’t really sold on the fanny pack. Point in fact, I think the last time I wore one was in 2nd grade. But a fellow medic rolls with one and extolled the virtue of ‘em, and to be honest I was sold during my very first action. A fanny pack helps you get to stuff quick, opens up extra water bottle storage, and make you look so, so cool.
In my fanny pack (starting in the left, top column of stuff):
- Electrolyte mix, candies for diabetics, chewable antacid (for me, because medic tummies).
- All purpose bandana.
- Sudecon (designed to help with pepper spray. It’s expensive, and basically baby shampoo with sugar, but it was provided to me and I’ll gladly use it. In reality, a paper towel can accomplish the same goal).
- N95 rated face mask with drop masks underneath. Both of these for aiding in chemical weapon attacks. I don’t carry apple cider vinegar alongside because there is no proof I’ve come across that indicates apple cider vinegar does anything worthwhile.
- Emergency poncho.
- Blister kit and moleskin. For feets!
- About 15 pairs of gloves. The trick here is to have about twice as many as you think you need. I carry extra gloves in a secondary supplies pack that we’ll see pop up later.
- The ubiquitous red duct tape of our trade.
- 12 hour sanitary pads, 4 hour sanitary pads, and tampons. An important note here: if you’re choosing between which of these to bring, aim for the 12 hour sanitary pads. If folks use tampons, there’s a chance they’ll be arrested and won’t get a chance to change them out. This can lead to toxic shock. All of these can also be used for bandages, too.
- Not pictured: two bottles of water. One I’d typically have for myself to drink, the other would be a quick-pull for eye irrigation. The simple way to make any water bottle into a eyewash bottle is to poke a ballpoint pen through the cap from the inside out. Boom: An accurate and effective eyewash bottle.
When it’s all together, it looks like this:
(That tape would probably be in my main bag, tbh).
Next, my backpack, starting with the front, zippered section:
Starting from the upper left, then going down each “column”:
- Hand warmers. These are left over from a past action - in cold weather, we’ll carry dozens and dozens of these. Super helpful, quick to hand out, and effective. We’ll also use toe warmers, too. You know. For feets.
- Hand sanitizer.
- Popsicle sticks for sprained/broken fingers.
- Flashlight. Because sometimes it’s dark.
- An Oximeter. I got a pair of these on the cheap, and learned how to use it. Useful if you have someone who is having an asthma attack or other breathing issue. Again, don’t use what you don’t know how to use.
- A tick-puller (we live country out here).
- Notepad, pen and marker. The notepad and pen are to help record important info (which will travel with the patient, not with you), and general stuff. The marker is for writing on your body (numbers, etc).
- Lavender essential oil. I have little to no experience with the herbal side of street medicine, so I don’t dive too deep. However, I do know that lavender is a great way to spread calm, so I have it in my kit.
- Charge stick and charge cord for my phone. It’s infuriating to be at an action and realize you’ve only got 10% power on your phone. Doubly frustrating if you’re a street medic.
- Snacks and protein bars I’ve picked up over the last few actions. For anyone who needs ‘em.
When packed, it all looks like this:
Above this section of my bag is a little, lined section. I think it’s supposed to be for electronics but I use if for this:
You know the drill by now:
- Small gauze pads, cloth tape.
- 3x3 gauze pads.
- 2x2 nonstick pads
- Various adhesive bandages
- (not pictured: tweezers, bactracin)
When I first started, I packed a million adhesive bandages and gauzes. I thought of myself being a combat medic or something, which (typically) isn’t the case. I now realize the best kit is one where you can identify what you need, and have it on hand.
This is going to be a place that serves a few different purposes. One, a place for me as a street medic to document (in a very unuseful-to-cops sort of way) my experiences marking up and running as a street medic. It’s also going to be a space to share lessons I’ve learned both during that time and in general around the practice of street medicine. I also believe this will become a place for folks who are either directly interested in becoming street medics (or already street medics and simply want to read something more than a post from 5 years ago) to gather up some helpful tips and build that ever-lovely sense of community.
As for who I am: I became interested in becoming a street medic a year or so ago. Because there weren’t any medics around (read: because I hadn’t yet met the street medics who were already here), I began acting as a street medic for the growing street protests after the 45’s inauguration.
From there, I became more involved, met up with established street medics in my community, and (last October) completed my street medic 20 hour training.
In short, I’m new to the experience, and excited to share my experiences here to make my own collective stronger. Maybe even make other street medics and collectives stronger, too. Who knows.
What I won’t do: I’m not going to name names without explicit permission (and maybe I won’t even if I do have permission). I’m not going to discuss plans or tactics in detail (medics really shouldn’t know specifics, anyway), and I’m not going to betray the trust that the street medic community has shown me even in my short time alongside it. Basically, I want to see if this is useful to anyone other than me, and if it is, I will react accordingly.
What I will do: share tips, things I’m learning, and mistakes I’ve made that you can hopefully avoid.
