My Complicated Relationship with the Ankle IFAK

I have written a few articles on using “ankle carry for SHTF” as a way to add tools to your body during times of heightened threat.  While I still add a backup gun to my ankle when I want, I am rather done with ankle IFAKs. I have used the ankle IFAK as a way to add additional medical capability to my person, when I felt necessary to do so.  I would wear it when in places where I wanted to add more medical capability to my person, such as when in large, crowded, public places when out with the family.  I would also wear it when on the shooting range.  But, having worn it more than usual lately, I have concluded that I am done with it. Obviously, it is a great option, but I just can’t get along with it anymore.

Before anyone goes nuclear and accuses me of not practicing what I preach, bear in mind that I carry a tourniquet and a full-size pack of hemostatic gauze in my pocket ALL THE TIME, everywhere, no exceptions.  That is better than carrying a full trauma kit on the ankle only sometimes.  Granted, some guys do carry one on the ankle all the time, but most who say they do, in reality, do not.  I have the two most critical trauma tools on-person, all the time, with little discomfort or trouble, so I really don’t worry much about it beyond that anyway.  But, if I want to have a full trauma kit with me, I just carry my EDC bag, which has a full medical kit in it, as well as a bunch of other useful things.  Carrying sling bags and backpacks in public is entirely ordinary these days, so why not leverage that excellent capability? 

For the range, I have moved to wearing a small, yet complete, medical pouch on my belt.  I only use and teach with a concealed pistol, so this kit is not on a “battle belt” or other such nonsense, it is just on my regular belt, and it does not interfere with my draw of my concealed gun in the AIWB position.  I think this is better when teaching anyway, because it clearly displays an example of safety and professionalism.

The primary issue I have with ankle IFAKs is that I find them specifically uncomfortable.  I think a gun in a good ankle holster is more comfortable than any ankle IFAK I have tried.  I suspect that is because the gun bulges in just one spot, whereas a stuffed ankle IFAK bulges all around the leg.  Also, I wear shorts for six months of the year, so the ankle solution was always just a part-time option anyway.  If you find it tolerable to wear one all the time, certainly more power to you, and I think it is the best way to have a full IFAK concealed on body.  But, with a tourniquet and hemostatic gauze on me all the time anyway, I am simply not feeling compelled to put that thing on my ankle. 

I have even tried a minimalist solution; a tourniquet ankle holder that is made of soft material and designed only to hold a tourniquet in a single pouch. My thinking was that this would at least give me a second tourniquet on-body when desired. While the device itself was well made and comfortable, the minimalist design allows the folded tourniquet to protrude from the top and bottom, and no matter how I set it in position, it would inevitably move to a location where the exposed device would rub on my ankle joint. since the top and bottom of the tourniquet was exposed, it also allowed the metal pieces of the SOFT-T Wide to click when I walked, which proved annoying and conspicuous. Therefore, even this minimal option simply did not work out for me.

If you can’t make the ankle IFAK work, just embrace the alternatives.  I think ankle IFAKs are a great tool, but I can’t get along with them, so I don’t try to any longer. I always have the two most essential hemorrhage control devices in my pocket anyway, and if I want more I just carry my EDC bag. There are plenty of options for carrying medical gear at this point.