Two inch velcro for the first aid kit: lightweight, adjustable material for splints

Many of us know how to improvise splints out of stuff that we usually carry, like trekking poles and ice axes. But what can we use to bind an improvised splint securely to the patient and still make it easy to adjust if swelling occurs?  If you use tape to bind a splint to a patient, it’s single use, as it cannot be adjusted if the binding is too tight or loose.  Adjusting the binding tension on a splint almost always needs to be done for patient comfort.

Solution:  Go to your local fabric store and pick up about 2 feet of some 2 inch wide Velcro.  It’s sold in strips from a roll, a hook strip and a loop strip together.  Just overlap the hook strip with the loop strip by about two inches, and wrap around the splint. It’s inexpensive, easily cut to size, weighs almost nothing, takes up almost no space in your pack, and being Velcro, it is easy to adjust. Also, this versatile material can be used for strapping on gear to your pack and other types of repairs.

Thanks to First Aid Meister Harold Crawford for submitting this tip.