Flambeau Orange Medical Box First Aid Small Empty

I’ve owned one of these since 2013 as my home first aid kit. I have EMT and Wildreness First Responder training and this holds everything I think I need on hand for house hold emergencies.Oh and it’s durable. The box I bought in 2013 is still in great shape, the latch just broke and that was my own darn fault.There was no thought, no shopping around, I just ordered another one to replace the first, which is still doing duty in the garage as a catch all bin.

1. Why I bought thisI was sick of my old setup. I had two cheap plastic boxes. They did not have any compartments. The walls were flimsy and bend easily. But the bottom line was, when I was bleeding and needed gauze, I had to spill everything out.Time for a change. There are surprisingly few first aid boxes on Amazon. I'm not talking about those free ones that you get when you buy a first aid kit. Plano has one with 3 trays ( Plano Medical Box (Orange/White) ), but its really expensive at 130 plus bucks and really, 40 plus was hard enough to justify. It's a box after all.So I chose this Flambeau box. It has a nice orange colour. And most importantly, it had 2 divider trays that were supposedly designed for organizing first aid supplies.2. Build qualityI was disappointed. There was a review by a paramedic which gave me the impression that you could throw this box into the back of a truck. I would not do that. It's made of copolymer resin. I think Flambeau should have made the walls twice as thick. Yes, they are thicker than my cheap plastic boxes, but when you press on them, the walls bend and it's not rigid.To give a bit of perspective, the box is slightly less rigid than a Lock & Lock plastic container  Lock & Lock 38 Cup Rectangular Container . Quite disappointing, considering its so much more expensive. Even the free molded case that comes with a  Neiko Pro-Grade 13-Piece Hex Wrench Bit Socket Set - SAE  is so much thicker.The white plastic trays are also not very rigid. It bends with some pressure. They are riveted to the box. The riveting mechanism seems smooth enough and I do not expect problems.This is a minor point. When the pull out trays are raised to their maximum height, the diagonal support is rather poor and it is easy to shift the trays diagonally. This is probably because the metal strips lifting the trays are all parallel to each other. Maybe someone can chip in on how it can be stabilized diagonally while allowing the tray to be lifted up and down. A larger rivet may help. Washers? Another metal plate perpendicular to and in between the existing two and the white tray?3. The sizeThe small one, PM1772, is the one I bought. I thought it was big enough for home use. After trying to fit in my supplies, I revise my opinion. I would recommend at least the PM2072 (which is not carried on Amazon). The medium one is just slightly bigger by an inch or so. Flambeau has a useful table showing the sizes and no. of compartments.4. DesignOne thoughtful feature is that there is no gap between the white pull-out trays and the top cover of the orange box when it is closed. This means that if the first aid box gets tossed around, the supplies won't fall out of their individual compartments and get mixed up. This is really important.The white pull-out tray is 1 3/8" deep. I find it insufficient. I can only stack 3 packs of 5 pcs gauze in one compartment. I stock about 5 packs. Where should I place the other 2 packs? Dump them at the bottom? That would defeat the point of having the mutliple compartments. I suppose 2" would be better. That would also fit in small bottles of peroxide etc, which *cannot fit* in the pull-out tray because the tray is too shallow. Man, it does not even fit a small roll of elastic bandage. The box cannot close if you place it on the tray. This is why I think one needs at least the PM2072.I think Flambeau should have included some divider trays for the space below the 2 pull-out trays. I could find my own ones, but it's hard to find one with a height that goes up to the bottom of the pull up tray. There is certainly room for refining the design.Another potentially huge downside is the lack of a rubber o-ring to provide a waterproof seal. This could easily have been incorporated into the design. It would certainly make the box more versatile, so that it is storm proof, or can be used on a boat etc.Bottom line, I was expecting more from a company that manufactures first aid boxes for professional use.

As another review said, the box he ordered & received was different from the stock photo. This led me to do further research to make sure that the size I ordered (small) was indeed the size I wanted. The model number of the small box is PM1772. The dimensions here on Amazon are the OUTER dimensions. If you look around on other sites such as Flambeau's website, you might see the INNER dimensions, so don't be confused by these differences.As for the box itself, it's not a rebranded fishing tackle box at all. For one thing it's sturdier than I expected. Secondly the dividers in the trays are thoughtfully laid out for large items such as gauze pads & small items such as ointment tubes. The layout for fishing boxes is much different making the storage of medical products more difficult. Lastly, the top & bottom half of the box being equal in size is perfect for opening & accessing all the items because it can't tip over. Highly recommended!

First a warning. The box shown in the picture is not the box you are getting. The model number and the measurements are correct. But the lay out of the shelves is different and the box has only one latch in the middle...not two latches as shown in the picture.That being said, this is a well constructed box. Perfect size for a family first aid kit to keep in a car, camper, or even at home.I'm a paramedic and have used the larger Flambeau box that is actually shown in the picture. We beat those boxes hard and they last. This box, while smaller, appears to be constructed of the same quality material. I expect it will be as durable as it's larger version.