First Gear | Phokus Research Expedition Trauma Kit, Hornady RAPiD Vehicle Safe and Forloh ThermoNeutral down vest

by
posted on March 9, 2023
** When you buy products through the links on our site, we may earn a commission that supports NRA's mission to protect, preserve and defend the Second Amendment. **
firearm must haves
Photo: Peter Fountain

1. Fix It Fast
You need a trauma kit containing all the critical items but with no fluff to add needless weight—and you also need a smart way to carry it. The Phokus Research Expedition Trauma Kit (ETK) offers the former and pairs perfectly with the GBRS Group Individual First Aid System (IFAS) Pouch. The ETK gives you hemostatic and z-fold gauzes, an elastic bandage, occlusive dressings, NPA (Nasopharyngeal airway) set with lubricating jelly, needle, tape, gloves and an eye shield, along with small items like safety pins that we might easily overlook building our own kit. The IFAS pouch gives you an easy way to carry it all, with rapid deployment in mind. Its MOLLE and BELT compatibility with a side-release buckle and laminate material are all practical choices, plus it has a tourniquet sleeve that fits most types. (ETK $183; IFAS pouch $54.99; gbrsgroup.com)

2. No-Scrape Vehicle Safe
The Hornady RAPiD Vehicle Safe has all the usual things I like to see in gun storage, including a cable to secure it to the car’s frame and multiple ways to access the compartment. In this case, you’ll have the RFID wrist band, key fob or decal—any of which are programmable to your other Hornady RAPiD safes as well—plus a backup key. What makes this safe unique compared to others I’ve owned is its inflatable bladder, which allows you to fit the safe into its space in the vehicle better and to prevent the metal from scratching up the console. I also like that you can use the 12-volt adapter for power instead of having to rely on the AAA batteries. ($316.99; hornady.com)

3. Cozy Core
Layering is critical for outdoor range time, and the Forloh ThermoNeutral down vest is perfect for your mid-layer—and now it’s available for women, too. Forloh has a lot of technology packed into this water-resistant vest that makes it both warm and breathable, plus very packable but simultaneously tough. (I plan to put this vest in my will, since the seams on it look like they’ll hold together a lot longer than I will.) It’s also comfortable, but with a flattering fit, and I’m always cold, so I find myself reaching for this rather frequently. It fits snugly as a mid-layer, so size it up to use as an outer layer. ($299; forloh.com)

Latest

House Committee on Ways and Means Chairman Rep. Jason Smith
House Committee on Ways and Means Chairman Rep. Jason Smith

The Greatest Second Amendment Victory in a Century

On July 4, 2025, Americans celebrated not only our nation’s independence, but also the restoration of our constitutional Second Amendment rights becoming unconstrained by burdensome and arbitrary fees.

Opening Salvo | More Evidence That Gun-Control Groups are Freaking Out

With the Trump administration’s law-and-order push showing America’s crime problem is clearly not the fault of lawfully armed citizens, gun-control groups are freaking out.

John Rich has a Song for Armed Citizens

John Rich's latest song is "The Righteous Hunter." It is a moving tune about standing up to stop those with evil intentions. It is a song for lawfully armed citizens.

This Department of Education Grant Could Change Things

The University of Wyoming’s Firearms Research Center has been awarded a nearly $1 million grant by the U.S. Department of Education to develop a nationwide program on the origins, meaning and implications of the Second Amendment.

From the Editor | Charlie Kirk Lived for Freedom

“Give me liberty, or give me death,” are the immortal words of Patrick Henry spoken on March 23, 1775, to the Second Virginia Convention in Richmond, Va. His impassioned words were a call to arms against British tyranny.  

Ninth Circuit to Revisit Background Checks on Ammo Case

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has granted rehearing en banc in Rhode v. Bonta—a case backed by the National Rifle Association and California Rifle and Pistol Association. 

Interests



Get the best of America's 1st Freedom delivered to your inbox.