Same job as the roll, shaped for the kit you actually carry: flat in the pouch, firm over the packing, hands free.
At a glance
10 things to know about the NAR Flat Elastic Wrap
What it is, how it differs from the roll, and how it earns its place in a bleeding-control kit.
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01
Flat for small cube and footprint
NAR packs this wrap flat for small cube space and footprint3 — the shape that slides into a slim IFAK, a wallet kit or a plate-carrier pouch where a cylindrical roll bulges.
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02
Four inches wide, five yards stretched
The wrap is 4 in. wide and 5 yd long fully stretched.3 The pouch is marked 4 in. × 60 in.4
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03
Hook closure, no clips
A built-in hook closure lets the wrap be secured without clips,3 so there is nothing to drop or lose.
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04
Latex-free, single use
NAR makes it latex-free;3 the pouch carries the symbols for single use and not made with natural rubber latex.4
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05
What NAR built it for
A compact elastic wrap for effective compression: a moderate level of support, comfortable for extended wear, and suited to compression wrapping, securing hot and cold packs, splinting, sprains, strains, swelling and general soreness.3
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06
The bleeding-control job: free your hands
Holding pressure until help arrives is exhausting and ties up both hands. An elastic wrap over packed gauze or a dressing keeps pressure on so you can treat a second casualty, call 911 or move. A hand on the wound still stops bleeding faster than a pressure dressing,8 so press first — and wrap when you have to let go. In the field, an elastic adhesive compression dressing over gauze fully controlled 87% of 62 bleeding wounds from penetrating trauma.6
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07
The rolled sibling
NAR's rolled 4 in. Elastic Wrap Bandage (30-0026) has the same width and the same 5 yd stretched length and carries NSN 6510-01-171-5130; the roll also comes in 2, 3 and 6 in.9 Choose by the space in your kit.
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08
Pressure depends on the hands that wrap it
When emergency medical providers applied pressure dressings to a volunteer's forearm, peak pressure across 116 measured applications ranged from 50 to 412 mmHg, and the providers' own estimates did not correlate with the measurements.7 Wrap firmly, then check circulation.
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09
It is not a tourniquet
Life-threatening limb bleeding a tourniquet can control gets a evidence-based standard tourniquet — hasty, high and tight over clothing, under threat or when the source cannot be seen; deliberate, on bare skin 2–3 in. above the wound once it is exposed; never across a joint.1,2
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10
Not on the evidence-based list
The Evidence-Based Standard Devices & Adjuncts list names tourniquets and hemostatic dressings; it has no pressure-dressing or wrap category, so the Flat Elastic Wrap is not evidence-based standard.2 Absence from the list does not by itself mean a product was tested and failed. The TCCC Guidelines still rely on pressure dressings — they are what a limb tourniquet is converted to when conversion criteria are met.1
How to wrap over a packed wound
The sequence taught in TCCC, TECC and public bleeding-control courses, with the elastic wrap as the hands-free last step.
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1Tourniquet first on a limb. Life-threatening bleeding from an arm or leg that a tourniquet can control gets a tourniquet: high and tight over clothing under threat or when the source cannot be seen; on bare skin 2–3 in. above the wound once it is exposed; never across a joint.1
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2Pack deep and junctional wounds. Find the source. Press a tight wad of gauze — the "power ball" — directly onto the bleeding vessel first, then pack every corner tight. Never pack the chest or abdomen; the neck can be packed with care without compressing the airway, and the lower neck above the collarbone can be packed.
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3Hold pressure. Hemostatic gauze: at least 3 minutes, or the manufacturer's labeled time.1 Plain gauze: at least 10 minutes. In every case, until the bleeding stops — best practice is to hold until you are relieved.
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4Cover it. Place a dressing over the packed wound — or over a superficial wound that needs only pressure.
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5Wrap it. Open the pouch, anchor a turn on the limb, then wrap over the dressing with firm, overlapping turns, stacking extra turns over the wound. Press the hook closure down on the last turn.3
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6Check beyond the wrap. Look at color and warmth, ask about feeling, and check the pulse below the wrap. On a limb where no tourniquet is intended, loosen and rewrap a wrap that is cutting off circulation.
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7If blood comes through. Over a superficial wound, or one not deep enough to pack, leave the dressing in place, add gauze on top and wrap again. If a packed wound keeps bleeding, remove the packing, find the source, repack with a fresh power ball, and rewrap.1
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8Hand it off. Tell the receiving team what is packed in the wound, what kind of gauze it is, and when it went in.
Where it fits
- Holding packed hemostatic or plain gauze under pressure so your hands come free
- Slim kits — IFAKs, wallet kits and plate-carrier pouches where a roll does not fit3
- Bleeding a pressure dressing can control — and, for children 2 and under, before any tourniquet
- Sprains, strains, swelling, splints and cold packs — NAR's labeled uses3
- Life-threatening limb bleeding a tourniquet can control — tourniquet first1
- Replacing packing in a deep or junctional wound — pack first, then wrap
- Packing the chest or abdomen — never; an open chest wound gets a chest seal
- A tight circumferential wrap around the neck — it can compress the airway
The evidence
No published study has tested the NAR Flat Elastic Wrap itself. These studies tested elastic compression dressings and pressure bandages in general — each row names what was tested.
| Study | Evidence type | What was studied | What it found |
|---|---|---|---|
| Naimer et al., Mil Med 20066 | Human · prospective field series | Compact elastic adhesive compression dressing on 62 consecutive bleeding wounds from penetrating trauma, applied at the scene | Full control 87%, bleeding reduced 11%, no effect in 1 wound; no significant complications; no control group |
| Naimer et al., Injury 20045 | Human volunteer · simulated wound | Field dressing vs elastic adhesive dressing vs manual compression, 68 trials at 9 body sites | Mean pressure 33 vs 88 vs 180 mmHg; caregivers rated the elastic dressing most convenient |
| Brauckmann et al., Eur J Trauma Emerg Surg 20267 | Human volunteer · pressure-sensor simulation | Emergency medical providers applying pressure dressings of their choice to a volunteer's forearm; elastic fixation, medium-stretch and Israeli bandages | Mean peak 136 mmHg elastic fixation, 172 mmHg medium-stretch, 205 mmHg Israeli; above 250 mmHg in 1.6%, 11.1% and 28%; self-assessment did not correlate with measured pressure |
| Charlton et al., Prehosp Emerg Care 20218 | Expert review · systematic review | 107 studies of bleeding control by first-aid providers, 8 of them on pressure dressings, bandages or devices | Very low certainty overall; direct manual pressure stopped bleeding faster than pressure dressings or devices |
The field series carries the most weight but had no control group and used an adhesive elastic dressing; the volunteer studies measure pressure, not bleeding; the systematic review rates the whole pressure-dressing evidence base as very low certainty.
How it compares
The non-hemostatic 4 in. compression options buyers most often weigh against each other.
| NAR Flat Elastic Wrap | NAR Elastic Wrap, 4 in. | READY WRAP™ | TacMed™ Esmark | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Item number | 30-0308 | 30-0026 | RDYWRP | ESMARK |
| Size | 4 in. × 5 yd, fully stretched | 4 in. × 5 yd, fully stretched | 4 in. × 50 in. | 4 in. × 48 in. open |
| Package | Flat-packed | Roll, 2 in. diameter × 4 in. | Sealed pouch | Flat, 4 × 3 × 0.5 in. |
| Build | Latex-free elastic wrap, hook closure | Latex-free elastic wrap, hook closure | GRIP8™ thermoplastic elastomer; non-adhesive | Latex-free elastic bandage |
| evidence-based standard | No | No | No | No |
NAR data from North American Rescue's product information sheets;3,9 READY WRAP data from 6:8 Medical Solutions;10 Esmark data from TacMed Solutions.11
Build the system
The rolled version, the tourniquet and gauze that come first, a flat pressure bandage, and the slim kits it fits.
Questions buyers ask
Package & specifications
Specifications coming soon. Contact us for detailed product information.
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