Originally Posted by
MIKE G
Most items that the FDA regulate are required to have an expiration date. The expiration dates are pretty conservative in regards to actual life spans when stored correctly. An item stored in a 50-60 degree closet with low humidity and no light will outlast the expiration date 5-10 fold (10-20 years). Store your stuff in an area that has high humidity, full sunlight exposure, and the ambient temp is above 100 degrees (like a car) and that expiration date will be pretty spot on.
I had multiple cases of battle dressings given to me when I was working a deployment. They were VN era design with no date code. When I opened the boxes the plastic wrapper had broken down into shreds and the fabric compression wrap pulled apart in my hands.
Dry products with no medications are generally dated for the life of the packaging and it's ability to maintain sterility. Assuming the packaging is in good condition and the product hasn't been exposed to long periods of direct sunlight add a couple years to date of your bandages and then rotate them into surplus gear.
Interesting, something else to put on the to-do list.
Winning may not be everything, but the endorsements are better.
Bookmarks