Australia's resuscitation guidelines say applying a pressure bandage correctly is difficult to achieve. So we designed one that shows you. Stretch it until the rectangles become squares. That is optimal pressure, and you can see it.
The SMART Bandage™ has green rectangles printed along its length. Stretch the bandage until they become squares. That is how you know the pressure is optimal. Not a judgement call. Not something you have to recall under stress. You look at it.
We designed it, we own it, and it is the reason this kit exists.
“Brilliant idea with the square. Now you'll never get the tension wrong. Great job!”
Andrew F.“Great bandage that makes getting the correct tightness so easy. No more guessing. Such a good idea.”
Brett J.“There's no need to guess if you have applied enough, or too much pressure, the rectangle to square is such a great guide.”
Stuart L.“Great idea, easy to use in an emergency, you don't have to think about tensions you can easily see the squares”
Bronwyn Ehmen“I used to struggle with applying the correct compression pressure at my first aid training courses and wondered how that would translate in the field in an actual emergency. This product takes the worry out of it.”
Andrew C. · verified buyerIncluding someone with no training at all. Including a child. Including the person standing over you if you are the one who was bitten.
“I purchased this product because of the picture on the pressure bandage, this allows me to instruct someone who has no training how to apply the correct pressure even if I'm the one bitten.”
Justin D.“in the event of an emergency even my children can use the bandages and know the exact amount of pressure required by recognising the shape when the bandage is stretched.”
Kristine H.“We practised putting on one of these bandages with our kids and my wife, who is a doctor, was surprised at how much tension was required. This demonstrates just how useful it is to everybody, even professionals.”
Phil J.ANZCOR, the Australian and New Zealand Committee on Resuscitation, is clear about snake bite first aid. Do not cut the bite. Do not wash it. Do not try to suck out venom. Do not apply an arterial tourniquet. Do apply a pressure bandage with immobilisation, and keep the patient still.
“the correct application of the pressure bandage is difficult to achieve”
ANZCOR Guideline 9.4.1That is the national resuscitation authority saying the one thing that matters is the thing people get wrong. Too loose and venom keeps moving. Too tight and you restrict blood flow. There is no way to feel the difference, which is why we printed it.
The same pressure immobilisation technique applies to funnel-web spider, blue-ringed octopus and cone shell envenomation. One kit covers all four.
ANZCOR Guideline 9.4.1, First Aid Management of Australian Snake Bite, approved April 2021, superseding March 2020. Quoted verbatim. Technique per ANZCOR Guideline 9.4.8, Envenomation, Pressure Immobilisation Technique.
Royal Flying Doctor Service research in Western Australia followed 85 snake bite patients across regional, rural and remote WA.
minutes was the average delay before a pressure bandage was applied.
of patients kept moving after they were bitten. Three quarters travelled on foot or by private car.
Movement moves venom. So does a bandage applied too loosely. In that window, the person standing next to the patient is the only treatment available.
Mostly self-transport, not ambulance: three quarters of those patients got there on foot or by private car.
Most of those bites did not happen deep in the bush. They happened on farms, in paddocks, on walking tracks, in backyards and around sheds. The seasonal rise begins in October.
Australian Venomous Injuries Project, PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases. Snake bite delay and patient movement figures from Royal Flying Doctor Service Western Operations research, reported by principal investigator Hamish Bradley, Aeromedical Retrieval Specialist, 2024.
Printed on the waterproof card in the lid. You do not have to remember any of it.
Every item in a Gen 8 kit carries two pictograms, so anyone can find the right item with no reading required. A young child, someone who doesn't speak English, or anyone panicking.
Shows you what the item is. You are not reading small print one-handed with a torch in your teeth.
Shows you what it is for. You do not have to already know.
“Well organised First Aid, so when an emergency occurs panic doesn't dictate your actions.”
John Keene“Quality gear and well labeled so any dummy can utilise this gear good job”
Harley-joseph Jonker“When adrenalines pumping having a bandage that assists with compression strength is one less thing to confuse during the emergency.”
Stuart C.“I have been in the Military for over 30 years and carried and configured many kits myself for trauma and snake bite. I must say this is next level organised and set out.”
David S.
Every one of these is a verified review left on our own site. We have not touched a word.
“BEST BUY EVER!! Purchased the snake first aid kit at the end of November, roughly 3 weeks ago.. My husband was bitten by an eastern brown about an hour and a half ago.. So I put the kit to work and it was amazing!! Only thing is now, I gotta restock the kit already.. My hubby is in hospital at the moment, needing to have hourly bloods for the next 6 hours.. But he seems good so far..”
Lisa-Marie M. · ★★★★★ verified buyer
“I've just come home from hospital after being bitten by a snake. Thankfully I had purchased this kit a few months ago. I was able to apply the bandage to myself, while waiting for the ambulance. I'll be purchasing another one to keep in the shed. Thank you !”
K J. · ★★★★★ verified buyer
“I can't believe my luck! my son was bitten by a Red Belled Black snake 4 days after receiving the bandage. The bandage was used immediately after the bite and rushed to hospital. The doctors praised the use of the bandage and commented on how crucial it was to apply it. My son is back at school now.”
Jaime P. · ★★★★★ verified buyer
“After only using these bandages on first aid practice scenarios, I felt so grateful to actually have the square pattern to calm me when my sister in law was actually bitten by a tiger snake and I needed a good compression bandage for real! We lost the bandage when she was taken to hospital and the nurses said it was the best immobilisation bandage job they had seen. This was thanks to a great design. Days later, I bought another one to have in my kit.”
Adam K. · ★★★★★ verified buyer
Emma Gorge, the Kimberley, Western Australia.
“Unfortunately I had to use the kit today. Fortunately I had my Survival kit. Whilst hiking into Emma Gorge (Kimberley, WA), I came across a family whose little girl had tripped and fallen onto a snake, which bite her upper arm. The Survival Kit is perfect. Great quality bandages which are super easy to use, and so too the splint.”
Bazza · ★★★★★ verified buyer
Not a snake bite at all. A compound fracture.
“While I hoped this kit was something I would carry always and never use, unfortunately I was required to do so recently. Although not a snake or spider bite but a very severe accident where a young boys leg and foot was severely broken, actually a compound break. With a use of the two smart bandages and the roll up splint I was able to straighten the broken, distorted limb back straight and immobilise it. The responding Paramedics were high in praise for the splint job and then the Toll Rescue Helicopter trauma team were also very complimentary in the splinting job I had done using this kit. Thank you so much for such a vital piece of first aid safety gear”
Ken Smith · ★★★★★ verified buyer
Snake catchers, first aid trainers, paramedics, emergency nurses, fire brigades and the military all buy this kit. They are the least sentimental buyers we have and they are the most useful proof we own.
“That's why I take a SURVIVAL Snake Bite Kit on every callout I make. It's just part of my PPE kit. In fact, I like this kit so much that I keep a supply available to sell to my clients.”
Michael D. · professional snake catcher“As a keeper and catcher of venomous snakes snake bite first aid and a quality snake bite first aid kit are essential tool of the trade”
Mick O.“I have put 2 Smart Bandages in all the fire-truck first aid kits in our local brigade”
Nigel C.“As a medic for Adventure Excellence I have found the Snake Bandage to be very good for a lot more purposes than just as a snake bandage. I have used these to control bleeding, sprains and a presser bandage while trekking the Kokoda Track, Mt Kilimanjaro and even Everest Base camp.”
Malcolm C.“Smart bandage was suggested by my first aid instructor for snake bites.”
Eloise H.“We had a snake encounter on boxing day. The snake catchers we called recommended the snake bandage then told us about the kit”
Jane C.Since we designed the SMART Bandage™, indicator bandages have appeared from other suppliers. Our customers have bought them, tried them, and told us what happened. We have not edited a word.
“There is a cheaper product being sold by many suppliers as a 'Snakebite Bandage - with indicator'. I bought one just to try out. The cheapie is a quite floppy fabric and doesn't provide anywhere near the same level of compression. I'll stick to Smart bandage thanks.”
Jeanette · ★★★★★ verified buyer“When I stretched the bandage to the recommended tension, that is the rectangular indicators become squares, the elasticity of the bandage held tension. They did not feel like they we're going to slacken... The other to remain nameless bandages I brought, were useless. When I pulled them to the same tension, the elasticity had no more fight in it.”
Terence C. · ★★★★★ verified buyerAn indicator printed on fabric that cannot hold tension is a picture of the right answer on a bandage doing the wrong thing. The print is easy to copy. The fabric is the product.
| Feature | Gen 8 | Others |
|---|---|---|
| Bandage with printed pressure indicators | ✓ | ✕ |
| Two SMART Bandages™, enough to cover a full adult leg | ✓ | ✕ |
| Splint included | ✓ | ✕ |
| Dual pictogram labelling on every item | ✓ | ✕ |
| Colour coded modules | ✓ | ✕ |
| Waterproof instruction card | ✓ | ✕ |
| Restock packs, so you replace what you used | ✓ | ✕ |
| Designed by us, not relabelled | ✓ | ✕ |
| Free restock if you use it in a real emergency | ✓ | ✕ |
Because a kit only helps the person standing next to it, and our customers work that out on their own. So the more you get, the more you save: 10% off one, 15% off two, 20% off three.
Where most kits live. It goes where you go, and it covers the drive home.
“Makes me feel happier knowing each of my adult kids have one in their car.” Dianne d.
Backyards, gardens and sheds are where a large share of bites happen.
“I'll be purchasing another one to keep in the shed.” K J., after being bitten
For the person who should own one and will never get around to it.
“I bought 3. One for me and the others for friends who should but would never get around to buying one.” Andy
“I purchased 3 of these. One for the house, one for the car and I donated one to my sons primary school to add to their first aid kit”
Linda B.“at the front door, in the tractor and on the quad bike”
Duane, on where his three kits liveTwin brothers Jerry and Tim Tyrrell started SURVIVAL after a personal tragedy. Tim's son Mike runs it now.
We designed the SMART Bandage™. It is ours. The printed pressure indicator, the fabric and the way it holds tension were designed in Australia by our own first aid team, developed with Craig Adams of SSSafe, around the pressure immobilisation technique the guidelines call for. Every kit we sell is designed by us. We do not buy generic kits and put a label on them.
1,518 reviews on the Snake Bite KIT, rated 5.0 out of 5. Across the range, 13,617 reviews, 12,900 of them 5-star, and 99% of customers say they would recommend us.
Used it in a real emergency? Your restock is on us. Tell us what happened and we will replace what you used, free.
Only the gauze swabs expire, at three years, and you can restock those on their own without replacing the kit.
30 days to change your mind. Free returns.
Because the bandage is the product. A general first aid kit contains a crepe bandage with no tension guide, and applying optimal pressure is the single hardest part of snake bite first aid. Buy whatever kit you like for cuts and grazes. For a snake bite you want a bandage that shows you.
It is not the cheapest kit and we have never pretended otherwise. What you are paying for is the bandage we designed, two of them rather than one, a splint, and a layout you can work under stress. One of our own customers put it better than we can: “This kit felt a bit expensive but I grabbed it. Having got it home I can see where the money went.”
It varies by species, by how much venom was injected and by the person. Some people show signs within minutes, others take much longer, and that is exactly why first aid is applied straight away rather than once symptoms start. Apply the bandages, keep the patient still, call 000.
We always recommend getting first aid training from a local provider, and having a practice run with the kit once it arrives. That said, the bandage shows you when the pressure is optimal and the instruction card is in the lid, so you are not relying on memory in the moment. Several of our customers have taught their children to use it.
Start at the fingers or toes and work up. Keep going as far up the limb as you can get, covering the bite site on the way. Bandage over clothing if that is quicker than getting it off. Then splint across the joints either side of the bite so the limb cannot move. The card in the kit walks through it in order.
One bandage covers an arm. A leg needs two, bandaged from the toes up as far as you can get, one after the other. We do not make it one long 4 metre bandage instead because a longer bandage is harder to manage under pressure. Drop it while you are applying it and picking it back up wastes time and gets the patient moving again, which is exactly what you are trying to avoid.
No. Do not remove the bandages or the splint until the patient has been assessed in hospital. Mark the bite site, note the time, and let the hospital take it from there.
It is built around snake bite and envenomation first aid, including funnel-web spider, blue-ringed octopus and cone shell. Customers also reach for it for fractures, sprains, strains and major bleeds. If you want one box that covers everyday cuts and grazes too, our Vehicle and Family kits are built for that.
Suction devices are not part of Australian snake bite first aid. Pressure immobilisation is what the guidelines call for, which is what this kit is built around.
Every item carries two pictograms. A white one shows you what the item is; a yellow one shows you what it is for. So anyone can find the right item with no reading required.
The instruction card is waterproof. It is the thing you will be reading one-handed in the rain, at night, on the side of a track, so it is not paper. The bandages are woven cotton and can be washed and reused.
Only the sterile gauze swabs, which have a three-year shelf life. They can be restocked on their own without replacing the kit.
Yes. The same pressure immobilisation principle applies to dogs, it can just be a lot harder to keep them still while you do it. It's also why the SMART Bandage™ features in our Pet First Aid KIT. Either way, get to a vet straight away, a first aid kit buys time, it does not replace veterinary care.
Every person quoted on this page bought the kit before anything happened. One of them used it three weeks later. Another used it four days after it arrived.
“Better to be looking at it.. than looking for it!”
Deb C. · verified buyer