Whenever there is a gaping wound, swift action is needed. If you can’t make it to an urgent care or emergency room, you may need an alternate plan that might include suturing it yourself. The bad news is that this is a lot tougher than it sounds without any medical training. The good news is that there are plenty of training opportunities to help you expand your skill set and a lot of practice suture kits on the market.
This is where we come in. We’ve researched the best suture kits, evaluated them, and now the results are in: the overall best, a budget option, and a training solution. If you need to be prepared to stitch up an open wound, one of our picks will keep it together.
Contents (Jump to a Section)
The Best Suture Kit
High Quality, Compact, and Comprehensive
This full-function encapsulated suturing kit covers all of the bases as long as you bring the skill.
*Price at time of publishing; check for price changes or sales.
MyMedic makes first aid kits easy with their modular but comprehensive kits. This kit focuses on wound closure, and sutures are just one of four methods to do that.
Here is everything you get with this kit:
- Suture kits, medical super glue, Zzips, and surgical tape for wound closure
- Plenty of hemostats, scissors, forceps, gloves, irrigation supplies, scalpels, and more.
- 7.5″ x 5.5″ x 2″
- 24 ounces
With a comprehensive wound kit in a compact package, it’s easy to see why the MyMedic Wound Closure Kit tops the rest.
Budget Sutures
Inexpensive, Sterile, and Effective
With a wide assortment of suturing threads with needles, you’ll be able to practice and perform when needed.
*Price at time of publishing; check for price changes or sales.
There are plenty of sutures here to spread across all of your first aid kits, making this the ideal kit if you aren’t looking for additional tools.
Here is how this bundle measures up:
- 24 needle and thread kits
- Nylon, polyester, polypropylene, and silk sutures with various-sized reverse-cutting needles
- 5.5″ x 2.5″ x 2.5″ (comes in a plastic-wrapped bundle, but you can split between kits)
- 2.4 ounces
If you are looking for the basics on a budget, the Sterile Sutures are the best option to fill your kits.
Practice Suture Kit
High Value, Skill Building, and Versatile
Get some practice in with fake skin and a comprehensive kit to hone your suturing skills.
*Price at time of publishing; check for price changes or sales.
Hands-on practice is even more important than the tools you have on hand when it comes to suturing. Medical professionals spend plenty of time practicing their skills with a needle and thread to learn all of the wound closure methods and stitching patterns.
This kit makes it easy and affordable to do at home and comes with some decent gear as well.
Here is how this practice kit measures up:
- 30 pieces including 20 needle and thread kits
- Training scissors, Hegar needle driver/holder, Adson forceps(tweezers with teeth), Mosquito forceps, 3# scalpel handle, 6 scalpel blades
- 3-layer silicon suture pad
- 8.5″ x 6.5″ x 1.5″ (dimensions and weight do not include the practice suture pad)
- 7.4 ounces
If you are looking to get a solid kit and start practicing right away, the Medarchitect Suture Practice Kit is the best option.
Everything We Recommend
Sterile Sutures
With a wide assortment of suturing threads with needles, you’ll be able to practice and perform when needed.
Where to Buy
$14* at Amazon
*at time of reviewing
The Suture Kits We Compared
Our research narrowed the field down to several suture kit brands and kits that we compared: Medex, MyMedic, Suture Buddy, Dynarex, Alcedo, Medarchitect, and more.
You can see our full list of review criteria below in the What to Look For section, with an explanation for each.
We’re always looking for new and better gear, so if you have a suture kit that performs well, let us know in the comments. We review most of our tested gear annually so we can try to get it in the next roundup round and see if it will beat out our top picks.
What to Look For
The best suture kits have a few features to look for:
- Value
- Assortment
- Sterile Packaging
- Size/Weight
- Versatility
When you get the right blend of these, you can find the perfect sutures and tools for your first aid kits. Below, we break down what each of these features means for the kits that truly set themselves apart.
Value: Cost vs. Benefit
The amount of money you spend on something like a stitching kit shouldn’t blow out your entire budget. They are not especially expensive and come in a wide range of prices depending on whether you are getting sterile medical-grade or not.
If you find yourself in a bind, you can always sterilize a needle yourself with boiling water and use thread, all from your standard survival sewing kit. This increases the difficulty and chance of infection over using a suture kit, but can still get the job done.
You never want to spend too much money on one resource, even when it comes to first aid. It’s better to diversify your spending to make sure you are covered for a wide range of scenarios.
Assortment
Many kits come with different tools inside. We found it easiest to group them into three categories:
- Starter kits – Suture assortments and sterile suturing needles.
- Practice kits – Everything in starter kits but they typically include fake skin for practicing and additional tools, like forceps.
- Wound closure kits – Everything you need to practically close a wound, including suturing supplies but also nitrile gloves, surgical tape, and adhesives (super glue).
The assortment you pick should correspond to your skill level. You can never have too much practice with something as skill-based as stitching wounds, so even without a practice kit it’s a good idea to get some hands-on time.
Sterile Packaging
Stitching up an open wound just for it to end up infected from the tools or sutures you used is extremely counterproductive. In a situation where you are trying to deal with gaping wounds, you don’t want to question whether your gear will do more harm than good.
Sterile packaging makes this easy since you won’t have to question it. If it’s sealed then it’s good to go and safe to use.
Size/Weight
It’s not practical to pack a whole surgical cabinet away so be practical and get the solution that fits in the kit you are designing. Be aware of the size and weight and how it can affect your storage in mobile first aid kits, especially if they are going to be carried any distance. Every ounce matters.
Versatility
Sutures don’t just have to be for sewing up wounds. While it’s not optimal to use up medical supplies, you can use them for cordage in a bind or use them to repair textiles. I’ve seen people use sutures to repair leather shoes, and suturing needles are even easier to use on flat materials like tarps.
Keep an open mind when it comes to resourcefulness and you’ll be able to figure out a solution for nearly any situation.
How to Use Sutures for First Aid
Stitching sutures is similar to sewing, but not quite the same. For starters, you’re usually using tools to grip and retrieve a curved needle. Plus, you have the added complication that a patient is probably in pain, squirmy, and bleeding. All of these added stressors make it even more important to practice.
With a practice kit, it’s easy to follow along with instructions to suture for different scenarios:
Who Needs a Suture Kit?
If you don’t know what you are doing, you don’t need a suture kit. It takes plenty of practice and know-how to bind a wound without it opening back up. For this reason, we don’t consider suture kits essential for your survival kits.
But, if you have some training and practice it’s a different story, so you can get training right away to be better medically prepared.
Suture kits are most obviously suggested for this kit:
First aid kits are a stand-alone kit, but are also modules found in a huge variety of other survival kits:
If you find yourself with extras, they are useful for practicing and even gifting to people interested in first aid, CPR, or lifesaving skills.
How We Review Products: We research thoroughly before selecting the best products to review. We consult experts in the field for a better understanding of what makes the gear great. Hours on end are spent field testing gear in stressful conditions. We assign performance criteria and impartially rate each tested item. You can support us through our independently chosen links, which can earn us a commission at no extra cost to you. After our review process, some of the items reviewed end up in our giveaways.
Sources and References
All of our experience and the testing we do to determine the best suture kit are useless without listing our research sources and references. We leaned on these for the book knowledge that we paired with our hands-on testing and practical survival experience:
Tajirian, A., et al. (2010). A review of sutures and other skin closure materials. Journal of Cosmetic and Laser Therapy. Volume 12. Issue 6. Pages 296 – 302. (Source)
Lekic, N. MD., et al. (2022). Suture Materials, Needles, and Methods of Skin Closure: What Every Hand Surgeon Should Know. The Journal of Hand Surgery. Volume 47. Issue 2. Pages 160 – 171. (Source)
Orlinsky, M. MD, et al. (1995). Cost analysis of stapling versus suturing for skin closure. The American Journal of Emergency Medicine. Volume 13. Issue 1. Pages 77 – 81. (Source)
The Final Word
Sutures aren’t the only medical technique that takes practice. CPR, trauma response, and even basic first aid are all skills that can be lost over time without practice. If you haven’t brushed up on your skills in a while, take a moment to refresh your mind and muscle memory.
Here are a few other gear reviews and guides our subscribers have found helpful:
We presented quite a lot of information, but as always: if you have any questions let us know and we would be happy to help. Our testing found the MyMedic Wound Closure Kit to be the best solution given its value, assortment, sterile packaging, size/weight, and versatility.
Keep exploring, stay prepared, and be safe.
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