| RoadID Wrist ID Elite (orange) |
People develop diabetes mellitus without ever having a history of it. Silent and unexpected myocardial infarctions are increasingly common occurrences. That’s not even taking into account lost maps, freak thunderstorms, bear attacks, snake bites, broken ankles, and any of a million other wilderness mishaps.
According to Mike and Edward Wimmer, RoadID was born when Edward was run off the road by a pickup truck while training for a marathon. Without the proper identification, first responders cannot identify an unresponsive patient. As an EMT myself, I know how much of a set back it can be to not know anything at all about your patient. First responders rely heavily on a responsive patient’s ability to relay pertinent medical history and specific details about how whatever current issues developed. A medic responding to the scene would have a completely different initial approach to an unresponsive patient with identification verifying a history of Type II Diabetes as compared to someone without identification whatsoever. Plus, ID allows the hospital staff to contact family. Useful in an emergency.
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| From RoadID’s website |
Now that we know why proper identification is a good idea, let’s examine exactly how RoadID delivers ID to their consumers. You can either purchase identification that goes around your neck, wrist, ankle, or on your shoe.
I chose the Wrist ID Elite. It’s an adjustable rubber wrist band that comes in eight colors. You are allowed six lines of space in which to customize what information your Wrist ID conveys. RoadID suggests several basic pieces of vital information to first responders, current medications and major medical history are two biggies! In order to adjust the size of the wrist band, you have to actually cut the band its self so don’t cut too small or there’s no going back.
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| The Wrist ID Sport is a fabric material. I find that fabric wrist bands build up stink. I have also lost velcro strapped watches in the water, so I don’t find velcro reliable. |
I have worn my RoadID Wrist ID Elite for the last two months every day, all day. I’ve worn it in the shower, through the Red River Gorge, through Cumberland Mountain State Park, on miles of running, and during miles of cycling. The once shiny orange rubber wrist band now has developed what look like water spots but are barely noticeable. The stainless steel plate with engraved information looks like the day I bought it still, while the locking buckle on the underside has picked up a myriad of scratches (none of which impair its function). There has been no fading of lettering and I have no reason to believe that anything short of a belt sander would take off the laser etched words. The RoadID Wrist ID Elite is comfortable and classy, elegant yet subtle.
All in all, I like the RoadID Wrist ID Elite. It’s a good failsafe to have and I like to wear bracelets anyway. It saves me from having to carry my wallet for identification purposes on long runs and day hikes. Probably a wise investment for anyone who often finds themselves in harms way intentionally or unintentionally. We all say “it won’t happen to me” (I do!), but it’s got to happen to somebody and the cold hard truth is that the world will still go on spinning even if that cold lifeless corpse goes unidentified. Don’t let that be you.