USAR Personal Kits 

I’ve got a Maxpedition bag for my trauma pack as well. It’s expensive but it’s also built tough. It’s worth the investment. This video was awesome. I’m getting ready to head down to New Orleans for hurricane disaster relief and I appreciated your guide to make sure I had everything topped off in the green.

Almost 10 years later, is this still the personal bag you use for wilderness SAR?

Yep, just double checked my load out for Hurricane Ian if we get deployed. This is for light use though. Not backcountry or anything. This bag doesn’t have a frame or good waste belt/support.

@@Boxalarmtraining Thanks for the reply. Understood it is for light use. I actually have this pack, already; but, it is usually used for general EDC. That said, I recently joined a local SAR team and have been looking for gear recommendations and determining what I need to buy and what I already have. If I can use a pack I already have, that would be great. I can then turn focus on a chest pack (which I do not have). Any chest rig recommendations?

I have a coaxsher but really end up not using it much. A lot of the guys use them though.

+alejandro santiago No Problem.

jimroshan Thank you very much. That is a Pacific Kiwi USAR helmet. They are pretty expensive because they meet the NFPA 1951 USAR standard. Pacific also makes several others that work well that are lighter and less expensive.

A stuffable down parka would be a very good thing to have. Thanks

Thanks! You too!

Matt Hinkle you're welcomed! When u have time, check out the original music on my channel ! :)

nice to see another Singaporean

$1k and more as you go.

That is a Pacific Kiwi USAR.

Thomas Roach I believe the vest vs. pack selection is heavily mission dependent and also what position you are assigned during the operations. In my opinion it is pretty difficult to carry enough essential gear (First-aid, Comfort Items, Food and Water) without a pack of some sort. Even if you can fit the essentials in a vest I tend to find the items difficult to access. However, if you are operating as part of a management team like; Planning, Logistics, Ops, etc. a vest can be really nice. Most of the time these positions are operating out of a base (B.O.O.) and you do not need all those extras on you. A good vest setup for management might have; lights, maps/nav/GPS, comms, pen/paper, etc. You can also combine a vest and pack together which is pretty popular when carrying a comms vest and then a pack with your "rescue gear". That's just my personal opinion though and selecting that gear should be very dependent on the operation style of your team/agency/department.

Matt Hinkle Thank you sir. I am joining a SAR group, and I am currently exploring my equipment options. Thomas

I would first evaluate whether or not you have enough guys to share the work load with the gear when you go out. This will set the level of equipment you are able to carry with you. For example we use 4 guys as the common squad. That lets each guy carry equipment which helps each other. Each team member carries a personal first aid kit for themselves not victims. We try to have a team leader with basic personal first aid gear, navigation tools, etc. Then we have a medical team member, they carry the medical equipment for victims. It's a pretty in depth medical kit. We have a hazmat guy who carries a gas monitor and an ERG. The last guy is the rescue mule. He carries more rigging gear like light pulleys, webbing, etc. Each member carries PPE like helmet, gloves, eye and ear pro. So, I would first look at that concept to see how much pack you need to distribute the load.

I understand I got my pack set up now thanks to you thank you very much

Thank you, glad we could help out.

Sorry for he delay. I currently use Haix if I need steel toe. If no steel toe I use Danners or hiking boots.

It depends on the jurisdiction but a lot are either 18 or 21.

I'm not sure I understand your question? Some of that equipment is part of our Departmental Search and Rescue kit and the other is my personal gear.

,ha

For partial free equipment join your local Community Emergency Response Team.. Upon completion of the free program If they have funds they will provide the class with a survival kit.. Please Note this all depends on how well funded the team department is...

I am not sure if you mean law enforcement or a SAR or fire officer (leader). Typically all disciplines have some method of training requirements or Job Performance Requirements (JPR's) which you have to meet to apply for a position. Leadership positions are generally promoted out of rank and typically require incident command style courses.

Matt Hinkle Sar, I've been looking and I haven't seen anywhere that has that job title

In the FEMA world they would call that position either a Search Team Manager or a Rescue Team Manager. If you search FEMA USAR Positions you should be able to find a pdf with a description of all the team positions and their requirements.

Aron Russell JUST DON'T THE STAIRCASES IN THE WOODS WILL KILL YOU GOOLE IT

and dont forget the man with no face