I've just come back from a rescue training climb on the Twin Sisters in the North Cascades. We go on a simulated training exercise every three or four months to keep in shape and stay sharp and help the newer team members learn from the older hands.
Anyway it was your typical 0600 call-out, followed by a two-hour drive, nine hour climb round trip from the staging area to the summit and back, and back home exhausted by 2000 hrs. I have grown so attached to my large Sebbie that for the first time I decided to bring it along for a Search and Rescue trip, rather than my usual SAR EDC, a Benchmade 550 Griptilian.
The reason for the BM 550 choice for Search and Rescue work is one of straight economic practicality - I can be put in the situation where I might have to sacrifice a blade to do the rescue job at hand, and replacing a 55.00 Benchmade is a lot less heartbraking than a 345.00 Sebbie.
I usually carry my folders IWB, then wear my first line gear and back pack waist belt on top of it. Imagine my horror on this trip when I took off my pack during the day and found that the Sebenza had been lifted by the pack's waist belt and gone for a wander.
The first time the clip had been caught by a side lifter strap on the waist belt and I found the knife on the ground when I got up and did my reflexive 360 degree scan to make sure that nothing got left behind by the team before we left our break point.
The second time the knife actually worked it's way off of my trouser waist and went down the inside of my right pant leg, to thankfully be trapped inside the gaiter of my mountain boots.
Either way it was a little unnerving. I have never had this happen with my Benchmade 550, and I think it's beacuse the 550 has a much thicker handle that resists being nudged. I'm going to take my Sebenza out on SAR callouts again, but next time I'm definitely going to mount it inside of the GPS pouch that sits on my pack's left shoulder strap where I can keep a closer eye on it...
George
Anyway it was your typical 0600 call-out, followed by a two-hour drive, nine hour climb round trip from the staging area to the summit and back, and back home exhausted by 2000 hrs. I have grown so attached to my large Sebbie that for the first time I decided to bring it along for a Search and Rescue trip, rather than my usual SAR EDC, a Benchmade 550 Griptilian.
The reason for the BM 550 choice for Search and Rescue work is one of straight economic practicality - I can be put in the situation where I might have to sacrifice a blade to do the rescue job at hand, and replacing a 55.00 Benchmade is a lot less heartbraking than a 345.00 Sebbie.
I usually carry my folders IWB, then wear my first line gear and back pack waist belt on top of it. Imagine my horror on this trip when I took off my pack during the day and found that the Sebenza had been lifted by the pack's waist belt and gone for a wander.
The first time the clip had been caught by a side lifter strap on the waist belt and I found the knife on the ground when I got up and did my reflexive 360 degree scan to make sure that nothing got left behind by the team before we left our break point.
The second time the knife actually worked it's way off of my trouser waist and went down the inside of my right pant leg, to thankfully be trapped inside the gaiter of my mountain boots.
Either way it was a little unnerving. I have never had this happen with my Benchmade 550, and I think it's beacuse the 550 has a much thicker handle that resists being nudged. I'm going to take my Sebenza out on SAR callouts again, but next time I'm definitely going to mount it inside of the GPS pouch that sits on my pack's left shoulder strap where I can keep a closer eye on it...
George
