SAR Gear Container/Separator Recommendation?

D

Duzzy

Joined
Sep 1, 2009
Messages
468
Hey All,

I'm a Probationary Member of a local SAR Team and I'm trying to get all of gear together "before" I go on my first search. (I don't think I'll be able to get it all down perfectly, but I'd like to at least go in with something more than a bag full of loose odds and ends.)

Here is our Required Gear List broken down by "Category".
(Anything with an asterisk is something I'd like to add but is not specifically mandated.)

The Very Basics:
  • Daypack
  • Appropriate Clothing (for any/all weather)
  • Boots/Hiking Shoes

Personal Care:
  • 1-2 Quarts of Water
  • Food for 48 Hours
  • Trowel*
  • Toilet Paper*
  • Soap*
  • Sunscreen*
  • Insect Repellant*
  • Safety Glasses*
  • Duct Tape*
  • Moleskin*

Personal Survival:
  • Lighter, Matches, and a Candle
  • Orienteering Compass
  • Whistle (non-cork)
  • Personal First Aid Kit
  • Small Knife or Multi-Tool
  • Personal Identification
  • Fire Kit*
  • AMK Heatsheet (x2)*
  • Poncho*
  • Signal Mirror*

Search Related Gear:
  • Flashlight
  • Headlamp
  • AA Batteries*
  • Leather Gloves
  • Vinyl Gloves (2x)
  • Black Contractor Bags (5x)
  • One Gallon Zip-Lock Bags (5x)
  • Pen/Pencil
  • Notebook
  • Small Stuffed Animal*

My pack right now is a Mystery Ranch Longhorn I bought used from the exchange. For those of you who aren't familiar with the Longhorn it has relatively little in the way of pockets and compartments. It has the main cargo area, two small zippered pockets (a little larger than a sandwich size Ziploc bag) around the rim of the large compartment, two tall zippered pockets on the side for hydration bladders, and two bottle holders on the waist belt.

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What I'd like to find is some sort of clear, durable, dry bag type system to keep all of my gear in. The idea would be to keep it safe, keep it organized, and keep it easily accessible. For example:

Container/Bag #1: Emergency Shelter Kit
  • Poncho
  • AMK Heatsheet (x2)
  • Lighter, Matches, and a Candle
  • Firekit
  • Whistle
  • Signal Mirror
  • Small Knife

Container/Bag #2: Personal Care Kit
  • Toilet Paper
  • Soap
  • Sunscreen
  • Duct Tape
  • Moleskin
  • Insect Repellant

Container/Bag #3: Search Related Items
  • Personal First Aid Kit
  • Leather Gloves
  • Vinyl Gloves (2x)
  • Black Contractor Bags (5x)
  • One Gallon Zip-Lock Bags (5x)
  • Pen/Pencil
  • Notebook

I'm open to any gear suggestions--I'd prefer that it be as light as possible while still remaining durable and (preferably) waterproof. I'm also open to other ideas. I had a thought of getting some small thermos style containers to put in the water bottle holders on the side and making them into sub-kits. Thoughts?

Thanks for the help!

-Duzzy
 
Duzzy,

Good on you for getting involved in SAR!

Admittedly biased as I had a hand in its design, but I really like True North's Aero-Vest...

Keeps a ton of stuff up front and accessible, and you can throw a backpack over it.

Just my $.02,
8
 
Cool, it looks handy and I'll keep it in mind. Right now though I'd like to get my pack sorted out and go on a search before I buy any more hauling gear. Thank you though.
 
I'd add:
50ft paracord
25ft 1.5" webbing
3 caribiners (1 locking 2 non)
MSR pack towel(the smallest one is fine)
And the two things I can't believe aren't on the list
latex gloves X3 pair
CPR barrier. Forget what the technical name is

The 1.5" webbing when you know some tricks is actually one of the better things you can carry for SAR. You can make a human backpack, improvised climbing harness, etc. It's the duct tape of SAR gear. The pack towel is a good piece of gear for hypothermic patients who have been immersed. You cover them with the heat sheet and begin to dry them off with the pack towel. It's highly absorbent and can be wrung out to nearly dry and then the process can be repeated. Worked like a charm for my buddy in moab when he was helping someone who fell in the river.
 
River-8 said:
Duzzy,

Good on you for getting involved in SAR!

Admittedly biased as I had a hand in its design, but I really like True North's Aero-Vest...

Keeps a ton of stuff up front and accessible, and you can throw a backpack over it.

Just my $.02,
8
Click to expand...

That looks really cool, but at 2lbs it seems a bit heavy.

My current backpack is a Molly Mac Pack. The front pack on that is really working well for me. It keeps cameras, sunscreen, etc. nice and handy.

None of which answers the OP's question. :D
 
Duzzy said:
Hey All,

What I'd like to find is some sort of clear, durable, dry bag type system to keep all of my gear in. The idea would be to keep it safe, keep it organized, and keep it easily accessible.

-Duzzy
Click to expand...

Let me preface this by saying that I backpack with a system that is basically just a couple of Molle-compatible panels with shoulder straps and a hip belt. You just lash gear to the pack in whatever way works best for you. There's no bag built into this thing, and so there's no protection from water/rain. As a result, I've spent a lot of time figuring out how to organize my gear into smaller bags, and thinking about weather/water protection.

Basically, what I did was divide my gear into things that can get wet and things that can't.

Things that can get wet are camping stoves, cook kits, water filters, cordage, knives, compasses, tents and other shelters, and waterproof electronics such as PLBs and waterproof video cameras. When given a choice, I always buy gear that can take a dunking. All of my flashlights, for example, are good to 25 feet underwater.

Things that can't get wet are things like sleeping bags, clothing and food.

The things that CAN get wet are placed in ordinary stuff sacks. Some of these were designed by the pack's manufacturer to be easily attached to the packs, and those sacks have some weather proofing built into them. But other sacks are just ordinary nylon sacks that you can get any any camping store. I even have some stuff placed in a mesh bag that holds things together but which offers absolutely no protection from the sun, rain and water.

Some things that can't get wet are small and so they need small bags. My first aid kit is an example of this. These, I place into heavy-duty ziplock baggies.

Bigger things, like sleeping bags, I place into Sea To Summit dry bags. I don't know how well these will perform if I fall into a creek, but they are more than adequate for keeping the rain away. They weight ounces and, so far, have proven to be fairly tough.

I hope this helps.
 
Congrats on joining SAR! I have been involved with volunteer SAR for the past 10 years and I love it.

Your list looks like a good beginning and soon you will find what you need to add or subtract from it.

Heavy duty freezer bags work well for separating gear, plus you can label them. Also they are cheap and replaceable. If you want something better Alosaks work great as well. I prefer stuff sacks of sil nylon. My rope kit goes in a heavier duty stuff sack.

Eventually you will want a chest harness to hold a radio, GPS and compass. But hold off on buying a bunch of crap. Go on some missions and hang with the team and see what they use.

good luck
 
Shotgun said:
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Latex gloves are in there, but only two pair. I believe that there is a CPR barrier in my FAK, however, I haven't gotten my CPR certification yet (I'm hoping to get it through my work) so it wouldn't do me much good. However, it was a good thing to mention and I'll make sure to check my kit for one

I'm not into cordage to be honest. I've got some nylon cord I bought a long time ago at REI and I've never used it. I'll probably throw in some of that, but I'd like to see how much it gets used before I go out and buy something else. I'll also look into the webbing. Thanks for the advice.

bulgron said:
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I've thought about just getting stuff sacks and then getting a cover for my backpack. I was however thinking that a clear bag would be beneficial if someone else ever had to go through my pack, and well--waterproof is always a good thing in my opinion. Things that are wet, even if water doesn't harm them, usually take a while to care for properly. Waterproof bag? Just wipe it off and go. I'll look into the Sea To Summit dry bags--I can't imagine they wouldn't hold up to a dunking just fine.

panzertroop said:
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Cool, I hope it's as much fun as it sounds like it will be. I'll look into the Alosaks as well. Sorry, it's late and it's getting too hard to type as much as I'd like and still make sense.

Thank you all for the help so far.
 
first up I'll say you've got a great pack, model is no longer made, but anything out of Dana's shop is top nothc :)

to water proof bags- you want waterproof bags to keep equipment you don't want (can't get) wet ie clothing, sleeping bags, electronics, etc

the items I see that need to be waterproof on your list are the fire kit, first aid kit, notebook and toilet paper- these you don't need dry bags for- a heavy ziplock or alosak is sufficient

you don't list where your located at, but other than the tropics I'd strongly suggest adding some clothing to your list- in addition to the poncho (I'd suggest a poncho/tarp- gives you a nice shelter at the same time) - an insulating layer, wool hat and gloves

if you need a waterproof bag for dry clothing and you want it light, look into cuben dry bags- your not going to find lighter

1-2 quarts of water may be fine for some missions, but others may be woefully lacking- I'd consider an easy/light purification method to supplement the water you carry- Micropur tabs fit that bill

add a bandana to your list as well- multi-function, you'll use it a lot

I'd consider safety glasses a must, not optional- when your bushwacking on a mission (especially at night!) the chances of getting swacked in the face w/ branches is high- I like to use sunglasses that allow the swap in of clear lenses (I use Smith, there are others)- gives me sunglasses in the sun and work glasses when the there is no sun
 
mtwarden said:
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The convertible Safety Glasses are a great idea! I believe I have purification drops in my bag already, as well as a pocket chainsaw and a few other things. I didn't go through my pack before making the list, which probably wasn't the most helpful thing I've ever done. I will look into the towel and picking up a bandana.

I also didn't include clothing in the list but I have plenty of layers and a waterproof shell to go on top. (It just seemed silly to list it all out.) The SAR team is based out of Northern Virginia so the temperatures shouldn't be worse than anything I've dealt with in Montana (although I wasn't trying to get involved with SAR then).

So far the consensus seems to be that I don't need to waterproof everything. I'll give it a go and see what happens. I might pick up a small and large size cuben bag and see how I like them.

Part of the issue with my list, as I see it anyways, is that I don't know what to expect during a "standard" search. Will there be toilets? Will there be water at base? How long will we be out at a time? Will we head back to base during breaks (how often will I be able to resupply from my car)? I'm trying to walk a fine line, that I can't see, with what I am carrying. I don't want to be unprepared, I don't want to be a constant mooch, but I also don't want it to be a chore to carry around a lot of stuff that I'm either not qualified to use, or won't end up using.

Has anyone posted up how they organize their gear before? Or their pack contents? I'd love to see pictures of how people are organized and what they're carrying.
 
Duzzy said:
Part of the issue with my list, as I see it anyways, is that I don't know what to expect during a "standard" search.
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I have never been part of a SAR unit. That said, I'm a little surprised that they don't offer an orientation for new members. It also seems to me that I've seen gear lists published on the internet for various SAR units around the country.

Don't you at least have an email contact of someone on your SAR unit who can answer some of your questions?

The problem with answering here is that I imagine the answer to a lot of them will differ from region to region on the country. You might get bad advice here.
 
panzertroop said:
If you want something better Alosaks work great as well.
Click to expand...

I ended up buying some of these to see if I feel a little more comfortable with them where expensive electronics (cameras, videocameras, etc) are concerned.

panzertroop said:
I prefer stuff sacks of sil nylon.
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I have exactly one sil-nylon stuff sack on my pack -- it's the one that my tarp tent came in. I'm constantly watching it to see if it's going to rip or something. It just doesn't seem as strong as a nylon stuff sack, or my Sea To Summit dry bags.
 
bulgron said:
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There was indeed an Orientation, but it more covered the process of the search and the procedures to follow. Training is on hold for the summer and won't start back up again until August--so no field exercises in the near future.

I also have a Mentor, but in addition to her job, all of her volunteer work, and myself she also has 5 other new members to mentor (I believe we're also at least an hour apart under ideal driving conditions). So I am trying to dig up some information before I talk to her so I can say, "Hey, what do you think about using this, this and this for this?" instead of saying, "Hey, here' my problem please solve it." I find people, and myself as well, react better when you've put some thought and effort into helping yourself.

If it comes down to something important, I'll talk to her. Sorting my stuff in my pack is something that I don't feel warrants bothering anyone about until I've done a little more research. I do really appreciate all of the help though.
 
there really is no "standard" search- each one is going to be unique, each one will have a fair amount of unpredictability- you don't want to be lugging around a 100# pack, but at the same time you don't want to become a victim yourself- so better to err slightly on the safe side

if you plan on being out two days (albeit probably not a comfortable two days) you should be fine

adequate clothing worn/carried
shelter- including several redundant (and reliable) fire starting methods
water- carried and a way to purify
food- high calorie and enough to eek out a couple of days- I carry a small stove/pot so I can actually cook a couple of meals (dehydrated)
first aid (this will vary based on experience/training)
signaling
light (w/ a backup AND w/ extra batteries- I prefer to carry just one type of batteries, so both my lights share the same)
tools- a medium-ish fixed blade, w/ a SAK in pocket- I also carry a small folding saw (very helpful w/ both shelter and fire prep)
navigation- compass, map (gridded for UTMs) and GPS
safety- glasses, gloves, sunscreen, appropriate footwear
sanitation
com- typically a handheld radio

as far as organization, everyone does it a little differently, but you want some items handy- navigation, radio and items that you'll likely use frequently- sunscreen, snacks, bug dope and the like

less used items can be buried further in, you do want the ability to access your first aid kit easily though
 
mtwarden said:
com- typically a handheld radio
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Sorry if I'm thread-jacking, but I'm curious. What do the SAR units use for radios? Are they using HAM gear (in which case all the SAR team members would have to be licensed), or do they have a set of frequencies that is dedicated for search and rescue?

As I said, I'm just curious is that idle, "I'm a HAM and I'm always wondering what other people are using" kind of a way.
 
I'm sure it varies greatly by jurisdiction, but we use high band portables- typically set to one of the mutual aid channels that allows for interagency coordination (law enforcement/fire/ems/etc)
 
mtwarden said:
I'm sure it varies greatly by jurisdiction, but we use high band portables- typically set to one of the mutual aid channels that allows for interagency coordination (law enforcement/fire/ems/etc)
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Interesting. So then are the portables provided to the SAR teams by the sheriff's department (or whoever it is that coordinates them), or is each SAR member typically required to buy their own radio?
 
bulgron said:
Interesting. So then are the portables provided to the SAR teams by the sheriff's department (or whoever it is that coordinates them), or is each SAR member typically required to buy their own radio?
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My unit was part of the Sherriff's office and we had hand me down police radio's. Which most of the adjacent units had also. Don't know what kind of radio or band it was.

As to logistics of everything it really is going to depend on the unit and circumstance. We were trained to be self sufficient for 72 hours if we were to get lost.
 
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