Custom SAR pack project: final touches, finished product

Ta-daaa.

It's done! Yay! I hate my sewing machine now, and my entire existence is permeated with little scraps of orange thread. However, I have a brand new, custom-to-my-specs, one-of-a-kind SAR pack. I'm kind of stoked.

Custom SAR pack project: suspension / back panel

For those of you who are just joining us, I've been working on a custom backpack for search and rescue work. Previous posts have detailed the process I used for the packbag, shoulder straps, and plastic framesheet. Here I will discuss the suspension.

Apologies in advance for the pictures on this installment; I got caught up in the making and neglected to spend much time on photography.

SAR Rookie's Guide to the Cibola and NM SAR Packing Lists

My team, Cibola Search and Rescue, has recently had a bunch of volunteers come on board. By which I mean that established members are firmly outnumbered by the new folks. This is a Really Good Thing, as the more people we can put in the field, the better chance we have of finding the search subject, which is the whole point of this endeavor. Besides that, new people tend to be really gung-ho, which means we can make them carry all the heavy stuff like the wheel.

However, every time someone comes on board who's new to SAR, there are a lot of questions about the required gear and clothing list.

NM SAR has a list, the stuff on which you're required to have in order to pass the Field Certification. Cibola also has a gear list, which is essentially the same as the NM SAR list, with a few minor additions. I'm going to go over both lists and give my suggestions.

Custom SAR pack project: packbag

I know I said the next step in the project was the lower portion of the suspension. However, on due reflection, I realized that it would be easier to make the pack bag and then build the suspension into it rather than doing something cute involving building the two parts separately and joining them after the fact. Hence, the next step in actuality was to create the packbag.

Pretty sweet little duffel at this point, with no straps or frame

Cold Weather Gear Adaptations for SAR and Hiking

I wanted to chat some about making accommodations in your loadout for winter weather. This will mostly focus on a wilderness Search and Rescue application, but the concepts can, of course, be applied to recreational hiking in winter.

Granted, with the weather warming up, this post is pushing the envelope of 'a day late and a dollar short,' but since this is New Mexico, I'm betting we'll have at least one more solid snow between now and Memorial Day. Additionally, my SAR team just picked up a glut of new members, and this information might be useful.

As an aside for the curious, the photo above is of a tall hill/short mountain in Dutch Harbor, Alaska. At some point during various hard drive crashes and computer replacements, I've lost a lot of photos, and I seem to have a dearth of winter hiking pictures with which to illustrate this post. Someday I'll invest in a water resistant point-and-shoot camera and start taking pictures on my hikes again.

Custom SAR Pack Project: Harness part 1: shoulder straps and kydex framesheet

I made some decent progress on the custom SAR pack project this week. I've completed the left shoulder strap, so I can show you the process I use to do straps, since the right will be identical, and I've gotten the framesheet molded. Part 2 of this, whenever I finish it, will be the hipbelt and back cushioning panel of the harness.

Completed shoulder strap

Custom SAR Pack Project: Intro, Cutting Foam

For those of you who don't know, I've been an avid backpack enthusiast for about the last six years. During that time, I've been on a neverending hunt for the 'perfect' pack for Search and Rescue. However, I've been consistently disappointed. I've tried offerings from Mystery Ranch, REI, Mountain Hardwear, Granite Gear, Gregory, Osprey, and others, and I could never seem to find a pack I was entirely happy with.

Most recently, I took a cheap, basic, top-loader internal frame pack from Eagle Creek that I bought used, and treated it as a 'project pack.' I got closer with that rig than with any previous ones to something that really worked to my satisfaction, but it still isn't quite there (pictured above).