What I Carry and Why: SAR pack

Note: shortly after I posted this, I made some major changes to the gear I carry. This list is no longer current. For details, see here

In this post I'll be discussing the gear I carry in the field on SAR missions. This is my basic load; in cold weather or for longer missions I'd add things such as a sleeping bag, tent, snowshoes, and the like. 

Keep in mind, this list is for a low-angle, non-technical ground pounding team, operating in New Mexico (desert/mountain/pine forest). If your team specializes in tech rescue, dog handling, or something else, you may have different gear needs. If you work in Alaska or Alabama, you're going to have different gear needs. Consult whatever packing list your team distributes and go from there.

Be warned, this is going to be long-winded and photo-heavy.

For pants, I use a pair of REI Endeavor hiking pants. They're a heavy nylon material with a fair bit of stretch. I've been fairly happy with them, they're very comfortable and wear well. The front pockets are extremely deep (like, 10-12 inches deep), and designed so stuff doesn't fall out.

On the other hand, they're not the best in very hot weather; something lighter would suit better. Also, they didn't come with as many pockets as I'd have liked, but it was easy enough to add my own. The material melts easily; I've got a couple of burn holes from campfire embers. Finally, the fly zipper is entirely too short for the intended purpose. Even with all these nits to pick, however, they're nice pants.

I've made a lot of modifications, adding pockets, reinforcing the knees, and adding belt loops.

My boots are a pair of Cresta Hikers from L.L. Bean. They're full leather, gore-tex lined. Very comfortable and durable. I've added rubber toe caps to reduce wear, purchased at Sear's.

Boots are something you'll want to put some real money into, because you will use them on every mission. Guaranteed.

ID panels are useful to make you appear a little more professional, and to avoid confusion when working with people from other teams and agencies.

On to my vest, in which I carry the small equipment I use most often, for easy access. The vest itself is a MOLLE/PALS design I built myself, as well as the GPS and radio pouches. It's very similar to Tactical Tailor's Mini MAV vest, so if you're in the market and you haven't time to build your own, that's what I'd recommend. 

Inside of the admin pouch

 The center pocket is a Enhanced Admin Pouch by Tactical Tailor. I've tried several times to build an admin pouch of my own, but keep coming back to this one. The front has PALS webbing that is faced with female velcro for ID patches. Inside is a mess of pockets and elastic loops, sized appropriately for writing implements (on the front portion), and for small items such as knives, multitools, or handgun magazines (on the back portion). It also comes with a very small vynil map pocket that attaches to the inside, but I found it too small to be of any real use.

Always have something easily available to write on and with. Rite in the Rain notebooks have become sort of an industry standard among SAR teams, and for good reason. I can run this notebook under the sink and still read my notes afterward. Unfortunately, because it's waterproof, it will not take marks from certain pens.

I also carry a sharpie, several pencils, a pencil sharpener, and a waterproof pen.

Always have a good blade. Preferably a couple of good blades. I feel there's a need for a simple pocketknife, even if you're carrying a multitool that has a knife blade, as multitools aren't very comfortable to use for extended cutting.

My choice is a Spyderco Endura 4 FFG, in bright orange (of course). It's by far one of the lightest and most comfortable large folding knives I've used, at 3.4 ounces for a 3.75" blade. Whoever does ergonomics at Spyderco knows what they're doing, this knife is extremely comfortable and natural feeling in the hand.

It's easy to open and close with one hand (once you get the hang of the lockback), easy to clean, and I haven't had any issues with rust. the blade is VG-10 steel, for those of you who that means anything to. It's held an edge very well. The flat grind improves slicing performance over a more traditionally ground blade.

Speaking of multitools, I carry a Leatherman Wave. It's relatively compact, has the tools I use, and very little extraneous bullshit that I won't use. being able to open the knives, saw and file without unfolding the pliers first is a nice touch. You can also purchase a kit with additional screwdriver bits, but I've not had the need.

I have managed to chip the edges of the wire cutters; I'd have preferred replaceable wire cutter blades, which Leatherman offers in some of their other tools.

My hand light is a Nitecore P10, which I got to replace my old Fenix PD-30. this light is stupid-bright (800 lumens, I think?), and has 3 different light output levels, while staying relatively lightweight and compact. One of the nice features is a memory; whatever output level it was set to when switched off is the one at which it will come back on.

For lights, I like to carry a reasonably bright headlamp with a floodlight beam, and a serious hand light. You don't want your headlamp to completely blow away anyone who you happen to look at by accident.

The P10's tailcap features two buttons. the large round button is the power switch, and will turn the light on momentarily with a half press, or click on with a full press. The smaller hexagonal button changes output level, and if pressed while the light is off or if pressed and held, will engage a strobe mode. I like this arrangement much better than others that place the mode switch on the side of the light.

The light is powered by either two CR-123a lithium primary cells or a single 18650 rechargeable. I went with the 18650 because I didn't see the sense in continually buying batteries.

My GPS receiver is a Garmin eTrex 10. Not much to write home about; it doesn't have expandable memory, a 3-axis compass, a camera, or even a color display. However, it was (relatively) cheap at $110, and it does what I need it to do, which is tell me where I am and how far away my destination coordinates are. It's a no-frills unit, but for some, that's a positive trait. However, the little thumb stick makes it a little difficult to input coordinates, and the lack of an onboard compass means you have to be in motion for it to have any idea which direction you're facing.

If you do SAR and you don't carry a GPS, think about changing that. Navigating by map and GPS is ridiculously faster than navigating by map and compass, and when time can mean life for your subject, it's a no-brainer. However, GPS navigation is a skill that requires practice; the device won't do all the work for you.

Fox 40 Sharx whistle. Stupidly loud, in the sense that I have to cover my ears when I blow it to avoid injuring myself. Good for attracting a search subject's attention, or, in an emergency, attracting the attention of fellow searchers. It's all one piece, with no balls or other junk rattling around inside.

For communications, I carry a BaoFeng UV-5R radio. I just got it a couple weeks ago, and haven't had the time to really put it through its paces and develop an opinion one way or the other. The main selling point for me was that it's a radio that'll do all I need it to do (communicate on the state SAR frequencies and HAM repeaters) for $25. If I kill it I can just buy a new one. I've hung the mike from a little ID retractor thing; it's a little easier to deal with than having to clip it back on every time I finish a conversation.

 For whatever it's worth, it seems well constructed, and it's very compact (especially compared to the Motorla XTS-5000 Brick of Massiveness I used to carry). One potential sticking point is that the manufacturer doesn't state any kind of water resistance, but I figure I'll just stick it in my jacket pocket when it rains. By all accounts, the included rubber ducky antenna is garbage, but most are, and there are a lot of aftermarket options.

As a side note, programming channels was a pain in the ass. Not only did I have to download software for the radio, but I had to find a separate driver for the USB cable. It was odd.

I'm a longtime fan of Mechanix gloves; they're comfortable, fairly durable, and not that expensive. These are the "Framer" model, using real leather reinforcements, and leaving the tips of your thumb and first two fingers exposed for better dexterity. The orange 550 cord loops were my addition.

One thing I really like is that they close around your hand, not your wrist, and so don't interfere with your wristwatch.

Rubber knuckle reinforcement

Padding on palm. I'd have preferred leather here.

 

On to the pack and its contents. I use a modified (because OF COURSE it's modified) Osprey Argon 85 backpack. I typically never fill it to capacity (85 liters is an absolutely massive backpack, though they do offer a 110 liter version if you're insane), but for longer backpacking trips, winter searches, or rescues that require us to hump a lot of technical gear, it's nice to have the extra space. I'm not fond of having a lot of crap strapped to the outside of my pack, as it tends to fall off.

It has a nice layout of pockets, with a stretch pocket on the right and a zippered pocket on the left, both appropriate in size to carry a 1-liter nalgene. there is a large stretch pocket on the front of the pack in which I carry my insulated jacket. The compression straps are well laid out without being excessive.

I've replaced the large lid pocket with a nylon panel, which has a small pocket on the underside for my shell jacket, and has ID and high-visibility stripes on the top. The stock lid was well laid out, with two pockets and a belt so it could be worn as a buttpack. I just never needed the additional storage, and without compression straps, it tended to flop a bit when the pockets weren't fully loaded. If they were fully loaded, it got heavy enough to be a pain to get out of the way to access the main pack.

This pouch is a hard case I designed for my sunglasses and spare lenses.

One of my main gripes with this pack is the complete lack of hipbelt pockets. The belt, as it comes from the factory, is slick, pretty to look at, and damn near useless for storing stuff. I stitched on some PALS webbing, to which I attached some pouches. Problem solved.

 The suspension is one of the really sweet aspects of this pack. Many of Osprey's smaller models come with thin straps that are just not suited to the size of the pack they've been attached to. The shoulder straps and belt of this pack are plenty thick (very nearly a full inch), and it doesn't bite or bind anywhere. Furthermore, the hipbelt is designed to that you pull forward, rather than back, to tighten it, which is more natural and comfortable. The sternum strap has a little whistle worked into the buckle, which is marginally superior to having nothing, but only just. Still, it's no extra weight, so I really don't care.

The back panel is obviously intended to allow airflow, but my back still gets sweaty. Your mileage may vary.

A note on packs: make sure your pack is sized correctly for you by someone who knows what they're doing. The hipbelt should ride on the iliac crest of your hips, which is roughly at the level of your navel. It should not ride where your pants belt does. If it rides there, the weight will fall onto your hip joints and you will have a bad day. Also be sure to get a pack with a rigid frame, a hip belt, a sternum strap, and load lifter straps on top of the shoulders.

Also, packs are like boots: you will use them on every mission, so get one you really like.

The sunglasses I carry are Revision's Sawfly Ballistic glasses. They're not the most stylish, but they do the job. They're comfortable, and five different lens tints for varying light conditions are available. The earpieces are flattened to work with ear protection, and it comes with an elastic strap to help keep them in place during strenuous activity.

The gray lens is good for those brutally sunny days we get up here in New Mexico, where Our Friend the Sun tries to murder you, engendering the desire to scurry under cover and pet a Ring of Power whilst arguing with yourself.

The brown lens is good for partly cloudy days, it's dark enough to keep the sun at bay, but light enough that you don't go blind if it ducks behind a cloud. Additionally, the brown is a high-contrast lens that makes it a little easier to see in shadows and whatnot.

Red/orange is your overcast day lens. It's a very high contrast lens, and makes things seem a little brighter by blocking out blue light. Yellow takes that a step farther, and is good for twilight conditions. Clear is, um, clear. You can see through it and not walk into trees.

They don't fit my face quite as perfectly as my old Oakleys, but they were much cheaper, and are still quite comfortable. They tend to slide down my nose if I'm running or holding my head at a funny angle, but that's what the strap is for. The lenses also have a little plastic nub on the nosepeice, for the attachment of a prescription lens carrier. It's not really noticeable, but it's there. The upside is, if it bothers you and you don't have any need for prescription lenses, it'd be easy enough to just file off.

As a side note, according to Revision, these things will stop a shotgun blast. I don't plan to get shot in the face with a shotgun, but it's nice to know I have that level of protection.

Trail tape. Important for marking clues, or where you've been on a grid search. We use pink because it stands out very well. Buy the cheap stuff at the hardware store.

Sunscreen, hand sanitizer, and ibuprofen. All important stuff to have. Keep in mind you can't give pills, even OTC pills, to a search subject. These are for me, when my knees start hurting.

Pogey bait. Beef jerky, trail mix, sunflower seeds, and Snickers. I have never had time, on a mission, to sit down and have a meal. You want to carry stuff you can eat on the move, with lots of calories, protein, and salt. I make my own trail mix, because I've never been real happy with the pre-mixed stuff at the store. Occasionally I'll supplement this with a fresh apple, a piece of cheese, or a peanut butter sandwich if I have the time to make preparations.

First aid kit. Gauze rollers, gauze pads, ace bandage, triangle bandage (mostly for a tourniquet; there are better ways to sling an arm using rolled gauze), moleskin, various band-aids, first aid tape, and nitrile gloves.

The longer I've done SAR, the smaller this thing has gotten. When I first started, I'd just finished my EMT-B, I was gung-ho, and I carried waaaaaay too much medical crap. Pack light; 99% of the medicine you do in SAR will be hypothermia and simple extremity injuries.

I'm considering adding a BP cuff and a glucometer, but I'm still debating with myself about the weight vs. utility.

I carry it in a cheap dry bag from Walmart.

I've added a small tag that sticks out of the zipper of my pack, so someone else can find my kit if needed.

Shovel and TP. If I have to explain, you've obviously never been without indoor plumbing for very long.

Spare socks, knit cap. There should be some lightweight cold weather gloves in here, too, from Walmart. I've found that a lot of the technical cold weather gloves from REI and such aren't really very warm at all, and are ridiculously overpriced.
For socks, I like to layer a pair of very thin nylon socks under my heavy wool hiking socks, to reduce friction and thereby reduce blisters. Always carry spares, wet socks suck.

The bag I keep my socks in is a Seam Sealed Stuff Sack by Sea To Summit. It's a little easier to get open than a roll-top dry bag, but slightly less waterproof. I've yet to have wet socks, so I guess it works for my purposes.

Energizer backup light (left), Petzl MYO RXP (center), and spare batteries 

My primary headlamp is a Petzl MYO RXP. It runs on three AAs, has a good variable beam (switches from flood to spot by flipping a filter up and down) and seems to work pretty good. Reasonably bright (200-something lumens, if memory serves). I have vague plans to replace it with something brighter that runs on a single 18650, for battery commonality with my hand light.

My spare light is a cheap Energizer headlamp I bought for $10 at walmart. I keep it around in case my primary light shits the bed and dies in the middle of a mission, or in case someone else (like the subject) needs a light.

I carry spare batteries for my headlamp, my GPS, and my hand light. All the stuff goes into a Pelican case, which is waterproof and crush resistant.

As a side note, SAR is a nighttime occupation. The majorty of our searches take place after dark. Doing an 8 or 10 hour search with a light in your hand and occasionally held between your teeth sucks. A lot. Get a good headlamp. And stay away from incandescent bulbs (if they still are even available), LED is the way to go. This is another place to spend some real money, because you'll be using it a lot.

I carry heavier leather gloves for litter hauling or assisting technical rescue teams, basically anything for which the mechanix gloves just don't quite do it. I'm a fan of elkskin (the yellow work gloves you find at walmart or the hardware store), as it's a lot more supple and more comfortable than cowhide.

The tubular webbing and caribiner is for tying a patient into a litter, or for fashioning a makeshift harness (swiss seat). If I know we'll be assisting AMRC or another tech team on a high angle rescue, I'll throw in a real harness and my climbing helmet, so I don't get knocked out when they drop a pulley on my head.

My shell jacket is a Mountain Hardwear Exposure rain parka. It uses their Dry Q Elite membrane, which is something like Gore-Tex, but supposedly more breathable. The only Gore-Tex garment I ever had was an old GI ECWCS parka, so I'm not sure I have any real basis for comparison, but I've never gotten drenched in sweat or felt excessively clammy in this jacket, so take that for whatever it's worth. Construction and finish is typical Mountain Hardwear, which is to say pretty darn good.

Ponchos are lighter and cheaper, but you'll be drier and more comfortable (in my opinion) with a good rain shell. Get your shell a little loose in fit, so you can layer stuff under it.

The jacket is lined with a thin mesh layer, which helps keep it from getting clammy on your skin like some shells tend to do, but it's heavier as a result.

My shell pants are a pair of Stretch Cohesion pants, also from Mountain Hardwear. These are no-frills and lightweight, which is important because 90% of searches don't see enough rain or snow for me to bother putting them on. These include zippers that run about 4/5 the length of the outer seam, which makes them easier to get into.

My insulating layer is a Patagonia Micro Puff jacket. This synthetic fill jacket is really warm. Too warm in some cases; I'll only wear it while moving in the dead of winter; the rest of the time it usually comes off for any sort of physical activity. This blocks wind and holds in heat a lot better than fleece, still works when it's wet, and compresses better than fleece (though not as well as down).

For my base layer, I use Cold Pruf long underwear from Sportsman's Warehouse. It's cheap (about $15 a piece), warm, and comfortable enough to forget you're wearing it. Oddly, it's much more comfortable (at least, to me, YMMV), than some of the top-of-the-line stuff you can find at REI.

Side note, you do not want your base layer to fit loose. It should be skin tight, or it doesn't work as designed (wicking the sweat away from your skin)

Hiking poles will save your knees. Particularly moving downhill with a pack on, the knee takes a lot of impact. They're also helpful on uphill travel, to give yourself an extra boost. Finally, they can be used with a poncho or tarp to form an emergency tent, or can be used for a splint.

I have a pair of Cascade Mountain Tech poles I got locally at a shop called Outdoor Regear, a used gear shop. They're also available on amazon, and occasionally at Costco. Expect to pay $40-50. Unfortunately, I haven't had these long enough to comment on durability, but I'm cautiously optimistic.

They're carbon fiber, so they're lighter than aluminum, and they include trail baskets (seen here) snow baskets, and a couple different rubber feet. Interestingly, Cascade also offers replacement segments for about $10, so if you come down wrong on one and break the pole, you can replace a segment rather than buying entirely new poles.

I'm a big advocate of bladder-and-hose hydration systems, rather than water bottles. I find I drink more often when I just have to suck on the tube on my shoulder than when I have to dig a bottle out. However, systems of this nature are prone to freezing in the winter, it's slightly harder to monitor your water consumption, and there is a slight risk of the system developing a leak. I find it's worth the trade-off, but in the dead of winter I may replace it with some Nalgene bottles.

My hydration system of choice is a Platypus Big Zip 3L. I've tried a LOT of different systems, by CamelBak, Source, Osprey, and others, but this is my favorite so far. The zip-top is easy to open or close and easy to get into to clean the system. the bite valve admits a reasonable flow rate, and the cap has a hole for a caribiner or cord so you can attach it to your strap. The only draw back is that they do not offer a system with a textile cover on the drinking tube, which protects the water from the sun so you don't get a mouthful of solar-heated water. However, this was easy enough to fix by stitching some 2" webbing around the tube.

I've added an accessory that Platypus sells, a simple quick disconnect valve. It allows me to remove the bladder for filling and leave the hose attached to the pack, rather than having to thread it back through the loops and straps that hold it in place.

zipper

Bite valve includes a built-in shut off valve

Bite valve

I carry a half liter water bottle in addition to my hydration pouch, so that if it leaks, freezes or bursts, I still have some water available. I use a disposable bottle instead of a canteen or nalgene so I can hand it to a teammate or a search subject, and it's not a big loss if I never see it again.

I carry a military nylon poncho, as an emergency shelter, or as backup rain gear if my shell jacket is torn or I need to outfit a search subject.

MRE entree and heater. This is in case we're out for a good long time and I need something more substantial than munchies. I don't bother to carry and entire MRE because it's bulky, heavy, and I don't care for half the stuff they stock them with anyways.

Black garbage bag, good for a pack cover, a backup poncho, or to contain a search clue.

Survial kit, stored in another cheap dry bag (contents detailed below)

50' of nylon parachute cord. This is useful for hanging food, repairing gear, and a thousand other things that make you think "gee, I wish I had some cord." I get mine bright orange and reflective.

This is an emergency bivy bag, by SOL. it's godawful orange (the best color) on the outside, and the inside is silver to reflect body heat. it's essentially a one-time-use disposable sleeping bag. I'd hate to have to spend the night in this, but it'd be a far sight better than freezing to death.

I'm not going to fully unfold the thing until I need it, because it's the sort of product you will never, ever get folded up once you unfold it.

Carry pouch

I also carry a mylar space blanket, because it's really light and might come in handy.

Water treatment tablets, just in case. A survival situation is not made more fun by a case of the Epic Shits, which you will get if you drink untreated water.

Duct tape. The only thing in the entire world more useful than parachute cord.

Firestarting kit. I have some 'storm' matches, which will burn much better than standard matches, a striking steel, and I have dryer lint, cotton balls with petroleum jelly, and fire sticks, all for tinder.

I used to carry a road flare, but it's bulky, heavy, and doesn't always work, as I found out the hard way, the last time I had to start a fire in an emergency.

Maps of the Sandia mountains (our usual stomping grounds), along with some basic mapping tools, a cheatsheet for the local HAM repeater frequencies, and my compass.

Suunto MC-2 compass, which is a pretty sweet orienteering compass. the mirror allows you to sight on an object while still having a full view of the compass rose, and could double as a signal mirror in a pinch. I've attached a set of homemade pace beads.

Even if you carry a GPS, you need to have a compass to back it up, and know how to use it at least well enough to get yourself home again if the GPS fails.

All fits into a (relatively) compact kit. 

As always, don't hesitate to comment or ask questions. Until next time.