Personal Safety and Rescue Equipment | Ep. 75

Packing efficient personal safety and rescue equipment is a necessity for any rafting trip. In this episode of Gear Garage, Zach talks about personal safety equipment that can be carried to help with rescues.
Want to help support Gear Garage & purchase some tried and true rafting gear? Consider purchasing the Hollow Block Prusik as recommended by Zach at this Amazon link: amzn.to/2u1ozSJ. Also, feel free to check out the gear Zach uses at: amzn.to/2IF09rx. We get a commission when you purchase from this Amazon link!
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[@wadebieber5717]

Nice and thorough video. Great suggestions. Especially the emphasis on training. None of that will help if you do not know how to effectively and safely use it. I do not bring a personal bag, but keep 4 lockers, 2 prusiks, and 1 pulley (prusik minding) and 1 flip line on me, and a waist throw bag. This let's me create a z-drag with a self adjusting prusik on the pulley for capturing progress. Other points are just rope on carabineers, so I do lose some advantage there. But a single pulley makes a huge difference over just carabineers. I guess it's a bit much on my person, mostly in the form of carabineers, but that 1 pulley really does a lot. A second would of course be another huge improvement, but if I carry any more, I'm not gonna carry it all on my person.

[@wadebieber5717]

Keep making these videos! I like them, and will be sharing this with other guides at the company to encourage them to consider how self reliant they can be on the river.

[@GearGarageTV]

Thanks for adding info with what you do!

[@andrewr8042]

Discussion Starter: In a recent SWR course, the instructor and I got to debating the merits of the Valdotain Tresse (VT Prusik) as another option to the everyday prusik we're all accustomed to. It's typical uses would be in canyoneering and arbor work. Like the hollow block, this comes as a prefabricated piece (Blue Water and others make them). It is typically 7mm-8mm in size, which means it is not necessarily the weak link or the "fuse" in the system any longer. A penny for any and all thoughts on this, but particularly interested in the merits of having that "fuse" or if its even important.

[@GearGarageTV]

I used to believe in the fuse concept but have never seen it work in practice. I would rather use good gear with proper anchors than use purposely inferior gear hoping that it breaks before other gear.

[@willybumbum6682]

Astral Green Jacket. Astral Rasslers. Waist Bag with 60' of 3/8" floating rope. (2) 18' 1/2" flip lines, one in chest pocket, one in side pocket, both with fixed loops and carabainers. (2) 'larger' prussiks w/carabainer. one in chest pocket, one in side. No pulleys on my person, but yes in my day bag. Love nerding out with ya here! Cheers. Been comptenplating a new 'brighter' helmet (mine is currently white)

[@returningtoearthtv8836]

That red one inch tubular webbing is nice for making anchors around BFRs and BFTs.

[@James-ke5sx]

I put together two rope bags 8mm & 12mm ropes etc. I use mechanical rope grabs instead of rope prusicks as these are more for hauling different things even in winter and snow and ice are slippery on rope prusicks possibly.

[@jeremygiddens1350]

Who makes that lime green throw bag you show? Thanks. Awesome videos!

[@GearGarageTV]

You can find them here rescue-rope.jimdofree.com/products/ - I'm stoked you like the videos!

[@MrCoyotekiller21]

Do you by chance know the model of that watershed bag? I couldn’t find that small one on there website. Thanks👍🏼

[@GearGarageTV]

It's the Yukon

[@currentupdatesforcrossline3316]

Why dont you have a Reach in your kit

[@GearGarageTV]

Because I don't see their value for whitewater paddlers. I'm sure there is some use for professional land based rescuers but paddlers have boats to go get things.

[@TypeIIAdventures]

The Avon in the thumbnail 😢. Hope I never have to see mine like that.

[@currentupdatesforcrossline3316]

Do you have a reason why you dont mention line capture in your safety gear discussion in light of its strong endosements in the swiftwater rescue community?

[@GearGarageTV]

The swift water rescue community is focused on land based rescue.

[@currentupdatesforcrossline3316]

@@GearGarageTV There are many applications that relate to access , stranded, pinned boaters, erosion pockets ect. These same issues effect all river users.