SAR Chest Rig (Getting started in Search and Rescue)

Thank you for watching my overview of my SAR chest rig. If you found this information helpful please subscribe so you don't miss out on my future content.
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Chest Rig Components
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Headlamp amzn.to/3r0pzaF
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Tourniquet amzn.to/3PgOQ9Q
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[@mrmicro22]

In our Sheriff sponsored SAR, we were issued back packs and fanny packs on harness. Both of these require a buddy to access anything on the move. A chest rig like that iS what most people moved to. Critical items in your working space. Support items in the rear. SAR is rewarding but rarely results in a happy ending. That may be the toughest part. Thanks for your contribution.

[@mellowmoo6747]

"Critical items in your working space. Support items in the rear." Simple yet invaluable statement. Will definitely keep this in mind when figuring out how to rearrange my chest rig.

[@WR3ND]

What's with the haters? I don't get it. Nothing wrong at all with striving to be a competent and responsible person. Keep up the great work, and thank you.

[@jarridgordon2155]

There will always be haters. It’s just the world we live in. 😉👍🏼

[@nk6197]

Wynex offers a lot of molle stuff at more affordable prices. I just ordered a chest rig to add to my SAR kit. Thanks for the video, will be using to build my rig

[@wordwalker3]

Nice video. 1. A tip for your Mora knife. Pick up a package of elastic hair ties for women/girls (think miniature bungee cord instead of rubber band). More durable and looks better, wheather in black or a high vis color for contrast. Slip it into the belt clip on the knife sheath, double it and slide it to the top of the belt clip. You can slip one loop over the handle of the knife for better retention(especially in the horizontal position as you have it mounted). You will also find uses for the rest of the pack, any place you might use a rubberband. Also: 2. Radioddity sells a version of the baofeng UV-9R that is FCC complient and has less spurious emmisions. It is designated the GT-5R and still accepts all the same accessories. It will not transmit on unauthorised bands. Should you need to replace yours or get another, I would make a point to get that one. I use the Signal Stick antennas from Signal Stuff. The other thing I do is use a threaded to BNC adapter on each of the radios and order the antennas with a BNC connection. It makes for quicker on/off with the antennas and protects the threads from wear and tear and possible dammage. If an adapter gets damaged, just unscrew it and repalce it. www.radioddity.com/collections/handheld-radio/products/baofeng-gt-5r

[@jarridgordon2155]

Thank you for the information! I will definitely try those recommendations out in the future. Luckily I haven't had the knife fall out yet ;)

[@garywheeler2055]

Nice informative video. Will utilize some of these ideas. Thanks 👍🍻

[@JCo295]

Thanks! In Australia, if you’re wandering around in the bush, a snake bit kit might be important to have close at hand.

[@MeOnTech]

Nice video. Like the gear!

[@ZakCiotti]

Jarrid! I think the most useful thing that you described in this video is one of those tips that we wouldn’t know, unless we were actually doing it, and that is the experience you and the team have had flashing the headlamps at each other, and how you decided on a workaround for it to have an attachment on your chest rig instead of on your head. If you have more insight like that, I think that would be a fantastic way for you to share and again a lot of attention! I myself just subscribe to you so that I can watch for them.

[@jarridgordon2155]

I really appreciate that you found my content helpful and informative. I will definitely be sharing more as I get more experience in the field and come across more learning situations that I think could benefit others.

[@user-kd5jq6to1s]

laser pointer ( circle above for location )....whistle....isreal medical compress...turnique ( excuse spelling )...

[@nivid01]

Good onya mate for volunteering and getting your gear setup.

[@philliesblunt247]

Soo, the mountian 600, I have the suede with red laces. I gotta say it fits so amazing. I've never had boots like sneaker weight and be so comfortable on long distances. Literally, no break in and no foot fatigue. Made is usa. Under 200. Comfort 10/10 durability 10/10 must have.

[@rustytygart405]

Recommendation Flagging preferably lime green or orange and marker , a few chemlights for marking roads or significant locations, other than that I’m sure experience in your local area will fill in the rest

[@chrisb5406]

15:18 Nice video with some good ideas like the headlamp positioning. I am not active in Search and Rescue but as a first responder in Germany. If possible exchange the black gloves by some blue or purple ones as used in ERs or by EMS. In bad lighting conditions (e.g. at night) you can not distinguish between blood or other fluids with black gloves, e.g. if you swipe the body in rain, or the body is full of sweat. With blue or purple gloves you can recognize blood immediately by its darker color. Greetings from Germany, Christian

[@jarridgordon2155]

Great tip I didn’t think about the glove color. Will definitely swap these out soon👍🏼

[@Check_your_head]

Thanks for the review and your time volunteering with your search and rescue team!!! Have you been on a search yet where you had to spend the night out in the field?

[@jarridgordon2155]

I have not had to spend the night in the field yet fortunately. Most cases that cause for spending the night in the field is if you are in a very remote area and weather rolls in and they are un able to send a helicopter for extraction and it’s to nasty to hike out. Most of the rest of the time the commanders are pretty good at getting teams back in and rotating.

[@joshberry4301]

Friend had that same lighter. The top part broke in his hunting bag. I like the Exotac bic Lighter case.

[@jarridgordon2155]

That’s good information to know. I’ll take a look at the Exotac case. Thank you

[@drvelocci]

I will definitely message you in a bit as I’m looking to join SAR,

[@husky701rider9]

Having a small rangefinder or binoculars would be helpful. Also medical shears.

[@jarridgordon2155]

I have since added medical shears. Range finder is something I’m looking into. Thank you for the recommendation.

[@os2soliz]

For your knife get a shock cord to make an additional retention device for it. When you need a knife and realize you dropped it is not a good thing. A sawyer mini with some gorilla tape wrapped around it and the dirty water bag for your chest rig might be better than the leatherman that you can wear on your belt.

[@jarridgordon2155]

Great recommendations thank you. I will look into those options👍🏼

[@WR3ND]

Something great for knowing where you've been for grid searching is a Garmin 801 GPS compass. For a basic but good pocket utility knife, I really like the newer (since '09) Victorinox SAK Solder knife. They have a locking blade with serrations for cutting through fabric and rope quickly and a locking light-duty pry bar. For more traditional SAKs the Ranger and Deluxe Tinker are great. I have found the little pliers on the Deluxe Tinker to actually be very useful for fine work like pulling hooks, slivers, etc. For radios, I really like the Yeasu FT-60R and VX-6, which are FCC certified for Armature radio and perform really well and reliably. You can order them MARS modded, if needed, which is nice.

[@jarridgordon2155]

Thanks for the suggestions and recommendations. Much appreciated.

[@WR3ND]

Thanks. I should probably do a video on my gear loadouts sometime and ask for suggestions like you did too. I have a chest rig for plate armor already, but am looking for a nice middle pocket/admin pouch. I might go with a lower velcro add on to it, or replace it, since hopefully I won't be taking fire anytime soon and the armor plates are inserted from the bottom instead of the top, so that doesn't work as a pouch. Cheers.

[@jarridgordon2155]

@@WR3ND yeah for plate carriers I like to have a low admin pouch the Velcro was in where the plates go in. But if I will be doing a lot of crouching or prone I would use a Velcro admin pouch that sits up top on the chest area of the plate carrier above my mags.

[@wirawhitebelt7364]

👍

[@user-kd5jq6to1s]

first thing....im right handed so all my comms / torch / med kit etc are always regardless of rig on my left side .... muscle memory ....and leaves my dominant right hand for knife / weapon / defence.....placement and repeat practice counts....auto conditioned response counts

[@FrugalPhotog]

REAL gloves to protect your hands, hopefully will be in your backpack I also hope you got a louder/plastic whistle like a Fox40

[@jarridgordon2155]

Yes and yes to both 👍🏼

[@BeardedBassBrawler]

Take a bread twist tie and put it underneath you’re a bic lighter button to keep it from an accidentally pushing down

[@jarridgordon2155]

Thanks for the tip I’ll give it a try 👍🏼

[@BeardedBassBrawler]

@@jarridgordon2155 I would also consider throwing a little monocular or scope like the Vortex in your pack. That way you can see further distances.

[@SparkSurvival]

Difficult to say what I'd add since you also carry a pack. You operate in a different topography. And I don't know how your team is assigned. I avoid things being external mounted because of snagging in my AO vegetation. A larger rig may prove better later. But, looks like a decent start to build as you evaluate your experiences.

[@jarridgordon2155]

Thanks for the suggestion. It’s definitely doing to be trial and error until I get everything nailed down. 👍🏼

[@marcusalancate1782]

Your radio may "work fine" with that flimsy antenna bent over to the side, but you should really try for maximum efficiency in the event you urgently need to transmit an emergency message. Get that antenna as high as possible and keep it there.

[@jarridgordon2155]

Agreed, I am still working on a better antenna system that should be more functional and hopefully more convenient.

[@benter3783]

For search and rescue equipment, bright colors are preferred rather than military.

[@jarridgordon2155]

Definitely agree. However it is sometimes difficult to find bright orange chest rigs. We wear orange shirts and jackets as part of our required uniforms.

[@nk6197]

You can get patches, high vis reflectors, and marker lights that are molle compatible

[@philliesblunt247]

danner mountian 600 boot.

[@Medarr1]

Stage your tourniquet. So you can use it one handed. And get a bright orange one. You're not trying to be tacticool. You're trying to safe lives. And when you need that thing you're going to be in a very stressful situation where seconds can make a difference. You do not want to drop it and then have to waste valuable time because it's black and it fell in the shade. Get a better radio then a baofeng UV5. It has no end filter and will have no reception if there is a strong TX on nearby frequencies. Keep the Nagoya or get a Signal stick. For radio's I would recommend an Icom or Yeasu. I run a FT5D it has onboard GPS, APRS, lockable touch screen, has a end filter. And is overall a much better radio. Your life may depend on it. So you want it to work. Lose the blade in the front if you ever run into a crack addict you risk getting stabbed with your own blade. As for knifes I run a Mora Gerber. But any Mora will do. It has a full spine.

[@jarridgordon2155]

Appreciate all the info. I did get a new tourniquet since this video. And it is a bright orange SOF® TACTICAL TOURNIQUET by tactical medical solutions. Thanks for all the info I will keep it all in mind when re evaluating my gear.

[@mr.rem2609]

Do you wish you had bought the hill people bag instead? I am looking at these.

[@jarridgordon2155]

My thought process was this. I have not used a hills people gear chest pack so keep that in mind. The Hills people gear chest pack is just to big for me, I’ve seen it on some of my team members, so if I did get one it would be the “SNUBBY” version. And even if you can find one in stock $130 was way to much for me especially since I didn’t know if I would even like a chest pack. Also the SNUBBY version doesn’t have any Molle on the front for my Mic and light to attach to. All in all my main decision came down to price and size. I wear this pack 90% of the time with my hiking backpack and I use the waist and sternum strap always so I wanted a chest pack that wouldn’t get in the way and would stay pretty tight to my body. Overall for what I use this pack for and the little things I keep in it I prefer the Amazon pack more and it’s 1/4 the price even with an extra radio pouch. That’s just my honest opinion without personally ever trying the HPG pack. Hope that helps 👍🏼

[@mr.rem2609]

@@jarridgordon2155 Thank you for your advice. I have seen the hill people one for $99 right now. It looks pretty small. I agree for what you payed is pretty hard to beat for sure!

[@mnight207]

Small can of spray paint and a telescoping magnet

[@jarridgordon2155]

Very interesting items I like the spray paint idea. May I ask what you use the telescoping magnet for?

[@mnight207]

@@jarridgordon2155 If you drop something. Something far down you need to reach you can tether it to Paracord or whatever kind of cordage you have and fetch it. They weigh basically nothing and are worth their weight in plutonium

[@paulfox7270]

Wouldn’t trust Amazon for everything some stuff is reliable some stuff is not I would definitely not buy a compass from Amazon I would buy it from a outdoors shop that has a decent one

[@jarridgordon2155]

Since this video I did pick up a Silva brand compass from REI 👍🏼

[@sandhill9313]

I'd leave the knife at home and just bring capable scissors...useless weight, particularly as the only likely use would be to cut seat belt like strap and you for sure want serrated for that. 🙂

[@jarridgordon2155]

Thanks for the input. I’ve added medical shears to my kit since this video. I’m keeping the knife since we do 90% of our searches in the desert off grid and it’s just convenient for for small bushcrafting tasks while out on a long/overnight search.

[@michaelarchangelthehammer]

Not allowed...carry one anyway..your a free American and a big boy too..only for that just in case situation.

[@jarridgordon2155]

In normal circumstances I would but since I am registered as a Sheriff’s posse member and every call out is organized and supervised by the sheriff’s deputies. If we are caught carrying a firearm while on a search with the sheriff’s deputies we will be kicked out of the posse program and no longer be field-able or part of the SAR team. We used to be able to carry but due to the department being on a court order and supervision our team is no longer allowed to.

[@michaelarchangelthehammer]

@@jarridgordon2155 seems a bit suspect don't you think?..guess they wouldn't be needing my services...

[@chriskp]

You need help

[@michaelarchangelthehammer]

@@chriskp pls..beau of the 5th subscriber!..(lol)..only half as much help as you need

[@mikel9567]

Get a better chest rig. There is a reason the Hill People Gear ones are so expensive, they are built with quality. Just because they have a CCW pocket doesn't mean that is all you can use it for. I know a lot of people that use the CCW pocket to protect their valuables. That cheap chest rig will fail you and it will happen when you're on a mission and miles from your vehicle. Spend the money and buy quality. When lives are on the line - including your own - you shouldn't buy cheap gear.

[@dirtyscoundrel2013]

Son, im not being mean, but you scare me. You should know your gear backwards and forward before going into the field. You dont know aby of yours, you keep looking at things to find out what they are. For the people you're trying to help learn what you have and every detail about it.

[@jarridgordon2155]

Thank you for your input and I agree. Started this less than a year ago and it’s a never ending learning processes. Will continue to practice and train. Everyone has to start somewhere. Luckily I have some very experienced members on our team that I will hopefully learn a lot from throughout the process.

[@dirtyscoundrel2013]

@@jarridgordon2155 Thank you for being open minded and your civil reply. BTW a handgun fits very nicely in a chest pack. In the army I learned it was far more efficient to ask for forgiveness than permission. IE being able to shoot that dangerous animal than being consumed by it. Good luck and be safe

[@godzillasuzuki2374]

So now amateurs and wannabes do SAR

[@jarridgordon2155]

Yes we do😉

[@andmassari7723]

He's in training for Search and Rescue. Not sure how that makes him a wannabe or an amateur. That's how people start new jobs, right?

[@WR3ND]

If I'm stranded or stuck and in need of help, I'd much rather have someone who actually wants to find me and put in the effort to know how to by their own free choosing looking for me. Just saying.

[@JCo295]

Search & Rescue is manpower intensive & relies on trained, part-time “amateurs” to assist the full-time S&R professionals.

[@buttvader]

So now we knock people who volunteer to help us?

[@mikepilapil6410]

Just a suggestion may be you can add some chem light behind your chest rig or in front, just in case you want to be seen in the dark during rescue 🛟 I think the glow sticks/chem light will last for more than 8hrs but your lamp wont.

[@jarridgordon2155]

Funny that you mention that. I just got some glow sticks delivered yesterday and will be adding them to all my packs 👍🏼

[@mikepilapil6410]

I Love your video and it's very helpful looking forward to getting more tips.❤❤❤