ok, so maybe i'm naive or totally uninformed, but in all sincerity here goes:

why have a handcuff key in your survival bag?

are we escaping from law enforcement? bad guys? do bad guys carry handcuffs?

do we have the key secreted on us somewhere? where? if the key were to be found by law enforcement would that not raise suspicion as to our intent?

i'm really lost and confused on this one. i need help understanding the pros and cons. no pun intended.

I'm lost and confused, too. I don't know anyone other than a police officer who carries one under any circumstances, let alone in a survival bag. Did I miss something on another thread?

I have kept mine along with my p38 on the same line and those are going to stay together because they have always been together.

Oh yes, I am a retired Coastie Boarding Officer & that's why I had a handcuff key in the 1st place.

It's a sentimental thing, it doesn't have to make sense!

I don't carry one and never will. That said, Ted Bundy used to carry handcuffs. It wouldn't surprise me if other lowlifes do as well.

A lot of cops carry a spare concealed at the back of the waist, to avoid a very embarrassing situation. Paramedics carry them, for the patients they may get from the cops. Crooks may carry them, for obvious reasons I suppose, and crooks do occasionally use cuffs. Then there are, ahem, recreational users of handcuffs. There is nothing illegal about having or carrying either cuffs or keys in most jurisdictions, but, yeah, it might buy you a lot closer scrutiny from the local gendarmes. But for the life of me, I can't think why I'd need one in my BOB.

Jeff

A cuff key in your bag will probabaly not do you any good, lets face it if some one puts cuffs on you good or bad they are not gonna let you near a bag that has survival goodies in it. If you do carry one (some states and cities look down on this) I suggest hidden some where on yourself that you can reach from the front or back. As far as why carry one, same as why you carry a survival kit to the office with you JUST IN CASE, OR WHAT IF.

i saw this in a recent post. scratching my head, i did a search on 'handcuff'. there are references by several (more than five) members who mention routinely carrying one either on their keyring or person or survival bag.

i was looking for the reason(s) why.

Not to highjack the thread, but I have a question for you, Chris or any other Coastie out there.

My son-in-law is a Coastie and was recently transferred from Station Annapolis, MD to Station Wrightsville Beach, NC. He was a Boarding Office with over 200 boardings and yet when he transferred to the new station, he had to re-qualify all over again. Is this standard practice?

Just curious-
Pete

Yes it is in many cases. It really depends on the C.O. IRT some qualifications but most qualifications have to be redone at every change of station.

My OOD quals were cancelled as soon as I left one ship and I had to requal on the new ship. Now my "Rules of the Road" ticket was good for 5 years along with my Rapid Radar ticket,, but I wasn't qualified to drive the new ship until the C.O. of that vessel said I was qualified to drive his "toy".

In 10 years of EMS work, I've NEVER seen a medic, EMT firefighter, first responder, nurse, or physician carry a set of handcuffs. If the patient is that violent, the cops are already there (or on their way). The only restraints on most ambulances are soft restraints: cloth and foam things. Occasionally "hard" restraints, leather, are used, but they don't use cuff keys.