We just got this
http://www.rescuetech1.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=961


and this:
http://www.rescuetech1.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=899

I like the second one best, because of the way it goes on quick. It happens to fit me well too. I like LOTS of rings for my tools and stuff, and this one fits the bill.

Thanks Martin, I will take a look at those.

Our team just purchased, but has not received yet the new CMC ProSeries SRT Rescue harness for water rescue.


CMC ProSeries SRT Rescue Harness

Pete

Here's the thing about harnesses, at least for me.

When we're in training, I spend an absurd amount of time "hanging around" (heh...get it?) and I need something that's really, really comfortable. Although last night, we did nothing but "hasty harness" tying and re-tying, then dropped down the side of the firehouse. Over and over. My legs are hurting.

Boy oh boy have harnesses changed! In the 60's I used to work in the old steel oil derricks (133 ft to the crown, working board at 90 ft). The derrick mans "safety harness" was a thick web belt, about four inches wide, with a single "D" ring on the back, and a thin steel cable from that to the anchor point on the rig. If you fell off of the working board (which happened more often than you would suspect), the worker really had to fight to keep from going head down, and possibly slipping right out of the belt. I won't even get into the "safety slide" you rode to make an emergency exit from the top of the rig...

Looks good. Two questions as a climber.
1) Shock loading on the clips?
2) Are the buckles pilot error proof?

Leigh,

Keep in mind that most of the preferred methods for technical rescues are top-down repels/access as opposed to bottom-up belayed/lead climbing. Yes, there are situations, such as tower rescues, where bottom-up belayed/lead climbing is required, but whenever possible we (at least our team) prefer top-down rescues. It allows for the use of low-stretch ropes, team based rescues, separate belay and main lines and minimizes shock loading rescue systems.

Rescue harnesses are designed for longer hang times, then a conventional lead climb harness. Class 3 harnesses are now the NFPA standard, with all loops, clips, rings, etc. are rated for general use or a particular rescue application.

As to “pilot error proof”, if that is the polite way of saying is it idiot proof , well no. Most Firefighters will tell you if there is way to break, override or defeat a safety feature; some Firefighter somewhere will break, override or defeat the system. Despite color-coding, numbering/lettering, etc., I have seen equipment/gear used in some of the most interesting ways .

Pete

Those are nice rigs, My dept doesn't do that kind of rescue, we have a local tech team for that kind of op. But here is what I use on my bunker gear for ladder belt/bailout. click here
Quite comfortable and I have used it to descend our training tower for public demos and such.

A:
1. They meet the requirements of NFPA1983 2001 Edition, which, incredibly, I can't find a copy of online without spending kiliobux on a copy of the NFPA standards, but as I recall, it's some obscene level of shock load in a zilli-newton range that would leave my head at the bottom of the rocks and my chest still firmly in the harness.

2. As error proof as the operator can be error proof. Seriously, you have to work pretty hard at not putting it on right - BUT that assumes you know what "right" feels like. It's no harder to put on than an SCBA pack, actually, it's easier.

Exactly. My "up" trip is almost always a matter of keeping my feet pointed in the right direction and letting others -literally- do the heavy lifting. A "shock load" is absolutely the last thing I want to experience.

Example: There was a cliff rescue right near my house. I wasn't on this call, I was out of town, however, here's what happened.
The cliff is about 400 feet tall. The injured climber was at about 150 feet. We have access to a 100' ladder truck (from another company) with a "pick point" at the tip, so it would have been a 50' vertical climb. Instead, they opted to start at the TOP, 250' above the climber, dropping a set of 500' lines, and then lowering down (and next to) the climber, packaging him, then going down to the ladder truck.



True story. A Halligan tool is an incredibly strong tool, you can use it as a hammer, you can hit it with a sledge, you can pry boulders with it, you can use it to pop a hole in metal. It's a rugged tool, as close to an indestructible object as you can find. You might loose them, they never break. Well, almost never. You see, when you use one as a wedge next to a seat in a wrecked car, and you don't pay attention, and you have a guy using "O" cutters on the "B" post, well, guess what? you can cut a halligan tool almost in half WHILE wrecking a perfectly good set of blades on the O cutters - 2 for 1! This happened while I was at a training program at another company, getting "advanced auto extrication" training, as it turns out, and right in the middle of class they got a real call. and we were jsut going over "situational awareness on scene" before this happened. Fortunately, the manufacturer of the equipment was with us on scene, and gave us a backup set of cutters out of their demo truck - and used the call wrap=up to pitch the newer technology, which would have not been damaged at all and would have cut right through the Halligan.

Anyway, back to rescue stuff. The best gear just works right, and "right" can't be defined exactly, other than you don't spend too much time worrying about if the gear will work (beyond the safety checks) and you spend your time thinking about what needs to be done.

Ok,Ok, I was just asking.......

Just as a leading question: Do you gentlemen think that all SAR, Firemen etc should be put through a basic climbing course. Just to educate them in the basics?