I'm looking to upgrade knives, the Shrade was a freebe. Any recomendations on a good knife for SAR use?

I just put a rolled wire splint into the FAK to take the place of the SAM. Not as good but a whole lot smaller. Also if it is a known medical call I have a more comprehensive FAK that fits under the pack lid, more weight though.

I agree, a LED light would be better, but the mini-mag is cheap and counts for a second light source on the NASAR pack list.

The fusees are the wildland fire fighting backfiring tourches. They are my all weather fire starter. Alot of the SAR members are also volunteer fire fighters, so they are in alot of packs around here. They do have some signalling capabilities, but they only burn for about 5-10 minutes and drip alot of flaming material.

I'm thinking about not having any aerial flares in the pack. I bought the flaregun with the thought that it would be a good attractant during searches, but after some extensive testing on New Year's Eve, I'm not too impressed. (they do make excellent fire starters though <img src="/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />)
I guess has anyone had any experiences using aerial flares during searches?

As far as the BK radio goes I use the Leatherman programming method <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> Gotta love them Bendix Kings, put a 17" whip antenna on them and they are perfect for searches.

Thanks for the great advice!!!

Kevin