I hike with a Yaesu VX7 radio (with an external mic), but I also carry a tiger tail, and also a 4oz JPole antenna and some webbing.

As you can see in the (hopefully) attached (small) picture (sorry), in some cases I'm only able to hit the 2m repeater on Buck Mountain by using the JPole (red spots), otherwise the tiger tail (yellow) worked fine, else just the radio by itself (green).

Our local SAR team has a number of JPole antennas for their Kenwood TK-2170 radios, and do tend to use the Buck Mountain repeater during SAR events [not that many happen here, tho...].

EDIT: By the way, the SAR team doesn't have a repeater, so teams going into the forest are without radio communications for extended periods of time if strictly using their SAR simplex frequencies. That is one reason they are starting to rely more on HAM communications, especially the Buck Mountain repeater [and other HAM repeaters].

EDIT #2: I'm in New Mexico, and the State has added 23 (or so) 2 meter HAM repeaters for emergency communications; ARES/RACES but is also open to SAR. This is similar to the current MegaLink repeater network that covers all of New Mexico.