Thoughts on gear?

[HGjunkie]

Forgive me if this has been covered before, I searched and not much came up.


I am considering getting a Leg rig MOLLE style for field use (here) and possibly a rigger belt (here) to support it. Has anyone used a similar setup in the past, and if so, was it a good system? I plan on using it for a medical kit and possibly a radio/miscellaneous utility pouch. I'm currently using a pistol belt with a 1st aid pouch and utility pouch and it can be inconvenient to wear at times. Do you recommend a drop-rig of this style, or something similar but better?

[Rogovin]

I've found that leg rigs are often cumbersome.  I would not recommend them for SAR or any long-distance or anything like that, unless it is a very light load.  A Medkit is just a tad too heavy to be efficient for a leg rig. 

Light loads if anything for the leg rig, but the belt is fine. 

-Rogovin

[mclarke]

Look into the IFAK (Improved First Aid Kit) if you want a leg drop, however though, I suggest not doing a leg drop at all. A Military General Purpose First Aid Kit is what I have always used, and fits in my Butt Ruck...

BDU riggers are nice belts (which I always use for in the field, not the blue with open face buckle), but be ware to get it sized right. Get it too small or too big it wont velcro (and yes, they have some without velcro but they are useless for anything except cargo straps...)

Hope that helps for information... If you need links I know a website that has the riggers and first aid kits (both the IFAK and Gen Purp)

[HGjunkie]

If you need links I know a website that has the riggers and first aid kits (both the IFAK and Gen Purp)

That would be great sir. I'm comparing various loadout styles and gear distributions, and this one caught my interest. I'll keep looking if its not generally recommended though.

Light loads if anything for the leg rig, but the belt is fine. 

Light as in <5 pounds?

[mclarke]

General Purpose kit
http://www.uscav.com/productinfo.aspx?productid=7573&tabid=548&catid=60

IFAK (not a leg drop, but you can substitute the pouch)
http://www.uscav.com/productinfo.aspx?productid=17715&tabid=548

Belt (Rigger, w/velcro)
http://www.uscav.com/productinfo.aspx?productid=16496&tabid=548

[HGjunkie]

Never thought of searching USCAV. Thank you. 

Quick question- Is it against regs to use pain relievers on someone in the field?

[mclarke]

Never thought of searching USCAV. Thank you. 

Quick question- Is it against regs to use pain relievers on someone in the field?

Your limited to the use of First Aid. So yes. You can, however, assist them if they have there own meds, but you can not administer them (in other words, you can hand them their own bottle of pills). I would ask your legal, medical or squadron commander on this to ensure the right answer though.

Yeah, I can link you to all my "sites"

CAVPRO- www.cavpro.com
Galls- www.galls.com
Rangerjoes- www.rangerjoes.com
Brigade- www.brigadeqm.com
Cabelas- www.cabelas.com
LLBEAN- www.llbean.com
Conney Safety- www.conney.com
Vanguardmil- www.vanguardmil.com

[HGjunkie]

Your limited to the use of First Aid. So yes. You can, however, assist them if they have there own meds, but you can not administer them (in other words, you can hand them their own bottle of pills). I would ask your legal, medical or squadron commander on this to ensure the right answer though.

Yeah, I can link you to all my "sites"

CAVPRO- www.cavpro.com
Galls- www.galls.com
Rangerjoes- www.rangerjoes.com
Brigade- www.brigadeqm.com
Cabelas- www.cabelas.com
LLBEAN- www.llbean.com
Conney Safety- www.conney.com
Vanguardmil- www.vanguardmil.com

That makes sense. And holy cow i'm gonna be up all night looking through these sites. Thank you. 

[mclarke]

Yeah, you should see my gear list. I have about 5 note book pages of things to buy this summer. I kind of bought more than what I need. I included items I deemed mission critical (binoculars for example, or rope and carabiners: we can not climb or rappel, however, rope and carabiners are good for utility rope <lowering supplies>)

[HGjunkie]

Everything is mission critical, you just have to be creative about it. 

[Senior]

I don't know of any reason a cadet or senior member would need a leg rig in CAP for ES field work.

[davidsinn]

I don't know of any reason a cadet or senior member would need a leg rig in CAP for ES field work.

I can think of a few reasons that it's actually a bad idea: getting into and out of vehicles, making your body wider causing you to hit things; are two that come to mind.

[Eclipse]

I have one, because I got it basically for free.  I rarely, if ever use it.  We don't do field surgery, nor do we need to have a roll-out of
meds and gauze at the ready.

I know several other members who have them.  They make a nice hand rest.

That's about it.

Buy a good first aid kit and move on.

[jimmydeanno]

My pack is actually designed for forest firefighters (Similar to this: Pack URL.  The pack removes, leaving me with a belt and the shoulder straps.  The butt pouch is designed to hold a fire shelter.  I find that it holds my first aid kit, signal mirror, and a few miscellaneous items very nicely.  Additionally, it has a zipper pouch behind. 

The pouches on the upper pack hold nalgene bottles perfectly, and the flare pockets can hold miscellaneous items like mini-mags, batteries, etc.

It works really well for me.

[GroundHawg]

While overseas I wore a dropleg holster. The straps rub places that you dont want and it got caught on everything while getting in and out of vehicles. I had to switch to a shoulder holster.

[JayT]

Never thought of searching USCAV. Thank you. 

Quick question- Is it against regs to use pain relievers on someone in the field?

What kind of pain relievers?

[HGjunkie]

Never thought of searching USCAV. Thank you. 

Quick question- Is it against regs to use pain relievers on someone in the field?

What kind of pain relievers?

Stuff that comes with most first aid kits like asprin or aleve.

[Major Lord]

Its funny how the term "Use" (pain relievers) on someone sets off all those CAPR alarm bells. Its just so darn "Berkeley" to say we can "Share" our aspirin with an adult member, but in practice its identical. (Unless you meant whipping out the old morphine styrette and injecting a victim......) I would even go so far as to "use" Ice to treat a fellow member who had a boo-boo ( stop me if I am getting too medical here) which is a pretty darn good pain reliever. Sharing your OTC meds with a Cadet without getting approval up the ladder will almost certainly result in an IG investigation, certain tests to determine if you are a Witch ( Do you float?) followed by death by musketry fire.

Major Lord

[Al Sayre]

Hmmm.  Hey Cadet Sprainedankle, I'm not allowed to give you an aspirin, but if you can hobble over by that tree 50 yards away, I think I saw a whole bottle of them sitting next to a canteen...

[Eclipse]

Hmmm.  Hey Cadet Sprainedankle, I'm not allowed to give you an aspirin, but if you can hobble over by that tree 50 yards away, I think I saw a whole bottle of them sitting next to a canteen...

A cadet with a sprained ankle should be hobbling home with mom, not looking for aspirin.

[NM SAR]

back to the OP's, question, I've tried leg rigs and come to the conclusion that while they're great for combat ops, they're not so good for SAR. (problems with chafing things I'd rather leave unchafed, and restricting movement)

If you need things more accessible than in your pack, I'd recommend a small chest rig like this: http://www.tacticaltailor.com/minimav.aspx

I ended up making my own by cutting the straps off of an old leg rig and sewing it to my orange vest. YMMV.