Equipment

The carrying system is the foundation

Snigel accounts for most of the category: elastic magazine pouches, dump pouches in several sizes, GP pouches, admin pouches, Oyster pouches that fold up when empty, radio pouches and insert pouches. Added to that are belts in several versions — Light combat belt, Rigid trouser belt, Basic Equipment belt and Police Equipment belt — plus buckles, adapters and leg straps that hold the system together.

There are also concealed equipment vests and harnesses for those who carry in plain clothes, and the Specialist 30L and 40L backpacks with matching insert panels and organiser walls.

If you are building a set-up from scratch: start with the belt, add the pouches and take the backpack or the bag last. The entire Snigel range is collected under Snigel.

Holders for things that otherwise get lost

A large part of the category is single-purpose holders: baton holders, a handcuff pouch, key holders that do not rattle, glove holders, holders for trauma shears and tourniquet mounts. The point is always the same — equipment lying loose in a bag cannot be found in the dark or under stress. A holder costs little and decides whether the item is there when it is needed.

Knife, cutting tools and shears

Benchmade Bugout and Bailout as folding knives, Triage and Rescue Hook as rescue tools, the SOCP dagger and the S-CUT tools that cut through clothing and belts with a guarded blade. See knives.

Light, paper and pen

Three categories that belong together in the field. Penlights from Luxamed and Medstuff in several colours — see penlights. Modestone all-weather notebooks in A6, pocket size and Flexible Field Book, plus TCCC casualty cards, as well as Snigel notebook covers and a wrist board — see notebooks. Sharpie marker pens in black, blue and red for marking equipment, tape and dressings — see marker pens.

Warmth for the injured

Rescue blankets and rescue bags from Blizzard, Mediwrap, Steroplast and Vitri, plus the self-heating Ready Heat II. An injured person cools down even in mild weather, so insulation is a natural part of the kit rather than a winter add-on. See hypothermia.

Who shops here

• Military and Home Guard supplementing issued equipment with pouches, a belt and holders.
• Police, security officers and guards building a belt set-up for the whole shift.
• Rescue services and field medics who need things to sit in the same place every time.
• Hunters, shooters and outdoor enthusiasts who are far from help and whose kit has to last.
• Prepared civilians who want order in what is in their bag.

Buy the system, not the gadget

The most common bad investment is buying pouches first and the belt last. Where the pouches go is determined by the width and stiffness of the belt, and if you change belts afterwards, everything sits wrong. The same applies to the backpack: the insert panels for the Specialist 30L and 40L are made for those packs and do little good in another model.

So buy the carrying system first and the accessories as you go — it costs less than rebuilding everything a second time.

Also in the category

Hearing protection from 3M Peltor, rescue hammers from Ferno, holsters from Black Trident, the HMS belt organiser, face masks and wallets. Medical supplies are kept separately under trauma and bleeding control and tourniquets.