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Have you had to use your rescue tool?

Megan · 22 · 5392

ca Offline Megan

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Have you had to use your rescue tool?
on: September 25, 2015, 06:11:18 PM
Have you ever had to use your rescue tool in a serious situation?
Did it work? Tell us about what happened!
-Megan
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cy Offline dks

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Re: Have you had to use your rescue tool?
Reply #1 on: September 25, 2015, 07:29:40 PM
no.
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us Offline ducttapetech

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Re: Have you had to use your rescue tool?
Reply #2 on: September 25, 2015, 10:45:50 PM
A recue tool, no. A Surge, SOG Vulcan or SAK, yes.

That's us mobile.
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ca Offline Grant Lamontagne

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Re: Have you had to use your rescue tool?
Reply #3 on: September 26, 2015, 03:31:27 AM
Since I don't regularly EDC a rescue tooL I haven't really had the opportunity to use one in a rescue situation- and fortunately it has been some years since I have come across a serious rescue situation.

Working in bars meant I used to drive home just after many inebriated patrons attempted to drive home and I saw my share of interesting situations then, although a flashlight and standard SAK or multi was usually sufficient.

Def
Leave the dents as they are- let your belongings show their scars as proudly as you do yours.


au Offline TheDude

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Re: Have you had to use your rescue tool?
Reply #4 on: September 27, 2015, 05:14:37 PM
SAK Rescue tool - Blunt tip blade is good but not great. Large flathead screwdriver very useful.
OHT Hook knife - Works well on boots etc. One-Handed pliers great.
LM Raptor - As above hook knife works well. Shears are sharp but when you wear it on sheath the glass breaker constantly catches on things. I try and use my cheap ones for most things and use the raptor when I know I really need to use a sharp set. eg. blood soaked clothing etc.
 
Eventually even McGyver got himself a Leatherman


us Offline anon

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Re: Have you had to use your rescue tool?
Reply #5 on: October 08, 2015, 09:40:25 PM
I doubt rescue tools get used much at all. They aren't commonplace and people that get them never seem to use them. I would wager a guess that more Victorinox SAKs and Leathermans have been in emergency situations than any of the dedicated tools.

I've only known one person to have one and it was some seatbelt cutter and glassbreaker combo tool. It went around 2 decades without use...


fi Offline AlephZero

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Re: Have you had to use your rescue tool?
Reply #6 on: October 14, 2015, 11:00:30 AM
I doubt rescue tools get used much at all. They aren't commonplace and people that get them never seem to use them. I would wager a guess that more Victorinox SAKs and Leathermans have been in emergency situations than any of the dedicated tools.

I've only known one person to have one and it was some seatbelt cutter and glassbreaker combo tool. It went around 2 decades without use...

Well, as they say: "Rather have and not need it, than need and not have it"...
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ca Offline 16VGTIDave

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Re: Have you had to use your rescue tool?
Reply #7 on: November 05, 2015, 11:40:45 PM

Well, as they say: "Rather have and not need it, than need and not have it"...

Remembering that one has the tool, and using it, is also important.

Last evening I came across a serious 2 vehicle accident. Others were attending to the vehicle occupants, so I was clearing debris from the road when one of the vehicles caught fire. The driver and passenger were trapped in the vehicle. When I approached the passenger side of the vehicle the bystander there told me that the door wouldn't open. The window was intact and the passenger was barely visible through the smoke. I had a ResQme tool in my jacket pocket, and a Swisstool Spirit in a sheath on my jacket belt. I should note that I was riding my motorcycle that afternoon and was wearing all my gear.

In the confusion/excitement, for some reason, I opted to try to smash the vehicle window with the Spirit. This would not and did not work. I put the Spirit in my pocket and was fishing out the ResQme (while fumbling with armored motorcycle gloves on) when another bystander climbed into the back seat from the drivers side and released the passengers door from inside. I then used the cutting blade on the ResQme to easily cut the seatbelt which wouldn't release. The passenger was then removed and dragged to safety (they were later airlifted to hospital with serious injuries).

I then ran around to the driver side of the vehicle. Another bystander was trying to force the door further open without success. We did manage to get the door partially open, so once again I cut the seatbelt and helped drag the drivers body out of the vehicle and away to safety. Unfortunately the driver had already succumbed to his injuries.

By this point I was winded, having inhaled a bunch of smoke while wearing a full face helmet wasn't helping. It appeared that the vehicles were cleared so I started directing traffic as best I could so that emergency vehicles could get to the scene. Once the fire truck and police were present, I left the scene. I was emotionally and physically spent and probably shouldn't have been riding, but I had to get away from that before I lost my composure. The fresh air helped me get home without incident and gave me the strength to wash my gear before retiring to the couch with a couple or 4 beers.

Having the right tool available is important. Being able to use it when in a high stress situation is another thing altogether.
I EDC'd a SAK before MacGyver did...


nl Offline anditsgone

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Re: Have you had to use your rescue tool?
Reply #8 on: November 07, 2015, 10:19:40 AM
Respect for 16vgtidave for helping the with the car crash.  :salute:

I was at a car graveyard once and there was a car that was going to be crushed. So i took out my Cold steel AK 47 with aluminium pommel at the end of the knife. I slammed the window 15 times and it did not break. Then a friend of mine grabbed my knife and slammed the window so hard that it broke and his arm went through the glass. Blood everywhere bla bla bla.

To smash car windows from the outside you need a dedicated window breaker because the windows are curved outside and are very strong. From the inside i think you can break them with the back of an heavy mt. After we smashed the window out of the car i looked at the alluminium pommel. It was severly damaged so never underrate the strength of glass.
For cutting seat belts i think any knife will do the job.

I never had to use an rescue tool in an serious situation.

I have a story of a friend who was helping with a promotional stunt where a helicopter would airlift a huge blanket from a truck that was just revealed. When the helicopter was going up the blanket catched somewhere behind a fence. He had the rope around his arm but as he found out this was very stupid. He quickly grabbed his knife and cut the rope. Otherwise it could have pulled his arm of or injured his joints.


au Offline lshaw

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Re: Have you had to use your rescue tool?
Reply #9 on: November 08, 2015, 04:11:50 AM
Before I started training to become a doctor, I was a paramedic, and one of my Ambulance colleagues recounted to me a fantastic multitool 'win'.

He attended a house call for a patient with chest pain, soon after moving the patient into the ambulance, the man went into cardiac arrest (a non-functioning heart with the patient essentially 'dead'). My colleague got his offsider to commence CPR immediately and turned on the defibrillator to attempt to shock the patients heart back into a functional heart beat. The cable connecting the defibrillator pads (sometimes called paddles in the US) had BENT CONTACTS in the male side of the cable and would not plug in.

My colleague calmly pulled out his leatherman (possibly a OHT i think) and individually bent the male contacts straight, plugged in the defibrillator cable and immediately shocked the patient - resetting the patient's heart rhythm to normal. The patient was conscious by the time the ambulance got to the hospital, underwent a procedure to fix the heart and made a full recovery.  :multi:

This is but one way in which these tools can be so important!  :cheers:


us Offline BASguy

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Re: Have you had to use your rescue tool?
Reply #10 on: November 09, 2015, 05:15:31 AM
Smack the side windows in a corner about an inch or so in


Sent from 9 miles from the face of the sun


ca Offline 16VGTIDave

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Re: Have you had to use your rescue tool?
Reply #11 on: November 09, 2015, 03:48:00 PM

Smack the side windows in a corner about an inch or so in

With what? Have you tried it? Because I can tell you that a SwissTool Spirit won't break a window when done that way...

Dave
I EDC'd a SAK before MacGyver did...


us Offline BASguy

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Re: Have you had to use your rescue tool?
Reply #12 on: November 09, 2015, 10:05:24 PM


Smack the side windows in a corner about an inch or so in

With what? Have you tried it? Because I can tell you that a SwissTool Spirit won't break a window when done that way...

Dave

Yes, I've tried it.  My brother owns a salvage yard, and I'd say we've broken probably 50 Windows over the years.  I know for a fact a Spirit works just fine in this application.


Sent from 9 miles from the face of the sun


ca Offline 16VGTIDave

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Re: Have you had to use your rescue tool?
Reply #13 on: November 10, 2015, 12:26:16 AM
Well, you must be a better man than me because I couldn't get the window on a newer Dodge Ram pickup to break using my Spirit, despite hitting it in the lower left corner (about where the writing would be) with all my strength. I've since watched videos of people not being able to shatter a car window with a sledge hammer, so I can't feel bad about it.

That said, I am angry with myself for not using the ResQme that was in my pocket. What's the point of of carrying all this gear and "being prepared" if one doesn't use it when it counts?

Dave
I EDC'd a SAK before MacGyver did...


nz Offline zoidberg

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Re: Have you had to use your rescue tool?
Reply #14 on: November 10, 2015, 12:49:39 AM
Well, you must be a better man than me because I couldn't get the window on a newer Dodge Ram pickup to break using my Spirit, despite hitting it in the lower left corner (about where the writing would be) with all my strength. I've since watched videos of people not being able to shatter a car window with a sledge hammer, so I can't feel bad about it.

That said, I am angry with myself for not using the ResQme that was in my pocket. What's the point of of carrying all this gear and "being prepared" if one doesn't use it when it counts?

Dave

You want a very small area making the contact. If possible scratch/score the window first. Small sharp stones break windows, large round stones bounce.


us Offline Aloha

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Re: Have you had to use your rescue tool?
Reply #15 on: November 10, 2015, 01:06:33 AM
Well, you must be a better man than me because I couldn't get the window on a newer Dodge Ram pickup to break using my Spirit, despite hitting it in the lower left corner (about where the writing would be) with all my strength. I've since watched videos of people not being able to shatter a car window with a sledge hammer, so I can't feel bad about it.

That said, I am angry with myself for not using the ResQme that was in my pocket. What's the point of of carrying all this gear and "being prepared" if one doesn't use it when it counts?

Dave

You are a better man than most BECAUSE you actually stopped and helped.  Good on you brother and glad to know you happened upon the scene and got involved. 

I find that putting gear in the same place all the time helps me to "locate" it when needed,  but with the adrenaline pumping all bets are off. 


You should be proud that you stepped up and not just drove by and wished them all the best.   
Esse Quam Videri


ca Offline 16VGTIDave

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Re: Have you had to use your rescue tool?
Reply #16 on: November 10, 2015, 05:37:21 PM
Thanks Aloha. Believe me when I say that I didn't want to get THAT involved. I'm usually the first one to get queasy when dealing with injuries, so I try to avoid these situations. I guess the adrenaline and rapid pace didn't give me any to ponder. If there is a next time, I hope that I react a little better.

I agree with gear having a consistent location or "home". I do this as well, and it certainly helped once I got my head cleared. Thankfully, my moment of mental fog didn't cause further injury.

I certainly have an even greater respect for emergency personnel now.
I EDC'd a SAK before MacGyver did...


us Offline Aloha

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Re: Have you had to use your rescue tool?
Reply #17 on: November 10, 2015, 05:42:58 PM
Thanks Aloha. Believe me when I say that I didn't want to get THAT involved. I'm usually the first one to get queasy when dealing with injuries, so I try to avoid these situations. I guess the adrenaline and rapid pace didn't give me any to ponder. If there is a next time, I hope that I react a little better.

I agree with gear having a consistent location or "home". I do this as well, and it certainly helped once I got my head cleared. Thankfully, my moment of mental fog didn't cause further injury.

I certainly have an even greater respect for emergency personnel now.

Having the gear in a "home" location is great.  I'd also suggest to those who dont normally use certain gear daily or weekly but still like to have it on them JIC, make it a point to "locate" that piece of gear simply for muscle memory. 

Again good on you.
Esse Quam Videri


Offline Styerman

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Re: Have you had to use your rescue tool?
Reply #18 on: November 20, 2015, 07:37:04 PM
My Victorinox Rescue Tool got me out of a bind . My work glove had become trapped in the cable of an Electric Eel ( high powered plumbers snake ) . I hit the kill switch , the beast still did a half rotation . This tightened the glove dangerously around my right hand . I drew the Rescue tool left handed , and cut away the glove - which had become very tight .

I have a Leatherman Raptor which is mainly assigned to general duties , but has helped out in first aid situations . The scissors in standard FAK's being garbage / or pilfered .

Mine have done their duty .

Chris


us Offline Aloha

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Re: Have you had to use your rescue tool?
Reply #19 on: November 21, 2015, 12:32:06 AM
Glad you had the tool on you.  Be safe out there brother. 
Esse Quam Videri


us Offline BASguy

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Re: Have you had to use your rescue tool?
Reply #20 on: November 21, 2015, 03:53:05 AM
Yikes, that's some scary stuff.  Glad to hear you could reach the Rescue tool offhanded (I believe that's what you were indicating).


Sent from 9 miles from the face of the sun


Offline Styerman

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Re: Have you had to use your rescue tool?
Reply #21 on: November 22, 2015, 06:35:23 AM
A Buddy of mine , who is ex Canuck Forces , and ex Scouter got right into the idea . Love at first sight , when he saw my Vic.

Chris


 

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