What Rescue Tool do you use, and why?

[rescue4500]

im a technical rescuer and a wilderness search and rescue tech.. in my rescue gear I keep a ST300 and a ZREX . ive used them to get people out of cars on more than one occasion. 

[dipti]

I always carry and use nautical knife. Features include a marlin spike, blade, bottle opener, shackle key and a scale. Very easy to carry and use.

[toolguy]

I bought the Vic Rescue tool after viewing their video.This tool addresses many of the uses a rescue tool may be required to perform.No tool is perfect in every situation but not having any tool is the worst case scenario.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zApUSw0xsRY

[cool123]

I carry a Leatherman Raptor along with me for my outdoors.

[Steve Phillips]

I got the Vic Rescue Tool only a month ago. I like the keenness of the edges. I was a bit skeptical of the curved blade, but 11 days ago I cut the shirt off a Pt to get the Defib pads on him. It worked like a treat. Way easier than shears.
This is a nice tool.

[zoidberg]

I got the Vic Rescue Tool only a month ago. I like the keenness of the edges. I was a bit skeptical of the curved blade, but 11 days ago I cut the shirt off a Pt to get the Defib pads on him. It worked like a treat. Way easier than shears.
This is a nice tool.

What's in the third sheath?

[cool123]

Earlier I was not used to carry any rescue tools. But for multiple applications, I consider the Leatherman MICRA for my EDC use.

[Steve Phillips]

I got the Vic Rescue Tool only a month ago. I like the keenness of the edges. I was a bit skeptical of the curved blade, but 11 days ago I cut the shirt off a Pt to get the Defib pads on him. It worked like a treat. Way easier than shears.
This is a nice tool.

What's in the third sheath?

Thats the extra bits and tools that fit in the Surge.

[matty78943]

Windshield are laminated and wouldn't break into little pieces and fly off, go ahead and document with video cam.  

I'm not a fan of those spring loaded thingy thou, I'd rather have a carbide tip on back of my knife handle, bet I can smack it a lot harder than the spring can. Too bad I've yet to come across a knife I like with it.

what about the boker tech tool?

all of them have a glass breaker on them and come in black or olive

[Jim Hunter]

Victorinox rescue tool for me.
We also use it at the fire station as well...

Jim

[mtoolman]

Of course the Vic Rescue tool could be used for other purposes such as gardening and bushcrafting.

I tend to use it for cardboard box cutting making up parcel boxes.

The saw for glass cutting could be used for cutting woods and branches too.

When in the car and emergency, it will do the original duties of course. A flexible tool.

[jakobym]

The saw for glass cutting could be used for cutting woods and branches too.

That saw is too dull to cut wood effectively in my opinion.

I keep Victorinox Rescue Tool in my car, found it too bulky to carry it everyday (I hate the original sheath, the belt loop is too wide for my trousers' belt, it's OK for a duty belt though, so had to make a leather one). I carry it also while working extra as a medical staff on various events.

While I'm off duty or ride I'm someone else's car, I have a Blackhawk Hawkhook in addition to my regular EDC knife.

[cody6268]

Skedco Warfighter Extreme Medicine. Mostly bought because I wanted to try Eickhorn's PRT Series (which the Extreme Medicine is a modified PRT-IV, with an added tank key), but it's always good to have with its glass breaker, belt cutter, and blunt blade (which was mostly bought with the intention of freeing livestock in stuff they got caught in.   I paid $30 for mine, but I feel $120 or so they retail for is a bit much, given with a few exceptions (some use Bohler N690, but not many) they use 440A as opposed to something like 154CM or VG-10 like most other high-end rescue knives do.

I'm borrowing Skedco's listing photo for this.

[G-Dizzle]

I use what I have on me I try to keep a well enough rounded edc for any situation. I also keep some stuff in the truck if i need it.

[ThePeacent]

I have this in my keychain at all times. Works like a champ for cutting belts and minor prying 

[Huntsman]

The saw for glass cutting could be used for cutting woods and branches too.

That saw is too dull to cut wood effectively in my opinion.

Definitely  - It cannot cut wood at all - I have tried - For an experiment/test
The teeth are flat not sharp

I have Vic Rescue tool in the car and a Rescume me on the keyring - Both tools I hope I never have to use

Someone earlier siad that you could not replace the blade on the Rescume and had this as a black mark
- But why would you need to - It's not a tool for regular use - Right?

Great to hear about all the first respnders and their gear though - esp the Vic
Thanks for the posts guys 

[surfdaworld]

Just a reminder for those who keep tools for self-rescue in their vehicles: In the event of a rollover, anything not securely fastened in place will instantly become a flying hazard to your health, and impossible to find once the vehicle comes to rest.
For example, here's a photo of my sister's van on Christmas morning a couple weeks ago:


Everybody is alive, but it took them a couple days of searching to find all of the Christmas presents that had been scattered around the crash site.

Carry rescue tools by all means--just don't leave them lying on the dash or in the glovebox, expecting that they'll still be there when you need them.

[mtoolman]

I got the Vic Rescue Tool only a month ago. I like the keenness of the edges. I was a bit skeptical of the curved blade, but 11 days ago I cut the shirt off a Pt to get the Defib pads on him. It worked like a treat. Way easier than shears.
This is a nice tool.

I have the same tool, and use it in the garden and shed.  I cut huge thick cardboard boxes a few days ago, and it cut like butter.  The boxes were too big for our recycle bin, but the Rescue tool curved serrated blade cut them into nice size to fit in the bin.  No sweat at all.

Today I was using gasoline weed eater tool, and the blade string from the weed eater was too long, and it was tangled itself in the shaft making the weed eater engine stall. I cut it with the Rescue tool main blade, and it freed plastic blade from the shaft.

A great tool - the Swiss Rescue Tool.

[Huntsman]

Just a reminder for those who keep tools for self-rescue in their vehicles: In the event of a rollover, anything not securely fastened in place will instantly become a flying hazard to your health, and impossible to find once the vehicle comes to rest.
For example, here's a photo of my sister's van on Christmas morning a couple weeks ago:
Everybody is alive, but it took them a couple days of searching to find all of the Christmas presents that had been scattered around the crash site.
Carry rescue tools by all means--just don't leave them lying on the dash or in the glovebox, expecting that they'll still be there when you need them.

Wow that is an amazing shot - Relieved and glad they are all OK - I cannot work out where the car came from !!
Good point re the RT location in your car !!

[ddogu]

Just a reminder for those who keep tools for self-rescue in their vehicles: In the event of a rollover, anything not securely fastened in place will instantly become a flying hazard to your health, and impossible to find once the vehicle comes to rest.
For example, here's a photo of my sister's van on Christmas morning a couple weeks ago:
(Image removed from quote.)

Everybody is alive, but it took them a couple days of searching to find all of the Christmas presents that had been scattered around the crash site.

Carry rescue tools by all means--just don't leave them lying on the dash or in the glovebox, expecting that they'll still be there when you need them.

What a shocking photo, glad to hear everybody made out alive! Phew...

[stugumby]

Boker cop tool,has built in bash,chip,pry and cut functions and a strap cutter. End of handle has glass breaker as well. One piece plus handles. It has incredible  versatility in lawn garden ,industrial settings as well. A hidden gem.

[Etherealicer]

Boker cop tool,has built in bash,chip,pry and cut functions and a strap cutter. End of handle has glass breaker as well. One piece plus handles. It has incredible  versatility in lawn garden ,industrial settings as well. A hidden gem.

I like the Boker cop tool, great little thing

However, as a car rescue tool I think there is currently only 1 good, compact option and that is the Victorinox rescue tool. Because of the disc-saw, which is pretty much the only way deal with laminated glass (aside from more professional, much larger tools). Of course strongly depending on what you drive (and if you want to help others), but I suspect that glass breakers (and tools like the ResqMe) will not work on about half the cars on the road here in Switzerland.

A tad bit bigger, but quite interesting would be the Eickhorn Rescue Tool II (see image), or III & III SGT. They all have a saw for laminated glass.

[Etherealicer]

Boker cop tool,has built in bash,chip,pry and cut functions and a strap cutter. End of handle has glass breaker as well. One piece plus handles. It has incredible  versatility in lawn garden ,industrial settings as well. A hidden gem.

Just realized, mine is an older version without glass breaker... which makes it of course a bit less useful as rescue tool, but a bit more carry-friendly without that pockey bit at the back-end.

[aicolainen]

No dedicated tools for self-rescue. I find it very hard to plan for such occasions.
OTH I try to always be somewhat prepared to help others. A very minimal FAK, a Benchmade rescue hook and LM Raptor shears are always in my EDC backpack. My daily commutes to and from work is typically by bike, running or public transport so keeping my "rescue" items in my backpack makes most sense.

I also do volunteer work in mountain SAR as a dog handler. It's not an activity that require a lot of rescue tools in the traditional sense, but for the occasional person that need basic medical attention, it's nice to be able to cut clothes. In mountain SAR weight really affects your range and speed, so no item comes with me without a very high certainty that its usefulness justifies its weight. In the early days I just carried what I had, I wasn't interested in the tools in the same way I'm now, and there wasn't as much to choose from either.
With experience and access to more information and more tools, my setup evolved to a combination of a Spyderco Salt 2 folding knife and a Benchmade rescue hook. It's very light, semi redundant and not too expensive to justify as a dedicated kit.
The knife is universally useful for a lot of stuff, it's basically maintenance free and with a weight of 1.9 oz/54 grams, it's very easy to justify. It's not an ideal tool to cut clothing or other material close to a persons body, but if I ever have to, the almost sheepsfoot-ish blade would make it somewhat less of a risk.
The rescue hook is a way more dedicated tool, but is also safer to use, super simple and easy to carry.

I wrote above that they're semi redundant, by that I mean they are different enough to warrant carrying both, but similar in that both ultimately work as matter separators. So you're not totally out of options if you loose or forget one.
To maximize the advantage of this redundancy I carry the rescue hook its original sheath on my belt, and I carry the knife on my vest. This way I minimize the risk of forgetting or loosing both at once.

Before arriving at this setup, I was often tempted by the ready made, all-in-one solutions like the BM Triage. To us gear heads, those things are like honey to a bee, but I could never quite convince myself that it was worth the weight penalty. Ultimately I feel like I ended up with a better, more flexible and even a less expensive solution.


Picture is taken a few years ago, and I've since added the LC200N FFG Salt 2, and use that as my primary rescue knife to save a few grams more. Knife position on the vest is just for the knife to show on the photo. It's normally carried securely inside a pocket.