Holmatro? Hurst? or Amkus?

[Resq14]

Originally posted by drkblram
they SEEMED heavier

Warning... Danger... Caution...

Where's the Facts and Figures Police when you need 'em?



KIDDING

Like I said, just because it weighs a certain number doesn't mean it FEELS heavier/lighter when you hold it in its intended manner.

[lutan1]

just because it weighs a certain number doesn't mean it FEELS heavier/lighter when you hold it in its intended manner.

Is there an intended manner to hold a rescue tool?

The tool should feel comfortable, balanced and easily operable in any position because that's the nature of rescue- we don't know how they're going to be used next!

[podman]

Hey Kirbyjr,
You mentioned that after eight years of Holmatro usage, that city went over to another brand.
You posed the question & i believe suggest that Holmatro are are no longer an acceptable comparison to the new purchase that city made.

Do you know the particulars of the deal that was struck? Was there a service contract for the city thrown in? Was the new gear discounted so much that the city couldnt (in thier right minds) say no.

Where im going is that some company's will do just about anything to gain a foot hold in the "international market place" and gaining a lucritive account such as an entire city's supply, is a feather in thier cap no question of that.

The big orange H has been around for many, many years as has Hurst and Lucas. All three has a very established market position in "Planet America" and on the international market.

All three offer excellent after sales service and i believe an inovative approach to thier own R&D which at the end of the day benifits all rescue workers and patient's world wide.

In case you haven't picked up on it i am a Holmatro operator and have been since 1988. These HRT have stepped up to the line and met every challenge we have presented them too in the last 25 years my squad has been using this brand.( im not saying that our gear is 25 years old either):-)

In closing
for my money, if i was to spend $500,000.00 - $100,000.00 on hydraulic rescue gear, i would want to know, that the manufacturing company was still going to be there in 10/20/30 years time. Still doing thier R&D, Still providing there excellent after sales service etc, etc.

Also as a point of note on the odd occasion that a part of our gear has had to go "Back to Base" for an over haul or whatever. Holmatro Australia has always gone out of thier way to loan us a set of gear or ram, spreaders, shears, pump, whatever until our owned gear is back in operation.

No i do not work for Holmatro, Yes i do excellent service and it's a pleasure to use thier product and to deal with them.

[Rescue101]

Podman,1 word.Amen!T.C.

[Resq14]

Originally posted by lutan
Is there an intended manner to hold a rescue tool?

The tool should feel comfortable, balanced and easily operable in any position because that's the nature of rescue- we don't know how they're going to be used next!

I simply meant that when you pick up a tool by its handles, it can feel heavier/lighter depending on where the weight is in relation to where you are holding it. That is my only point... don't read too much into my simple-minded thoughts...

[Dalmatian90]

Where's the Facts and Figures Police when you need 'em?

Stuck at home with only a plain old fashion modem for three days

Hurst does make tools lighter than 70 lbs.

What you give up going to lighter Hursts, or comparable Holmatros or Amkus (sorry, not familiar with all the "B" brands Phoenix/TNT/etc), is 1500-2000 pounds of force.

That's not neccessarily bad, you don't need JL-32's on most vehicles. We recently put a Maverick in service, which gives us a lighter combi tool that can do all our routine door pops without pulling out the big guns (we own two JL-32As).

I've never noticed the weight at a call -- adrenaline sure seems to make up for it. Not that that is always good, as I'm only back to about 95% of normal strength after a severe "tennis elbow" from injuring myself at a working extrication back in April -- I didn't even know it that night, woke up the after catching a couple hours sleep with an incredibly painful elbow.

[Resq14]

Originally posted by Dalmatian90

I've never noticed the weight at a call -- adrenaline sure seems to make up for it.

agreed

[Dalmatian90]

Meant to add, agree with Resq14 about the ergonomics can make a big difference on how a tool feels. My experience has with working tools has been limited to Holmatro & Hurst.

Oh, and I should give you an apology Resq, I think I left some of my drool on your Rescue-Pumper at New England Chiefs back in June

[LittleChief81]

I dont have a lot of experience with too many different brands. Have used Holmatro, old Hurst and Old Amkus Systems though. We purchased a unit consisting of a Combi, cutter, and simo pump a few years ago. We were tossing between the Holmatro and the LUKAS. LUKAS won that battle and we are all quite pleased with the system.
Even the people at Hurst must have liked them , afterall the bought them out.

[jizumper-5]

Have had experience with Lukas, Amkus, and Hurst. Find out something good/bad/different each time I use a tool. In general, I believe that Amkus has the better system on the market. The Amkus ultimate system is fantastic. Hurst's simo-pumps are new to the market (and are so much better than their old manifold system for tool distribution). Talking about cutters, the Amkus Speedway Cutters (as a second set) have the best of both worlds with the power of their standard O-cutter and twice the reach. It does wonders and the b- and c-posts in one sweep.
However, knowing how expensive systems are, I would keep what one has and upgrade it whenever possible. All will do the job. There is no right or wrong system to buy, just good and better.

If you have the $ to buy new though, give Amkus a solid look. That is what I am using now...

[Diesel]

It's not the tools... it's the skill, training, dedication and ingenuity of those who use the tools.

Had HURST, now have two sets of AMKUS, and wouldn't trade them for anything else right now.

Stay Safe!
Diesel