which turnout gear to get

[newbfire]

Hi there, i'm looking at purchasing some Turnout Gear for going to fire school next fall, and am wondering about your opinions on which turnout gear to get. Thanks.

Trevor

[tripperff]

My Fire Dept. is now issuing Globe GX7 Style turnouts in PBI. When I first got in it was Black Nomex Traditional Style from Globe. Talk about hot in the summertime. Over the years we've tried some other stuff, also black Nomex, I won't mention any brands, suffice it to say NONE of them have held up like the Globe gear. We have a few coats that were taken out of service only because they we so old the way they were made just wasn't safe to wear nto a fire anymore. It was still in great shape.

[nrz2334]

Bristol turnout gear is which we use and like a lot!!

[expvol]

I use Quest and Fire-Dex, I like PBI for the protection and Nomex is easy to work in. The only downside is that they can only be bought at a dealer than in a catalog. Quest is dealer only and fire-dex can be bought catalog, but is more less expensive if bought from a dealer.

www.firedex.com

www.questhq.com

[KeithA8]

Morning Pride!!!

[CALFFBOU]

I have been using Janesville and Globe for awhile.
I have to say the Janesville stuff has been pretty
good. I really like my current stuff.

I would suggest looking at ebay.com for some used
stuff.

Good luck in school...

[Jmatteau]

Our Dept. got 40 sets of turnout gear from last years grant. We just got it in and everybody loves it. We got Black Morning pride PBI, FDNY Specs. I have had Globe for the past 4 years, and it did the job, but im my opinion, Morning Pride is the only way to go.

[captstanm1]

There are many many brands of PPE on the market....I believe the top 4 in no specific order are Globe, Morning Pride, Quaker and Janesville....(Someone correct me >>I am sure you will>>>if I am wrong).

There are a lot of people selling gear and some do not know their head from a hole in the ground. Be cautious and remember that cheapest is not always best. If you are going to invest in some gear for yourself and pay for it yourself, I suggest you go with Basofil Outer Shell, a Caldura Thermal Liner w/E89 Backing and STEDAIR 3000 for a vapor barrier. Basofil is very close to PBI but a bit more durable and resistant to UV degradation. The caldura is one of the best wicking liners on the market and STEDAIR 3000 is the latest in vapor barrier technology and in my opinion a bit better than Crosstech as far as durability... Additionally it is the closest you can get to being identical to crosstech as you can get.

Also a lot of manufacturers have some "smoke and mirrors" gadgets on their gear that they will argue will provide you with better protection. Most of these items are patented so they have a proprietary spec when bidding.

Keep in mind that regardless of the "gadgets" all gear that is constructed and sold in the U.S. is required to meet the current edition of NFPA 1971 (2000 edition in this case). Most of the manufacturers purchase their material from either Dupont, BASF or Southern Mills. Be cautious of "knock offs" of certain fabrics. These three companies provide most all of the material. What it boils down to is these important factors:

#1 Level of protection
#2 Comfort for the user
#3 Flexibility of the garment (goes hand in hand with #2)
#4 Durability and dependability
#5 Quality of construction (goes hand in hand with #5)
#6 Cost (should be last consideration and remember "Cheaper is not always."

Certain things are important such as a 3 panel system inside and out. By this I mean that the Outer Shell, Thermal Liner & Vapor Barrier are all made in 3 pieces. This enhances or increases flexibility. Some manufacturers market a "3 panel system" but only the outer shell is 3 panels and the vapor barrier is one panel and the thermal liner is 3. Therefore the liners will work against each other. Others have only the outer shell as 3 panels. Compare it to wearing a T-Shirt and lifting your arm. When you lift it you feel the pull on the bottom of the shirt. The 3 panel system (inside and out) reduces this pull and increases flexibility of the garment.

[FyredUp]

We have Janesville I think it is called commando. It is the bulkiest, heaviest, most uncomfortable gear I have ever worn.

I use Bristol at my volly FD and at my tech college job. I much prefer that to any other gear I have ever worn. It is light, comfortable, flexible, and after 5 years seems to be holding up quite well. Our stuff is Boston Spec.


In my time as a firefighter I have used Cairns, Janesville, Morning Pride, BodyGard, Britol and 2 different military spec crash ensembles. Of all of them I much prefer the Bristiol with the Morning Pride second, but not a close second.

Turn-out gear is like a lot of other things though, people have a favorite brand and that is what they stick with.

FyredUp

[toddmcbr]

My Dept is 100% Morning Pride!

[SamsonFCDES]

Join a VFD. Get the rookie thrird generation hand me downs of some brand or other, a few scuff and burn marks, etc...

Let them know you plan to go through the training, they will probly be happy to let you use it for the classes.

When you are in the fire class, you will be looked upon with some degree of awe by the other rookies because of your grizzled half baked old gear.

When you graduate, go back and keep on volunteering, it will look good on your resume.

When you get your career job, try to keep volunteering for the same VFD if it is in your area. If not, try another VFD.

You get to use turnouts, the VFD gets a enthusiastic new member.

Win Win

[captstanm1]

The last post confuses me as I am not sure what it is referring to and how it relates to the subject.

Everyone has posted get this or get that "it is great!" Not very much information for those who are looking to purchase gear. Why do you like what you have? Refer back to my previous posts and answer those questions...

[SamsonFCDES]

Originally posted by captstanm1

The last post confuses me as I am not sure what it is referring to and how it relates to the subject.

Everyone has posted get this or get that "it is great!" Not very much information for those who are looking to purchase gear. Why do you like what you have? Refer back to my previous posts and answer those questions...

drkblram said most of what I was getting at with more direct expression.

In my area (Montana) you have to be a be a department member to get the classes, there is no room for non members due to limited class sizes.

On a more philisophical note, what turnout is better, the newest techno super suite that you swiped onto your credit card? Or one you earned the hard way by joining a volunteer dept., going through rookie initiaion, and sweating your hind end off at a fire which you are fighting for free to help you neighbor out. Sure, you may have a black coat and yellow pants, but are we here to look cool or fight fire?

And as was mentioned, you can get a lot of training/experience for free, and it looks good on your application to have volunteered.

And after all, if you went through rookie hazeing as a volunteer, you will be ready for rookie hazeing when you are paid...

Which gives you the knowledge and experience to "haze the hazer" by causeing practical jokes to backfire and being able to give as good as you get... One of the most satisfying things you can do as a rookie is to get the best of the local "bully" who loves to make life hell for rookies. You will gain instant noteriety as the rookie who punked out so and so. Your status will raise quickly, girls will flock to you, you will get a raise, your hair will grow back, you will loose 15 poounds and achieve finacial freedom... Seriously, at the very least, you will have a more enjoyable and memorable rookie experience.

There is a lot more to fire departments then just emergencies. The more you know about group dynamics (especialy in regaurds to type A personalities) the better you will fare.

[SamsonFCDES]

Forgot turnout preferance again...

My first set was a burned up rookie hand me down, all black (thank god), no idea what brand since all of the tages were gone. It was better then nothing. It was about 10+ years old, had been in a lot of fires, fit a little loose, and had a lot of melted scotlite stripes. It smelled funny but seemed to work just fine. It was cheap, but worked just fine.

My new set is Globe, all black (thank god). It is better then my old set. It is about 1+ years old, but I dont realy give it much thought, nor have I had a chance to compare it with other brands. It was expensive, but workes just fine.

[DonnellyFire]

We are currently researching turnout gear. We got awarded to buy 30 new sets of turnouts. We have been useing Jaynesville Commando's, in PBI gold. We had a set of Globe turnouts come in, so we could do some comparing. Globe beats Jaynesville hands-down on quality. I was actually very disappointed with our Jaynesville. There was no comparison. Globes are much more flexible and comfortable, they use a much smaller stich then Jaynesville when they are manufactured, which makes the hold up much better. All of their seams are complete, Jaynesville are not. The termal liner is held in much better also. We have comapared Globe, Jaynesville, and Morning Pride, the 3 best in my opinion, and Globe is far superior.

[Rescue101]

Samson,Why thank god for black gear.No sun in your state?I'm thanking God we got the grant and can get OUT of black gear.How you making out on your Tic quest?Stan,I think you forgot one;Firedex.I'll buy into the Caldura SL but you can have your Stedaire,I'll have mine in Crosstech and in all the mfgs. we've looked at so far not one has suggested otherwise,not even as a sales pitch.Thanks for the tip,we grilled the Quaker rep. pretty well and he stood up to the task well.Buying gear used to be a lot easier,two choices of outers and inners.Now it's a whole new ball game.I know a little about gear,and I have a hard time choosing the "perfect"combination.T.C.

[tripperff]

If you are buying Globe, specify the Arashield instead of leather for the knees, cuffs, etc. I don't know what that stuff is, but it far outlasts leather and it can be decontaminated in case you get into some nasty stuff unlike leather.

[JForristall]

I could echo/agree with much of what captstanm1 has offered. I think you're probably more confused now than at the outset. Don't worry about your turnout gear looking cool and "scuffed up" or "new" out of the box (it won't for long) or even the color. Anything in resonably good shape should get you through rookie school, if, used or hand me down is your only option. Any reputable school is going to visually inspect your gear prior to any dangerous exposures. Any exposures SHOULD be relitively safe and controlled. Key word, (SHOULD).Your career after rookie school,the unknown dangers you may face is what makes all the "technical" data matter. As mentioned, any new turnout gear you get meets or excedes safety guidelines. So,having worn many,and currently wearing 3 different manufacturers products, I'll offer my OPINION.The best new turnout gear is the set you get free. If that won't happen and If I were spending my money I'd buy Bristol,hands down over a distant 2nd place MP or Globe-GX7.They all seem to have protected me quite well,wear somewhat similarly,but the deciding factor woulde be weight and comfort,Bristol. Stay Safe JF

[JForristall]

I could echo/agree with much of what captstanm1 has offered. I think you're probably more confused now than at the outset. Don't worry about your turnout gear looking cool and "scuffed up" or "new" out of the box (it won't for long) or even the color. Anything in resonably good shape should get you through rookie school, if, used or hand me down is your only option. Any reputable school is going to visually inspect your gear prior to any dangerous exposures. Any exposures SHOULD be relitively safe and controlled. Key word, (SHOULD).Your career after rookie school,the unknown dangers you may face is what makes all the "technical" data matter. As mentioned, any new turnout gear you get meets or excedes safety guidelines. So,having worn many,and currently wearing 3 different manufacturers products, I'll offer my OPINION.The best new turnout gear is the set you get free. If that won't happen and If I were spending my money I'd buy Bristol,hands down over a distant 2nd place MP or Globe-GX7.They all seem to have protected me quite well,wear somewhat similarly,but the deciding factor woulde be weight and comfort,Bristol. Stay Safe JF

[ppeadvice]

I would invite several representatives in and assess which products best meet your requirements. As you can see by these posts, there's no clear winner in the world of protective clothing. An element of service and confidence in the suppliers you feel closest with would be a good start and get them in to show you product. The beter people should be able to guide you through the selection process, and come up with what's best for you.