Bunker gear What to Buy?

[kldugas412]

We "the Dept." are looking in to upgrading our bunker gear we have recently
perchased some Lion but is seems that is will not stand up to the test. Our last big purchase was some years back. It was Globe gear. I know they have had many advancements in gear desine and matirial used in construction.
What is the best bang for the buck??

K.Dugas
Asst. Chief
Duson Vol. Fire Dept
FF1 Haz Mat AW

[Frmboybuck]

We have Morning Pride gear and have been very pleased with it

[WMFF12]

Morning Pride... Hands down....

[Weruj1]

try doing a search ...also see this ongoing discussion http://forums.firehouse.com/showthread.php?t=84959

[Catch22]

Opinions are like, well, you know. We're running Morning Pride on my vollie dept. right now and we're pleased with it. At the same time we're going to look into switching to Globe if we get our grant this year. It's probably going to be a tough decision, but I don't think you can go wrong with either.

Just one spot of advice, to be stingy when it comes to equipment that is going to protect your guys. I can't stand those chiefs that say "It's all made out of the same stuff." That may be the case, but chiefs don't usually do hours of manual labor in the stuff, either. Comfort counts for something, too. Especially if you're on a long incident.

[dday05]

Just one spot of advice, to be stingy when it comes to equipment that is going to protect your guys. I can't stand those chiefs that say "It's all made out of the same stuff." That may be the case, but chiefs don't usually do hours of manual labor in the stuff, either. .

I agree with the chiefs usually don't do hours of manual labor in the stuff. I'm an Asst. Chief and I think most of the chiefs around our area don't even put their gear on so how can they have a decision in what their people wear? I try to keep all my people safe, and I believe if I'm going to go over to ff x and chew *** because they don't have their gear on or something missing I better have my stuff on, and on properly.

Anyways we used to use Morning Pride and ended up with a few bad sets of it so we switched to Jainsville and have had no problems with it. Where I work we wear Securitex and it is good gear also. Just remember they're your firefighters and I'd rather spend more money on them than anything.BE SAFE!!

[kldugas412]

I pride my self as a working Chief I have 12 Years in and make sure I work as hard as the lowest man on the fire line. I found out from a very wise Chief it is mutch better to lead by example. My guys would follow me thru the gates of hell and I would do the same for them.

Thanks very mutch for the info.
As said before it may be made with the same stuff. "But the ? of the day"

How is it put togeter and will it stay together?

[Catch22]

I don't think anyone took it wrong, but my remark about chiefs wasn't a slam to chiefs (I am one on the vollie side of things). Just more of a grudge I have with an attitude I've encountered in the past. I can't stand guys that skimp on safety equipment saying that comfort isn't a factor.

Construction of the gear is VERY important. Even if it's the same people that make the materials, some companies just slap it together, some companies take ergonomics into account. I don't like to waste money on non-essential items, but at the same time I want my guys (and myself) to be conforable and not have to worry about rips and tears at the seams.

[kldugas412]

That's how I see it if your not confertable you are just looking to tire your self out and be no help to any body.

As far as the Chief Bashing no harm no foul. I too have the safety of my guys at the top of the list. The last thing I want to do is explain to a loved one some one got hurt because of gear that failed.

[rfd599]

Take a hard look at both the Cairns Reaxtion and Globe G-Xtreme. Both of these garments are extremely comfortable and ergonomically designed. We are a Cairns Dealer in Illinois and have sold many sets of gear due to the comfort and flexibilty level of the gear.

Globe offers the G-Xtreme, which is also a great set of gear. This incorporates many of the design features of the Reaxtion Garment. Both sets of gear give you the ability to where the pants without suspenders, which greatly reduces stress and fatigue on your shoulders and back.

As a side note, I have a personal set of Reaxtion for demos and I wear the G-Xtreme on the job.

You can check them both out at www.globefiresuits.com.

rfd599
www.IllinoisFireStore.com

[FireMav]

I have morning pride with the heat channel knees. Hands down i won't go to another set of gear. Once you get them broke in then they are the best. Takes awhile to get broke in though. Everyone else in the department has Globe.

[joshball]

We have Globe G7, Morning Pride and the first sets of Globe Extreme are coming in.
I had Morning Pride till a couple weeks ago and now have the extreme.
You can move easier in it, it is lighter, and moves with you.
The comparable Morning Pride quoted to us was a couple hundred more.

[N2DFire]

We bought all new gear last year (Thank you AFG!) and it was down to Morning Pride & Globe (G-Extreme)
The Cairns Re-Action is pretty much the same as G-Extreme so you may want to look @ that as well.

We ended up w/ the Globe simply because of the fact that we were buying a lot of other equipment from the grant and the Chief & Treasurer didn't want to have to keep up with several bills from several companies so we "soul sourced" from one dealer.

From our testing I don't think your guys would be unhappy with any of those three but I'd let them try it out and decide for themselves to make sure.

[OlieCan]

G-Xtreme at my Dept. Havn't heard any complaints.

[FyredUp]

kldugas412...

Chief, if I may be so bold let me offer my take on buying turn-outs.

The real issue is not materials. Most manufacturers can get and use the same materials as the competitors. Not always but usually. The real issues are comfort, flexibilty, weight, and durability.

When my volly FD got new gear we sent letters to the dealers in our area with our basic spec and asked them to come in and do a presentation. We also asked for a demo set of gear to try out during a mobility and ergonomics test.

Some dealers complied...some failed to respond at all. We took this as a sign of future service and those that failed to respond were eliminated regardless of later correspondance or phone calls.

We made it clear whoever won the bid would be outfitting the entire department in a multi-year replacement program.

Like I have told others on here...Good luck because no matter what you decide someone will tell you you are an idiot.

FyredUp

[furlofmalta]

If you can afford it GXtreme.
The only problems I've had with it is the cuffs are a bit on the tight side and don't count on it to give you hints on when it is about time to get out.

[kldugas412]

[QUOTE=FyredUp]

Some dealers complied...some failed to respond at all. We took this as a sign of future service and those that failed to respond were eliminated regardless of later correspondance or phone calls.

Thats my take on it allso FyredUp.


Thanks to all that posted info,
We "The Dept" think we will try to get a set of Moring Pride and G-Extream to do test with.
We try to let the body of the Dept decide on issues of this nature. The Chiefs narrow it down to some carefull thought considerations
then put it to the test.

Safety, comfort, and duerability. Being the base of the desision.

As for when it's time to get out. I try to teach all the guys/girls
never depend on your gear, depend on good training, sights sounds and the good old gut instinct!!! If your a rookie just ask a Capt. or Chief when he knows. (We gota go)

[spackmann]

Like I have told others on here...Good luck because no matter what you decide someone will tell you you are an idiot.

I agree, far too many opinions are given here about a particular topic - but few facts come out. Granted, posts often ask for opinions...but what ppl are really and truly interested in are the reasons WHY to do something.

And as FyredUp pointed out, there are MANY reasons you should consider in deciding what gear to purchase:

1. vendor capabilities/perception/history: if the vendor stinks, and they can't support their material, to me, that's a reason not to buy it. If the manufacturer chooses that company to sell their product, then its a reflection on them as well.
2. choose the right outer shell: granted, as FyredUp pointed out, yes most manufacturers use the same materials - but I stress MOST (not all). Some manufacturers cant' sell the higher end materials 'cause of costs. When designing your gear - unfortunately cost does factor in and use this as a consideration on what brand to purchase.
3. demographics of your department: if your dept only has 1 structure fire a year, but 50 extrications a year - then maybe you need gear that is more abrasion resistant to things like sharp metal of a b-post that you cut off rather than the highest TPP rating for example. Of course there is a very real trade off between abrasion resistance and TPP, and that also factors into $$$, so you need to consider this in making your decision.
4. look at the specific features by the manufacturers: only Janesville and Morning Pride offer class II harness options, Globe does not (its discontinued). So if this is what you are looking for - then narrow down your options based on manufacturer capabilities

But arguably the BEST advice I can give you is to TRY and USE the gear in the field before deciding which to purchase!!! I can't stress that enough. Others will argue that Globe fits better than Morning Pride, Janesville wears better than Bristol, etc. but its what YOU find based on your real-life observations that you should go by and use to determine what to purchase.


My department recently finished (an approximate) six month field test involving three vendors: Janesville (V-Force), Globe (G-xtreme) and Morning Pride (comparable specs).

You can follow the various discussion of that field test on the forum here:
http://forums.firehouse.com/showthread.php?t=80158

I know what my department ended up choosing (Janesville V-Force) but we had an empirical study with a complete and thorough questionaire that we used to truly measure which gear was best for OUR district.

You can view the results and the questionaire (its about 16 pages of questionaire, the final report is around 25 pages)
http://www.richardspackmann.com/etc/...nal-survey.doc

Feel free to ask questions and I hope that helps! good luck!

Regards,

Richard M. Spackmann
Fire Commissioner
Greenfield Fire District
http://www.RichardSpackmann.com

[kldugas412]

Thank you for the honest replys it wil come in very helpfull We have a general meeting Monday 12/04 I wil post my findings then.

Stay safe, Train hard and go back home to your loved ones

K.Dugas
Asst Chief DVFD
FF1 Haz Mat AW

[Catch22]

[QUOTE=kldugas412Thanks to all that posted info,
We "The Dept" think we will try to get a set of Moring Pride and G-Extream to do test with.
We try to let the body of the Dept decide on issues of this nature. The Chiefs narrow it down to some carefull thought considerations
then put it to the test.

Safety, comfort, and duerability. Being the base of the desision.

As for when it's time to get out. I try to teach all the guys/girls
never depend on your gear, depend on good training, sights sounds and the good old gut instinct!!! If your a rookie just ask a Capt. or Chief when he knows. (We gota go)[/QUOTE]
Sounds like you've got your mind right in all aspects. I don't think you can go wrong with either set, both are good and have reputations to back them. You evaluation process sounds like it's going to be sound as well. Good luck and enjoy the new gear!