Gear Recommendations
Note: These are items I’ve bought for myself and would recommend to anyone else looking for something similar. I don’t make any money from any of these links (unfortunately), so please to look around for better deals. I’m also sure the prices I’ve indicated will change over time, so they will most likely be wrong the day after publication.
EDIT: I have added a link to get 10% off the XShear store, which gives me some money. Feel free to not use it if you don’t want to.
General
XShear trauma shears - XShear, £35 10% off XShear products - These are much better than the disposable trauma shears you always get thrown at you. On top of that, you can actually clean these. I have also not yet found a use for pretty much any tool included on the raptors, so I don’t see why I wouldn’t go for XShears.
XShear holster - XShear Gen2 Tactical Holster, £40 10% off XShear products - The main issue I had with my XShear compared to raptors is the bulkiness and ease of use (or lack thereof) of the Gen1 tactical holster. This Gen2 holster is much much nicer, even though it’s not cheap. I’ve configured mine to be horizontal, along the back of my belt. It’s far less bulky, and I’ve not had any problems with retention.
Lanyard for shears - Kevlar Lanyard at PatrolStore, £26 - I use these with my XShear, attaching it with a karabiner.
Stethoscope - Littman Classic III at MediSave, £75 - More than good enough, but not silly. Make sure to get it engraved, and unless you always use it in the same place, get your phone number on it instead of your full name - it’ll find its way back to you far easier.
Steth case - Classicpod Micro Stethoscope Case at Amazon, £13 - Small stethoscope case to protect it without the bulk of some other cases.
Nursing
Clipglow Light - Amazon, £16 - A night shift essential for me personally, and a lot of people have asked me about it. Waterproof (so you can clean it well), magnetic clip, not too bright, lasts long on one charge and casts the light quite wide.
Reference cards - Yard Card, varies - They have many different ones, but I love these for quick reference. I keep the reference ranges and GCS/SBAR ones on my lanyard behind my ID card.
Prehospital
Sunglasses - Pit Viper Flip-Offs, £82 - I wear prescription glasses, I can’t see anything without. These are very nice, if slightly ridiculous, sunglasses that I can flip up when I go inside (and still see with the prescription insert), without having to carry two pairs on me.
Prescription insert - Pit Viper Rx Inserts at SVED Optical, varies - So you can see, if you can’t see without.
Belt - 5.11 TDU Belt at TacTree, £20 - A cheaper, strong belt. Easy adjustment.
Belt (the gucci option) - UKOM Narcissus Cobra Buckle Combat Belt at Contact Left, £70 - A much more expensive belt, but I prefer it slightly. Very strong buckle that is easy to use. It feels a lot more robust than the 5.11 belt, but it takes longer to adjust and is far more expensive.
Boots - Haix Airpower XR1, £240 - Definitely not the cheapest boots and just under 1kg each, but these are the most comfortable safety boots I’ve ever used. The zipper is very nice and makes them fit snugly, while still allowing you to take them off and put them back on in seconds. Long, hot days on your feet are always annoying, and the zipper lets me take my boots off whenever whenever I have a minute to take a break.
Hero Clip - Amazon, £15 for Mini - A karabiner with a hook. Very useful to carry with you as a karabiner, and I’ve seen people use it to hang a bag of fluids on a door, lamp, cupboard, etc. I have a mini and a medium, and the medium definitely feels a bit big. If you just want one size, go for the mini.
Mesh organiser pouches - Set & Done on Amazon, £13 for 6 - I use these to organise all my various bits and pieces of gear in my backpack. It’s much more convenients to move around various pieces of kit around my bags and taking only what I actually need. I’m not 100% happy about the quality, but they’re all still doing well, and the size is perfect for me.
Waterproof trousers - Amazon, £25 - A bit of a strange one, but these have been a lifesaver for me on more than one occasion. Decent, plain black trousers that will make torrential rain slightly less horrible.
Paperwork and Notes
A6 Clipboard - Amazon, £6 for 2 - A bit small for actual use and not super rigid, but if you need to carry it around in a pocket, this is a nice size.
A5 Clipboard - Amazon, £3 - Bigger than the A6 one, so more useable for writing on. It also has a flap with a small pouch, which I use for a small collection of relevant documents, maps, etc.
A6 Wallet - Amazon, £20 - A small wallet for notes and aide memoirs. Always useful to have quick reference on you.
Reference cards - Yard Card, varies - Same as above, still very useful.
Lighting
Headlamp - Nitecore NU25, £41 - My choice of headlamp. Lightweight, good range of power levels, rechargeable battery, angles well (so I can wear it around my neck and still have it facing forwards).
Flashlight - Olight Warrior Mini 2, £90 - A solid little flashlight I keep on my belt or vest. Advertised 220m of throw, and I’ve definitely used it to illuminate things beyond 100m a few times. Can be bright enough to search decent distances in a dark park, or dim enough to read in the dark.
Radio Comms
- Universal earpiece - Earpiece Online, £25+ - I’ve only been able to find these on this website. If you’re like me and you regularly work with multiple different radio systems, you want a decent earpiece for each of those, and this makes it so you can switch out the connector for your earpiece. Every time I come across a connector I don’t have, I take a picture of it and buy it here - I’m up to seven different ones now. The earpiece itself (acoustic tube) is decent enough and definitely far better than the speakers that clip onto your ears that are simultaneously too loud and too quiet. There’s a few better solutions for earpieces, but none of them work with multiple types of radios, and it’s this convenience which really sells me on this system.