Experimenting with a stick on phone "finger ring" as a retention mechanism for my phone when I'm out on SAR missions.
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Experimenting with a stick on phone "finger ring" as a retention mechanism for my phone when I'm out on SAR missions.
Now that we're using phone apps for navigation/mapping, marking evidence, etc (replacing the old AA powered Garmin handhelds) I have it out and about all the time.
And it's the one piece of gear in my chest rig that I take out frequently and don't want to lose that isn't tied down (the compass and whistle already have retention lines, the Leatherman and backup flashlight almost never come out, and the chem lights are expendable)
So the idea is a retractable lanyard from the chest pack to the phone case that holds it if I drop the phone. Except since the case didn't come with an anchor I had to make one.
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Experimenting with a stick on phone "finger ring" as a retention mechanism for my phone when I'm out on SAR missions.
Now that we're using phone apps for navigation/mapping, marking evidence, etc (replacing the old AA powered Garmin handhelds) I have it out and about all the time.
And it's the one piece of gear in my chest rig that I take out frequently and don't want to lose that isn't tied down (the compass and whistle already have retention lines, the Leatherman and backup flashlight almost never come out, and the chem lights are expendable)
So the idea is a retractable lanyard from the chest pack to the phone case that holds it if I drop the phone. Except since the case didn't come with an anchor I had to make one.
I'd like to get something retractable eventually but the last one i tried didn't work great and I'm not sure how well they'd survive being out in pouring rain.
So this will do for now
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I'd like to get something retractable eventually but the last one i tried didn't work great and I'm not sure how well they'd survive being out in pouring rain.
So this will do for now
This is not just paranoia, I have been on two deployments to date in which people *on my 4 person team* lost their phones to a swamp; I think one was able to retrieve it while the other gave up.
And I'm sure across the whole unit it's happened a lot more often than that.
If it's not zipped into your pack or a pouch, and not tied to you, it probably won't be there when you come back to base.
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R relay@relay.infosec.exchange shared this topic
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This is not just paranoia, I have been on two deployments to date in which people *on my 4 person team* lost their phones to a swamp; I think one was able to retrieve it while the other gave up.
And I'm sure across the whole unit it's happened a lot more often than that.
If it's not zipped into your pack or a pouch, and not tied to you, it probably won't be there when you come back to base.
@azonenberg oo that’s a good idea. I went with a wrist lanyard (I had one for a camera in a box somewhere and it worked). The first one worked great, got old and wore out. The second one got caught on a door knob and ripped through the dedicated lanyard loop in my case (I got a case specifically with a little loop for a lanyard). I haven’t put a third one on yet but I’ve also managed to avoid bodies of water in the meantime.
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This is not just paranoia, I have been on two deployments to date in which people *on my 4 person team* lost their phones to a swamp; I think one was able to retrieve it while the other gave up.
And I'm sure across the whole unit it's happened a lot more often than that.
If it's not zipped into your pack or a pouch, and not tied to you, it probably won't be there when you come back to base.
I've personally lost a foam egg-carton sleeping pad (which I made the mistake of mounting exterior to my pack, like I did while pleasure backpacking, the first time I went bushwhacking off trail) and a map ruler to the forest.
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@azonenberg oo that’s a good idea. I went with a wrist lanyard (I had one for a camera in a box somewhere and it worked). The first one worked great, got old and wore out. The second one got caught on a door knob and ripped through the dedicated lanyard loop in my case (I got a case specifically with a little loop for a lanyard). I haven’t put a third one on yet but I’ve also managed to avoid bodies of water in the meantime.
@hotsoup I need to be able to put the phone away so I have my hands free to carry someone in a stretcher, swing a machete, push my way through brush, etc. then pull it out any time I need to flag a piece of evidence or check where we are in relation to another team or a new search assignment or something.
Right now I normally keep it either in my front hip pocket (where I carry it off duty) or in the inside of the chest rig (if it's charging off the power bank I keep there).
A lanyard to the pocket is impractical because it'll inhibit charging and not work well when wearing rain pants. So lanyard to the chest pack seems the way to go.
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I've personally lost a foam egg-carton sleeping pad (which I made the mistake of mounting exterior to my pack, like I did while pleasure backpacking, the first time I went bushwhacking off trail) and a map ruler to the forest.
@azonenberg I've lost a sleeping pad to Mount Rainier and there was that adventure with my phone in December where I got my phone back...
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@azonenberg I've lost a sleeping pad to Mount Rainier and there was that adventure with my phone in December where I got my phone back...
@va2lam I haven't lost any gear to Rainier yet but the one summit attempt I made back in 2013 I was mostly using a lot of rental gear from the guide so I wouldn't have had much opportunity to customize anyway.
I want to go back once I'm in a little better shape and the little one is older. Didn't make it to the summit on my first try but it's taunting me every time I go to work or the grocery store, I can see it.
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@va2lam I haven't lost any gear to Rainier yet but the one summit attempt I made back in 2013 I was mostly using a lot of rental gear from the guide so I wouldn't have had much opportunity to customize anyway.
I want to go back once I'm in a little better shape and the little one is older. Didn't make it to the summit on my first try but it's taunting me every time I go to work or the grocery store, I can see it.
@azonenberg I think the first try is tough! I have definitely been to the summit, I think it was the second try, via Emmons.
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@azonenberg I think the first try is tough! I have definitely been to the summit, I think it was the second try, via Emmons.
@va2lam This was the Disappointment Cleaver route with a guided climb with RMI. Went with a former housemate (it was his second time, first got turned back by weather the previous year) and a bunch of strangers.
My lack of altitude training + insufficient cardio fitness got me and around 11K feet I was just exhausted and decided it was better to walk down than be carried down later on. Me, another climber, and one guide turned back and waited at Muir for the rest then hiked out.
It was the right call at the time, but it's unfinished business and I don't like that
