Our dept has received a FEMA grant for total SCBA inventory replacement, about 40 packs, 80 bottles and 2 RIT packs.

We have a mixture of Scott 2.2s and 4.5s with 45 minute carbon fiber bottles currently. For whatever reason the chief's office has decided that maybe we should switch to MSA.

I have used nothing but Scott at both of my departments and fire school for over a decade now. I'll be attending a training this month on MSA packs including a live burn in order to gain firsthand experience and offer my input to the chiefs.

I'm curious to know what, if anything you guys think is worth knowing about MSA brand SCBAs vs Scott brand.

There is a reason Scott  is No. 1   in S.C.B.A.  sales....     and it's not because they are the least expensive

Stay with Scott.  I've used MSA from the 2200 yellow bottles and belt regulator up to the new mask mounted regulator.  Never liked any of the MSAs.

we have scott for suppression and msa for hazmat(bought with Mabas money) had to be msa.  I prefer the scott

Been using MSA for over 25 years, 3 versions, wish it had been Scott.

MSA will sell you an SCBA then come out with some sort "improvement" that they say is needed for safety or some such, Of course you will pay for that, MSA will not give it to you and it will not rise to a level of a recall. Just an improvement. If your department does not do it, and someone is injured or killed MSA will be pointing the finger at the department.

MSA will stop supporting older models much sooner than Scott. I am sure you can go buy Scott parts for a 15-20 year old SCBA. Not going to happen with MSA.

I've used both the Scott nexgen and the msa firehawk 2. I like the Scott better in every way but the firehawk you can place the regulator on the mask and not pop on air. Very small thing, but it was nice. I also liked being able to shake the console to stop the pass from activating but I think the duck waddle is probably the safer place for the pass motion to be detected.

I used MSA for 6 years until recently when I moved and joined a new department that uses SCOTT.  I haven't had a ton of use with the SCOTT and i certainly don't mind it, but I really liked and miss the MSA packs

my department in currently making the switch to MSA from scott. My only experience with the MSA G1 is around the station getting to know it, and so far I REALLY LIKE them.
much more advanced than our scotts and more comfortable. Also a 15 year warranty covering EVERYTHING. seems to be a solid pack and I look forward to using them in fires.
also they make adaptor for any filters you want. that way you don't have to wear your pack during overhaul. Also works with any brand RIT packs and makes adaptors for fill stations and such.

Ive used both. MSA packs seem lighter but I hated their masks. They seem very bottom heavy and the two style regulator interfaces I used sucked. Regulator was easier to inadvertently knock off the mask which happened to me several times and the heads up display never worked. I did like the chest strap. Also look into the air usage for the vib alert. I believe MSA uses air to run their dinger bell which is retarded if you are running low on it.

I like MSA packs and Scott mask. We were some of the first to get the 5.5 bottles with Scotts at my pt dept. FT dept we use MSA. I didn't like feeling like I was a test bed with the 5.5 Scotts. I would be ok with either one.

The 5.5's are kind of meh; I'd rather have the durable 2.2's with basic gauge...

Got a factory tour of MSA in PA then did some "training" with class A fires in a burn building nearby using the MSA G1.

Only complaint I have is they are kind of odd to hook the regulator to your mask vs the Scott I'm used to, but I'm sure that would go away quickly if you started using them.

I really liked the light weight, low bottle height, buddy lights and integrated voice amp.

The QD bottles I could take or leave and the chest strap seems unnecessary but not really in the way either.

The new MSA masks with a head net and 4 straps are basically the same as Scott so no issue there.

I thought they were very comfortable overall. Our 5.5s feel like the harness was an afterthought almost compared to these.