Posted: 11/9/2024 2:07:15 PM EDT
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My 21yo is graduating next month from fire college. Can’t tell you how proud of him I am, he has worked hard to get to the place he’s at. He was fully sponsored and has a job waiting on him. He’s already finished medic school as well. I’d like to get him a graduation gift. Purchased a spyderco rescue knife for him already I’m also thinking of a flashlight. Do you guys carry a flashlight in your pocket on duty? If so what do you recommend? Or anything else I can get that will be good for him to use on the job? Thank you! |
Mike
Veteran of the Third Battle of Tannhauser Gate.
Joined:
Dec 2005
Posts:
82446
EE: 100% (6)
ID, USA
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Leatherman Raptor multitool for medics, nurses, etc. I have no experience with them but on other "gifts for nurses, etc" threads it gets good reviews. Congratulations on your son's accomplishments! He's a man to be proud of! |
"The Creator may be seen in all the works of his hands, but none so clearly in the wise economy of the honey bee."
William Gibson: "The future's here. It's just not evenly distributed."
William Gibson: "The future's here. It's just not evenly distributed."
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Small flashlight is a valuable tool. I’ve been on tons of runs where my pen light was used by fire or ems. Good high quality shears are also nice to have. Our guys have folding ones you can cut through pennies with I can get the brand if you’d like ETA: Congratulations |
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Originally Posted By Gunnie357: Small flashlight is a valuable tool. I’ve been on tons of runs where my pen light was used by fire or ems. Good high quality shears are also nice to have. Our guys have folding ones you can cut through pennies with I can get the brand if you’d like ETA: Congratulations I worked as an EMT for years (sometimes with a FD, sometimes not). I usually had 2 lights, a penlight and a SF (20 years ago, now more options) Surefire was good for lighting up a scene or house, but pretty bad for checking pupils (unless checking for brain death). Conversely, a penlight sucks when it's 2am, raining, and you're in the middle of the road. |
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Attached File Thank you for the fast help. Here’s a pic of him on the nozzle! That shear idea is great, I’ll pass that on to a relative that is also getting him something. I’ll start looking around for some good pen lights and a brighter pocket clip light. |
Mike
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Originally Posted By FrankSymptoms: Leatherman Raptor multitool for medics, nurses, etc. I have no experience with them but on other "gifts for nurses, etc" threads it gets good reviews. Congratulations on your son's accomplishments! He's a man to be proud of! FPNI Looks like you can get them personalized, which might help keep them from walking off. Of course a comfy pillow or personalized XBox controller might get the most use… |
-"The truth does not require your belief in it to function."
-Genuine science is about gathering evidence and testing the veracity of theories, not cheerleading for a particular ideology.
-Genuine science is about gathering evidence and testing the veracity of theories, not cheerleading for a particular ideology.
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Thank you! I ended up getting him a Fenix. |
Mike
| I don't know what is "popular" in FL, but I think custom leather goods make good gifts. Things like a radio strap, truck belt, gear locker tag, glove strap, etc. make good gifts and can range from $30 to $200. Small tool bag with wire cutters or dykes, small adjustable wrench, combi screw driver, webbing, friction tape, and some sprinkler stops and door chock is a good gift too and he can decide what he likes to carry. |
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My strap from Salty Maul is 6 years old and going strong. I use it almost every shift (don't generally use one on the ambulance). I also have a trouser belt and glove strap from the same company and they have held up amazingly well. Usually belts get deformed and "dented" in the back with sweat and water, but mine is about 5 years old and great. Just a good, solid, thick leather belt. My girls bought me a "surprise" axe belt from Get Hosed Apparel for this Christmas and I am looking forward to getting that! |
| Make sure his flashlight is NFPA compliant or at least a good quality dive light. In theory everything is supposed to be blast proof, no open spark in case you end up in an explosive environment. I'm kind of old school but I don't believe a rookie should carry anything that isn't provided or specifically approved by his agency. |
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Originally Posted By kersty52: Nice radio strap. I still need to order one for myself…lol This is probably a good idea, I can’t see a culture in a dept where this would be cringey or looked down upon. Like some dudes show up with their own axes, halligans or hooks. To me(not everyone) that’s cringe worthy. If they’re like the majority of depts using Motorola radios with the tethered hand mics, a custom leather radio strap would last a long time, be used daily, and be harder to lose than a pocket light, etc. Just check and make sure they’re aren’t any policy limitations (black vs brown leather, etc) for his particular department so he’s not breaching anything. EDIT: Holy resurrection! I stumbled over here from GD and didn’t check the date. |
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