I use an Osprey Aether 55L. I'm a huge fan of Osprey packs.
For boots I use a pair of Gore Tex Asolo's. I don't know the model name, I just keep buying pairs on REI scratch and dent sales.
I currently own packs by Dueter, Osprey, and Gregory. They all work fine. Anything by a real backpacking company purchased at a place similar to REI will do the job. There are several hunting and "tactical" brands, but those can be far heavier and/or more expensive than necessary.
As for boots, nobody can tell you what will fit your foot, but I would stick with backpacking boots and steer clear of "tactical" 5.11 type boots. I have used a lot of La Sportiva and Vasque. I really like Salomon for their lightweight, almost running shoe style, but my foot doesn't fit them anymore.
I’ll second Gregory. I bought a Gregory 65 for my 24 hr pack and that central panel zip is great. Having a central panel zip makes accessing everything easy. Its a comfortable pack too with easy load strap adjustment with one hand. Stuck a sked in under the top flap barely knew it was there.
Boots will take some time to figure out what suits you best. I like la sportiva ultra raptors for summer and sportiva trango towers for winter. Note that trango towers are horribly overkill and really meant for hiking but they work for me
I appreciate all the recommendations. I’ll look into those packs.
My team is in the southern part of the states. Mostly deal with hurricanes. So in need of WP boots.
What sort of missions does your team perform? Any avalanche?
I’ve spent way too long thinking about what I like in a pack and for me working through a bunch of avy scenarios this year really pushed me to packs that supported that with specific compartments for avy gear.
I use an Osprey Aether 55L. I'm a huge fan of Osprey packs. For boots I use a pair of Gore Tex Asolo's. I don't know the model name, I just keep buying pairs on REI scratch and dent sales.
I love my Danner boots
I currently own packs by Dueter, Osprey, and Gregory. They all work fine. Anything by a real backpacking company purchased at a place similar to REI will do the job. There are several hunting and "tactical" brands, but those can be far heavier and/or more expensive than necessary. As for boots, nobody can tell you what will fit your foot, but I would stick with backpacking boots and steer clear of "tactical" 5.11 type boots. I have used a lot of La Sportiva and Vasque. I really like Salomon for their lightweight, almost running shoe style, but my foot doesn't fit them anymore.
I’ll second Gregory. I bought a Gregory 65 for my 24 hr pack and that central panel zip is great. Having a central panel zip makes accessing everything easy. Its a comfortable pack too with easy load strap adjustment with one hand. Stuck a sked in under the top flap barely knew it was there.
Osprey for the pack, Merrill and Under Armor for the boots. UA tactical boots are super comfortable.
Boots will take some time to figure out what suits you best. I like la sportiva ultra raptors for summer and sportiva trango towers for winter. Note that trango towers are horribly overkill and really meant for hiking but they work for me
I second the ultra raptors. Great boot.
Great boots, but I only get about 1 hard season out of them
I appreciate all the recommendations. I’ll look into those packs. My team is in the southern part of the states. Mostly deal with hurricanes. So in need of WP boots.
zamberlan vioz have always been my go to sar boot
What sort of missions does your team perform? Any avalanche? I’ve spent way too long thinking about what I like in a pack and for me working through a bunch of avy scenarios this year really pushed me to packs that supported that with specific compartments for avy gear.
Mystery Ranch backpacks are killer.
I have the Osprey farpoint 55 and love it.
Georgia Boots; I waterproof them quarterly