Cascade Rescue, I wanted to send you guys a quick email about the 5 new carbon fiber rescue litters, Terra Tamer wheels and the titanium handle systems we have gotten from you in the last year. When we got the first ones in we assembled them in our office on a conference table and were not very optimistic about their strength and durability because of how light weight they seemed. We attached the handles and had the same concern about them and noticed there is just a bit of flexing when the handles are extended and the litter has a load. We did a little testing of our own ( the fattest guy in the office….me…standing on the litter and bouncing around) and they seemed to hold up just fine. Since getting the litters we have used them on actual rescues and recoveries and have had great results. Our people have commented on how much lighter and easier to carry they are, we can throw the handles for more than one litter in a pack easily now. We have used them for vertical lowers and they have performed great! I watched on one rescue as the man we had just wheeled down on one of the litters in a rain storm sat on the bottom half of the litter as it rested, angled on its wheel and extended handles. This guy was over 300 lbs. and I watched nervously as he sat there for a bit and then pushed himself to his feet using the litter as support, we had a crowd and I was worried we might have a failure of some sort…the litter and handles flexed a bit as he pushed off of them. The litter performed as it should have with do damage or bends to the structure. I am fairly new to Search and Rescue, but my team has been around a long time, some members have been on the team around 40 years. As I have worried and watched these new litters I have been re-assured many times by team members that Cascade Rescue does not make “crappy stuff”. I am impressed with how you have added newer high tech options to your line of products, cut weight and not sacrificed quality or strength in doing so. You guys have been great to order from and work with and I look forward to doing business with you in the future!

we recieved the handles last Tuesday which was great as I had a large training exercise organised on the Wednesday so could get some testing done before the weekend. First impression were that this is definitely a much better system than we are currently using and this was confirmed as soon as we got it on the hill. There were a few who pointed out things like the splines could potentially be damaged if the rubber caps were lost particulary over the terrain we cover and the fact we now have four additional pieces of kit (the handles) to carry but this was easily overcome as we simply put them on backwards when not in use or carrying the stretcher in to a scene. (See pic) this makes sure that the splines are always protected and the handles always come with the stretcher. The other noticable difference is that the handles were much longer than the current ones we use which can allow more people to carry the stretcher or we can space people out more making it more comfortable for everybody. Overall opinion at the debrief was that these are excellent and will be used on our stretcher in our first response vehicle with immediate effect and that we order a second set immediately.

Teton County SAR is totally hooked on our new wheeled litter and handles. It's hard to imagine ever going back to the old system. Wouldn't be surprised if we buy another set someday.