THE L2 RIT BAG'S EVOLUTION

After we developed our first RIT bag, the T-1 I continued to work with fire departments and trainers to evaluate how the bag was being used and how well it was performing. I had an "Ah-Ha!" moment when I was attending a RIT training and watched groups of fire fighters practicing low-angle entry and dragging their bags behind them. What I saw was the friction and the potential for snagging when the bags were dragged. I realized that the solution was to design a bag optimized for low angle entry that would over-come these hazards.

The result was the L-1 RIT bag which had two design innovations. The first innovation was the addition of a skid plate on the bottom of the bag which greatly reduced friction; prevented snagging; and significantly reduced wear and tear on the bags. The second innovation was the access-hatch design for storing the spare face piece and quick access to the valve set. The L-1 also incorporated many of the innovations from the T-1 such as the separate pockets for the low and high pressure lines; tools pockets; and the armored nose area to protect the face piece and valve set from damage.

The L-1 was enthusiastically received by fire fighters who appreciated all the innovative features. We were pleased to see the L-1 was appreciated but continued to look for ways to improve the design even more (as we do with all our products). We continued to work with fire fighters and trainers to get their feed back and insights on how the bag was performing. One consistent input was the desire to incorporate a rope bag into the L-1 like we had done on the T-1. The result was the L-2 RIT bag which has a zipper on the side which when opened exposes an expansion gusset that allows the addition of a separate rope bag that can carry up to 200' of search line. A unique feature of the L-2 is that the rope bag can be quickly removed at any time during a search to be used independently.

If you've ever wondered, the L is for LiteSpeed™, the actual name of the bag - but everyone just calls it the L-1 or L-2. If you have experience with these bags and have a suggestion for us, a testimonial you'd like to share or thoughts on a completely different idea altogether, please don't hesitate to drop us a line and let us know.

We are currently working to improve the L2 RIT Bag even more, so keep an eye out for an updated version later this summer.