Yes, I agree, mudders would definitely be best! Maybe even a slightly bigger mudder grip.

As for what SAR crews do with their knives it greatly depends on the type of area and the kind of SAR team. A lot of times SAR teams don't want to carry a bunch of gear because they might be moving through rough terrain and trying to cover a lot of ground. Also, a lot of SAR team members are already carrying a lot of weight in medical type supplies and that type of thing instead of other tools, so a knife that you could "do-it-all" with would be a good thing.

When it comes right down to it though, any ScrapYard SAR type knife would be designed more for the masses and not as a true SAR knife.

And again as discussed in other threads, a coated blade would give no advantage over a satin finished blade except for price.