Not looking for stuff that dose not achieve serious altitudes. Not necessarily looking for cheap, but looking for high quality aerial "survival/signal" flares. Will to stretch the budget for this if necessary.
The "MOTHER" of all Aerial Flares. For civilian use.
- Thread starter Sourdough
- Start date
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Are you looking for high illumination and high loitering time?
https://www.landfallnavigation.com/ikaros-flare-white-parachute.html
There may be less expensive options that have similar performance.
These can get high and have significant drift in the wind, making it hard to pinpoint the origin.
https://www.landfallnavigation.com/ikaros-flare-white-parachute.html
There may be less expensive options that have similar performance.
These can get high and have significant drift in the wind, making it hard to pinpoint the origin.
I guess "both". For some reason, my gut has embraced the lessons from two different groups Alaskan wilderness outings going sideways. The people who were attacked in their tent by a bear, said that having the quick-clot "gauze" in camp was key to mitigating the more serious injuries. So I have ordered that.....a lot of that. My Quick-clot "powder" is way-way past the "best by date".
In the other recent event......she could hear the dogs bark from the search teams, and could hear the helicopters above, but she was in thick forest. So I am looking to replace my "aerial flares". Which I have always known were pretty much junk, low quality, and are decades old.
In that case I would have a flare to get attention and smoke (day) and a strobe light (night) to pinpoint location. Let's see what others recommend as I know there are kits with all three of these. I don't know which would be the best value from those on Amazon.
Thinking about my time playing soldier in the jungle, and the thick and high canopy of your AO, I do think you would need all three items I mentioned above. There is the chance that a flare wouldn't penetrate that canopy if you in the thick of it. We had times were we had to deploy more than one smoke device to catch the pilot's attention to do an extraction.
Can't answer your question, but a few years ago when I was thinking of doing "outback", I was going to get a SPOT.
https://www.findmespot.com/en-us/
https://www.findmespot.com/en-us/
Well........I am very near the end of my lifestyle, so anything I purchase now to replace my current outdated gear, that gear is going the be the last I will ever need to purchase. So might as well buy top quality, and top "quantity this time around".
The type of flare Alaskajohn posted is the best I know of. When I was crossing the Atlantic, the scariest thing I saw was an empty casing from one of those floating by. It was old and sun bleached but someone had needed to use it.
Deploy a flare or other signal when your rescuer is coming at you. If you shoot a flare after a plane is past they are likely to miss it totally and you have wasted one chance at being rescued. Yes a parachute flare may drift but pilots are usually aware of wind direction and speed. If your flare is noticed the search area has just been reduced to a square mile or two rather than hundreds of square miles.
If you are on or near a lake a dye marker might be a good choice. A mirror is excellent as it doesn't wear out or get used up. Strobes are excellent. A Cyalume is a great signal but you need a string with it. You twirl it around your head on the end of a string and now the observer has an 8' circle to notice not just a 3" light. Green is the easiest collar for a human eye to see.
P.S. Think of your signals as a kit rather than just one item. A first aid kit doesn't just hold one bandaid.
Deploy a flare or other signal when your rescuer is coming at you. If you shoot a flare after a plane is past they are likely to miss it totally and you have wasted one chance at being rescued. Yes a parachute flare may drift but pilots are usually aware of wind direction and speed. If your flare is noticed the search area has just been reduced to a square mile or two rather than hundreds of square miles.
If you are on or near a lake a dye marker might be a good choice. A mirror is excellent as it doesn't wear out or get used up. Strobes are excellent. A Cyalume is a great signal but you need a string with it. You twirl it around your head on the end of a string and now the observer has an 8' circle to notice not just a 3" light. Green is the easiest collar for a human eye to see.
P.S. Think of your signals as a kit rather than just one item. A first aid kit doesn't just hold one bandaid.
Never had to use one. But form what studies I have done a light stick on a string twirled over head or a strobe flashing would attracth the most attention at night. Day time smoke seems to be the best. YMMV
