There's been discussion about the difficulty of loading flare guns in lumpy water, an excellent argument for using only self-contained flares I would think. One of the Paddlewisers mentioned that they seal their flares with one of those kitchen vacuum bag sealers. Although many flares do have "O" rings in their cases and are supposed to be water/weatherproof, I think the makers have regular yachts in mind, and not the degree of continuous exposure that happens in a kayak. So I think some additional protection is a good idea, but I'd worry that cold, fear-shaken fingers might have real problems tearing open the vacuum bag or wielding a knife to cut the bag. My solution is to knot each flare into an individual condom. It provides sort of a mini-drybag, and does not increase the bulk, so three flares still fit in my PFD pocket. I think in an emergency I'd be able to overcome any deep-seated psychological "issues" and simply bite the top off the condom to use the flare (kindly keep your parlour-psychology and/or adolescent observations on this to yourselves, thank you ÷). The downside of this system is that condoms are not very durable (I guess in their intended application most are disposed of within hours, if not minutes, of being unpacked). They become brown and brittle within a few weeks and must be replaced. I'd recommend not using the pre-lubed kind - the flare could slip from your grasp just when you want it most. And there seems to be no point paying the extra for the ribbed type in this application. Maybe the flavoured kind would make biting the top off more palatable, plus they could double as your emergency food … Cheers, Philip T. "The opinions expressed in this posting are not necessarily those of my employer, or indeed, of any sentient being." **************************************** Mountain Equipment Co-op 1655 West 3rd Avenue, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6J 1K1 Tel: 640-732-1989 Fax: 604-731-6483 email: pid_at_mec.ca Visit our website at: http://www.mec.ca ***************************************** *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************Received on Fri Dec 18 1998 - 09:24:18 PST
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