A new generation of flare has been brought to my attention. I don't recall prior mention on the list. The product(s) can be viewed at: <http://www.greatlandlaser.com/> I've put out some feelers to rescue authorities to see if there's much official info on these products. Anyone know much about this company? Looks like the "flare" might be worthwhile if water resistant enough. It not really a "shoot into the sky" type flare, but might prove a useful augmentation. Doug *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Doug, Please post whatever you are able to find out about these. They look intriguing. After having watched the demonstration of all of the different types of flares in Wayne Horodowich's video on caspsize and recovery. I have had to completely re-think my options of being seen. Although flares are great at night, the visibility of most of them is terrible during the day. During the daylight trials, the only ones that I was able to see were the ones fired from the small 12 guage pistols--and they were still hard to see. Steve Holtzman ----- Original Message ----- From: Doug Lloyd To: PaddleWise_at_paddlewise.net Sent: February 06, 2002 11:31 PM Subject: [Paddlewise] Laser Flares A new generation of flare has been brought to my attention. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
This seems like a great idea (and in a small, kayak-friendly package). The big limitation of traditional flares is that they're only useful for the brief time they're in the air. They're all or nothing in terms of being spotted. This product appeals to me because it can signal presence for a long time; something like an EPIRB, only more localized. The trade off is that it's not omnidirectional like traditional flares. But even with flares, the person to be rescued has to be aware of the location of the rescuer to launch the flare at the right moment, so this doesn't seem like a big tradeoff given the benefit of longevity. I emailed them to ask the exact difference between their "light" and their "flare" products as it's not clear on their web site. -- Al Vazquez KayakGuide.com tm the Place to Share Kayaking & Canoeing tm *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
>I emailed them to ask the exact difference between their "light" and their >"flare" products as it's not clear on their web site. I think I picked out that the main difference is in waterproofness, "weatherized" as opposed to waterproof to 4 feet. -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dave Flory, San Jose, CA. daflory_at_pacbell.net Go Sea Kayaking!! (C)2002 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Speak softly and study Aikido, then you won't need a big stick. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
It looks to me like a glorified flashlight with an extremely bright beam . . . or so claimed. When you see claims of being visible at "10 miles" there are an awful lot of assumptions there namely an absolute blackness in the area and other source of light to confuse the visibility of this "flare." The ACR "C" light, which isn't a bad 360 degree light meant to pin on life jackets, claims 1 or 2 miles (I forget which) but that would be at some Adirondack lake in the dead of winter with no lighted cabins around to form their own distracting pinpricks of light. There is also a claim of "water resistance" whatever that means. I am not knocking it really. Just trying to put it in perspective. It will only be visible in line of sight and whatever limitation there is in that relative to your position. If you are in the water without your boat, the light won't be visible very far and you would have to shine it at the passing vessel or observors on shore. Still it is worth looking into and possibly having as a strong light to direct at someone who might be in a position to offer assistance or come over out of curiosity. ralph diaz-- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Ralph Diaz . . . Folding Kayaker newsletter PO Box 0754, New York, NY 10024 Tel: 212-724-5069; E-mail: rdiaz_at_ix.netcom.com "Where's your sea kayak?"----"It's in the bag." ----------------------------------------------------------------------- *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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