George Ruta wrote: "My handheld sky-blazers are expiring, and i'm considering replacing with the shotgun shell version thinking they may be more waterproof."My experience with a 12-gauge flare pistol has been disappointing. The plastic bag in which I kept the pistol and shells proved to be less than full watertight in the large front pocket of my (not-USCG approved) PFD. The pistol was made entirely of plastic except for the metal firing pin, which corroded badly. The bases of the shot shells and the primer cups were also metallic and also corroded, rendering the shells useless.I suppose that I could have avoided these problems by carefully cleaning all metal parts and applying a coating of anti-corrosion grease after each outing. But skyblazers provide very similar performance to 12-gauge flares in terms of luminosity, altitude and burn time, all in a more compact package. Incidentally, the 25 mm. flare pistol is a completely different story, being capable of propelling a very bright parachute flare to good altitude. But the pistol is too bulky for most kayakers to consider.Mike VandammGreenbelt, Maryland USA ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Join the world^Rs largest e-mail service with MSN Hotmail. Click Here *************************************************************************** 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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