[Paddlewise] Laser flares; strobes; most bang-for-the-buck

As long as we're on the subject of flares, there was some discussion a while
back regarding laser flares.  The literature claims they can be seen up to
20 miles away and can last up to 72 hours on a set of batteries.  _If_ these
perform as well as advertised, it almost seems like they could make other
flares nearly obsolete (but on the other hand, what ever works as well as
advertised...).  Does anyone on the list have experience with these who
would care to comment on the efficacy of the laser flares vs other types?
They seem to cost around US$100, but if they work well that could be a
bargain.

Secondly, strobes usually get high marks for attracting attention.  The
problem I have is that I've only seen two types:  The first is the fat red
one (I'm not even sure of the brand, except is says "Emergency Strobe" on it
and is made in China) that accepts one large D-cell battery, where the flash
(when it works) is quite bright, but the quality control seems to be lacking
and they can, or perhaps more accurately, _usually_ just stop working all of
a sudden.  The second type is the skinny type that takes a single AA cell
battery.  Mine is made by Princeton Tec and the quality control seems much
better, but the flash is much less bright.  Does anyone have a
recommendation for a nice bright _dependable_ stobe?

Lastly, would anyone care to rate the various devices in terms of their
ability to get attention from a distance?  Like let's say you've got a
limited budget and just want to get the most bang for the buck, given that
sometimes the attention to want to get could be overhead (like from a
helicopter) and sometimes from a boat at a distance or in the fog or at
night, etc.  Obviously the most effective device will depend on the
circumstances, but given that you can't always know the circumstances in
advance, you've just got to make your best guess.  So, we've got:

Pencil, 12 guage and parachute flares;
Laser flares
Smoke bombs
Dye marker
Strobe lights
Mirror reflector
Reflective tape
Reflective streamers (<-- I forget what these are really called)
VHF radio
Cell phone
EPIRB
and probably others I've missed.

Whaddya think?  From my perspective, I lean towards including all the cheap
stuff (smoke, dye, mirror, tape, streamers), plus the strobe and vhf and
MAYBE the laser flare.  I've generally carried handheld flares, but I'm
starting to think these are less effective than some of the other options.

Evan Dallas
Woodinville Washington
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