plant bike superflash

Seconded.

I have had pretty good luck with Adventure Lights Guardian LED.

They are small, light and relatively inexpensive. The only draw back is they use coin style batteries, although a spare pair of batteries takes up very little space.

I have used these to both mark people and control points with good success. For their size, they are extremely bright. I haven't actually conducted a controlled test with these, but the green and white strobes have both been bright enough to watch students walking along a trail over a mile away.

Another more robust option that I have recently been using is the S&S Precision V-Lite. It isn't as versatile as the Guardian, but I like it better for attaching to a helmet or pack. Below is a picture of V-Lite on my helmet at the Monument Fire earlier this year.

That is a very good plan.

Teacher,i would say yes to your question,but at the same time as i had the flasher going i would blasting on the whistle and waving something around so it was not mistaken for just another light of some sort.bike lights have come a long way in the last few years,i was driving home the other night on a road thru a park that had a bike path next to it and the flashing and reflecting tape was just about blinding.

One thing they told us when we deployed is to put your light on the end of a rope and swing it above your head. Picture that scene in Crocodile Dundee where Mich is making that "aborigine phone call."

Anyway, the buzzsaw apparently gets seen better, since the very large circle of light gets better attention than a tiny stationary pinpoint of light.

MDinana,

Works great if they are looking for you from the air. From the ground you need to rotate it in a vertical circle. How well they work depends a lot on the terrain. It also does not work at all if no one is looking for you. Many times, unless there is evidence that lights are available, search will begin at dawn. The recommendation that you put the light on your trip plan is critical.

In Viet Nam the military began to use strobes on land (they always worked well on the water - long lines of sight). I have carried one ever since. In the triple canopy they do not work well from the air unless you think and move to an open spot. There they work quite well. You don't (I hope) have to worry that the white ones look like gunshots!

You need to place yourself where it can be seen from a distance, especially if you are hoping for chance rescue (someone not searching sees it). In this case it will work well if you are away from other lights.

The marine type strobe is better than a military one or a strobing flashlight because it puts the light out in a hemisphere. In normal use you want someone to see you from any direction. If you are lost, you may not know which direction the help might come from.

The laser "flare" is also a great tool for this use. I think that it is even easier to see and recognize as an emergency signal.

Respectfully,

Jerry

I think another advantage of a blinking light is that it is passive; it allows for some form of signalling to occur even if you are trying to rest or get some sleep overnight. While the likelihood of searchers is lower at this time, I can't imagine it would hurt to have a blinker running all night just in case.

This may vary with the organization and the region, as well as weather, but we routinely searched at night, especially in the initial phases. I am sure I have spent at least as many hours searching in the dark and during the day. While I think a good fire is probably one of the best signals you can fabricate, there are often situations where fire is a hazard, something that is not true of a good strobe. Something like the ACR 4F is a really good unit.

The good part is that many high output LED lights/headlamps come with a strobe mode. I have no doubt a 200+ lumen strobe would get someone's attention.