Hey guys,<br> I'm just wondering if any of you have those penflare kits in your medium / large survival kits for signalling just like John Wiseman describes in his book. I remember Bagheera posting a picture of his kit many moons ago and that contained a penflare kit.<br> Just wondering how practical and effective such a kit is.....<br>Any comments guys ?<br><br><br>

Trusbx,<br><br>I used to carry pen flares - even required the kids to carry them. If I were boating on a large body of water I'd probably toss them back in again, but I haven't carried them on land for the last few years. I don't feel they're worth the space on many trips in the lower 48. I used this exact pen flare extensively for various signaling tasks in my career and they work fine - not even close to the same class as the large military pyrotechnics for signaling, but they get the job done IF someone is looking for it.<br><br>In several years of carrying them "recreationally", I used exactly one - and not for signaling. Popped a white one once for brief area illumination - an ugly bear situation; long story - it did what I needed done. (No, I did not shoot that bear.)<br><br>These days, they just don't seem very important to me. But no harm done to carry them. If you have the mil-spec ones, I'd leave them in the original package until needed.<br><br>Regards,<br><br>Tom

In the Coast Guard we carried penflares in our personal gear. This was before the dedicated rescue swimmer program, so there was a lot of improvising. I found them usefull to reconnect with my boat when we had multiple swimmers in the water.Remember, the projectiles and illumination stream are small . I always tried to signal riding the top of a swell and catch the wind, something of an art. My greatest success was manning the lookout tower overlooking the bar in Oregon. A small boat lost power and was drifting into the rocks. Our own MLB was within 100' surrounded by several other boats. To put it bluntly, they were skylarking the girls in the opposite direction. My handheld radio decided to die at that moment ( nobody charged the batteries) The telephone to base got a busy signal ( the cook was ordering supplies on the emergency line) I'm on the catwalk yelling my head off and waving a storm pennant. I finally reached for my flare pistol and put one ( pure luck) past the coxswain's ear. They immediately assisted the disabled boat.

My question is WHERE do you get them? I was given some a couple of years ago, and stupidly used them as fireworks when I was a little "tipsy" while on a camp/float trip. Ha. They seem like they would be easy to pack as well as compact. Anyway...a source would be great. Thanks.<br><br>John McIntire

http://www.orionsignals.com/<br><br>Since Orion bought Skyblazer your choices are limited. They market a PWC mini flare gun. Check west marine for online retail.<br><br>Not to sound like a safety-wuss but lighting arial flares can get you into a bit of trouble, not to mention anger would-be rescuers. I can see the look on their faces now. Good luck!

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