One for rafowell: great report on using a small, dogtag-sized signal mirror for rescue after a 4 day layup.

http://boloreport.com/sessc-survival-after-a-firefight-south-of-the-border

Thanks, Glock-A-Roo!

That particular dogtag mirror seems a bit small (<2 inch^2 of stainless steel) and heavy (1.4 oz) for my taste, and I'd like to see a better aimer on it, but if the stainless steel is flat and clean, 10 mile naked-eye visibility under good conditions seems right for a 2 sq inch stainless steel mirror.

I do like the idea of the integral protective cover for the mirror, and the small size is a help.

There's an advertising page for the mirror here with a 7+ minute video and lots of photos.

http://www.deathvalleygear.com/2010/11/sar-dog-tag-eclipse-signal-system/

I'll order one for some testing. Has anyone else tried that mirror?

Interesting report, and instant nostalgia for me. I and some companions did a really fine climb of the high point of the range (Pichacho del Diablo) back in the 60s. We experienced the closest I have ever come to true wilderness - no trails, no maps, and utter solitude on a trip that went from a dry lake bed near sea level to the 10,000 foot summit. What a contrast to the conditions in Mexico today!

But then,as now, ideal conditions for signal mirror use...

Agreed. That's why I think the TOPS dog tag mirror is actually a better choice for a mirror of this genre.

- It has a decent aiming hole, and you can stick whatever reflective material you want on the back side. I bought some SOLAS tape online and did just that. IMO, the SAR mirror is wasting valuable space on the SOLAS side. Why put a small circle of SOLAS there instead of covering the entire area (less the aiming hole)? The weight & bulk difference is not measurable, and on such a small unit every square millimeter of reflectivity matters.

- The clip on the SAR mirror adds weight and bulk without utility. I would never carry my mirror just by clipping it to some gear, that is asking to lose it in a hurry.

I have never heard of this web site before, so I don't know what its editorial practices are.

However, as I read the story, it seemed fake to me. Its supposed to be a first hand account from a Mexican cop of some sort. Yet it is written in colloquial American English. Do you really think a mexican cop would tell his story in American English?

It even has common mistakes that you see Americans make pretty regularly like transposing the 'r' and 'o' in "from" to get "form".

Yeah, I bet you're right. There's no way a Mexican person could have lived and been educated in America and picked up our way of using English, even if that person did spell marijuana "marihuana" like they do in Spanish. I mean, if that kind of thing really happened, we'd have a huge immigration issue on our hands resulting in complicated policy questions and a lot of cultural cross-pollination.

Oh, wait...

ILBob,May I call you Ill Bob on this one? Where is a Mexican Cop gonna' derive his English from anyhow?Great Britain isn't just around the corner,America is though!

I know many folks with strong cultural and linguistic ties to Mexico who are perfectly comfortable and fluent in colloquial English. One probably encounters people like this more often in southern California and Arizona than in Illinois.

I have spent a fair amount of time in mexico in close proximity to mexicans who speak very good English. they just do not talk this way. even the mexicans I know who have been in the US for many years speak in a different way than americans do.

It was just an observation though. It might be perfectly legit.

I forgot to mention another design difference that I think makes the TOPS dogtag mirror better than the SAR.

The TOPS is chrome plated which yields a flat, smooth, very reflective finish. The SAR is highly polished stainless steel which I don't think is as uniformly reflective. Again, with these little mirrors every square millimeter counts.