Originally Posted By: ireckon
No affiliation, I have a Vector 1 Mirror (second mirror down on that page).

Since weight is a concern here, that mirror only weighs 1 oz., and is real glass wrapped in a permanent acrylic case. The other glass mirror on that page, same size, weighs 2 oz. There's also a "featherweight" mirror on that page that weighs 1/3 oz., but I have not handled it.

Maybe rafowell or somebody else can speak about the performance of that Vector 1 versus other mirrors. I'd like to know myself.
Well, it was sunny today, so I did some testing.

My results: the AMK Rescue Flash is brighter, lighter and thinner than the "glass in acrylic" mirror - the one advantage of the "glass in acrylic" mirror is that it floats, unlike the Rescue Flash.

I tested:
  • Four Coghlan's 2"x3" glass in acrylic "Sight Grid" mirrors (1.125 oz (32 gm) in provided envelope)
  • A Vector 1 2"x3" laminated glass signal mirror (1.875 oz (53 gm) in closed-cell foam case)
  • An American Medical Kits 2"x3" Lexan "Rescue Flash" mirror (0.75 oz (21 gm) in protective envelope)
Let's define some terms, first. Vector 1 is a wholesaler that makes:
  • retroreflective mesh for signal mirror aimers,
  • laminated glass signal mirrors ( 2"x3", 3"x5", 4"x5"),
  • acrylic-encased glass signal mirrors (2"x3"), as well as non-signal-mirror items.

Vector 1 supplies Coghlan's with these 2"x3" mirrors branded for Coghlan's:
Both types Coghlan's sells are available direct from Vector 1, and the link you provide is to a retailer of the Vector 1 version of the Sight-Grid mirror. Since the first four sight-grid mirrors I found were the Coghlan's branded ones, I tested them - they should be equivalent to yours. ( I do have some of the Vector 1 branded ones around here somewhere ...)

The thinking behind the Sight-Grid mirror is to provide a buoyant, lightweight mirror via the acrylic case and closed-cell foam, while retaining the reflectivity of the glass. (Interesting historical note: this type of encased signal mirror was invented by Ehrsam , who also invented the "Woodsman's Pal", which was issued during the Vietnam War as "Survival Tool, Type IV".)

My understanding is that Vector 1 retroreflective mesh is used in all Vector 1, Coghlan's and American Medical Kits mirrors that use retroreflective mesh. (Rescue Reflectors makes their own mesh, and the S.I. Howard MIL-M-18371E mirrors use legacy 3M fiberglass mesh). So, as far as the mesh itself goes, there should be no direct difference between the types I tested today.

One unique feature of the Sight-Grid mirrors is that the sighting mesh lacks the clear central sighting hole punched in the mesh used in other mirrors. While the continuous mesh might avoid some difficulties occasioned because the "fireball" can only be seen in (or right next to) the mesh it comes at the cost of additional obscuration of the target during acquisition.

While the Sight-Grid mirrors I tested had nice tight beams, the four I tested didn't seem as bright as the single AMK Rescue Flash mirror I compared them to, and definitely not as bright as the Vector 1 2"x3" laminated glass mirror. Here's the pix (note that the left and right side are different exposures - compare top to bottom, not left to right:

One of the four Sight-Grid mirrors had a beam a bit wider than the others (looked as though the acrylic case was slightly non-parallel with the glass mirror), but that was not the one chosen for the photos above.

While I didn't provide a direct "side to side" above, the laminated glass mirror was brighter than the Rescue Flash mirror.
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A signal mirror should backup a radio distress signal, like a 406 MHz PLB (ACR PLB) (Ocean Signal PLB)