Here's another survival balloon / distress balloon / rescue balloon / emergency signaling balloon from Britain that has been around for decades.

Allsopp Helikites cites using their "Jungle Marker Helikite" in
1993 , and getting approval from the British Army Jungle Warfare Trails Unit in Brunei in 2002.

The price point ( over 98 British pounds) and weight (2 kg) are more than the $45 US Rescue Me Balloon target price, and there is no integral light (though suspending one is suggested).

On the plus side, it seems available now, looks larger than the Rescue Me Balloon (see photos on the Jungle Marker Helikite page), and is designed to handle (and even benefit from) winds up to 25 mph.

The Jungle Marker Helikite Product Page has lots of photos, including the 2002 Brunei trials.

There's a photo of two Jungle Marker Helikites aloft in Brunei in 2005 at the bottom of this page: http://www.allsopp.co.uk/index.php?mod=page&id_pag=56

That page says: "A special high specification version of the Lightweight Helikite is in a tough, waterproof, bouyant 2kg package with its own helium supply called the "Jungle Marker Helikite". The balloon has a flourescent [sic] orange upper surface for high daylight visibility and can carry a strobe light or light-stick for night use."

The specs for the generic Lightweight Helikite are here: Helikites product spec page: 0.15 cu meters of He, 0.001" thick envelope, 60 grams lift in no wind, 106 grams lift in 15 mph wind, 25 mph wind max, 1300 ft max altitude unloaded, 3 ft x 2 ft, cost: 98 pounds Sterling + tax (may be more for the customized Jungle Marker Helikite).

The Helikites main page says: "Special Forces troops can take a Jungle Marker Helikite from their back pocket, inflate it with 0.4m3 of helium in seconds and then fly it hundreds of feet above the jungle canopy for emergency position location."

Helikites seem to be mainly used for (a lot of) other aerostat purposes, and have been around for a long time - the basic US patent: US patent on Helikite was filed in the US in 1994 (20 years ago) and cites a priority date of 1993 (likely the UK filing date). Due to transitional US patent rules, I suspect that the US helikite patent is good through 2017, but IANAL - if it matters to you, get legal advice.

The Allsopp Helikite Wikipedia entry dates back to 2006!