Another use towards Survival which immeadiately comes to mind, -is it's use for getting a GPS, Radio Transmitter / Receiver, Small Observation Camera, Signaling Device, etc, -up above Trees, Hillsides, etc, -to a working Height.

Also, -larger ones for Escaping, Clearing Heights, Obstacles, etc. (As exemplified in some Famous Escapes over the Berlin Wall and Iron Curtain.). Might be as good way to Clear a Glacial Crevice too!

Along the above lines, -I once heard something about some kind of personal "Jumping Balloons"! If anyone knows anything on them, -I Sure would like to so Know too!

I've also mulled over the Possibilities for using Balloons for (seeming) "Weight Reduction" in Gear.

Problems here are that, if even Feasable, -it can be Great for some Terrains, -but not for others. For instance, -a Flat, Treeless Plain, vs Maneauvering thru the Trees and Brush of a typical Forest or Woods. And the Size of the Balloon for "Gear Weight Reduction" purposes, -would have to be not so great in Volume, -as to inhibit such Maneauverability.

To be Clear: -By "Seeming Weight Reduction", -I mean that X amount of a Balloon's Lift, -would cancel out X amount of Gear Weight. Making for certainly a Lighter Hiking Experience!

Together with the Many Uses that you have come up with, -Balloons toward Survival and Outdoors Purposes, -I think is not So Puff Up an Idea after all! [color:"black"] [/color] [email]riedmur[/email]