Signal Mirror Evaluation

[O2BBubbleFree]

I'm a big fan of the military-style survival mirror, but don't really like the idea of packing my glass one on dives. So I've been wanting to get an 'unbreakable' one.

So today I was at a local Sportsman's Warehouse and found one called the 'Rescue Flash', made by Adventure Medical Kits, for $6.50.

At 2" X 3" it's smaller than even my 'small' mil-spec glass mirror. I plan to do some side-by-side comparisons of the two to see just how much better the larger glass mirror is, and I'll try to post my findings here.

Unfortunately, it's overcast and raining right now.

Bonus feature: it has a lanyard hole in one corner. And since one dimension is 2", it should be easy enough to store under a chunk of bicycle tube on my 2" harness.

The sink test results are in: It's negative in fresh water. Good thing it has that lanyard hole.

 

[O2BBubbleFree]

Turns out that the size is exactly the same, except for the thickness, so side-by-side comparisons should mean something. The mil-spec glass one is about twice as thick, though, so much heavier.

It's about 8PM now, so no sun to play with. I used my UK UKE (a 2-AAA light) to do some initial testing, reflecting light on trees in the back yard. For some reason I expect the mil-spec mirror to 'out shine' the lexan one, but so far I can't see a difference in performance. The spot reflected from each mirror looks just as bright, and sighting is identical.

Here's the manufacturers web site listing. $9.00 direct, or like I mentioned before, $6.50 at the sporting goods outlet store.

Oh, one more thing, the mil-spec glass one has the instructions printed on the back with red lettering on a black background. The Lexan one has black on yellow. The black on yellow is much easier to read.

 

[O2BBubbleFree]

OK, I admit, I've spent way too much time on this...

I was able to play around with the mirrors a little more, but not too much.

I think I can safely recommend the Adventure Medical Kits mirror. While it 'may' not work 'quite' as well as the similar-sized glass one (but I'm still not convinced on that), the fact that it is unbreakable definitely outweighs any performance difference.

 

[Dive Right In Scuba]

LOL seems like your into mirrors

Just kidding, this is what i use and sell and it works awesome!!! Great job explaining everything though! Lets hope you never need to use it

http://www.diverightinscuba.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=1711

 

[O2BBubbleFree]

LOL seems like your into mirrors

No telling what I'm going to get 'into.' Drives my wife nuts... Right now, I can't afford a project that costs more than $6.50!

Just kidding, this is what i use and sell and it works awesome!!!

Well, I like the neo case...

Other than that, as I mentioned, I'm a big fan of the mil-spec mirrors, because of the... holographic?... sight in the middle.

and why is one side red? What purpose does that serve?

Lets hope you never need to use it

Yes, lets!

 

[Dive Right In Scuba]

Thats for the night time with a flash light....you can reflect and be seen....at night the waves emmit the same light as just a flashlight would on a normal mirror, and nobody would see it.....this way you will stand out

 

[Charlie99]

Thats <the red side of the mirror> for the night time with a flash light....you can reflect and be seen....at night the waves emmit the same light as just a flashlight would on a normal mirror, and nobody would see it.....this way you will stand out

Have you actually tried this?

If I need to signal at night, I'm not going to mess around trying to shine a flashlight on a mirror and then manipulating the mirror to move the refected spot to a desired place.

The ONLY time I can imagine using the red side as a reflector of a flashlight beam is where there are a lot of other lights in the background behind you and you want a red light.

 

[Dive Right In Scuba]

The red side is for just what you said. Have you ever been on a boat at night? Or looked down from a plane? The reflection from the moon shines off the water....If your reflecting your light off the mirror at night, it will look like every other little wave in the ocean and nobody will see you......If you shine it off the red, it shows a red light, and there is no mistaking a redlight in the ocean.......

So how would you signal at night then??

 

[O2BBubbleFree]

So how would you signal at night then??

Sticking my dive light up inside the bottom end of my SMB makes a 6' yellow glow stick.

And I still want a mirror with the aiming device, but that's just me...

 

[Dive Right In Scuba]

Sticking my dive light up inside the bottom end of my SMB makes a 6' yellow glow stick.

And I still want a mirror with the aiming device, but that's just me...

Never thought about the SMB...great idea......I was curious what charlie was talking about using....I agree though, I really like the aim and distance that a mirror can give