[crazydave]

I used to have several double sided mirrors in my kit which have slowly got lost over the years so I made some more out of an old mirror someone was throwing away. roughly 2x3" glued back to back and sanded smooth. good for shaving first aid etc..

most plastic mirrors dont last long, neither do stainless unless you keep polishing them.

I used to give the kids those free isp cd's you'ld get everywhere as they were free and effective. if you get some of the credit card sized ones given out as business cards then they will fit in your wallet.

[muddog15]

I use old CD's.

[kevin]

Originally Posted by Roadracer

Hello there Gage!

Make a "C" shape with one hand (finger & thumb with your target in sight. Rock the mirror up & down / side to side so your shining through your finger & thumb.

If your aiming at a plane you can not see aim ahead of the sound. In that case the plane is ahead of where you think it is.

RR.

BTW Gage, There are no Ego's here. No better site out there with nicer people. Ask away with questions!

one thing to remember if you are not using a mirror w/ a sighting hole, you need to hold the mirror as close to your eye as possible, otherwise the angle of the reflection from the mirror to the "c" (or "V") shape in your hands may not match where you are sighting w/ your eye, causing you to miss your target. practice to see what I mean and make sure you can "hit" what your are aming for.

[sean]

Thanks, RR. . . just ordered mine today . . . any further tips on use?

[Pat/Rick]

I use a Silva Ranger compass, mirror is built in. CD's are definently usable. The cases make a substitute windshield ice scraper as well.

[Chris Kavanaugh]

Many people have successfully signalled searchers with all manner of improvised reflectors. You should ask yourself: I may have ONE shot at signalling a C 130 already starting to turn away. Do I want to use the very best possible unit made or a old Milli Vanilli CD?

[snowshoe67]

Milli Vanilli C.d That's Funny.

[AlpineZone]

Originally Posted by Chris Kavanaugh

Many people have successfully signalled searchers with all manner of improvised reflectors. You should ask yourself: I may have ONE shot at signalling a C 130 already starting to turn away. Do I want to use the very best possible unit made or a old Milli Vanilli CD?

Chris, yeah I feel like that with all my equipment. I always carry my starflash signal mirror which is easy to use not to mention tells you how on the back in case your hypothermic an maybe confused and can be seen for up to 100 miles. The extra 5.00 would not even be a thought if you where being hauled up by a rescue chopper if you where in a bad way.

A solid piece of advice for anyone who ventures outdoors into remote locations is NEVER skimp on your equipment.....seriously, it could be the diffrence between daddy or mommy coming home or laying dead in the middle of nowhere.

I'm not saying spend 1k dollars on a knife or 300.00 on a jacket, am saying get gear that is proven to work in the bush successfully that you literally will at the drop of a hat depend your life on. Is that 10 db diffrence between one whistle or another useful, is that 5x fresnal lens better then the 3x for 2.00 diffrence??? Your betting your life on it.

[shadowwodahs]

After reading through this thread, I started looking for the very best signal mirror to purchase. I discovered that glass mirrors are far superior to plastic mirrors, and found this site worth reading; Phony Glass Signal Mirrors. The signal mirror I have decided to purchase is made by Howard Glass. It's always best to purchase the very best equipment you can afford, and I always review all products before I buy.

[doubleganger]

I bought both glass and lexan signal mirrors from countycomm and made the mistake (second mistake actually as the first was ordering the countycomm mirrors) of storing them without trying them. I recently tried them both out and neither the glass or the lexan mirrors has a proper retroreflective grid for easy one hand aiming and as far as I can tell are essentially just mirrors with a decorative circle in the middle. This link is to more signal mirror info: EQUIPPED TO SURVIVE (tm) - SIGNALING GROUP