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Here’s the latest on the Skyblazer XLT Flares (the original blog entry can be found by clicking here):
Since our last notification, we have conducted exhaustive testing of the Skyblazer both in terms of measuring the dimensions of the plastic parts as well as live firing. The dimensional testing did [...]

CLICK HERE FOR LATEST UPDATE

It isn’t a recall just yet, but in the meantime, Orion Safety Products has issued a safety notice and has requested that dealers quarentine all Skyblazer XLT aerial flares. To quote from their Safety Notice:
Orion Safety Products, manufacturer of the Skyblazer hand-launched red aerial flare (“Skyblazer”), has received a report indicating [...]

I just received my October issue of Backpacker Magazine, their “Survival” issue. I opened the magazine at random and found myself reading page 43 where it has a brief article, “How To Use A Signal Mirror.” The instructions themselves are not exactly clear, for example finding the “fireball” isn’t so easy unless you [...]

My report on Outdoor Retailer Summer Market 2008 continues (click here for the previous installment):
Leatherman Puts Folders on Diet
Leatherman’s line of folders, introduced in 2005 and expanded in 2006, offered a number of unique features including exchangeable bits in some models, and were generally well received. If there was one common complaint about them it [...]

My report on Outdoor Retailer Summer Market 2008 continues (click here for the previous installment):
Wine to Go…or to Hold
Nobody at Cascade Designs was telling whether the genesis of the idea was to make it easier to take along some wine on the trail while preserving its flavor, or to find a way to preserve leftover [...]

My report on Outdoor Retailer Summer Market 2008 continues (click here for the previous installment):
Spotlight on the Spotlight
The “Spotlight,” distributed in the U.S. by Essential Gear, is a rechargeable LED flashlight with a unique charging mode. It is designed to recharge by slipping into the 12-volt power outlet/cigarette lighter receptacle in your vehicle. The [...]

My report on Outdoor Retailer Summer Market 2008 continues (click here for the previous installment):
A New Saint of Light
Surefire’s long-awaited and much anticipated headlamp has arrived. Surefire showed off prototypes of the new “Saint” model that are very close to the final specification, particularly with regards to the critical elements. Some of the machined parts [...]

Outdoor Retailer Summer Market was held in Salt Lake City this past weekend and it was a pretty good show in most respects. Unfortunately for some exhibitors, OR has outgrown Salt Lake City’s Salt Palace and a bunch of new exhibitors were exiled to the Energy Solutions Arena (the old Delta Center) where the [...]

Ever since the first ETS Foundation 406 MHz GPS Beacon Evaluation revealed significant shortcomings in some of the beacons I have been working to encourage improvement of the standards to which PLBs are approved and manufactured. The first stage involved tightening up the COPSAS-SARSAT standards, T.001 and T.007 that cover all 406 MHz distress beacons. [...]

Two of my favorite survival instructors and authors have new books out, both dealing with the timely subject of disaster preparedness. The two books compliment each other nicely, each focuses on a different element of the preparedness solution.
In “Surviving A Disaster – Evacuation Strategies and Emergency Kits for Staying Alive” Tony Nester (Ancient [...]