I take my survival gear very serious. When I product meets our demands, we let you know. When it fails….you get that side as well.
I have been a long time fan of ACR, and I am surprised that the Firefly strobe failed….epically failed.
The device is designed to be a beacon signal should you get in trouble when out doing any number of activites such as boating, skiing, hunting, hiking, etc. It includes a lanyard ideal for securing to your gear. It has an O-ring designed to keep it water-proof and the beacon is omni-directional to improve the odds it is seen by rescuers for a rated distance of two miles. It also tested true to the ability to float. It uses easy to find AA batteries, which is what most of my lights, GPS, FSR, and other electronics use. Easy to find anywhere or I can simply scavenge from another device.
Where the Firefly Plus has failed is in construction of the battery compartment. When any of my electronic gear is not in use, I store it with out the batteries (although I do velcro a fresh set to the device so I don’t forget them). This morning as I opened up the strobe to place a couple of AA’s in the battery tray, one of the springs popped out. Thisnunit is less than a year old. (4 May 2012).
After several attempts to fix it, I have determined that it is not repairable. So here is the issue: Imagine I was depending on this unit to signal a rescue craft it would have failed me. If I had been using the strobe to attract attention, and needed to change batteries, it would have failed me. If this was in my kid’s survival pack (and there is) and she needed it if she was lost….you get the point.
Like my Spot GPS and other devices, I have carried my strobe with me in the Jeep on overlanding trips, in the kayak on river expeditions and island hopping trips, in my back country aviation trips, even carry-on luggage when flying commercial aircraft (especially third-world trips).
Again, I think ACR makes great products and still have many in my bag. Unfortunatly, until this one is rectified, this one will not be in our survival kits, nor will we present it at our seminars. At present time we do not recommend. I have attempted, but not been in contact with ACR on the issue and the retailer has recommended I contact ACR since I could not find my receipt.
Adventure IQ 