Bright and Sparkly, Non-approved Handheld Flares

Orion White Handheld Signal
Pains Wessex White Collision Hand Flare MK8

White handhelds are primarily used by the recreational boater to meet the requirements of offshore regattas, for practice (it’s legal to practice with a white flare, but not a red flare) and to signal a warning of imminent danger. Both models use the same design as their SOLAS red handheld counterparts. We did find that the color variation between the products interesting with the Orion more yellow in appearance then the Pains Wessex model. Both models produced a considerable amount of smoke. With our test on a calm day the smoke did affect the visibility of the flare from shore, though it was easier to tell that a flare had been lit. Neither of these models are SOLAS or USCG approved.

5/4/2006 Pains Wessex Announces Total Recall of Pains Wessex White Collision Warning (MK7)
Our test used the MK8 model and NOT the MK7. Be sure to review your assortment of flares to ensure the MK 7 is not one of them and follow the recall directions.

Pains Wessex Day/Night Signal
Hand and Smoke Combination Flare

The Day/Night Signal is a combination smoke and hand flare that emits smoke from one end, and a red flare from the other. It is neither USCG nor SOLAS approved which means it does not meet carriage requirements. This interesting product is compact, and it tries to provide the best of both worlds. But with durations of 30 seconds (smoke) and 21 second (hand held) on average, it would probably be best used on a small boat on an inland waterway where rescue is clearly in sight. The compact size and versatility leads us to think it has a place for use by military, aviation and outdoor enthusiasts.

The white handhelds created a lot of sparks.

At night the white flares were bright, but observers affirmed that they didn't seem very "emergency" looking.