Forget flare guns; this pocket-sized rescue balloon stays aloft for days

By Drew Prindle November 10, 2014

While flare guns are certainly handy in a pinch, they’re not without their shortcomings. You can use them to hail rescuers when you’re stranded on a desert island, and when your pistol runs out of bullets they’re also a great way to take down zombies, beasts, and supervillains. The only problem is that traditional flares don’t burn for very long, meaning you’ve got to wait to deploy them until just the right moment.

Obviously, a rescue device that only increases your visibility for a few minutes isn’t exactly ideal, so to remedy some of the problems faced by traditional flares, the RescueMe Balloon takes a different approach. Rather than relying on combustible chemicals that burn out after a while, the RescueMe system deploys a large helium balloon into the air. The bright orange balloon can stay aloft for up to seven days, and is outfitted with flashing LED lights for extra visibility at night.

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The amazing part is that this whole system fits inside a pocket-sized capsule, so it takes up just as much (if not less) room as normal flare gun would. Inside the capsule you’ll find a canister of pressurized helium, a compressed SOS balloon, a small LED/battery assembly, and a length of lightweight cordage you can use to anchor the balloon to yourself. To deploy the balloon, just open up the capsule and twist the balloon’s base onto the helium canister. This will puncture it and release the gas into the balloon, sending it to the skies.

Pricing and availability details are scarce at this point, but we’ve reached out to RescueMe’s creators, and will update this post with that information when it’s made available.

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Former Digital Trends Contributor

Drew Prindle is an award-winning writer, editor, and storyteller who currently serves as Senior Features Editor for Digital…

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