Yeah, I was gonna bring that up…
“Hey, whut’s that, an SOS signal?”
“Naw, it’s only a SO signal, let’s go eat…”
Am a member or UK SAR/MRT and nope SOS mode has never in 27 years helped save anyone that I have been tasked with finding/helping!!!..… Have asked on occassions a member of the party we are searching for to flash a light but thats it and in most cases it was a headlamp they used which rarely have sos mode…. The Beacon mode on some flashlights and headlamps has been the most useful flashing mode… due to how it works even used it myself by attaching it to my tent when I have gone for a wonder just incase I could find my way back to it… Like some here I find these modes annoying and a waste of a UI.
The only SOS I like....
SOS and strobe have saved me from buying certain lights in the past so I guess it has been useful in some way .
I do like a nicely hidden alpine beacon .
yep the most missed function for me the beacon… actaully draws me too them….Hate a flash light that drops a good lumen mode for a frigging sos mode….
not sure maybe these guys would know ?
Whut’s that, 3 blinks and a pause?
nope think beacon on the nitecores… one mega flash every 5-10 seconds
SOS could save someone. BUT only if beam reaches a high enough distance in sky with high lumen power so anyone can see it. Within a few mile radius only.
Yeah, that I like. My old Quark had a beacon of a 1sec flash every 10sec or so. Didn’t like it much.
No. Read the link I posted in first post after OP. If you know where people are, such as in mountain huts, parking spots, roads or trails, then pointing the light to the sky instead of towards where people are would be rather silly.
Again this whole flashlight is going to save you is based upon flawed logic . You could use the bezel to fight against Ninjas,strobe to disorient muggers ,use the body tube to suck up that last bit of air when your car flips off a bridge into an icy cold river.
But odds are good you won’t see the ninjas,the next mode memory will have a mugger looking right at 3 lumens and the tailcap will come off but the other side of the body tube will have red Loctite on it .
Jesus saves
Article does not say a SOS mode was used. So could actually bee they was just flashing the flashlight in the direction of the Helo .
Also 6 flashes of a flashlight(same with whistle blows) means help too. Very few folks no(least in UK) the actual morse for SOS so would just flash a light to get attention……And SOS mode sometimes is a “hidden” secrect mode or even a little hard to access…. Take the BLF-A6 for instance it certainly is not easy to get to it and I have probably activated it 10x more by accident than I have intentionaly (when demoing flashlight) Now put yourself in a Casualty/Lost soul’s position, One who is very afraid or panicking a little, cold etc. They will not be thinking properly so would struggle in most cases to find a “HIDDEN” mode etc let alone rememver the actual morse. Just a few thoughts to think about……
Few modern torches are suitable for manually blinking out e.g. Morse, so a built in distress or beacon mode is useful to have, just in case.
A brief beacon flash that can run for a couple of nights would be my preference, make it a burst of six flashes as per European, or three flashes (US) rescue signal, repeated once per minute. This is the standard, but nobody seems to have implemented it 
. Preferably both options. Morse SOS is wasteful of power, and is a maritime signal, not a land one.
In the UK at least, a whistle is a far more important piece of kit to carry. Chances are you’ll be in thick fog, cloud, downpour, snow. And it works in daylight too 
Edit: and SAR dogs will hear it at ranges far beyond human hearing.
If venturing into more wilderness areas, particularly solo, a PLB or a SPOT is by far the most useful thing to carry, and WILL launch a SAR.
“Mountain distress signals
The recognised mountain distress signals are based on groups of three, or six in the UK and the European Alps. A distress signal can be three fires or piles of rocks in a triangle, three blasts on a whistle, three shots from a firearm, or three flashes of a light, in succession followed by a one-minute pause and repeated until a response is received. Three blasts or flashes is the appropriate response.
In the Alps, the recommended way to signal distress is the Alpine distress signal: give six signals within a minute, then pause for a minute, repeating this until rescue arrives. A signal may be anything visual (waving clothes or lights, use of a signal mirror) or audible (shouts, whistles, etc.). The rescuers acknowledge with three signals per minute.
In practice either signal pattern is likely to be recognised in most popular mountainous areas as nearby climbing teams are likely to include Europeans or North Americans.
To communicate with a helicopter in sight, raise both arms (forming the letter Y) to indicate “Yes” or “I need help,” or stretch one arm up and one down (imitating the letter N) for “No” or “I do not need help”. If semaphore flags are available, they can possibly be used to communicate with rescuers.”
You been on the google!? lol
Nope, just over 40 years experience of hill walking, scrambling, pot-holing, alpine trekking, and touring ski-ing.
You youngsters have your own ideas. But don’t get too cocky, experience does still count, and caution is not a bad word.
Perhaps, as a leader, or guide, you have not yet had a really bad experience, and had to explain it, and justify your decisions.
Qualifications in these matters seem to be arbitrary and easily obtained, except in those countries where it is taken very seriously.
What are yours ?
so we have the same time in the outdoors then…Not all of us are young and inexperienced…27 years mountain warfare troop.26 on SAR now run my own outdoor training business…working world wide and employ 8 other leaders.Caving/potholing,mountaineering,diving,kayaking, mountain skiing.experditions etc etc.
Never make assumptions….
I was simply pulling your leg regarding the google comment…
What's the chances of TK programming that into the rot66 software? I personally think a distress beacon signal is a great idea. I don't like strobe or sos, but a distress signal, yep, would be perfect in my books.
The first post referenced my intro to blf.
I was asking why so many functions that are not used.
This has been an interesting read but it’s also getting comical.
As professionals, you both will agree that their is a big difference between the light you carry into the alps, leading an expedition of city folks into the mountains, your combat light verse your day to day pocket carry so you can find your car keys.
Mission determines equipment.
I’ve been marines and LE for 22 years. I have never seen or heard of strobe saving someone.
But I also believe that someone prepared enough to have a light usually doesn’t need saving.