ACR Electronics
Fort Lauderdale, since 1956 — the rescue beacon that talks to a government satellite system and never asks for a subscription.
Cyalume
Chemical lighting for marking, signaling, and emergency preparedness.
Cyalume chemical lights for marking, signaling, and emergency kits. Check the exact product’s duration, storage life, and intended application.
- 2 to 5 yearsPublished shelf life, depending on the specific product
- 50+Years of lightstick research and development, per Cyalume
What we'd reach for
- SnapLightThe safety light stick. Cyalume's FAQ gives 5 years for the 15 cm version — check the date on the box, not the box design.
- ChemLightThe military-specification stick. 4 years for the 15 cm size, 2 years for the mini — shorter than most buyers assume.
- Infrared sticksVisible only through night vision, and rated 3 years. A genuinely different product from the visible sticks, not a color option.
- Light stationsEvacuation and emergency lighting units built around the same chemistry — no power, no maintenance, one shelf life.
- Markers and patchesGround and personnel marking for low light, single use.
- Search and rescue lightsThe SAR end of the catalog, and where the comparison with pyrotechnic signals is most direct.
More in Field & pursuits
All brands →The nearest neighbors on the shelf — same categories first, same department after that.
McMurdo
Distress beacons and marine safety electronics, with service and registration part of the purchase.
Orion
Easton, Maryland — flares, smoke and signal kits made in Indiana and Pennsylvania, for the one federal requirement most boaters discover has quietly expired.
SOL
Survive Outdoors Longer — the bivvy-and-signal end of Adventure Ready Brands, Littleton NH, and a brand that publishes almost nothing about its own origins.