Desiree Marvin joined Roanoke, Virginia’s Marvin as a workspace researcher in 2012. Outside of her work, Desiree Marvin’s personal interests include hunting, canyoneering, and hiking.

Hiking is a pastime that provides nearly 60 million Americans with exercise and entertainment every year. However, hiking can also present individuals with significant challenges and dangers, some of which lead to accidents that require immediate medical attention. In the past, hikers in need of emergency aid would use emergency flares to signal their location. However, this practice has fallen out of favor for several reasons.

To start, there are a number of superior alternatives available to modern hikers. Personal locator beacons, satellite phones, and emergency signaling lights are just a few examples of products that can effectively alert loved ones and emergency professionals to a hiker’s situation and location. Emergency signaling lights, in particular, can be viewed as a safer, modernized version of the flare gun.

Safety is the key reason that experienced hikers no longer advocate for flares as part of a hiker’s standard safety kit. Any person operating a flare gun is at risk of suffering from a burn, but in a wooded area, forest fires are a far greater concern. Most flare guns emit a shower of sparks after being shot, then the heated flare falls to the ground, potentially into a pile of dead leaves or a stand of dry brush. In fact, hikers may not be aware, but flare guns are specifically designed for maritime emergencies, where there is no risk of environmental fires.

Finally, flare guns are heavier than hikers might imagine. The average flare gun weighs more than a pound, adding extra weight to a hiker’s pack. That said, hikers can consider packing a few road flares among their roadside safety gear.