Product Review - New Hobie Safety Flag

Picked up a new safety flag since I lost my last one and figured I would provide a quick write up.  The flag is the "new" safety flag from hobie that uses one of the screw-in/bungee fittings (https://www.hobie.com/parts-and-accessories/items/hobie-safety-flag,1214/). Cost is $21 and since its Hobie you are unlikely to get a discount unless you are purchasing a new boat.

The good: let's be honest, the only reason you are getting this flag is because of that sweet sweet screw in fitting that they don't sell by itself.  Install is a breeze: unscrew your old fitting, screw in the new, rethread the bungee.  No extra holes drilled in your boat. Flag pole is secured in the fittingwith a simple thumb screw.   The flag itself is a nice orange flag with some reflective bits.

The Mediocre: The flag pole is only 4 feet tall. It would be nice if it were a foot or two taller since it probably is only adding a foot above my head when seated so not sure it REALLY adds that much to my visibility.  The good thing here is its just a 0.25" fiberglass rod and you should be able to go out and get an extension or just a longer rod and the fitting will accept it.

The Bad: the way the flag attaches to the rod is p*ss poor. There is a little rubber sleeve to set the elevation, a white delrin washer you place on top of it to keep the flag from slipping over the sleeve, a white washer on top of the flag and a black rubber cap for the tip of the pole.  I lost the black cap at least 3 times in the span  of 3 minutes after I took the flag out of the bag. It would be generously described as loose fitting.  Glue it on top if you dont want to lose your flag. 


Overall 3/5 stars.  I really just wanted the screw in fitting and figured I would replace the pole at some point with something longer.  A bit spendy all things considered, but it is what it is.

Pics of the install are attached to the post.

I think that most commercially-available safety flags are too small and too low to be much more effective than just wearing a brightly colored hat.  If you want a bigger and higher safety flag, go to a fabric store, buy some bright orange or green ripstop nylon, sew it into a large safety flag, and clip the flag to the line guides on a spare fishing pole which you put in a vertical rod holder. If you cut the nylon with a hot knife, it will reduce the chances of edge fraying.

In a post at https://www.northwestkayakanglers.com/index.php?topic=15155.msg164358#msg164358, I described a safety flag and safety light pole which I made from a $22 medium heavy fishing rod I bought at Walmart.  But you don't need to be that fancy.  A large flag clipped to the top of a spare fishing pole will work as well.

I think that most commercially-available safety flags are too small and too low to be much more effective than just wearing a brightly colored hat.  If you want a bigger and higher safety flag, go to a fabric store, buy some bright orange or green ripstop nylon, sew it into a large safety flag, and clip the flag to the line guides on a spare fishing pole which you put in a vertical rod holder.

In a post at https://www.northwestkayakanglers.com/index.php?topic=15155.msg164358#msg164358, I described a safety flag and safety light pole which I made from a $22 medium heavy fishing rod I bought at Walmart.  But you don't need to be that fancy.  A large flag clipped to the top of a spare fishing pole will work as well.

Using a fishing pole for a safety flag is novel.  Thanks for the link!

That's actually how I lost my old flag, but it was not very secure. I just had one of those bike trailer flags on a small figerglass rod, and slipped the rod through the eyes.  Didnt watch what i was doing when swapping rods and the flag slid out into the deep...

I think that most commercially-available safety flags are too small and too low to be much more effective than just wearing a brightly colored hat.  If you want a bigger and higher safety flag, go to a fabric store, buy some bright orange or green ripstop nylon, sew it into a large safety flag, and clip the flag to the line guides on a spare fishing pole which you put in a vertical rod holder.

In a post at https://www.northwestkayakanglers.com/index.php?topic=15155.msg164358#msg164358, I described a safety flag and safety light pole which I made from a $22 medium heavy fishing rod I bought at Walmart.  But you don't need to be that fancy.  A large flag clipped to the top of a spare fishing pole will work as well.

Where did you get the pole clamp for the Navisafe light?

I think that most commercially-available safety flags are too small and too low to be much more effective than just wearing a brightly colored hat.  If you want a bigger and higher safety flag, go to a fabric store, buy some bright orange or green ripstop nylon, sew it into a large safety flag, and clip the flag to the line guides on a spare fishing pole which you put in a vertical rod holder.

In a post at https://www.northwestkayakanglers.com/index.php?topic=15155.msg164358#msg164358, I described a safety flag and safety light pole which I made from a $22 medium heavy fishing rod I bought at Walmart.  But you don't need to be that fancy.  A large flag clipped to the top of a spare fishing pole will work as well.

Where did you get the pole clamp for the Navisafe light?

I made it out of UHMW polyethylene, and a stainless steel carriage bolt and hand nut I bought at a local hardware store.  A thumbscrew would work as well as a hand nut. I used hand tools for the project; no fancy equipment was required.

Nicely done!

Nice review!  Thanks!

-Mark-

Thanks for this.  It's definitely innovative.

When you have time, could you post a picture of how the flag attaches to the pole?  I almost, but not quite, understand your concerns.