Signal Mirror

Sharpen one edge to use as a knife?

If your mirror is actually glass this might work.

Just a few more uses:

Check a sore or broken tooth.

Place behind a lantern or other light source and it will intensify the light.

Awesome ideas! Really I should have thought of "check a…broken tooth" as I've checked (and applied wax to) a tooth that broke in the middle of a week out.

My signal mirror is actually glass, one of the many reasons I'd never make SUL weight although the new Starflash Ultra looks way better than the typical plastic mirror.

I use mine and the pliers from a multi-tool to flip food while cooking. Makes a great pancake turner.

>If your mirror is actually glass this might work.

Or stainless steel. Do plastic mirrors really work? What about cd's?

A signal mirror is a genius bit of kit for all the reasons given above, especially for the grit in the eye (my most common use). But hardly anyone in the UK carries one. None of the usual medical/emergency kits have one. Only AMK, and they're not widely distributed.
Stupid.

If you have one of these from the BPL store or elsewhere –

From the manufacturer

“StarFlash Ultra Water Immersion Notice 10.27.08

UST has observed a decrease in mirror performance in the rare situation where the StarFlash® Ultra™ mirror is immersed in water for extended periods of time. After our testing is complete, letters will be sent to Ultra™ customers regarding the water immersion findings. Production on the Ultra™ mirror has been halted while engineered solutions are quantified and verified. Our former long-standing StarFlash® signal mirrors will be offered in the interim.”

Doug Ritter and Company discovered this, and in some cases the effectiveness of the mirror fell off dramatically. Not all mirrors say Ultra, but the frameless style is definitive. Details are found HERE.

My Silva Ranger 15CL compass has a mirror that may be used for all of the above, plus taking accurate bearings.

Yeah, I'll second the compass/mirror recommendation. I have a much-abused Silva Guide that weighs 1.2 oz and does everything a standalone mirror could do.

I recently received the Starflash mirror in their Aqua survival kit. Very disappointed. It almost looks like a thin layer of cheap foil inside of a plastic case. When you look at the mirror from an angle, you can see miniature crinkles in the reflective surface.
My StarFlash doesn't even work well as a normal grooming mirror. The reflective image is fuzzy and distorted.

They must have improved this in the Ultra addition; however they've recalled it and I can't get my hands on one to review it.

I've been considering cutting a piece of reflective mirror off of the solar-tubes homeowners use to pipe light in from their roof to a dark corner in an interior room.

I third the compass idea.
If think you you need a mirror, why not simplify your kit and carry a compass with one?