What's the best emergency survival flashlight?

[greenLED]

Yalskey, PM sent with some c.r.a.p. advise.

IMO, the CMG Infinity lights are the absolute best lights for survival bags. Small, bombproof construction, waterproof, long runtime, can use whatever type of AA you throw at'em, etc.

Other than that, something like a Streamlite 4AA Propoly Luxeon would be nice. Again, long runtime, uses AA, tough as nails, waterproof, can run on lithium AA's, etc.

Don't forget spare cells.

 

[TORCH_BOY]

Palight surviver

 

[Willabbott]

Well my emergency survival pack, for surviving a minimum of 10 days in the wilderness is equipped only with a Petzl tak-tikka plus headlamp... multiple levels, 3 AAA batteries, red and white light... runs for several days solid before needing batteries, and I carry about 2-3 changes in my pack.

On me at all times are an additional 2-4lights, plus a couple photon freedom microlights.

I would highly recommend a headlamp since in a no power situation it's the easiest to work with hands free... RUNTIME is the priority, and easy access to batteries... the thing I don't like about the petzl is AAA batteries, I would prefer AA's so all my gear was on the same system... I have a test unit we bought from Photon, the Photon Fusion headlamp, and so far am liking it above the petzl, it is larger, however is regulated, has red and white led's, and uses AA batteries. Multiple levels of light, including flashing.

I would highly recommend at least 1 or 2 lights beyond the headlamp, a c/d sized light such as a propolymer 3C (multi led model, not luxeon) or twintask 3C something with a large runtime, and readily available batteries...


Avoid odd cells such as 123's and rechargables. A primary rechargable to allow the light to be used daily is ok, as long as it takes non rechargeable, and they are kept near by.

It's one thing to have 20+ 123's on hand, and think you have enough, but after a week, if your running out, what battery do you think your likely to find at a store or such... AA's they are the most common battery IMHO. I personally would choose a 3C/D light as they run for a while, and cells are cheap... get a big pile of them... then back it up with a couple AA lights, such as a fenix L1P and perhaps a pro-polymer AA or something...

Again runtime is more important than brightness, multiple levels are always a bonus as you have light in reserve. Blinding light is good for more defensive nature, so perhaps one that CAN go fairly bright, perhaps a G2 in reserve for a defensive light, since they are fairly low cost.


I don't think there really is a best light, however there are features in the best lights.

LED - last longer, don't break when dropped, longer runtime
Common battery sizes, C, D, AAA, AA (Best IMO is AA)
RUNTIME - when there are no lights at all, even 5 lumen's is a LOT!, so go for something that will run for days before a battery change, if at all possible.

 

[abvidledUK]

Safelight Superbright and others in their range.

After all, it's what they were designed for.

Used as such by many Government Agencies.

20-100 hours RT can't be bad, not blinding too.

https://www.safe-light.com/detail/pallights.cfm?CFID=4874166&CFTOKEN=64283013

 

[thunderlight]

There is another reason for a Paklite or Palight. Suppose in your emergency situation you could no longer get hold of batteries, but potatoes are readily available. As I understand it, you can use a potato, essentially as a battery. So if you have some wiring, you might be able to use a potato connected to the top of Palight or a Paklite, and then you could eat the potato for lunch. So, the best available light might depend on the nature of the emergency and how many potatoes you could carry.

So how much voltage does a potato supply?

 

[Sub_Umbra]

While cr123s wouldn't be my first choice for all scenarios we could do far worse for cells that we might have to carry. They are small, light weight, powerful and they keep well. In an event with a duration as short as a week when the premise would be that one would be on the move I don't think resupply would have to be an issue. It sounds more like a come as you are party.

More important would be an individual's 'Light Culture' (how much light they use to do things, beam shape, etc) and that is what would determine which 123 light(s) chosen. Someone with a dim light culture and an HDS programmed accordingly should be able to avoid resupply problems in most scenarios lasting a week.

A multi level output light (or lights) with light weight cr123s could be a very good choice and lighten the load for someone forced to evac in spite of health problems. This is one of the reasons I try to be well enough prepared so I can stay home when the masses flee.

People are all so different and the equipment is so diverse that there are probably many different approaches to each situation that would actually be viable. That's one reason why this subject is so facinating to me.

 

[Campdavid]

For an emergency kit a headlamp is really essential as you can use it hands free. As for other lights, you should really take a look at the Pak-light. I have everything from a photon to a SF U2 and still think the Pak is a handy little light. Get the "super" with two light levels and the glow in the dark cap. Mine glows on the nightstand all night. I would think that would be useful in a survival situation. Also, get the lithium battery, the damn thing will burn forever!

 

[bigfoot]

The Pak-Lite ("Super" w/white LEDs) has become my favorite disaster/emergency light, thanks to reviews and tips from the great folks here at CPF. Lots and lots of runtime off one 9V battery.

Here's what I've come up with for various scenarios and uses:

Home use: Pak-Lite and 2xAA MagLED
EDC bag: Surefire G2, Inova X1 (new style)
EDC carry: Surefire E1L, Arc AAA-P
Hiking pack/BOB: Petzl Tikka+, Photon Freedom

That gives me lights that run off of 9V, AA, AAA, 123, and button cells. I tried to pair a light that runs off a typical battery along with one that runs off a less popular battery (e.g., a AAA light with a 123 light).

Plus there are a few "floaters" around the house and in vehicles: Maglite 3D, Pelican Super Sabrelite, AA Mini-Mag w/Nite Ize, camping lantern, etc. If I get to the point that I run out of batteries and lights to use, then the brown stuff has really hit the fan big time.

 

[Flying Turtle]

I'd be grapping my long running lights like the Infinity, Arc AAA, Fenix E0, Energizer Folding Lantern and Accent Lights, and the River Rock 2AAA headlamp. Maybe try to get at least one for each battery type.

Geoff

 

[nc987]

People keep saying you would need multiple flashlights for different uses. I say go with the SureFire Kroma, its like 3 flashlights in one. Runs forever on the colored LEDS and has the main beam when you need to light something up. Best all around flashlight out there IMO.

 

[Stingray]

One thing many will forget, or not consider in a survival situation such as Katrina mentioned in the original post is that it is an urban environment during a natural or manmade catastrophe. Sub -Umbra aludes to it with his very low light selections, learned in part, or perhaps better said, reinforced by his own experiences in the said hurricane Katrinas aftermath.

This means that after dark, the predators will be coming out, no matter how much police and national guard you have posted. If you are caught in such a situation, the last thing you want to do is draw attention to yourself with blazing lights. There WILL be a lot more of them than you, and they will NOT hesitate to take any advantage to get whatever you have they want, and they WILL want anything you have, just because you have it and they do not.

Low light, low footprint lights such as Covert Photons, Inova X1s (old spotlight version), and even the more more powerful RR 1 and 2 AA lights with the spotlight type beams, will be some of your most useful lights in such a situation.

Just some more food for thought .

Probably good advice post Katrina in N.O., but it's not necessarily going to be the case after every hurricane, depending on where it hits. After Andrew demolished parts of Miami and it seemed like relief was never going to show up, many neighborhoods banded together with plenty of bright lights, weapons, and organized patrols and watches. These neighborhoods suffered the least vandalism and violence. After Wilma in Ft Lauderdale last year, and during 11 days with no power, we organized with neighbors, stayed armed and looked out for each other and the neighborhood, and kept things lit up at night to deter the bad guys. For the most part we were successful and no one was injured or robbed.

 

[tebore]

I'd pretty much bet my life on my HDS B42 in an emergency situation. It's got a level for everything and it's got the extra 250 click goodies if I need it.

 

[Sub_Umbra]

Probably good advice post Katrina in N.O., but it's not necessarily going to be the case after every hurricane, depending on where it hits....

IMO emergency preparedness for individuals and families is all about providing one with as many different options as possible. If we could see what lay in store for us in the future there would be no emergencies.

In the excellent book, The Resilient City: How Modern Cities Recover from Disaster, editors Lawrence J. Vale and Thomas J. Campanella cite a study that found that in the last 1100 years over 800 cities have been totally destroyed by flood, fire, earthquake, volcano, tsunami, war and other things. Some very bad things have happened to many of their inhabitants while they were just trying to get out of town. These events have happened in every part of the world. While it hasn't been mentioned before in this thread many of the terrible things done to these widely varied peoples have been carried out by their own city, regional and national governments in addition to freelance looters and thugs.

I would never bet the future of my loved ones on how well strangers might behave during a crisis.

 

[allthumbs]

I`ve read most of Sub_Umbras Katrina posts and theres a wealth of good info there.
(They should be collected and stickied.) I`m slowly gathering things he recommended.
The lights currently a couple of safe light super brights, a Gerber Recon, and a Eternalight. The Eternalight I belive is much under apperciated. Timer so the battery dosnt die, 13 brightness levels. various strobe, flash, and S O S modes, 700 Hrs. on a
set of batteries. I roughly figured 15 AA batteries would run it a year, waterproof, floats, its cute. Can`t ask for much more. Its starting to be my EDC. You have to plan
with all options open, evacuate, shelter in place. Plan for all the variables you can, with the ability to change on little notice. Read Sub_Umbras postings use those for your baseline planning. Adapt them to your needs. Good Luck

 

[The-David]

i would say a surefire E1L.

+1 for the E1L and Inova 24/7

Same 123A batteries and red for when you need to not draw attention. Plus the Inova 24/7 has a hed strap.

 

[Outdoors Fanatic]

I'd choose three:

- Princeton Tec APEX
- Streamlight Propolymer Luxeon 3C
- Inova 24/7

And don't forget to bring a pistol with spare mags.

 

[lightplay22]

HDS would be a must for me and it makes a very nice headlight when clipped to the bill of a cap. Another must for me would be an equalizer for the group that might want to take what I have. (With extra clips of course.)

 

[luigi]

In my opinion Eternalight EliteMax without doubts.
Multiple brightness with insane runtime in the lower modes if needed, locator beacon, SOS and multiple modes that will attract attention for signaling. Uses common AA batteries, can float, shockproof and will resist a lot of abuse.
Excellent to hang from a tent for reading, cooking etc.
If you make a list of what things are really great in a survival flashlight I'm quite sure the EliteMax can destroy a lot of competition.

I did a mini-review here: http://edcreviews.blogspot.com/2006/10/eternalight-elitemax-4z.html

Luigi

 

[DaveG]

I`ve read most of Sub_Umbras Katrina posts and theres a wealth of good info there.
(They should be collected and stickied.) I`m slowly gathering things he recommended.
The lights currently a couple of safe light super brights, a Gerber Recon, and a Eternalight. The Eternalight I belive is much under apperciated. Timer so the battery dosnt die, 13 brightness levels. various strobe, flash, and S O S modes, 700 Hrs. on a
set of batteries. I roughly figured 15 AA batteries would run it a year, waterproof, floats, its cute. Can`t ask for much more. Its starting to be my EDC. You have to plan
with all options open, evacuate, shelter in place. Plan for all the variables you can, with the ability to change on little notice. Read Sub_Umbras postings use those for your baseline planning. Adapt them to your needs. Good Luck

Allthumbs,You hit the nail on the head,Sub and Lee and others around here are a wealth of good info,quite a few having to deal with this stuff first hand.The amount of usefull information around here is great.

 

[Gromulus]

I'd choose three:

- Princeton Tec APEX
- Streamlight Propolymer Luxeon 3C
- Inova 24/7

And don't forget to bring a pistol with spare mags.

Very similar recommendation here:

1) Streamlight ProPoly Luxeon 3C
2) Princeton Tec Apex
3) Inova X1