What's the best emergency survival flashlight?

[yalskey]

What would you guys recommend as the best flashlight to have with you if an emergency caused you to evacuate your home. I'm talking about floods, wire fires, hurricances, etc. Let's say you had to live in the wilderness / urban area for like a week. What flashlight would be best?

Thanks in advance for your advice. I'm trying to put together a awesome emergency survival kit / backpack.

[Lee1959]

In my personal opinion the best light would be an LED headlamp. In a handheld light it would be one of the Lightwave series lights for its super long runtimes and useable output. For pocket I would go with an Inova X1 (old version for low footprint steath uses), or Inova X5. This is strictly personal.

[Mad1]

In an amergency you would want something that is bright but has a long runtime.

Then there is the saying 1 is none 2 is one etc etc.

I would go for a G2 and an X5 or maybe a Gladius instead of the G2 because of it's strobe function it would be great for attracting attention.

[vizlor]

I'd go with 2. One high output and one with really long runtime with very few lumens.

[Casual Flashlight User]

One light only - HDS EDC U60 (or the new U120 when it is released) if it had a 2xCR123 tailpack it would be even better.

I always have my Arc-P and HDS U60 on me though...so I'd have at least two in an emergency (as Mad1 rightly says...1 one is none, 2 is one).


CFU

[MikeSalt]

Long-Life headlamp, with plenty of spare batteries, and one long throwing retina scorcher for searching / signalling. Again, carry spares.

[chalshus]

A headlamp! Then you have both you hand free.

[FlashInThePan]

The HDS U60 XRGT.

It's durable, reliable, lightweight, small, and lasts more than 11 days on the lowest standard setting ("lowest standard setting" because there are also 3 lower settings available). And, of course, it can deliver 60 lumens when you need some real brightness. Even better, it's highly efficient and will suck every last bit of juice out of your battery.

Definitely a great "emergency" light. (And even cheaper now that everyone's selling theirs during the CREE upgrade craze...)

- FITP

[benchmade_boy]

i would say a surefire E1L.

[Manzerick]

What's the best emergency survival flashlight???


The one you have with you

[Sub_Umbra]

The potential secondary threats that may evolve out of the emergencies you site would cause me to go with mostly very dim lights, probably NV gear compatable, with one bright, tight light for those rare, brief moments when nothing else will do.

• In the dim class I like Covert Photon Freedoms, Old CMG Infinities, Pak-Lites and HDS lights that have been reprogrammed to come on dim and stealthy.
  
• For the bright one it would depend on how far I had to carry it.

No matter how many times someone poses a question like this it is still very interesting to hear people's choices.

As Lee implied, personal preference is a huge factor in a question like this.

[kitelights]

If you were trying to come up with just one, I'd say eternaLight, but we all know that those of us here would have multiple lights. I agree about a headlight, and of course, if I have pants on, I've got an ARC AAA. With those three I'm set, but I'll add another small light with a bit more throw, like an ARC LS, Fenix or JetBeam, just in case.

[Valpo Hawkeye]

I'd say a two-stage light like an L1 or A2. Both have clips so they can be clipped to a hat for handsfree use. The A2 puts out more first stage light than the L1, but the L1 runs seemingly forever on one cell on first stage. The A2 has a more useful high than the TIROS optic L1. I just received my A2 and I can vouch for the kudos thrown its way by so many other users here.

Spare batteries as also a must. A waterproof match carrier from wal-mart holds two 123's quite well. I also have the Pelican 1010 with 15 123's from www.batterystation.com . It's in my BOB. That's enough light for several days, if not weeks.

[Paul5M]

you'll need two (2) lights:
1. Inova 24/7
2. Surefire G3. Yes, I don't have one yet

[Long John]

You need 2 Fenix P1D-CE. One for using, the other as spare cell carrier (and for the case, the first will fail).
A few spare cells extra can't be wrong.

Best regards

____
Tom

[FireFighter05]

I carry a GI issue light (the right angle olive drab one) in my emergency pack. It is modded with a 3watt led and I also keep a spare nite ize (sp?) led in the tail cap for longer run time. I like it bc it uses readily available batteries (D cell) and is tried and true as far as being rugged and function. I also keep one of the "Shake lights" (one of the real ones that does not have batteries in it) in the bag. I also have a sf g2 in there for my bright n light.
Dave

[Bryan]

Fenix P1D-CE

That would be my choice too.

I'd also grab my 9P with P91 for searching.

[nerdgineer]

For bright light and long runtime, something like the Dorcy 3D 1W. Not regulated but stays above 2000 cd for about 8 hours and puts out light for a lot longer than that. Add a water resistant plastic 2D light with the SMJLED PR bulbs (4 die type) or 2 for usable light for 150+ hours, and some spare D cells.

[Lee1959]

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 .

[fishx65]

I agree that a headlamp would be the most important. EOS or Apex. I would also include a Pro-poly Lux for a hand held. I would also throw in a nice semi-auto 9mm!

[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/pa...TOKEN=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.