What should I look for in an Emergency Light for a Car?

I would like to get a Flashlight to store in my car for emergencies and would like to know what the top things I should consider are? I also have a few questions to get started, but I am sure I am leaving things out so feel free to post any information you think is relevent.

First off can the flashlight and batteries hold up to the heat?

Should it be AA or CR123? My first thought is AA because they can be bought at any convenient store I may have to walk to

How many cell? Is the size worth the sacrifice in run time?

Max Lumen needed?

Multiple levels?

Light suggestions are also appreciated.

Edit: I get off work at midnight so I drive home everyday in the dark. I do not live in a city and have to drive almost 30 minutes from one town to another with not much in between

A light with a strobe feature may be helpful in a road flare style of deployment, although if you were to use it like this you would probably need at least two so that you can have one with you and one on the side of the road strobing in a breakdown scenario. As a disclaimer I never have used a strobe light on the side of the road in a breakdown situation- it may be possible that it distracts drivers more than it guides them away from you and that standard road flares are better suited for this purpose.

I'd avoid alkalines and maybe go for lithium primary batteries. They're less likely to leak, and take much longer to self discharge. Either CR123's or primary lithium AA's. Headlamps are sometimes recommended as they're handy if you need to work on the car with your hands free.

Agree with JonM - two lights are better than one.

Lithium batteries are a must since you need the light to work in all temperatures, possibly after many months of storage. 123s or Lithium AAs should be fine. Don't rely on finding a nearby store - carry enough spares with you (let's face it, if there's an open store nearby, you're not really in that much of a fix).

I have a Fenix in the glovebox with a red traffic wand that could be used as a warning device, and a SolarForce L2 that I can keep with me for working on the car or whatever.

Another thing you may want to bear in mind is that having a very expensive light in a car is just asking for trouble. Won't be much fun when you come back to find the window smashed and your U2A gone :mecry:

That's why I went for the Solarforce: it's tough, rugged, but won't matter that much if it gets stolen / dropped in the mud / run over / lost etc.

I need to take my own advice but I would say get a headlamp first. A headlamp will be much more useful if you are actually having to work with you hands on the roadside. A second multi level light that takes the same batteries as your headlamp would then be a good idea. I like the idea of having a strobe on a light for roadside emergencies but I think a slower strobe would be "safer" for the other traffic than a really fast one.

oronocova said:

I need to take my own advice but I would say get a headlamp first. A headlamp will be much more useful if you are actually having to work with you hands on the roadside. A second multi level light that takes the same batteries as your headlamp would then be a good idea. I like the idea of having a strobe on a light for roadside emergencies but I think a slower strobe would be "safer" for the other traffic than a really fast one.

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+1 on that, headlight first. You should be EDC'ing a torch anyway lol.

It really depends how much money you have. I am supposed to have my crappy old gerber tracer headlight in my car, but i pulled it out the other day because i was playing with it, i really should put it back. The reason for that is several,

1. My Gerber isnt very bright or good, and i tend to put lights i dont like in places like cars for emergencies because then i wont steal it out to use for something else and forget to put it back.

2. I EDC a Fenix TK10 anyway, so the torch part is covered.

3. All of the most likely things (including assisting with first aid at an accident site) to happen to me on the road require not that much light, but 2 hands. Changing a wheel, 2 hands, first aid, 2 hands, Fiddling with the engine, 2 hands, removing wire or something wrapped around the wheel, 2 hands.. you get the picture

I actually meant to put the TK11 in the glovebox with lithium primaries as a spare torch as well, but i also keep stealing that. Now I have a TK20 there is really no excuse not to be able to leave my TK11 in the glovebox.

*summary*
Get a headlight to put in the car
EDC a torch
I am slack and need to put my headlight and TK11 back in the car where they should be.

In each of my vehicles I have the following:

A Surefire G2 Led
A Keep-2-Go Tube with 4 new CR23 Batteries. I keep the light in a holster with the tube rubberbanded (I think that is a word) to it.

The reason for this is:

Surefire quality
cr123 Batteries hold up the the heat and cold and do not leak.
If I need more than 6 batteries I am in more trouble than needing a flashlight.

Headlamp loaded with L91's.

Key point - Lithium batteries to keep from leaking and destroying the innards.

A strobe could be useful, but not essential as your car does have 4-way blinkers. If you want an emergency signal, I'd buy a dedicated strobe so you don't have to give up your working light. Glo-tubes would probably be ideal for that use, but it's pricey.

For working and emergency use, I'd suggest looking at a longer run with lower output - basically something not super bright, but will last for prolonged use.

Super-bright can also cause glare if you're trying to read something or work in close quarters - a little light will go a long way in the dark.

To give you an idea, I have a x2AAled mini-mag in my car for basic use. I have a 3D MagLED with my tool bag for more critical functions. Both are simple, reliable and have reasonable enough output for basic and emergency use.

-Trevor

Along with my edc, I have a magled 3d, Husky 4 watt, ROV 1xAA headlamp, minimag led (newer version w/strobe), and a Pelican 2xaaa mitylite. I also have all kinds of batteries in the glove box and behind the seat. I tend to keep cheaper lights in my truck as someone mentioned above it would suck if I got up one morning and found a broken window and some of my Surefires missing.

I'm thinking of getting one of those pointed tail caps for my magled in case I need to break through a window or windshield.

Yep I agree with the others.

Lithium
Spare cells
High and low mode
Something with a balanced beam profile, not all flood or all throw.
2nd light should be a headlamp
Also going with nothing too expensive!
Cars get broken in to all the time. Which would you rather have stolen a McGizmo Haiku or an LM33? Both will work fine as a traveling light but one would kill me to have it stolen!

Thanks for all of the great replies. I had not even thought about a headlamp, but it is a must have for sure. So I will need a headlamp to work with and a bigger light to signal and walk with if need be. CR123 lithium primary looks like the cell of choice with backups, and make sure both lights run on the same cells.

I am really not familier with alot of the lights posted and was wondering what you guys think as far as max lumen needed on the primary torch and also 1 or 2 cell?

I really appreciate all the great feedback, especially the 2 flashlight! My wife however will not be as happy with your guys as I am

Lithium AA primaries.
Low mode for working and finding stuff in the car.
High mode for signalling.

I reccomend Two Eternalights, they have a built in magnet, so you can stick one to the car, and use the dancing strobe feature to alert oncoming traffic. There is no reflectors to blind traffic, but they will see you for at least a mile.

Of course the other one would be for your usage.

Run Lithium AA's in them, oh, and this light Floats!

one flashlight like solarforce L2 5 mode, load it with two cr123s, strobe and other modes. and not that pricey at 25$ shipped.

or something like an 2aa light (in case you DO need to find the batteries) but it wont be bad idea to keep spare set of lithium spare batteries in the car anyway.

and to continue echoing the others, usefulness of headlamp.

-i have Alpkit Gamma in my car.. and why i like it for car use: it actually has a small red led in the rear on the battery pack.. and it can be made to blink!

in front it has.. main white led beam, 3 modes: low high and blink. green led, blue led. and also an red led which can also blink. run on 3 aaa batteries (lithium) but aaa is rather common so might find a set in nearest store too.

-and beeing some kind of beginning flashaholic i have plenty of lights in the car too. at the moment i have: solarforce L2, gamma, x2t, ultrafire 1*cr123, an cigaretteplug runnable cheap hid, few (4) deal extreme fauxtons (10 for 5 dollars is cheap), now that i think of it, i really do need to get an AA light in there too soon. -and on top of these i also have the lights i edc in my pockets.

oh and i forgot that i left the maglite 2d with led dropin under the seat.. that isnt supposed to be there.

Torpedo Vegas said:

I am really not familier with alot of the lights posted and was wondering what you guys think as far as max lumen needed on the primary torch and also 1 or 2 cell?

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You may have trouble finding a CR123 headlight in the price range of something I would be leaving in the car, but they do make the H30, however, i dont see it as a necessity to have the headlight and torch using the same batteries just preferred.

As for the primary torch, it depends on if you EDC or not. If you dont EDC, you should, and that should probably be a single cell torch (even though I edc a 2 cell TK10, it is a little big. I also edc a single AAA LD01 that would probably surfice realistically). I would say you want 4 cells of light at least, so if its a 1 cell light (in the car), keep 3 spares, if its a 2 cell light, keep 1 fresh set of batteries.

How do you guys store the extra cells an lights? Any good containers, bag, or some kind of setup that will hold the flashlight and batteries? Just keep them loose in the glove box? Post some links

You have a number of options - I'll list some of them here:

1. The Battery Caddy

2. An assortment of carrying options

-Trevor

In addition to the above suggestions, I would suggest the Inova 24/7. It has many modes including flasher/strobe as well as general lighting for backup. It is a bit pricey, but I recently found one on the Internet for about $37. It comes with an accessory pack which includes a headlamp band and a magnetic mount. Very versatile light.

I know there were some issues in the past with the battery contacts if I remember correctly but I have never had any problems with mine so it could be an old problem that was fixed.

Marduke said:

Headlamp loaded with L91's.

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yes