Good Light for UL Backpacking

I am new to this forum, and I realize the tone of this post is a bit different – it is more functionally oriented than technically. I hope that is no problem. I am more interested in suitable light for my needs, and less interested in specs like lumens or emitter/bin per se.

I am looking for the best light to use ultralight backpacking on trips ranging from day hikes to weekend backpacks, to 2-4 week expeditions. Also on canoe trips that last 2-4 weeks. The criteria that occur to me are: I am new to the more technical aspects of flashlights, and trying to sort it all out. I have been looking around, reading on line (including a lot of CPF), and looking at vendor specs. Little practical checking anything out, though.

To illustrate what I have been thinking, here are the lights that (based only on reading/thinking) seem best suited:
Notes:Any comments? Any suggestions of lights that would do better? Any comments on criteria I should be looking for?

Thanks,
[FONT=&quot]--MV[/FONT]

Personally I'd be looking at getting two lights. One that is floody headlamp, another one with more throw.

Like the above poster said, look at getting two lights, not only to have one thrower and one flood, but also to have a backup. A Surefire E2L would meet that criteria well, with its throwy optic, long runtime, and two output levels that are well suited for the outdoors. The E2L will throw more than far enough to see trail markings, etc.

The Zebralights are popular, but their reliability and water-tightness have been called into question. There is a ZL reliability thread in which a fair number of users reported problems, most often caused by ingress of water. IIRC, the lens is not sealed, but someone might correct me on that.

Although I have not had a chance to use it, the Surefire Saint Minimus seems to have many satisfied users. The UI is excellent, and of course it has typical SF durability. Unfortunately, it doesn't fully meet you criteria because it doesn't have multiple mounting options. It is also only rated for 100 lumens, but with a handheld thrower, I don't really see the need for any more light than that. I too am looking at single CR123 headlamps, and the Minimus is at the top of my list.

Unless everyone who responded to that poll can be a verified ZL owner (it's simple to do: by posting a picture of their ZL lights with the problem), that poll isn't trustworthy.

To the OP:

Good choices there!

davidt1 said:

Unless everyone who responded to that poll can be a verified ZL owner (it's simple to do: by posting a picture of their ZL lights with the problem), that poll isn't trustworthy.

Click to expand...

True, very few verified they actually had a problematic ZL. But multiple members with post counts numbering in the hundreds, if not thousands, stated that they have had ZL failure(s). To me, that is enough to question their reliability.

I would have to recommend the Zebralight H31, It sounds like exactly what you need. I do have one and it has plenty of throw and still very usable wide spill.

IMHO it sounds perfect for what you describe, Although the runtime on high is not that long if you only use it on medium and low most of the time the batterys should last awhile.

If you want a light for flood only around camp, I would recommend the Zebralight H501, It is perfect for up close tasks.

YMMV,
Brian

I don't have any suggestions for you flashlight wise, but I would look into a solar charger for your rechargeable batteries to cut down on bulk and weight.

For month long trips you're probably going to need many sets of batteries (especially if you hike/canoe at night). Having a set of batteries in the light, an extra set just in case, and a set in the solar charger would be a good plan.

Since many solar chargers still take a good 2 days of sunlight (i.e. strapped to the top of your kayak or pack) to charge a single battery, the flashlight you choose should last no matter what, at least 2 days long (which shouldn't be hard if you don't use it on turbo mode for long).

I would get a Surefire Saint Minimus.

Here's why:
- better user interface
- better tilt mechanism
- better build quality / reliability
- more throw than the Zebralight, but still floody

The extra throw of the Saint Minimus means you do not need to carry two lights. At $135 it is certainly not a cheap proposition but IMHO it is the best one. Being able to adjust your light output easily and with fine granularity means you will have longer battery life. On the Zebralight it is slightly more tedious to change the output (it is not difficult, but does not nearly approach the ease of the Saint) so you will be less inclined to dim the output when you have more light than is necessary.

There is really nothing wrong with the Zebralight overall, they are nice lights provided you get one without issues, but compared to the Surefire Saint Minimus they hardly compare.

IMO the lumen requirements above are ridiculously overstated for ultralight. Some UL'ers have done multi-month AT or PCT hikes with just a Photon II. The most popular camping/backpacking light of all time is the 2aa minimag, which is about 5 lumens, though its adjustable reflector gives it more throw than a typical 5lm led light when you focus it down. 200+ lumens is just a crazy amount of light (it's about half of a car headlamp worth) and there are few if any 1x123 lights (maybe just the latest XP-G R5's that are rather floody) that can put out that much. 10 years ago the brightest small lights available (Surefire E2e etc) were around 60 lumens, and the woods haven't gotten any darker since then, as some wise person recently said. Even the traditional 2 pound(?) 6 volt camping lantern was only about 30 lumens (with a big reflector for throw).

2 lights makes reasonable sense from a flashaholic perspective but is IMO not in the ultralight spirit. A compromise might be one "normal" light (1x123 or 1aaa) and one tiny backup (Photon II or equivalent).

I have a Fenix LD01 in stainless steel and I think it's bright enough for most backpacking purposes. Its 3 levels give it plenty of runtime in low mode and reasonable throw in high mode. For ultralight I'd get the HA model of course (or a Preon, which starts in low mode, but its clip goes in the wrong direction for handsfree). Treat it with a little care and it will be fine. For "rugged", you want a Ra, but those are quite heavy, not ultralight at all.

Forget about the solar charger unless you're going on a multi-month expedition and have a lot of crap to power, but in this case you will want a fairly large solar panel that you would use at a stationary campsite, not while trying to hike.

Keep in mind also that in normal backpacking you won't be moving around that much at night anyway. For a lot of the nighttime hours, you will presumably be sleeping. Flashaholics always overestimate the amount of runtime that real-world situations require, in addition to overestimating lumen requirements. People survived for thousands of years with no flashlights at all. A little bit goes a loooong way.

I just don't know of any lightweight 1x123 lights with real throw in current production. They could be made but nobody seems to be doing it. The 2x123 Quark Turbo looks interesting to me as a lightweight thrower, though I haven't tried one. The webpage says 2.8 ounces though I don't know if that includes the batteries. The Turbo plus the H31 would make a good flashaholic combo although I wouldn't consider it to be ultralight. Yes, less light than that might not be optimal. But the whole point of ultralight, as I see it, is to get by with less than optimal amounts of light and other ameneties for the sake of minimizing gear. The amount of lights you bring is supposed to be suboptimal. If you bring optimal lighting you've brought too much.

If I were in your situation (attempting ultralight with slight concessions to flashaholic urges) I'd just bring a multi-level 1AAA light (Fenix LD01 or Preon) with an L92 lithium battery, and use the pocket clip to attach it to a baseball cap or headband for handsfree use, with a Photon as a backup. No dedicated headlamp. No monstrous thrower. Maybe not even a spare battery. Zebralight once expressed intention to make a 1AAA headlamp and I keep wanting them to do it, but they haven't yet.

Edit: I just looked at the H31/SC31 specs and they look very nice for this purpose. They have reflectors and traditional flashlight-like beams unlike the very floody Zebralight headlamps that I'm used to. So I'd go with either of those, probably the H31 though both have headbands.

Paulr,

Thanks for your comments. FWIW: My background goes way back to some of the lights you refer to -- such as a Justrite 4 D-cell incandescent headlamp in winter. Recently I have been using just coin cell LED lights in warm weather. I am looking to see what the best current things are.

IMO the lumen requirements above are ridiculously overstated for ultralight.

You may be right. I am not experienced with lumen values, so my figures have been gleaned from a lot of discussions at Backpacking Light, where various people have detailed what has actually worked for them in the real world. Some of them are folks like long distance speed hikers; others are more normal backpackers. My current lights are just coin cell LED -- but there are times when that is not enough, and I certainly do not think they last long enough to do much hiking with.

200+ lumens is just a crazy amount of light

This seems to be where the leading edge is at this time. I anticipate use of top brightness lighting to be rare -- not commonly needed, not commonly wanted, and drains batteries. This spec is much less critical than others. I see top lumens as more nice than necessary -- good to have if not costing much of any weight or problems.

I was intrigued by Cliff Jacobson reporting that on one canoe trip in northern Canada a high-lumen LED light seemed to make a bear go away. Cliff now has two Surefires.

there are few if any 1x123 lights (maybe just the latest XP-G R5's that are rather floody) that can put out that much

The two lights I mentioned are pretty bright: iTP A1 specs 190 (XP-E Q5), and Zebralight H31 specs 220 (XP-G R?). The H31W is pretty bright, too -- 161 lumens (XP-E R? neutral white).

One of the things I need to get resolved is just how floody those are. The beam shots I have seem make the H31 look not all that floody, and the H31W has an even tighter beam.

2 lights makes reasonable sense from a flashaholic perspective but is IMO not in the ultralight spirit. A compromise might be one "normal" light (1x123 or 1aaa) and one tiny backup (Photon II or equivalent)

I completely agree -- that's my goal. I am looking for a 1xCR123 and (possibly) some sort of Photon or equivalent.

... and I think it's bright enough for most backpacking purposes

I agree that you do not need much light for most purposes -- what I would like is to have the brightness in reserve for the few times it is needed, provided I can do so without much weight penalty.

Forget about the solar charger unless you're going on a multi-month expedition

Agreed -- I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. I doubt I'll need it, since long trips would be in summer when daylight is long. It's conceivable on a 4-week non-resupplied trip, although I would not be surprised to find it is better to carry (up to) the charger's weight of spare batteries instead.

Keep in mind also that in normal backpacking you won't be moving around that much at night anyway.

In general, that's right. And when you are, the main need is for battery life (and perhaps cold-weather tolerance), not super-brightness. The main times I have found I need light for a long time are:

• Alpine start -- hiking before sunrise
• Running late, planned or otherwise. Using most of the day getting to the peak, than most of the down is in the dark, of which some may be off-trail.
• Winter -- dark comes early, so I tend to travel until dark (or nearly so), and then camp/cook/etc entirely in the dark. In the morning I wake up, cook, and break camp in the dark so I can be moving around daylight.

I have not done any deliberate night travel, but am getting interested in trying some just for the fun of it.

I just don't know of any lightweight 1x123 lights with real throw in current production

Are the Zebralight H31 and H31W any good that way? I'm not used to judging beam shots, but from what I have heard and seen so far they look plausible.

But the whole point of ultralight, as I see it, is to get by with less than optimal amounts of light and other amenities for the sake of minimizing gear. The amount of lights you bring is supposed to be suboptimal. If you bring optimal lighting you've brought too much.

I am glad to see you emphasizing the ultralight aspects, though I see it a little differently -- the point is not struggling. It is more like taking nothing you do not really need (perhaps that is what you meant by "sub-optimal"?), choosing things that can fill multiple roles, and having enough knowledge that you can substitute knowledge for gear. I want enough light to safely and quickly do things like alpine starts and late cross-country descents. The point is minimal, without sacrificing safety or needed functionality.

I am hoping that I will find a single 1xCR123, and (possibly) a Photon-class light will be all I need. A visor clip is fine, eliminating carrying the headband. I'm neutral on an actual elastic band -- the negatives are weight and bulk. If I get an H31/H31W, I'd see about reducing the weight/bulk of that headband -- I have seen some suggestions on line for that.

No dedicated headlamp. No monstrous thrower.

The closest I see to a "dedicated headlamp" is the Zebralight. I'd like to stick to 1xCR123, which I expect rules out "monstrous throwers".

Maybe not even a spare battery.

Depends on the season, consequences, and trip length. Summer, I agree. Winter weekend, perhaps. Other winter and long trips probably deserve spare.

Edit: I just looked at the H31/SC31 specs and they look very nice for this purpose. They have reflectors and traditional flashlight-like beams unlike the very floody Zebralight headlamps that I'm used to. So I'd go with either of those, probably the H31 though both have headbands.

I was interested to see your edit. As I see it, the H31 / H31W decision boils down the how much you believe in neutral white tint, and I have no experience with that. Unfortunately, the H31W is not the same emitter, and is significantly less bright.

--MV

CM_MBT,

The Zebralights are popular, but their reliability and water-tightness have been called into question. There is a ZL reliability thread in which a fair number of users reported problems, most often caused by ingress of water. IIRC, the lens is not sealed, but someone might correct me on that.

I have been following that thread with interest. One thing to see is how much of that pertains to the H31 -- it is brand new, for better or for worse.

Although I have not had a chance to use it, the Surefire Saint Minimus seems to have many satisfied users. The UI is excellent, and of course it has typical SF durability.

Based on your remark, I just went and read several CPF threads on the Minimus. My take on it, from what I read, is that user experience is pretty mixed. the good news is that Surefire stands solidly behind their product.

Also, it is pretty much a floody. From what I see of initial reviews, the Zebralight H31 may be a better compromise -- definite spot, but wide enough, and good enough spill, for hiking.

Brian321

I would have to recommend the Zebralight H31, It sounds like exactly what you need. I do have one and it has plenty of throw and still very usable wide spill.

Thanks for the first-hand comments.

IMHO it sounds perfect for what you describe, Although the runtime on high is not that long if you only use it on medium and low most of the time the batterys should last awhile.

As noted in a previous reply, I would expect to use the high power only rarely.

One of the things I would like, and that its specs meet, is to have a level suitable for night hiking with enough runtime to go all night if necessary. (I know, I could change batteries in the dark if necessary...)

Another is to have an in-camp level where I essentially do not even need to think about battery use. It specs that as well.

If you want a light for flood only around camp, I would recommend the Zebralight H501, It is perfect for up close tasks.

No, I would like one do-it-all light, if possible. Do you think the H31 is adequate for the purpose (whether or not the H501 floody would be better)?

--MV

Carrot,

Surefire Saint Minimus
- more throw than the Zebralight, but still floody

Does that comment apply the the H31? It has a lot more throw than previous Zebralights.

There is really nothing wrong with the Zebralight overall, they are nice lights provided you get one without issues, but compared to the Surefire Saint Minimus they hardly compare.

I am following the Zebralight reliability thread with interest. It will be interesting to see how much of what is brought up is both current and applicable to the H31.

I went and looked at several CPF threads on the Minimus. I was rather surprised at how mixed the user experience with the Minimus has been. What I read made it sound as if it is a Good Thing that Surefire stands solidly behind their product.

--MV

New product woes. Surefire has ironed out the details since the first production models. I have a review up on my website (linked below) if you want to read more about my thoughts on the Saint.

MountainVoyageur said:

Brian321


One of the things I would like, and that its specs meet, is to have a level suitable for night hiking with enough runtime to go all night if necessary. (I know, I could change batteries in the dark if necessary...)

I used it on medium last weekend to go caving and it was more than enough light in total darkness and it lasts for 12hrs on that setting.

Another is to have an in-camp level where I essentially do not even need to think about battery use. It specs that as well.

The Low2 of the H31 sounds about like that.

No, I would like one do-it-all light, if possible. Do you think the H31 is adequate for the purpose (whether or not the H501 floody would be better)?

I dont think the H501 would be better for a do it all light, I however do think that the H31 would be. If you use the low low for up close camp task it should be enough light to see what your doing while saving battery power, The spill wont be as wide up close so you may have to move your head a little more but not much.

--MV

Click to expand...

I have the H31 cool white BTW.

Here are the lumen specs and runtimes for the H31 directly from the ZL website:

High: H1 220 Lm (0.9 hrs) or H2 120 Lm (2 hrs)
Medium: M1 43 Lm (12 hrs) or M2 24 Lm (23 hrs)
Low: L1 5 Lm (3.7 days) or L2 0.5 Lm (21 days)

As for the zebralight reliabilty, I think for the most part they are waterproof and durable. I have 3 Zebralights, H501, H501w, and H31 and they have all been caving with me and in the shower with me to get the mud cleaned off from the cave.

removed

Hope this helps,
Brian

Carrot,

The Minimus is sure expensive ... I'm taking it seriously, though.

Do you know whether it will take 3.7 volt rechargeable batteries? I saw you do not suggest that for the Saint, because of them being run in parallel, but that reason would not apply to the Minimus. I saw somewhere that someone did not recommend that for the Minimus either, but no reason was given.

Do you know the emitter and tint it uses?

Thanks,
MV

Carrot,

I asked Surefire the same questions -- they were quick with their reply:

You are not to use the rechargeable batteries in our lights and for emitter led we use different led's in our lights on the head lamp we don't know what the led name. Thank You

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--MV

I agree that you do not need much light for most purposes -- what I would like is to have the brightness in reserve for the few times it is needed, provided I can do so without much weight penalty.

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Well, I'm certainly no UL guru, but I had thought that UL as a philosophy was developed as a pushback against that very sentiment--UL says unless you expect it to be essential (either in the sense of something you're constantly relying on, or something to get you out of a genuinely serious and plausible emergency), leave it at home. You gain flexibility from certain types of gear, but per UL you again even more flexibility by being less encumbered. I wouldn't take the "fended off an attacking bear" stories too seriously, but if you do, the light you want is a Surefire M6 (puts out about 30 watts of photons, most of them in the infrared so they don't help the lumen rating, but they probably help the bear factor). A multi-mode LED light where you have to fool around scrolling through the mode menus while the bear is charging you sounds unhelpful.

• Alpine start -- hiking before sunrise
• Running late, planned or otherwise. Using most of the day getting to the peak, than most of the down is in the dark, of which some may be off-trail.
• Winter -- dark comes early, so I tend to travel until dark (or nearly so), and then camp/cook/etc entirely in the dark. In the morning I wake up, cook, and break camp in the dark so I can be moving around daylight.

I have not done any deliberate night travel, but am getting interested in trying some just for the fun of it.

Click to expand...

The H31 medium setting (allegedly 24 lm, 23 hours) should be plenty for that stuff most of the time. Even 5 lumens would usually be enough. At 1/2 hour a day, one battery (23 hours) will last over a month. You could probably fall back to the low sub-lumen mode for a lot of that time, too.

For night travel I think it is preferable to not use a light at all--just rely on night adaptation and ambient light such as moonlight, using a light just occasionally if you have to check something out. People and animals evolved to do this over millions of years, so it works much better than we CPF'ers often seem to imagine . I'd even think of bringing a light with a red led for that, though I guess it also runs against UL principles. Maybe your possible range of lights should include the LRI Proton Pro, which has a red led in addition to its white led. Peak LED can also set up a 1aaa Matterhorn for you with a red led.

I just don't know of any lightweight 1x123 lights with real throw in current production

Are the Zebralight H31 and H31W any good that way? I'm not used to judging beam shots, but from what I have heard and seen so far they look plausible.

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Well, there's multiple standards of what counts as "throw" but the H31 looks similar to typical small 1x123 lights in terms of reflector size. Yes it will have a useful amount of throw, but it is in the general purpose category. A light designed for throw will have a much bigger reflector (think of that 6v camping lantern with the 3 inch reflector) with a smooth finish. For led lights the Quark Turbos with approx 1 inch reflectors look interesting (I haven't tried one yet) and I guess start to qualify as throwers, while "throw monster" would start with something like a Tiablo A9, Dereelight DBS, that sort of thing. I understand preferring 1 cell lights, but remember that 2 cell lights don't use any more power for the same lumens, so they'll run twice as long as a 1 cell light. So you end up burning through about the same number of batteries per week either way.

Re emitter color: I have a Quark mini 123 in neutral white and it doesn't excite me that much, though there are other folks saying neutral leds are better than cool white for use around foliage. I haven't tried that myself yet. At low light levels, human vision is basically monochromatic, which means if you're lighting something up from a distance the beam color is hard to notice. For close-up use I love my McLux Sundrop (Nichia 083 high-CRI led with quite low efficiency and no throw at all) but that's mostly for aesthetic reasons. The neutral Crees, I think, just have a warmer tint than the cools, but not especially high CRI, so their color rendition will still be unnatural.

I wonder if there is a good headband for a Ra light. Ra is supposedly working on a headlamp but they are very exacting in their development processes so I wouldn't count on any particular release date. The Saint Mini has gotten good reports but I haven't seen one myself. If it's Surefire I don't think it will be ultralight . Actually the 1x123 Surefire E1B "Backup" has a TIR optic and is supposed to have good throw, though I don't know of any direct comparisons with other lights, and it's fairly large and heavy compared to the smallest 123 lights.

MountainVoyageur said:

Carrot,

The Minimus is sure expensive ... I'm taking it seriously, though.

Do you know whether it will take 3.7 volt rechargeable batteries? I saw you do not suggest that for the Saint, because of them being run in parallel, but that reason would not apply to the Minimus. I saw somewhere that someone did not recommend that for the Minimus either, but no reason was given.

Do you know the emitter and tint it uses?

Thanks,
MV

Click to expand...

Some have reported using RCR123s in the Saint just fine. It is well known that some Surefires are capable of using rechargables without adverse side effect. However not enough is known about the Saint to say for certain whether there will be a long term effect from using the higher voltage lithium ions.

I really would recommend using regular primary CR123s in the Saint. Primaries have about double the capacity of rechargeable RCRs and you do not have to worry about overdischarging them or the light suddenly cutting off.

It is difficult to say for certain what the Saint is using behind its special TIR lens but the die image looks a lot like a Cree die, so I'd guess it to be the XR-E R2.

paulr said:

Well, I'm certainly no UL guru, but I had thought that UL as a philosophy was developed as a pushback against that very sentiment--UL says unless you expect it to be essential (either in the sense of something you're constantly relying on, or something to get you out of a genuinely serious and plausible emergency), leave it at home. You gain flexibility from certain types of gear, but per UL you again even more flexibility by being less encumbered.

Click to expand...

I would basically agree. That's what I meant by saying you do not generally need major light. There are times, however, when having enough light is a safety, not just a convenience issue. Those times are uncommon enough that I am not willing to carry much weight to allow for them, but real enough that if a small amount of extra weight (say under an ounce) will handle it then I'll consider it.

I wouldn't take the "fended off an attacking bear" stories too seriously, but if you do, the light you want is a Surefire M6 (puts out about 30 watts of photons, most of them in the infrared so they don't help the lumen rating, but they probably help the bear factor). A multi-mode LED light where you have to fool around scrolling through the mode menus while the bear is charging you sounds unhelpful.

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Oh, I believe this one particular story all right -- by the way, the bear was not charging, it was trying to make up its mind. But I take it with a grain of salt -- not something I am carrying a bright light for. Note that my original message mentioned it and put a smiley at that point.

The H31 medium setting (allegedly 24 lm, 23 hours) should be plenty for that stuff most of the time. Even 5 lumens would usually be enough.

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Agreed. The 24 lumen is enough -- probably more than enough -- for at least routine hiking. The 5 lumen is enough -- probably more than enough -- for in-camp lighting.

At 1/2 hour a day, one battery (23 hours) will last over a month. You could probably fall back to the low sub-lumen mode for a lot of that time, too.

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In-camp lighted time will range from little or none per day in the summer to as much as several hours per day in the winter. Any alpine start or after-sunset return is in addition to that. Those do not, of course, happen most days.

For night travel I think it is preferable to not use a light at all--just rely on night adaptation and ambient light such as moonlight, using a light just occasionally if you have to check something out.

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That one is debatable. At best, it depends strongly on things like phase of the moon, whether you are under a lot of forest cover, and whether you expect to hike as fast as you do during the day. I will say that, in a discussion of night hiking on BPL, yours was not a point of view I recall running across. General opinion was that 10 lumens was marginal, 15-20 lumens plenty (assuming a good trail)

Well, there's multiple standards of what counts as "throw" but the H31 looks similar to typical small 1x123 lights in terms of reflector size. Yes it will have a useful amount of throw, but it is in the general purpose category.

Click to expand...

I am hoping it will have enough throw for all common needs, including hiking at night, even on rough terrain, without resorting to battery-hungry high power. The H501 seems to be much-loved for around-camp, but not adequate for hiking. I am hoping the H31 fixes that -- is useful around camp, and also adequate for hiking.

A light designed for throw will have a much bigger reflector (think of that 6v camping lantern with the 3 inch reflector) with a smooth finish. For led lights the Quark Turbos with approx 1 inch reflectors look interesting (I haven't tried one yet) and I guess start to qualify as throwers, while "throw monster" would start with something like a Tiablo A9, Dereelight DBS, that sort of thing.

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These are the sort of light where I start to question whether or not I truly need one (I doubt I do). Yes, a spotlight might be nice once in awhile, but probably runs afoul of your opening remark.

I understand preferring 1 cell lights, but remember that 2 cell lights don't use any more power for the same lumens, so they'll run twice as long as a 1 cell light. So you end up burning through about the same number of batteries per week either way.

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Which would suggest an 18650 light. I have looked at those. The ones I have looked at seem heavier without a commensurate performance boost. So far, it has seemed better to carry a single-cell light and, when needed, extra spare batteries.

My thought is that the bigger lights weigh more for several reasons:

• The light itself is heavier to accommodate the extra battery capacity, the bigger reflector, heat sink, etc
• If you need spare batteries, you need twice as many
• For most trips, say weekend any time and a week or two in the summer, the H31's combination of 23 hours (24 lumens) / 89 hours (5 lumens) should be enough to see me through without a second battery.

What is your thought about this?

Re emitter color: ... The neutral Crees, I think, just have a warmer tint than the cools, but not especially high CRI, so their color rendition will still be unnatural.

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I have no personal experience with this. As I understand the proponents, they say that whether or not the colors are natural, they are better separated and so it is easier to comprehend things like the rough ground you are walking over. I have tried hard to see that in the outdoor beam shots, and so far it seems to me to be (at best) a pretty subtle thing.

The proponents say that is because cameras do not show it well -- you have to see it first-hand. I am intrigued by the number of people who say that once you have seen it for yourself, you'll never go back.

I wonder if there is a good headband for a Ra light. Ra is supposedly working on a headlamp but they are very exacting in their development processes so I wouldn't count on any particular release date.

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What is the benefit to choosing Ra? Their new headlight? Ra is new to me -- I'll have to explore their web site and at least understand the specs they do show. A moderate wait would be fine, provided there is a good reason to do so.

The Saint Mini has gotten good reports but I haven't seen one myself. If it's Surefire I don't think it will be ultralight . Actually the 1x123 Surefire E1B "Backup" has a TIR optic and is supposed to have good throw, though I don't know of any direct comparisons with other lights, and it's fairly large and heavy compared to the smallest 123 lights.

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Carrot has been mentioning the St. Minimus. It looks nice, but it is a bit heavy, and it is expensive. The user postings I have seen say it is floody, and has little throw (though opinions do vary on that last point).

--MV