Bear defense backpacking light

I'm not a gadget guy. I need help!
I want a lightweight (one ounce?) hand-held light that uses a single CR123 lithium battery for backpacing in the mountains in grizzly territory. This rules out regular backpacking lights because it needs to be able to shine a bright beam in a bears eyes, not save batteries. I camp in the summer when the days are long and don't need it to set up camp or fool around at night...just bear defense.
I don't know much about lights but I've noticed most high end lights are NOT ergonomic. I need a light that I can grab in the middle of night with my left hand, position and operate with only my left hand because a 44 magnum revolver will occupy my right hand.

I find that end cap switches are very awkward, the only way I can figure out how to operate and hold them is with my forearm in the air at head level. I want a light that I can operate and have better pointing options than that. I will have to have my thumb on the switch 100% of the time so I can't reposition my hand to aim. I might have to turn it OFF in a hurry.
A rear switch might be acceptable if the rear of the light has a flange that I can securely place the first two fingers of my left hand while operating with my thumb. That means there can't be a pocket clip back there to gouge my fingers.
Ideally the light would have a button near the bezel so I can hold it easily and comfortably. Unfortunately most of those kind dont have a shape that tells my hand where the switch is and I have to roll it and feel around for the switch, poor design, IMO. It takes several seconds to find the switch on my Maglite and turn it on at night, ....phooey. That really stinks when seconds count.

I would like a pocket clip if it's located nearer to the bezel away from operating fingers. If not so designed I'll do without the clip.

The beam should have concentrated light in the middle to blind Mr. Griz and a wide beam not so bright to track a running bear (sometimes they circle prey).

I want a simple on-off-on switch without any "logic" or "circuitry" or procedures to memorize (and try to remember in a life threatening situation), but I do want the momentary on option.

For those who don't backpack let me explain than many products are marketed to backpackers as "lightweight". If it's marketed to backpackers as "lightweight" without the true and actual weight being given it is unsuitable for backpackers, period.

Hopefully I can find something like this for under $100 and without having to build it out of different components.

Five hour run time would be OK. Plastic housing preferred.

I'm open to other battery recommendations as long as they are single and lightweight. I will likely install a new battery every trip.

Is there anything resembling my desires out there?

dook said:

I want a lightweight (one ounce?) hand-held light that uses a single CR123 lithium battery

Five hour run time would be OK. Plastic housing preferred.

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Welcome to the forum. I have no knowledge of Grizzly Bears, so can offer no valid input on that point, but I will suggest that your requirements are a little unlikely to be filled. Very hard to have a very bright light, that lasts five hours, but that runs on one CR123 battery.

Generally it is a case of: Run time, Small Size, Brightness - Pick two.

I'd highly doubt a flashlight is going to help you much if a bear is in a bad enough mood to attack.

IMHO, I don't know if there's much you can do at all to stop a charging bear...they can run in very quick bursts on flat ground and uphill, climb trees, don't fear water, etc. I've shined a bright light into an aggressive dog's eyes and surprisingly, it really didn't do much at all to slow the aggression. I can't imagine that a bear would care much either as many animals don't rely on vision as much as us humans.

I'd imagine Bear Mace may be a better deterrant...it's a large can of pepper spray that shoots a fog about 30 feet. I don't have experience with this product but it may be worth a look.

BTW, you are asking a lot out of a single CR123a light and you'd probably be hard pressed to find or make what you're looking for. Good Luck!

You can shoot a .44 Magnum in one hand? Accurately? Outstanding.

Any bright light will get the attention of a bear with night-adjusted eyes.

Assuming you want a minimum of 60 lumens - Surefire's standard "tactical" level and under $100.

Hmm...the EagleTac P10C.

Not what I'd select personally, but it meets most of your criteria.

As an aside - NZGunnie was on the money; a rule of thumb for flashlights: output, run time, flashlight size and cost. Pick two.

-Trevor

I'd rather have any light, a loud horn and the gun.

Horn sounds good. No thoughts on the Bear Mace?...is it just a gimmick?

You all think a bright flashlight would help?

phreeflow said:

You all think a bright flashlight would help?

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Of course it would help. Throw it at the bear (in as animal-friendly and humane way as possible). If it hits the bear you've got a very small chance you'll have stunned it, and if it was angry already it probably isn't much more so. If your throw falls short Mr Griz might stop to eat it (or at least check whether it's LED or incan), thereby giving more time to escape. Either way it's good.

It's more sensible to have a whistle or other noise maker and use it so the bear hears you coming and has time to move away before you come across it. Or so I've been told.

A flashlight won't stop drug addicts, dogs, zombies or bears from attacking you.

It might help, but what if it does not?

Egsise said:

A flashlight won't stop drug addicts, dogs, zombies or bears from attacking you.

It might help, but what if it does not?

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+1...those are my thoughts as well.

44 Mag....

File off the front sight.

I've read of Grizzly taking several rounds from a 375 H&H on Kodiak Island and this is when they weren't stalking around/pissed off (initially anyways)

There was a video of an outdoorsman who had a gun and a video cam.

Seems he saw a bear and wanted to get some video - had complete confidence in his ability to get his gun out and shoot the bear should the situation become violent.

They retrieved the video camera from his corpse.

The video was a fascinating exercise in just how fast something as large and powerful as a bear can move and how much ground it can cover with a quickness.

*shrug* If you think you can make it work, more power to you - it's not my life you're gambling with.

-Trevor

1) ALL of your requireemnts will not be met in one light. An ArcMania Mega Micro has the flange and is 1XCR123, is REALLY bright. 20 minutes runtime. I would trade runtime in your boat. You're not carrying a .22 and 500 rounds of ammo...you're carrying a magnum and 6 (OK, you might have a reload available, but you get the point...you can bring a spare battery or two). It is NOT an ultra-light flashlight. I carry 24 pounds wet for three summer days out...not ultralight, but lightish. I count ounces, not grams.
2) .44 can be effective against a curious bear, but why are you shooting a curious bear. It MIGHT be effective against some royally PO'd bears, but clearly not all. Bear spray, IF propoerly used, does show some promise at being more effective at short ranges against charging bears. That said, there is something comforting about a Super Redhawk that I just don't get from a big aerosol can.
3) I see the light as being more of an attention grabber for a bear. maybe it would give it slight pause "Hey...what is that thing?" More than anything, though, it's just going to help you aim.

Good luck. I've spent a few nights in grizz territory, most of my time out is in black bear country...I've never been really worried about bear (practice good camp hygiene)....until I was in grizz country. Black bear wants your food. Grizz wants you....food. (or is more likely to anyway.)

I would suggest that the answers be more on topic. If the original poster of this thread really wants a light and it isn't a joke, then give him suggestions on the light you think would help him out.

I believe a surefire L1 would probably be good. Although the button is at the end of the light it is so much easier to find there in the middle of the night then on the side. Also, you press the button down and it's fully bright. Made out of aluminum so not as light as plastic, but still not bad.

Another possiblity would be the Novatac Tactical for the same reasons. I think once you use the light a few times, you'll see that a button on the end works a lot better than a button on the side for what you're looking for. Has a clip, but near the bezel which can be attached to you hat to help you out at night and has a nice low if you need it.

Thanks for the replies. You're giving me ideas.
In a bear attack, most likely I will lose. I would prefer not to shoot the bear because they're vindictive. Many bear attacks do not involve a surprise charge, but rather a bear circling and sniffing around trying to figure out if he can get a meal out of the deal. In these situations noise helps. If not, mace or hot lead might. I've had 3 daytime bear close encounters so far but I'm not any kind of expert on bears.
If I can't see the bear, niether mace nor 44 magnum will help unless I can feel the bear. If I'm in a tent waking up to the sound of crushing bones (mine) the mace would be useless because the tent would be a barrier. That is one consideration in my choice of weapon. Outside the tent mace might have an advantage over a handgun. Mace would probably be lighter than the 63 ounces my gun weighs.

If a blinding light would have no effect on a bear, then maybe it doesn't need to be that bright, just bright enough to shoot with. That will get me more run time.

I'm not much good at shooting my lightweight 44 magnum "Mountain Gun" with one hand, I was thinking of using the wrist of my left land to help manage recoil.
I don't think the Eagletac P10C would be very handy, I suppose I could hold it palm down with my left hand but I wouldn't be able to shine it to my right without moving my entire body to the right. A rear switch is pretty awkward and gives very limited pointing choices unless you take your thumb off the switch.
Maybe I have to read up on what cops do with their hands in hairy situations.
I'll look into the ArcMania Mega Micro.

Dadof6 said:

I would suggest that the answers be more on topic. If the original poster of this thread really wants a light and it isn't a joke, then give him suggestions on the light you think would help him out.

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Oh sorry, Fenix E01 would be my choice, loong runtime, waterproof and light weight.
I believe it would be good as any other flashlight as bear repellant.

And it's cheap too!

Re-think the single cell - a two-cell might weigh a fraction more, but it's more likely you can find and grab the flashlight while also reaching for a weapon.

Most single cells are small enough that it isn't always a sure bet on the first pass, especially from the fog of waking up.

-Trevor

Dadof6 said:

I would suggest that the answers be more on topic. If the original poster of this thread really wants a light and it isn't a joke, then give him suggestions on the light you think would help him out.

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+1!

As to a flashlights "Ergonomics" ....well considering how adaptable the human hand is I think this is largely relative to how good you are at deploying the light. Sure certain designs are more intuitive but I beleive it comes down to how much you practice with it.
Sounds like you at least want a light that LEO's/Military would be comfortable using in their occupations.

Some of the 2 cell offerings out now really arent much larger than a single cell.....and at least that way you can get a much longer runtime on max output.

You should check out Eagletac, Fenix, Quark, Olight and Jetbeam for a start......they have some nice bright lights and a decent range to choose from.

Check out the "First-Light USA Tomahawk GP". Its actually $150 but the design is such that it is pretty obvious which end the light comes out and where the switch is. You may actually like the other models which have green/red etc LEDs. May be the ticket for having a night vision preserving light.......which for me personally would have to be just as important as bright light. A nice low may help you to sneak off with out disturbing the bear while it trashes your camp

Should also check out surefire........maybe the E1B backup. Its a single cell always comes on in max....but has an out of the way low mode. Again it is not the brightest out there but I would feel comfortable carrying it out in the woods.

You will have to compromise quite a bit I think. Go check out the reviews section for a while and when you have an idea of what different lights offer you can really narrow down your "requirements" to the ones that count for your situation.
For what its worth I think in your situation I would want a surefire with a 2 stage twisty (push slightly for low..push a bit harder for high).

Good Luck!!

A flashlight will NOT help you repel/deter a bear for a second. Thinking that it might would be dangerous and might lead you into making a foolish decision.

Dave H said:

A flashlight will NOT help you repel/deter a bear for a second. Thinking that it might would be dangerous and might lead you into making a foolish decision.

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Come on guys... He is NOT trying to repel bears with the light! He wants to be able to see where he shoots his gun!

I think that the Ra Clicky is a great choice! I understand that the OP did not want a programable light so he could use it brainlessly in the middle of the night with an animal closing in. Keep in mind this light would be set up before hand. It could be set up as momentary comes on at high and one click come on at high. The other levels would be just icing on the cake, and very useful while backpacking in my opinion. The Ra has great runtime using one cr123. If you need longer battery life, simply turn it down. This light comes in a bit over budget, though I believe it would the perfect companion.

The only light that could help you would be a powerful laser (or a handful of lasers to make aiming easier), which you could use to permanently damage the bear's eyes. But I'm afraid that the time and skill required to use this kind of weapon makes it useless - I would rather get a machine gun.

I don't know much about bears, but maybe some very loud ultrasound emitter would be more effective in keeping them away than a bright light. I used to have this kind of device for defending from aggresive dogs and after turning it on the dogs were just teleporting away with a whine. The sound was inaudible for a human, due to its high frequency.