Lights to take to Southern Africa

Hey guys,
I'm headed out to South Africa for a fishing trip with my dad, uncle and cousin.
We'll be heading from Johannesburg to Welkom, and then up through Botswana to the Caprivi-region of Namibia to a fishing lodge.

The drive from Welkom to Caprivi will take two days. The Lodge is said to have mains-power but i'm not certain it'll be reliable.
We'll be at the lodge for about nine days before heading back.

I'm planning on taking all 10 of my 18650's, my Xtar charger, my multimeter and about 15 or so CR123As just in case.

As for the lights themselves, i'm definitely taking my EDC (SF C2 w/NB HCRI XP-G) and my E2E with e-series dropin.
I'm intending to also take the XM-L light because it's both super-bright on high as well as having an awesome runtime on low.

I'm also planning on taking my only Incan light, a Solarforce L2 with a 3.7V Lamp-assembly. it runs really nicely for about an hour or so off a single 18650.

My Romisen RC-F4 will stay where it always stays, as my emergency-light which lives in my backpack.

I'll also be taking my latest torch, a Tesco £10 2xAA Cree torch, it's got pretty reasonable output, seems acceptably durable and runs on those oh-so-common Alkalines. I also won't mind if it gets lost/broken/eaten/stolen.

Other than torches, i'm taking my DSLR, and i'm planning on getting the battery-grip for it, which i'll fill with 6xAA Eneloops, so i'll also take an AA-charger for those. with the camera I'm obviously taking my laptop for picture storage, and i'll also take my knife (CRKT M16-13SF, silly-sharp)

What do you guys think? anything i've missed out? anything i should try to get? anything i should leave behind?

Cypher_Aod said:

What do you guys think? anything i've missed out?

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Fishing tackle?

a Headlamp ? ? ?

JacobJones said:

Fishing tackle?

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All of that's already there, we're using my Uncles fishing tackle

Burgess said:

a Headlamp ? ? ?

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Good one! I'll see if i can rig up a headband for my Maratac AAA which should make a perfect head-torch.

I think that a flood headlamp with a neutral tint would be perfect for you. It's a hell to fiddle with fishing tackle when it's completely dark, and your tackle is small and hard to work with, like when you have to take the hook out of the fish's mouth. Zebralight H51/31FW would be my recommendation. I use my H51FW on fishing trips, and it is by far more usable when i have to concentrate while gutting the fish, take out hooks etc..
I also have the normal H31 and H51, but the H51 FW is just perfect for this use.

Hi, you will also need a good multitool for the emergency repair jobs. Also look into a holster that combines a multitool and flashlight your Tesco 2AA torch. Look for a holster with a flap over the top to keep things from falling out.

=D~~ Kilted

Anything with an attack bezel ;-)

Maratac AAA will fit quite nicely on the brim of my cap for headlight duty.

I don't have any decent multitools (too expensive!) but i'm taking almost my entire toolbag with me

I spent a year there, if your party is driving at night I would think something that has spot capabilities, the critters get on the road, and many of the roads do not have reflective lines, this makes driving at night tiresome.

A passenger could spot ahead and look for animals just for fun and saftey, check the laws I don't think it's illegal.

Just spotting around camp would be a hoot too.

Unfortunately i'm still in the process of building my spotlight

I'll see what i can cobble together

I have not read what others have recommended, if it was me I would take my Lumapower VX with the large reflector, it's a very small torch with a fantasic spot using the large reflector, but it's no matter I envy you for your chance to go, it will be a blast, a cheep alternative may be to go to the local discount store and buy a automible plug in spot for 15.00 or 20.00 rand.

Cypher_Aod said:

Unfortunately i'm still in the process of building my spotlight

I'll see what i can cobble together

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You will know after your first night of driving if it's worth it.

Have fun I have not been there since apartide ended.

I've not been there in about six years, I'm sure its very different now, but when i last was there I didn't see much of anything other than my grandparents Durban retirement community (which, admittedly, was awesome)

A lantern would be good.

Sounds like a great trip. I just got back from a South African safari a few weeks ago (experienced posted on this forum). Like any good flashaholic I took a bunch of flashlights but ended up only using one. My SC600. It was the one always in my pocket, always bright enough, always dim enough and always ready. At night I ran it on the lowest setting and it was my night light. I'm not familiar with the lights you mentioned but the one closest in versatility to an sc600 will probably be the one you use the most. Of course you will need your charger to work in 240 V AC and 12 V DC. South African has a unique wall plug. Don't know about Namibia. I highly suggest a good light diffuser on something that will run cool with up to 200 +/- lumens. Since you can't shine a flashlight up against a thatched hut roof or dark tent roof and get much indirect light back. I also suggest a small waterproof hard case (Pelican is one source) that will hold a few 18650's and keep them dry when you are out fishing or exploring. Same thing for your AA's.

I'm sure they told you about bug spray. Get the best and get aerosol. I have come to like aerosol sun block as well. Big hats keep your head and neck out of the sun. A good Leatherman type multi tool is always a good idea. So is a stout fixed blade knife but that may be an issue for you in the UK. I'm not a fisherman so I'm blank to that side of it. Ohhh... maybe some water purification pills, just in case. Good luck. Good fishing!

Thanks very much Big Sam!

In the UK all our stuff is 240v so that shouldn't be a problem. I hope we won't be on the road long enough to need to do any in-car charging.
My PocketRef says that Namibia is 220V so that should be okay. Apparently their plugs are either 2-pin euro or tri-pin rounds... i'm sure we can find an appropriate adapter somewhere.

I actually grew up in Zimbabwe so as far as day-to-day stuff is concerned I can just about remember what's what. Already looking for good hats, and my knife is ready to go, it's not fixed blade but it's close.
It'll be fun to use some mosquito coils again, it's been more than a decade

As mentioned before... something with a strike bezel! You just never know when it might come in handy!

A portable solar panel would be great idea, if mains power is down or not there at all you've always got a source of power for you lights!

My suggestion for being able to charge off the car battery was in case the AC power went out. That's all. We had that happen in SA but it only lasted a couple hours past dark so one battery was enough. If power had gone out for a couple days I would have been recharging camera and flashlight batteries off the Land Cruisers.

Mathiashogevold said:

I think that a flood headlamp with a neutral tint would be perfect for you. It's a hell to fiddle with fishing tackle when it's completely dark, and your tackle is small and hard to work with, like when you have to take the hook out of the fish's mouth. Zebralight H51/31FW would be my recommendation. I use my H51FW on fishing trips, and it is by far more usable when i have to concentrate while gutting the fish, take out hooks etc..
I also have the normal H31 and H51, but the H51 FW is just perfect for this use.

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My thoughts also. I use mine quite often when two hands are a must. Hauling gear at night or fiddling around trying to repair a leak under the kitchen sink. Zebralights also have very good runtimes on multiple modes.

your allowed to have knifes in london? is it a preban or has the tip been rounded off?