in the market for a hand-carried light for running

Hi all -- in a previous thread you encouraged me to get a JetBeam BA20 as my first "real" flashlight and I'm very happy with it. So now I'm back to ask for some help in selecting a light to carry with me on my nighttime runs this winter. 90% of my night miles are along sidewalks and multi-use trails so 30-50 lumens is perfectly adequate. I'm mostly just trying to be seen my cyclists and avoid stepping into potholes.

My answers to the checklist are in bold below. Thanks!



1) How would you prefer to purchase the light?

I will be mail-ordering or buying online, so this doesn't matter.

2) Budget:

Less than $50.

3) Format:

I want a flashlight.

4) Flashlight-specific format/size:

Every day carry small (2-4 inches).

5) Emitter/Light source:

Neutral LED

6) Manufacturer:

I want to buy a light from a traditional mass producing manufacturer that is ready to go out of the box.


7) What battery type do you want to use?

AAA, AA and their equivalent LSD rechargeable NiMH

8) How much genuine out the front (OTF) light do you want/need? Sometimes you can have too much light (trying to read up close up with a 100 lumen light is impossible).

I'd prefer to to stay close to 50 lumens.


9) Throw vs. Flood: At what distance will you be most likely to use this light? Select all that apply.

5-20 yards/meters for running on dark sidewalks and multi-use paths


10) Runtime: Not over-inflated manufacturer runtime claims, but usable brightness measured from first activation to 50% with new batteries (Measured on maximum output).

90-120 minutes (Runtime is moderately important, but still not critical)


11) Durability/Usage: Generally the old phrase "you get what you pay for" is very accurate for flashlights.

Slightly Important (Walks around the neighborhood).

12) Switch Type and location (choose all that apply):

Clicky switch. Prefer switch to be near the head.

13) User Interface (UI) and mode selection. Select all that apply.

A simple on-off with only one output level is fine for me.


14)Material/Finish/Coating

I don't care.

15) Special Needs/extras: Is there anything else you want or need that hasn't been mentioned? Select any below.

Wrist Lanyard would be nice

Get a head light,plenty to select within your budget,no holding on to a hand light,keep it for a drink.

Personally, I would agree that a headlamp is what you need, but I also realize that others just don't want to wear a light on their head. So, I have a solution. Get a zebralight H51w. It comes with a strap and rubber mount to be worn on your head, but it perfectly capable of being used as a handheld light. In fact, it is actually the best possible hand held light because it's a 90 degree angle light.

Think about the way your hands are when you run, and think about how you would have to hold a traditional light for it to point down your path. Not so with the H51w. Hold your hand naturally and the light points in the direction you are running.

Now for you other criteria, it will produce almost 200 lumens on high, but also has several other output modes that are closer to the output you specified. It is incredibly efficient, and will give you longer run time from a AA than almost anything else out there. Though it is marketed as a "warm" light, it is actually much more of a neutral color, however there is a high CRI version available if you'd prefer that. It's well within your size constraints, comes with a clip to which a lanyard can be attached, has a durable hard anodized finish, and is (almost) within your budget.

I want to clarify that I am not speculating about the suitability of this light as a night running light. I am an avid runner and adventure racer and do almost half of my total running at night. I have owned several headlamps and several zebralights. The h51w is by far my favorite.

Do consider this wonderful little light.

Cheers!

BJ

GeoBruin said:

... Get a zebralight H51w...

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+1

Great recommendation. For longer run times and quite a bit more light output along with a better grip due to its longer length making for a superior grip, you might also want to consider a Zebralight H600. A bit more $, but would pack a lot more of a punch as to lighting up your surroundings and prove very useful with other tasks as well.

Interesting. I had just about pulled the trigger last night on the SC51c but I like the idea of the headlamp version for the 90 degree head. I'm specifically looking for a handheld light because I usually wear a baseball cap while running at night to shield my eyes from the headlights of oncoming traffic and putting a headlamp on top of a hat brim like that doesn't work so well.

I don't like wearing stuff on my head either. I find that with a hand held light I can shine it where I need and lower the beam against oncoming traffic if necessary. Zebralight are on my shortlist but at the moment I'm on a limited income and they are just a bit too pricey for me. I also think that around 30 lumens is just right for sufficiently illuminating the trail while giving a decent run time. Although on very rough tracks a higher mode is useful sometimes.

A few lights I regularly use which might fit your criteria:

Olight i2 (AA) - cheap, lightweight and medium level 25-ish lumens. Build quality not the best and threads can be a bit loose.

Fenix E11 (AA) - cheap but well built, 'low' level 39 lumens. This light has a bit of 'throw' so illuminates the trail very nicely. I like this light a lot.

Fenix LD01 (AAA) - just ordered one after borrowing a friends' - very small and lightweight (possibly too small to hand hold for long periods), AAA means less runtime than AA.

There are a lot of lights out there that will suit your needs but keeping within your budget will help to make the choice a bit more manageable. Hope this helps.

Another idea is to use a ZL H51 or similar and an arm band. Just ran into a runner on the trails the other evening. He had a angle-head light mounted on an armband almost at his shoulder.

I just ordered one H51c and one H51w to see which I like better. I plan to return the unfavored light. I hope ZL's return policy is really as good as their website would have me believe.

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. I'd hoped to stay under $50 since my "nice" light is a $40 Jetbeam, but I'll probably end up using this flashlight a lot more, so I guess it makes sense that it cost more. Right? Or am I just succumbing to flashaholism? :thumbsup:

wludavid said:

I'd hoped to stay under $50 since my "nice" light is a $40 Jetbeam, but I'll probably end up using this flashlight a lot more, so I guess it makes sense that it cost more. Right? Or am I just succumbing to flashaholism? :thumbsup:

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Both!! Zebra's a great light from what I have read. Enjoy it.

I think the ZL H51c and H51w are a great choice. I have a H51c and love the tint!

Another light I like and which you might consider for future purchase is the Fenix MC11. I know this is not neutral but it has a pure white tint which is nice. The two advantages over the H51c and H51w are that you can ratchet the head so you can angle it to exactly the position you want the beam to point and that you can use the diffuser for a wide beam and then flip it up if you want throw. It is also fully regulated. It is different to the Zebralights certainly but a nice light.

I think the Zebralight H51f is an even better choice but you can put a piece of translucent tape over the one your ordered and get a diffused effect as well. That way you don't have the distraction of the light beam moving all over the place.

If you want to be seen by the cyclists and traffic, choose a light that can have a small diffuser wand on the end. Fenix and Olight have many to choose from. Some of their wands fit other lights with the same size bezel. You will be visable at all angles.

i've tried running with the sc51c, and h51w and found the beam to be too focused for the swinging platform that is your hand. for a hand held light while running think flood. my favorite right now is the lumapower incendio v3u neutral xm-l on rcr123's, but that's not the battery type you're looking for. any of the mentioned lights can be clipped to the waistband of your shorts, and you'd not even know it was there when not in use. if you must stick w/aa i recommend the zl sc51fw then.

it's been mentioned elsewhere that niteize make a headband that works well with the h51's, no bounce. i've been meaning to try it out for myself but haven't yet. my assumption is that mounted on the head a running light would not need to be as floody.

It was my post above that emphatically recommended the H51w as a running light. I did not however mention that I use dc fix diffusion film to obtain the desired flood from the light, as it is in fact preferable. Especially for trail running, in which case it is important to see the entire width of the trail.

damn_hammer said:

i've tried running with the sc51c, and h51w and found the beam to be too focused for the swinging platform that is your hand. for a hand held light while running think flood. my favorite right now is the lumapower incendio v3u neutral xm-l on rcr123's, but that's not the battery type you're looking for. any of the mentioned lights can be clipped to the waistband of your shorts, and you'd not even know it was there when not in use. if you must stick w/aa i recommend the zl sc51fw then.

it's been mentioned elsewhere that niteize make a headband that works well with the h51's, no bounce. i've been meaning to try it out for myself but haven't yet. my assumption is that mounted on the head a running light would not need to be as floody.

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gcbryan said:

I think the Zebralight H51f is an even better choice but you can put a piece of translucent tape over the one your ordered and get a diffused effect as well. That way you don't have the distraction of the light beam moving all over the place.

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The 51f is also a flood version

The headlight I've been running with the last couple years is pretty spotty and it doesn't bother me. I've run with my Jetbeam (hand held) and it's been fine too. And seeing as how I've ordered the non-floody zebralights, I think I'll see how I like them before trying a diffuser.

Scotch tape works great for diffusing lights. By the way, I run before sun up regularly, and have been on the hunt for the perfect running light for a long time. The H51 & H51w are as close to perfect as I've found, and I prefer them without being diffused.

If you ever do decide to use your new light as a headlight then the strap that it comes with will not work for running - bounces around too much. The NiteIze headband over at batteryjunction.com is perfect & comfortable and only $4.

GeoBruin said:

Think about the way your hands are when you run, and think about how you would have to hold a traditional light for it to point down your path. Not so with the H51w. Hold your hand naturally and the light points in the direction you are running.

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I went running last night with the H51c. I love the beam and the UI and the size/weight. But you and I must really hold our hands differently when we run because the 90-degree angle thing did not work for me.

So I'm still deciding between the warm tint and the high-CRI tint but when I straighten that out I'm going to swap goth these lights in for an SC51.

Outdoorsman5 said:

Scotch tape works great for diffusing lights. By the way, I run before sun up regularly, and have been on the hunt for the perfect running light for a long time. The H51 & H51w are as close to perfect as I've found, and I prefer them without being diffused.

If you ever do decide to use your new light as a headlight then the strap that it comes with will not work for running - bounces around too much. The NiteIze headband over at batteryjunction.com is perfect & comfortable and only $4.

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Do you know if the Nite Ize strap works well to turn the SC51 into a headlamp? Seems like it would. I used to use one for my minimag about 15 years ago when I was a Boy Scout.

wludavid said:

Do you know if the Nite Ize strap works well to turn the SC51 into a headlamp? Seems like it would. I used to use one for my minimag about 15 years ago when I was a Boy Scout.

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It would work with the SC51 riding on the side of your head since it is a forward facing traditional flashlight. The disadvantage though would be that you wouldn't be able to adjust the light direction up or down unless you sort of repositioned the whole rig. It'd work in a pinch though.