Why no 30 AAA cane lights?

Why are there not more cane lights or trekking poles with LED built in? 30-40 AAAs or AAs in one long row would give plenty of battery life for weeks in the woods and would be bright enough to put everything else to shame.

1) Would you want to lug around 30 batteries [even as small as AAAs] for a week?

2) Would it be easy to use a light that is 40 inches long? I know it wouldn't fit in my NiteIze headband.

3) When the cells discharge at uneven rates, wouldn't it damage some cells when the others are pushing current through them?

I would assume it would have an angled or adjustable head.

30 AAAs wouldn't be that heavy. I heard Moses carried an iron staff when he was a Shepard so an aluminum pole with AAAs would be lighter than that so it makes sense.

You don't need a lot of lumens for general camp use. Once your eyes are adjusted to the darkness, you only need a few lumens to make your way around camp. (By a few, I mean 10-15) I don't think it would be very handy to be looking for something in your pack inside your tent with a five foot long light.

Bruceter

I don't really think anyone would want to buy 30 batteries at a time! I'd imagine the thought process of the typical consumer when he spots this light would go something like this:
"Oh, this pole light is really bright! But it needs 30 batteries."
Put a pack of AAA's in the shopping cart.
And another pack.
And another pack.
And another...
"Oh sod this, I'll just get a boring ol' Maglite instead."

You could have 3 in the handle of the walking cane/stick and it could produce more than enough light. But it is a great idea.

Neal

speedsix said:

Why are there not more cane lights or trekking poles with LED built in? 30-40 AAAs or AAs in one long row would give plenty of battery life for weeks in the woods and would be bright enough to put everything else to shame.

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I can't help but be amused at the sight of the actual use of such a contraption. With an angled head LED at the top of the walking stick the beam would alternately shine at the top of the trees then down to the trail with each step. Bobbing along like that would drive me nuts.

A head lamp would be much more practical and carrying 30-40 batteries if you must, would be more comfortably done in the back pack.

How about a lithium polymer battery that is molded into the cane? Or perhaps in the base of the backpack.

Picture something like the Zebralight flashlights with the angled head but made into a walking stick. I guess the whole length of the cane wouldn't have to be filled with batteries, it could have any amount

- Get a bicycle mount.
- Attach light to mount and mount to cane.
- ????
- Profit!

Not just the weight of the batteries, the weight of the cane too and of course, the up and down motion as was previously mentioned

Hmmmm...... possibly something like these:
http://www.fashionablecanes.com/Pathlighter_Walking_Canes.html

The 4Sevens XM18 uses 32 x 18650s.

Just put it on the top of a pole.

speedsix said:

Why are there not more cane lights or trekking poles with LED built in? 30-40 AAAs or AAs in one long row would give plenty of battery life for weeks in the woods and would be bright enough to put everything else to shame.

Click to expand...

I really think you need to lie down,you have not thought this out.30 AAA will not cease giving power all at the same time.

Max_Power said:

How about a lithium polymer battery that is molded into the cane? Or perhaps in the base of the backpack.

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Brill idea and I hope we will see use of Lipo batteries in Led lights.

30 batteries one on top of the other would have a tendency to crush the bottom battery with that much weight on it and would be a big effort to change them and if one battery went bad in the bunch it could make the whole batch useless. I don't see more than 8 batteries a worthwhile thing and AAs would be better... perhaps 4-6 of them at most.

some quick reasons:

Hikers (like myself) pay BIG money to get the lightest gear possible and no real hiker would want to carry a pole that weighs over a pound or so up a mountain. If I need to explain, just carry a 4 pound piece of wood along a ~10 pound backpack up mount Washington and you will definitely understand.

Too many batteries mean that the pole would be front-heavy and really, really unpleasant to lift : you don't lift a hiking pole square, you want the tip to touch the ground ahead of you and it will follow your foot all the way back before you lift it again.

Headlamps are very compact and eliminate the need to bring a pointy hiking pole inside a thin nylon tent at night, or to take your pole along for a bathroom trip.

Your hiking poles go up and down at every step and so the light will go from your feet all the way to skyward.... really annoying!

mcnair55 said:

I really think you need to lie down,you have not thought this out.30 AAA will not cease giving power all at the same time.



Brill idea and I hope we will see use of Lipo batteries in Led lights.

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I actually like that idea. lol

Surely the OP is joking?

Yes, but don't call me Shirley.

I read the OP as "lighted candy cane lights", kinda like this:



Surely!

Well, 30 batteries sounds like a bit much but as far as trekking poles with LED lights built in there's the Kaito BT409 Anti-Shock Hiking Pole with 9-LED Flashlight and DX has essentially the same thing in sku 4161. I don't know what sort of battery it takes but if it's a decent basic pole I could see it being useful as extra or back-up illumination on the trail.