What did you do for runtime before LEDs?

Actual experience answers only, please!

Back in the heyday of the P60 incandescent lamp run times were 60 minutes for 60 lumens.

What did you do when you were going on a four hour hike?

I'd really like to hear from the folks that were actually flashlight enthusiasts before LEDs became common, please

Used sparingly.

I only switched mine on when needed. My eyes were better back then too and I really didn't need a flashlight all that much.

A second set of batteries were a must.

CR123A? No way. They are too expensive today and back then they were 10x more expensive per lumen. Surefire used to run full-page ads in magazines so I was aware of P60. But I had other things to do with my money

I used lots of NiCad. AA and C and D. You'd often carry several lights. Either so you could use the smallest light appropriate for a task or as spares when batteries ran down or bulbs burned out.

Back in the days i was doing the same like the guys said but then i found AW liions.
So i placed P90 into G2 with 2x16340 AW's. Still have it today but with lightsaver miser for multiple output choice.
And i'm going back to incans, again. Guess i like muscle cars more then a tuned honda civic. )

Runtimes were never an issue for me back in the day.

Bigger and more batteries + less illumination = Longer runtimes

My old Streamlight 3C put out about 20-30 lumens. Runtimes were longer than many of my LEDs today.

When high-output incandescent in a compact package became more popular, like my old G3, I simply didn't use it that much.

Either used sparingly as above, used until the sickly yellow faded down to the point where it waz almost uzeless, or carried a 4D Mag for runtime... 🙄😁

For really long runtimes, you just used a lot of big batteries. I have a fluorescent light that takes 8 x D size NiMh, even 10 years ago those things were about 10ah each, so you have 100 watt hours, and gives pretty long run times even on fairly large sources. The big problem I used to have was charging them. There were few chargers that could deliver more than about 750mAh, and even those had timers on them. The timer would run out at 10 hours without fully charging the cell.

I didn't have a surefire back then but my friend did. I remember him using it very sparingly, when he needed longer run times he would take out a 3D maglight. On longer hikes, I would have two lights: an AA minimag with at least 2-3 sets of spare batteries and a spare bulb in addition to the one in the Tailcap. I would also have a 3D maglight with a spare set of batteries.

while the 3D had better runtime and was more powerful, it was relegated to backup or situations where I needed more power- due to the weight and bulk of spare batteries.

mattheww50 said:

For really long runtimes, you just used a lot of big batteries. I have a fluorescent light that takes 8 x D size NiMh, even 10 years ago those things were about 10ah each, so you have 100 watt hours, and gives pretty long run times even on fairly large sources. The big problem I used to have was charging them. There were few chargers that could deliver more than about 750mAh, and even those had timers on them. The timer would run out at 10 hours without fully charging the cell.

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Back in the mid 90s I had a very nice light that was a combination of a regular lantern with large reflector and a fluorescent lamp in the handle. It ran on four D cells. One time I had been working above the ceiling in my kitchen, and inadvertently left the lantern above the ceiling with the fluorescent on. I didn't realize it until a day later when I was sitting at the dining room table and noticed a glow around the turned off ceiling light in the kitchen. When I looked, I found my lantern, busily shining away. So the fluorescent side of the lantern had been on for more than 24 hours, and was still going strong.

I just used my CR123a lights for short tasks and brought spares. If I needed light for a long time I would use a 2D Maglite.

I forgot to add that I also frequently used a Coleman white glass lantern for area lighting when camping.

When surefires first came out cr123's were expensive and hard to find, I remember having to buy them at camera shops for well over $10 each (I don't remember the exact price, but it was a big deal when surefire started selling them at more reasonable prices). As a result CR123 lights tended to get used sparingly.

For good run time and a decent output big batteries, lots of D cells or 6V lanterns were the way to go. Some of the smaller AA and even AAA lights, like the Mini Mags, gave decent run times but were not all that bright, even for back in the day.

That's the main reason I bought a A2 when they first came out. When the main beam ran out of juice you still had plenty to run the leds.

Carried a 3D Maglite.

But if you recall some 20 years ago things were not as brightly lit in the incan era. Unless you lived in Vegas or a big city, chances are you could see stars way better than now.
So a flashlight wasn't required as much back then since the moon provided a good amount of light outdoors.

My light back then was an Energizer Arc White incan/CCFL light 4AA. Prior to that I had a 6D Fluorescent lantern/light and used 2D flashlights and later I had pelican 2AAA for pocketable lighting but when they kept going through bulbs I switched to UK2AAA lights and then LEDs came out. Fluorescent was my favorite lighting as it would stay white longer giving you more light for the price of your batteries.

I had a unlimited supply of aa's from work. Those yellow Underwater Kinetics flashlights were what they gave us. In a power plant they got broken frequently but had decent brightness.

Great thread!

In the early 2000's, I had both a Surefire addiction and a night shift security job. Seriously, I just budgeted for batteries. My favorite lights were the C3 Centurion and the M6 Guardian. Hogs, the both of them, although the latter was twice as fat as the former.

When I knew I'd be burning filament for extended periods, I'd step down to my E2e.

Always had those three lights with me, along with a spares carrier, of course.

Thank you, everyone!!

This is exactly what I was hoping for in starting this thread, I'm so glad y'all have shared these stories.

We flashaholics have it ridiculously good in 2019, and it is so fun the learn about the hobby from times past.

Honestly, back in the early 80's. Me and my Army buddies would go out for off duty recreational hikes at night with no lights, and we got along just fine. I think many of you all would be surprised as to how much you can see without a flashlight.

markdeerhunter said:

I had a unlimited supply of aa's from work. Those yellow Underwater Kinetics flashlights were what they gave us. In a power plant they got broken frequently but had decent brightness.

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Where I was working at the time the customer had a battery box where their staff would drop used AAs when they swapped them out for new ones. Once a month or so I would take my trusty battery tester and swipe the box for an hour or so, and see how many of the cells still had a good amount of power in them. They stayed at my desk when I took the box back. Got a lot of free cells that way.

I can echo lot of the above replies, we used sparingly or went bigger. Mostly we handled low runtime the same way most non-flashaholics do even now. You dont care about or need high power unless for a specific task. Most of the world is still not aware of what a 'lumen' is after all, they base their choice on what sits at convenient height on a shelf at walmart. For specific tasks in the day sure you went bigger, in hunting groups I remember one member would be lugging a vehicle battery in a backpack to power a handheld spotlight. or similar to now rigged up work lights for static tasks. But for most casual tasks, the cheapo plastic 10 lumens incan worked fine. To be honest it still would for the majority of tasks discussed on the forums, aka 'walking casually at night ". You dont need 1000 lumens, 500 lumens or even 100 lumens to walk a dog or check a thermostat. Darkness is just dark after all, its not a toxic substance.