Best flashlight for camping?

[vali]

I'm going for a six night trip and I picked out these flashlights to take:

No headlamps?

 

[greenlight]

No headlamps?

I own a headlamp, but I haven't seen it in years. The batteries are likely corroded. I must have left it with some camping gear, but never can find it.

I find that I don't ever use a headlamp when camping. By the time it gets dark I'm ready to sit by the campfire and then go to bed. I can do that all with a little flashlight.

It might be good for reading in the tent, but I manage with a flashlight.

One of the guys has an old headlamp and he's constantly blinding me with it. I guess it can't be angled down. I'm not a big fan.

 

[iapyx]

And remember it takes fifteen or twenty minutes in the dark before the visual pigment regenerates in your retina and your night vision sensitivity recovers.

Unless you are colourblind. Then your eyes adapt faster.

 

[Blindasabat]

(I'm) Going camping soon, so I'll do some thinking out loud here.

1) If limited to only one light (ultralight pack for long hiking trip) with my buddies light as backup (we do that a lot - "my backup compass/knife/light is your compass/knife/light") then I would take my PT EOS because it has a good tint & good beam. I don't like 3AAA lights, but the EOS covers bases & shares AAA's with my mini GPS (if I took that). I would take a Photon Freedom as my own backup anyway... This option or scenario would never happen anymore though.

2) If I can take two small lights, I'd go to the Zebralight H30 & Nitecore EX10 - both small flexible CR123 lights. This is still a very small, light hiking setup. And still the Photon would tag along, it's to small & useful not to.

3) Keeping it small, but adding a few: MJP Extreme III and the Nuwai AAA light headlight strap to use this as a headlight & Jil CR2.

4) Adding on to this, I would take a SF E2L, Creemator, or equivalent modded KX head on a Fivemeaga or Moddoo 18500 body, my SuperNova SSC high CRI KL optic, my K2 TFFC L1 capable of 300L, and maybe the Malkoff M60W in the VG F2 head on an 18500 body.

No lights over 5" (127mm) long but I still will have more than enough throw for camping.

 

[Blindasabat]

I have found a lot of people don't practice good headlight etiquette and end up blind others all the time. That is one think I don't like about overly floody headlights. All headlights need a shade over the top. I hate being rude to others as much as I don't like them being rude to me, so I try to avoid it.

One of the guys has an old headlamp and he's constantly blinding me with it. I guess it can't be angled down. I'm not a big fan.

 

[Burgess]

Wow, been exactly 2 years since my last post in this thread.


Amazing, how Tempus Fugits.




_

 

[ilLUMENati]

Ok, you have $30 and you're going camping. Lets not break the budget like we always try to do here.... I personally NEED a headlamp when i go camping, have a lot of stuff to do with my hands. So lets spend $10 on that, wal-mart, target, etc all have some sort of headlamp in the $10 range. Nothing fancy, not super bright, but get one that runs on AA, those coin cells can get expensive. So we have $20 left, why not a mag 2D (or whichever # of cells you prefer) Yes yes i know everyone is going to hate me for saying to but a regular old incan mag, but i know at lowe's they're $16. Have you ever broken a mag? Me either, it'll work when you need it. So we've spent about $25 now, spend your other $5 on the batteries and enjoy your trip. Now we don't have any "throw monsters" or "10 day runtimes" but once you light your fire, you shouldn't need much light in the immediate area. If you go hiking, carry your lights, but leave them off and walk by the moonlight. And if you get in some trouble, shine your mag, and swing it. Have a great trip.

I'm gonna have to second this guy. He gave you the most practical answer, and I would bet you it was one you already thought of but just wasn't sure.

Sometimes we get too caught up with our knowledge base here in CPF and give answers that only manage to complicate things even further.

 

[DaveG]

The light I always love is the Pak-lite,get two basic models plus extra 9-v batteries.The cost is under your $30. price point.

 

[rigormootis]

Right now I pair a Zebralight 501w with a Fenix L2T body/TC + LxD-Q5 head.

I just "upgraded" from a Zebralight H50-Q5 and I may replace the Fenix with a 2AA Quark after I get to play with on...but we'll have to see. The only other thing I need batts for when I backpack/canoe/camp is my 2AA-fed Garmin GPS. Then again, the GPS is a luxury anyway as I still plot eveything with a compass & map first anyway (use it or lose it, right?).

 

[Blindasabat]

..the GPS is a luxury anyway as I still plot eveything with a compass & map first anyway (use it or lose it, right?).

:bow: Right!

 

[greenlight]

Then again, the GPS is a luxury anyway as I still plot eveything with a compass & map first anyway (use it or lose it, right?).

Dad took his GPS on our rafting trip and I couldn't even get him to set ONE waypoint for me to locate our campsites. He was afraid to use it. I realized that I could take a snapshot of the gps screen, but he didn't mention that he had brought it until FOUR DAYS INTO THE TRIP. Grrr.

My brother asked him for a flashlight to bring and he gave him a 3c Streamlight. DO NOT TAKE YOUR 3C STREAMLIGHT camping. It's just too big.

I mostly used my gerber firecracker. It's a great all-around camp light.

 

[Centropolis]

If you're camping and you're only bringing one light, it would be most useful to bring a headlamp......like many of us have said already.

If you really want a flashlight, the Microstream would be a good one to look into. Get the 2 x AAA version for longer runtime.

 

[defloyd77]

I mostly used my gerber firecracker. It's a great all-around camp light.

That Firecracker sure is a unique light, I too use mine a lot. I wonder how good Gerber's new Option series is, IIRC they too uses a TIR optic and the single cell is 50 lumens.

 

[mazingerz9]

Besides a flashlight, make sure you put your spare batteries in something that is waterproof. Perhaps, the cheapest thing to do is put them in two sandwich bags, one inside another.

It's not a good idea to carry batteries without protecting them from moisture.

 

[rigormootis]

Dad took his GPS on our rafting trip and I couldn't even get him to set ONE waypoint for me to locate our campsites.

Maybe it was a lesson for you in disguise?
I feel a bit silly every time I turn mone on - like I'm cheating myself. After never needing one to navigate in my 9 years in the Marine Corps, I truely see GPS as a crutch -- and one that is all too easy to become dependent upon.

 

[Hooked on Fenix]

Definitely go for the Princeton Tec Quad headlight. It's on sale for $19.99 at REI and and their online site REI.com. If you're looking for something at a higher price point, The PT EOS (50 lumen Rebel version)is even better. It's a little brighter with whiter light and a great beam pattern for the outdoors. Both headlights are waterproof, regulated so they can use lithiums, and have three well spread out brightness settings. I have been using both of these headlights pretty much exclusively for my backpacking trips since they came out.

Few headlights are that lightweight, regulated, bright, efficient, and waterproof. The Black Diamond Spot and the Petzl Tikka/Zippa headlights aren't waterproof or regulated, and use PWM for dimming (they flicker on lower settings). The BD Spot wasn't even tough enough for backpacking. Part of the lens on mine broke off while being transported in an outside pocket of a daypack on a hike. There was nothing else in the pocket and the light was in no way crushed. It's plastic is too weak for serious use. The EOS and Quad use polycarbonate lenses that are recessed for protection. The l.e.d.s and circuitry are sealed off from the battery compartment so they are protected when changing batteries in wet environments. The BD Spot has a non-sealed hole that exposes the circuitry and the battery compartment to the elements. It is in no way "stormproof" as the packaging suggests. The Petzl Tikka/Zippa lights aren't sealed as well as the EOS/Quad headlights but I have never heard of one failing from getting wet. A friend of mine has been using a Tikka Plus for backpacking the John Muir Trail and he hasn't switched to any other light yet. Out of all these headlights mentioned, the Petzl lights are probably made to last the longest so I wouldn't rule them out if you don't mind a light without regulation and don't use lithium batteries. They have the strongest plastic case and the l.e.d.s are not overrun. Of course, that means they are dimmer than the Quad and EOS lights and a little heavier since you can't use lithiums.

 

[Skyeye]

I got a Coast LEDLenser Camp Light from Academy the other day. It is designed for campers. It uses 2AA's and has tight cluster of 3 Nichia LED's for very bright white light. It has really decent throw and with the included lucite bar you screw it on the front and hang it in the tent or camper. The good thing about this light is it's really not much bigger than a standard pocket pen light and puts out at least 3x the lumen's of a standard AA Maglite. It's all aluminum, waterproof and has a side mount momentary/full on switch. Comes with a nice pouch and carabiner. They normally sell them for $18 but I got mine for half off.

See here:

 

[trvonder]

ZebraLight H501. Can use as a headlamp or handheld. Can hang it from a tree, clip it to a tent, set in on a table. 1 AA battery.