Best light for bears

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Bears can't hold flashlights. I think if you give a bear a flashlight, they will just get angry.
 
DaveN007 said:
Any suggestions for the best LED to carry in bear country?
Click to expand...

Dave, you don't live in PA, do you?

Funny you should mention bears. We have stayed at a place named Blackbear Cabins every year for the past 8 years or so. (Cook Forest, PA)
As you might guess, black bears actually like to avoid humans in the wild, so it's a pretty lucky thing to see one if you are in the woods only one or 2 weekends a year. Well this past August was the first time we got to see one in 8 years. It was HUGE for a black, going well over 500 lbs. by the look of this guy. It was about 10PM, and I was taking a stroll out to the site's dumpster, several hundred yards from our cabin. I had my 200 Lumen Husky (strong thrower) and that is what allowed me to see his eyes (but ONLY his eyes) behind the dumpster from about 50 yards away.
Its black body just sucked in the light like a black hole. I kept the light on him as I slowly moved toward the dumpster with my bag of garbage. He most certainly must have been at least temporarily blinded, but given his immense size I was not about to take the light off of him, bad though I felt. As I continued to move in, he slowly and quietly gave leeway by moving into the dense treeline behind the dumpster, munching all the while on something he had helped himself to by lifting the lid and reaching in. I stashed the trash and hurried (as slowly as I could at first) back to the cabin. My kids and our friends were naturally interested to see the bear, so we reinforced with 2 more Huskys and an infrared video camcorder and set back out for the dumpster. To make a long story short(er), the bear was still feasting on scraps when we got back. Even with 3- 200 Lumen Huskys pointed directly at it from about 50 yards away, the blackness of its body made it barely visible at night. I did manage to get a couple of seconds of video of it though. The bottom line is (at least in the thick, dark forests of Pennsylvania, at night) I don't think anything less than an HID light is gonna give you a "light-em-up" type of visibility, unless you are only interested in seeing the eyes. Any good thrower will allow you to see bear eyes with some breathing room in between, as they fluoresce like a deer's.

-Hitec-
 
ryball said:
Bears can't hold flashlights. I think if you give a bear a flashlight, they will just get angry.
Click to expand...

Best. Answer. Yet. :thumbsup:

Seriously, though...maybe something with a nice warm tint to differentiate the bear from his (or her) surroundings? And then, of course, something with as many lumens as you can get?

More importantly, whatcha doin' wandering out in bear country after dark? ;-)

- FITP
 
LOL, that has to be the funniest thread topic I have read in my time on CPF.

Sorry Dave on a serious note if you have to be around bears at night just get the brightest dang light you afford and forget the size or batterys. Just get it bright it would suck not to see that bear lurking around the corner because you have a cheap light.

Start by looking at a Olight M30 or Eagletac M2X. Good luck and for goodness sake buddy stay away from the bears.
 
I'm proud to say that I've been lucky enough to camp in Yosemite every year since 1966. Why does that make me feel old...*lol* Bears going through camp are a nightly occurance. Any flashlight will do. As long as you don't leave food out, or have food in you tent or vehicle, there's nothing to worry about. If one comes into you camp...don't worry about it. If you for some reason want him to leave, just yell at him or bang a pan. Believe me...he'll leave. If you want to enjoy watching a beautiful animal use a low light so you don't scare him off. I've noticed that people who chase them or use bright lights usually end up sending them up a tree. Then you're stuck with him until he feels safe to come down and leave. ;)
 
best flashlight for bears would be one that is bite activated as they do not have opposable thumbs hence clickies and twisties are out
 
Excellent advice from all.

I was leaning toward a AAA taped to a small pocket knife (2 inch blade or so) with the beam facing the opposite direction from the unfolded blade. In the event of a black bear encounter, I would turn on the light and wave it around while making noise to let the bear no I am there. They are likely to go on their way.

If I come across a Grizzly, I will unfold the blade and turn on the light. Then I will stab my friend in the leg, and run. Leaving the light in his leg to attract the bear's attention. He laughed when I said I would run if attacked by a Grizzly. He said I couldn't possibly out run a Grizzly. I explained that I just had to outrun *him*. :naughty:


I have learned so much here as a "little spark" and I hope to one day contribute something of substance. LOL.lovecpf

For our UK friends, I submit the following for consideration:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HK9IcN734I

Truck headlight...that's good. LOL. You guys crack me up.
 
On a more serious note, it's probably a good idea to be able to see far enough to avoid a bear or wild animal, so having a far throwing light with a decently wide beam should be a good idea. One of the MC-E, P7, or SST-50/SST-90 lights might work.
 
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