Best Light for Trail Running at Night

[**DONOTDELETE**]

I'm looking for the best light for running on rough, rocky trails at night. The light would have to be bright so I could see the rocks and roots while running, be able to adjust from spot to flood, not be too tight so I would get tunnel vision while running, be held at lower than eye level so I could discern shadows (headlamps don't give any shadows since they are at eye level), be relatively lightweight, have a longer run time (4-5 hours at least) and relatively durable and water resistant.

For brightness I'm probably going to be looking for something of the non-LED variety. I'd also like to find a light for less than $50. Quite a few other trail runners I know have used the Bison 2C light with pretty good success. For a small backup light, I've seen the little 1 LED Bison advertised. How does that 1 LED compare to the Photons in brightness, and does it have a switch so it stays on, or do you have to squeeze it?

I've seen the light given off in some of the tests here of the Streamlight Scorpion, and can't believe the amount of light that little light gives off. Why does it generate so much light? How long do the batteries last, and what kind of lithiums are they? Where do you buy the lithium batteries for that flashlight? How do the Streamlight Pro-Polymers compare to the Scorpion in light generation? Any lights by Surefire that are somewhat affordable and would be very bright and good for trail running? UK? Others?

Any help greatly appreciated!

 

[Brock]

First how long do you need the light to run, while you run, no pun intended

I run a lot at night and I use either a Lightwave 2000 (3 AA batteries, 4 led's) or sometimes a covert Photon 3. I find a light that is so bright like the Scorpion sort of blinds you, then you can only see what is in the beam. The LW2000 is bright enough to see about 100 yards ahead, yet doesn't blind you.

The Scorpion uses 2 lithium 123's and runs about 1 hour on a set. A single 123 cost about $2 if you buy in bulk, it would be expensive to run, about $4 an hour. The Scorpion also is adjustable from spot to flood.

The Bison LED light should be the same as a Photon since it uses the same battery configuration and LED. It is a little larger then the Photon. I like the covert Photon and LW2000 because they don't spill light back to you eyes, only out the front.

The Streamlight has a pretty tight beam of light, good for light up further away, but not real good for up close. The Bison 2 C is adjustable so it can be a spot or a flood. You might want to look at the Bison 2 AA light it is adjustable spot to flood and just about as bright as the Bison 2 C, but obviously doesn't run as long on a set of batteries, it is also much lighter.

Again the Surefire light would probably be to bright and also use 123 lithium's costing about $4 and hour. You could go the rechargeable route if you use it a lot.

 

[recercare]

If value is most important, then i certainly would consider Energizer Lantern (Model.V109BP), 51 Lumens, shatterproof lense and lifetime warranty, 10.5 oz. weight with 6V battery. Burntime (according to a friend of mine): at least 10 hours.
You gan get this light for 10$. Quite superiour considering performance and price.

However, for running at night i would buy Petzl Zoom headlamp. An obvious best buy for inexpensive headlamps.

 

[bkral]

How about a Princeton - tec Rage? (Xenon, 4xAAA)It's way brighter than any 3V flashlight I have seen, and has a wide smooth beam. It won't run for 4-5 hours (P-T claims 2-3 hrs), but it sells for about 10$ and is so small and light that TWO or even THREE of them would weigh less than a typical 2C flashlight (2.5 oz each with batteries).

-BCK
-BCK