Bought some Luxeon lights

[skalomax]

So, for a upcoming camping trip I've decided to buy a Fenix LOP, L2P, and a SL 4AA PP Luxeon.

Didn't go with the CREE versions.

Do you guys think these lights are going to provide enough lighting?
Or should I buy some Surefire SSC or CREEs?

:wave:

 

[carrot]

Are you SERIOUS?

skalomax I thought you've been here long enough ;p

to realize that Luxeon lights are still perfectly capable even in light of newer Cree versions.

 

[MarNav1]

Should be fine IMO. I've quite a few Luxeons still.

 

[Culhain]

Heck yea, they will provide enough light. I camped for years using a pair of incan Mini-Mags, and the lights that you selected are far superior.

Funny story: One dark and overcast night I was camped adjacent to the car camping area in a local state park. I had a candle lantern hanging from a tree to provide light for cooking dinner. Some folks that were car camping a 100 yards away came over to see what sort of flood light I was using. They thought it looked bright.

Under conditions of true darkness, you need very little light. If you find yourself wishing for more light on your camping trip, next trip find a better place to camp.

 

[TonkinWarrior]

Skaly, at the risk of committing Flashaholic Heresy, I hereby advise you to set aside whatever funds you dedicated to acquiring new lights... and using that $$ to purchase a few bottles of Blantons Bourbon to sustain you and your Outward-Bound friends for surviving Nights Around The Campfire.

Have a great adventure out there in the wilderness!

 

[Gunner12]

As long as you can see what you need to see, then there is enough light. So yes, you should have enough light.

Once you come back you can swap in a Seoul P4 if you want more output.

 

[Illum]

do0d! luxeons are still awesome!
don't listen to carrot, hes a bad influence :nana:

if you think about it, how much light could you possibly need when your conditioned to the darkness anyway?
luxeon lights at times of greatest need are lights that can be sacrificed without making your heart itch. they can be the workhorses, loaners lights, lost in the woods, or drowned in the lake lights. heck, up to now I can only say that the new lights are TOO BRIGHT and LONG RUNNING and should be made LESS BRIGHT and VERY LONG RUNNING :thumbsdow

I used to and still think luxeon lights provide the "just right" brightness and preferably a longer runtime. Bring spares, especially for the L0P, your going to need them. :thumbsup:

 

[TOOCOOL]

I just got back from a camping trip and I found most of my lights too bright :sigh:
and a fellow camper somewhere out in the dark shouted out something about LIGHT I blame Milky for that one :devil:. First night I used battery powered lanterns and the second night I used one coleman duel lantern. Truth be known I hardly needed a flashlight except when visiting the bathroom .

 

[Sarratt]

.... a fellow camper somewhere out in the dark shouted out something about LIGHT ...... .

When camping, other peoples light can be like other peoples music.... I'm sure they are enjoying it but it doesn't mean I will too.


When I take my Coleman lantern (single mantle) camping I've rigged up a shield so that my light goes where I want it. (shield is a large coffee tin cut in half)

To the original poster ... I'm taking my SL ProPoly lux and L2D Q5 and LOD Q4 .
I might be doing some night time canoeing so I'm bringing my PrincetonTec Apex ...also great for campsite chores needing both hands.

Have fun out there.

 

[Culhain]

Skaly, at the risk of committing Flashaholic Heresy, I hereby advise you to set aside whatever funds you dedicated to acquiring new lights... and using that $$ to purchase a few bottles of Blantons Bourbon to sustain you and your Outward-Bound friends for surviving Nights Around The Campfire.

Have a great adventure out there in the wilderness!

ROTFL, Mr. TW would make a great camping partner.

On my last camping trip, we used a closed Forrest Service fire access road to drop off gear and supplies, parked our trucks and then hiked in to enjoy complete solitude, fine wining and dining and true darkness. This trip, my big light was a SF E2O, which wasn't used. I preferred to use an older Inova X1 (reflector) and a Gerber IU. The ladies liked to use my X1 so I retrieved my Gerber from tent light duties and used it as my main light. The SF was used once when both of my lights were in use by others and got comments like: "WOW that is bright". My city work lights (6P Malkoff and P1 CE) would not have been welcome.

 

[Woods Walker]

I did a test.

Took out my 3 Luxeon lights. The Apex headlamp, old Inova T3 and my 2 C Mag with standard factory Luxeon LED upgrade. I turned off the lights in the house and sure as Sunday the Luxeons worked. Go figure?

 

[skalomax]

Hehe, just making sure I'm not going a little crazy.
It's funny because I was the kind of guy that wanted the brightest and the farthest throwing lights available. Guess I turned a new corner.

Btw, I knew it would be enough light, just making sure I'm not the only luxeon user aroun' here. :thumbsup:

Thanks for the responses!

 

[Blindasabat]

Sarratt, thank you for being a polite camper. You are absolutely correct that too much of anything, be it noise or light, is more than your camping neighbors want to hear or see.
Some friends of mine went night canoeing and they remarked afterwards how LITTLE light was needed to navigate and that modern headlights (Non-cree or SSC even, these were not flashaholics) were TOO bright!
So I only take lights camping that can go very dim.

When camping, other peoples light can be like other peoples music.... I'm sure they are enjoying it but it doesn't mean I will too.
When I take my Coleman lantern (single mantle) camping I've rigged up a shield so that my light goes where I want it. (shield is a large coffee tin cut in half)
...I might be doing some night time canoeing so I'm bringing my PrincetonTec Apex ...quote]

 

[Triple A]

I tend to carry newer lights with many brightness levels, so that I have plenty of low options, but the "very bright" is available if needed. This said, luxeon lights are PERFECT camping companions. They aren't so bright that they disturb other campers, but provide more than enough light for almost any imaginable camping task! (I think of all good quality luxeon lights as being highly superior to the aa maglite- which was the "camping standard" of nearly everyone I knew years ago when I was in college! No offense to the mini-mag, Great light in its own way.)

Don't forget a red filter for preserving your night vision. If you get a good true dark, the stars "explode" in the sky when the lights go out. Dark Adapted Vision = Natures Fireworks!!

HAPPY CAMPING!!

 

[Illum]

Don't forget a red filter for preserving your night vision. If you get a good true dark, the stars "explode" in the sky when the lights go out.

Good luck with high powered lights, a 1MCP spotlight with the red lens will wipe out everyone's night vision. high powered red light makes really no difference compared to a white light if your trying to ruin night vision. However, a single 5mm LED in red is the most super awesome light you can use in the really dark places.

A personal experience as a no0b astronomer going on a trip with another no0b astronomer who thinks he can read star charts with the 1MCP w/ red filter [he brought it thinking he could use it for emergency lighting] and that was the only light he brought. that was a long night and alot of arguments from the senior astronomers. :candle:

I bought some small red balloons and stretched it over the "bezel" area of the Zebralite H50 and it works perfectly! If your camping trip is the type that requires a little hiking and not the drive in types, I'd strongly recommend you have a headlamp. Its better to have one and not use it instead of needing it and not have one.

 

[toolpig1]

The Streamlight Propoly 4AA Luxeon kicks serious butt. Still one of my favorite flashlights (I must have 4 or 5). Considering that I paid 20 something apiece, pretty hard to beat. You have to drop a wad of money to buy something that can outthrow these lights. Have fun!!

 

[datiLED]

I have been stocking up on a few Luxeon favorites in anticipation of the release of the V-bin Seoul LED some time next year. P1's, L1T, L0D, JiL DD, Orb RAW, etc. In the mean time, I am using the L0D, RAW and JiL.

I guess that I need to go ahead and buy a Streamlight Propoly 4AA Luxeon while I am at it. I like throwy lights!

 

[Mr_Light]

I made the mistake of going to a STAR gathering with about five Fulton angle head lights (modded with CREEs and red filters) distributed amongst my friends and family. I'm afraid I didn't make many friends that night amongst the serious star gazers! I ended up going around with my fingers over the lens of my light with the tiniest sliver of red light coming out.

Good luck with high powered lights, a 1MCP spotlight with the red lens will wipe out everyone's night vision. high powered red light makes really no difference compared to a white light if your trying to ruin night vision. However, a single 5mm LED in red is the most super awesome light you can use in the really dark places.

A personal experience as a no0b astronomer going on a trip with another no0b astronomer who thinks he can read star charts with the 1MCP w/ red filter [he brought it thinking he could use it for emergency lighting] and that was the only light he brought. that was a long night and alot of arguments from the senior astronomers. :candle:

I bought some small red balloons and stretched it over the "bezel" area of the Zebralite H50 and it works perfectly! If your camping trip is the type that requires a little hiking and not the drive in types, I'd strongly recommend you have a headlamp. Its better to have one and not use it instead of needing it and not have one.

 

[russwm]

Although I agree about the need for a low light when camping, when I go backpacking in bear or cougar country, I also want something extremely bright, so that I can positively identify what is about to eat me.

 

[BigBluefish]

I think your choices are actually quite good. The last two weekend car-camping trips I've taken I took along an LM31, an LM31, and an EO1. The two LumaPowers spent 95% of their time on low, and the 5% on high wasn't even really necessary. The EO1 was actually incredibly useful, an ideal level of light for inside the tent, and also made for nice picnic table light, tailstanding and bouncing off the underside of the campoy. The LMs on low also worked well in this mode, which is far less disturbing to me, and neighboring campers, than even a small lantern.

Point being, none of my lights are any brighter than a good many Luxeon III lights. On my next trip, I'm going to take my Fenix L2P v2, or perhaps even its L1P v2 version. I think it will be all the light I'll need. I also have a Civictor, and might give that a try.