Buying only 2...what would they be?

[ikendu]

Well, after a year or more reading the forum (highly entertaining and informative!) and trying out lights, I've settled on a combination of two lights that pretty well meets my needs. Here are the uses that I have:

1. Keychain light for Every Day Carry (EDC)
2. Light for daily walks & camping twice/yr for a week each

After all the reading and trying out... the two lights that work for me are:

1. ARC AAA...key chain
2. Ray-O-Vac 4AA Camper w/NiMH & KPR103 bulb

The ARC AAA is small enough that I can carry it at ALL times with hardly noticing it and is bright enough that it will meet almost ALL of my needs for the bits of light that I need here and there; including most of the light needed while camping. It can even be my car emergency light as it is bright enough to change a tire and small enough that I could hold it between my teeth when necessary to use both hands. ...with me all the time and useful enough for many needs (if not all!).

The 4AA Camper allows me to have an economical light ($3 at Walmart) that runs on NiMH AAs (cheap and environmentally friendly) and with the stock bulb replaced by a K3 KPR103 bulb (80 cents at Walmart) I get a REALLY bright light with a long throw bright spot. By carrying the ARC AAA, I don't have to worry about the 4AA Camper bulb burning out and leaving me stuck with no light.

Total costs:

ARC AAA $20 @ TTS + shipping
4AA Camper $3 @ Walmart
4 NiMH AAs $10 @ Walmart
NiMH Charger - Ray-O-Vac 1 hr $30 @ Walmart
K3 KPR103 bulb $.80 @ Walmart

I have to admit, I don't own the Ray-O-Vac charger (I use a Maha C204F that I got for my digital camera rig), but the posts on the Ray-O-Vac make me think if I ever buy another one, it will be the Ray-O-Vac.

I have other lights that I really like:

Infinity blue-green or Infinity Ultra white
Energizer 2 LED folding camp lantern
Osram flourescent 2AA light ($2 closeout at Radio Shack!)
Brinkmann LX Lithium 123a REALLY bright light

But the ARC AAA & 4AA Camper are now what I use all of the time. I really love that Brinkmann LX, but I just can't bring myself to chew thru those expensive lithium 123a batteries!

How about it? Have you settled on a couple of lights that you use all of the time?

 

[Charles Bradshaw]

The only light I use all the time is for going up or down the stairs at night. The Infinity used to have this honor, but my Arc SLS took that position. I don't care for insect attractors (incandescent bulbs). I need a combination of long duration and reasonable duration. For me, 6 hours per set of batts, is reasonable, and 20+ hours is long. I think in different situations, and use the light that I need, at the time.

 

[dilettante]

I want to say my ARC AAA and SureFire M2. The ARC is great for EDC and general utility. The M2 is great for those "bumps in the night" and other times when I want a powerful light. Of course a few days after I got the M2, my three-year-old son managed to turn it on and leave it on my bed under the covers. Thank god there was no fire--when I asked my five-year-old daughter if she had been playing with it she said "I didn't play with it. It was too hot."

The batteries are a little spendy, too.

I really need three lights. I hike as much as I can and like to hike in the dark. I've tried a few headlamps, but my next one (and hopefully last one for a while) will be a Rayovac 3-in-1 LS modified Head Light.

 

[BuddTX]

Ikendu,

You know, the only person that has to be happy with their light selection, is you, and if those lights meet your need, then great!

I find that the minimum # of lights that I would like to own, would be 3

Keychain light
bright LED light for walking
Bright incandescent for when you really need it

My keychain light is an ARC AAA LE
A bright LED for general illumination when walking is a Luxeon Star LED or the Streamlight 4aa, 7 LED light
A bright incandecent is my LEGEND LX with a Surefire P61 bulb!

 

[ikendu]

Originally posted by BuddTX:
...the only person that has to be happy with their light selection, is you, and if those lights meet your need, then great!

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">So true...