Camping/Hiking/Climbing flashlight Setup.

[Ian2381]

In less than 3 hours I will be on the way to a Mt hiking overnight trip.

Here's what I'm Going to bring.

Pocket: Lumintop Worm
Backup/Lending light: Black cat Osram
Headlamp: Zebralight H51
Thrower: Romisen RC-29 direct drive warm led
Lantern/high output: Solarforce L2 w/XM-L T6 drop in w/ diffuser.

I Actually have two more hours to think about this setup.:thumbsup:

 

[yowzer]

I took a 4 day backpacking trip last week.

Packed a Zebralight H501w and a Quark MiniAA NW. Oh, and a fauxton in my emergency kit. It was painful to limit myself to just those lights, but they were more than enough for some reading in the tent at night and those 'I'm getting old!' trips to the lavatree in the wee hours of the morning.

 

[Ian2381]

I almost forgot, I also have a Fenix E01 in my emergency kit. :-)

 

[xxllmm4]

Looks good! 6-1 ratio sounds about right to me :)

 

[ZMZ67]

Looks like a good mix of lights to me though I only have experience with the L2 and EO1.My personal preference would be to have more NW lights and probably an incan but YMMV.Congradulations on limiting yourself to six lights! ;) Even on a backpacking trip I would end up bringing too many! :laughing:

 

[Ian2381]

Looks like a good mix of lights to me though I only have experience with the L2 and EO1.My personal preference would be to have more NW lights and probably an incan but YMMV.Congradulations on limiting yourself to six lights! ;) Even on a backpacking trip I would end up bringing too many! :laughing:

Going to bring my MiNi AA neutral and leave the lumintop behind...

 

[ZMZ67]

Going to bring my MiNi AA neutral and leave the lumintop behind...

:thumbsup: Let us know how the lights worked out for you!

 

[Ian2381]

:thumbsup: Let us know how the lights worked out for you!

The Zebralight H51 has been the perfect headlamp, used it a lot since my supposed to be day climb became a night trek as there was a delay in the boat trip to the island where the mountain im climbing is located.
The MiNi AA Neutral was used as my tent light in medium and high mode but it got seems pretty fast as it was supposed to be (using new eneloop XX).

The Black cat Osram was lent to my companion as his flashlight shuts off after an hour of trekking

I barely used my Romisen RC-29 warm as it rained last night basically containing me to my tent.

The Solarforce L2 w/XM-L T6 drop in w/ diffuser was hanged from a rope to act as my camp lamp. My companions was pretty impressed with the output of this light but I was disappointed as I was expecting this light to last until the morning on medium mode, i'm using AW 18650 2400mah. It only lasted a few hours in medium and then goes down to low and was totally dead when I wake up at 5am in the morning.

Fenix E01 was never used but was always glad it was there for any emergency situations.

The only concern for me was runtime. I would have prefer my lights to last the whole night without the need to change batteries.
Also, my camp was bombarded by night creatures, insects of all kind. Maybe this is due to a cold white led. Will a warm led perform better of not attracting insects?
A lot of changes on my next mt hiking trip for sure...

 

[cccpull]

Also, my camp was bombarded by night creatures, insects of all kind. Maybe this is due to a cold white led. Will a warm led perform better of not attracting insects?
A lot of changes on my next mt hiking trip for sure...

Nah, bugs are in your future. Anytime you're out in the woods and turn on a light it's bug time. Even those outdoor bug lights attract them, maybe to a lesser extent, but if you have light, they will come.

 

[Napalm]

There's nothing like climbing a rock wall with a couple of CR123s tied to your head and hearing one of them starting to fizzle.....

Nap. :huh:

 

[ZMZ67]

I agree that you are not likely to avoid the insects but you could try placing the light farther away from the tent.For overnight use maybe you should try a seperate low output light if you intend to leave it on all night, a few lumens should go a long way in complete darkness and you can always switch the L2 on if more light is needed.Before Gerber took them over CMG used to make 2AA camping lights that had a motion sensor, that way you could leave it off and place it as such that it would pop on as soon as you exit the tent.I am not sure if Gerber or anyone else offers this type of light anymore.Not at all surprised that the Zebralight worked well it has a strong following here on CPF.Always good to hear observations from actual camping/hiking trips as they can give us insight on what works best.:thumbsup:

 

[Ian2381]

Updated my setup, I just realized bringing too much flashlights I actually don't need is a dead weight in my pack.

Here's what I'm going to bring on my next hiking trip.

Pocket/Lantern/high output:: Xeno E03 XML w/ diffuser accessory
Backup/Lending light: Fenix E01 2x
Headlamp: Zebralight H51
Thrower: Romisen RC-29 direct drive warm led

For simple camping and light hiking, I will probably going to bring my bigger lights.

 

[kramer5150]

My light duty (drum roll please)... camping trail hike setup. AA and 18650, single cell applications for simplicity and easy field reloads. Panasonic 18650 cells have excellent LSD performance, they will hold steady at ~4.18V-4.17 for 8-9 months (the longest I have actually tested them). The Zebralight and MC-10 I wear on my body so they are not weighing down my day pack. I use the MC10 on my pack straps as a MOLLE attachment.

The Malkoff M60 running direct drive off the 18650 and an over-ready zero resistance tailcap mod is an excellent bomb proof backup or work horse setup. Theres no click switch to fail, and the M60 has ZERO cpf reported incidents of impact failure... which is remarkable given how many are firearm mounted. I replace the glass lens with the polycarbonate lens from a G2 for drop-impact resistance. I also added an extra O-ring at the tailcap.

The Xtar TZ20 is an XRE-R2, its my farthest throwing light in a small pack carry form. I only use it for spotting things off in the distance... so its seldomly used.

All my lights have lock out tailcaps except the TZ20 (which is my only real beef with it, conducts -B through the thread lube...YUK). If I had to lighten things further I'd leave the TZ20 out. The 6P, MC10 and Zebralight can cover a lot of ground. Its the backup cells that weigh me down the most, not the lights.

 

[kramer5150]

Regarding bugs... thats one of the things I don't like about headlamps. If camp is severely bug infested, I remove the ZL and hang it on a tree for area flood... or just turn it off. The fenix MC10, I clip onto my hip so at least its away from my head.

 

[ZMZ67]

Ian2381 and kramer5150 I have to give you both credit for well rounded sensible camping/trail light set-ups.As a flashoholic I always tend to overdue it,kudos for keeping it to 4 lights each!:thumbsup:

 

[qwertyydude]

Now I bet it wouldn't be too far a stretch to incorporate a bug zapper and camping lantern.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004VA5JYM/?tag=cpf0b6-20

Basically take the black light bulb out of this thing and simply replace it with a high powered led light. If your led light attracts bugs, the zapper will kill it. I'm sure you can replace the battery in the zapper with something that will last equally long as the one in the led flashlight.

 

[Ian2381]

Ian2381 and kramer5150 I have to give you both credit for well rounded sensible camping/trail light set-ups.As a flashoholic I always tend to overdue it,kudos for keeping it to 4 lights each!:thumbsup:

From my past climbs I really tend to overdue it but now I wanted to go lightweight so lights got to be regulated first. 4 lights is still pretty much flashaholic for me.

 

[gcbryan]

I'm always fine turning this as well. Currently it would be Zebralight H51f and H51 with a spare battery and something small around my neck (ITP A3 or Proton Pro).

If the terrain is really dangerous or if I'm really hoping to spot some wildlife I'll throw in an Aurora single 18650 type of light with an aspheric mod). Where weight is an issue that gets left behind.

Two Zebralights and a spare battery is all I really need. The light around my neck is light weight and just insures I always have a light. The aspheric is just insurance in dangerous areas.