Camping light

[Gryffin]

You can't post links on this forum, but search for "Nitecore Headband" on Amazon

Oh! Didn't know they made one. Learn sumthin' new every day! :D

 

[Gryffin]

One lantern that I was amazed with (for the size and the price) was the Rayovac Sportsman 300 lumen lantern.

That's a GRATE lantern. I have two, one for at home in case of power failure, the other for truck camping. I don't love it so much that I'd take it backpacking, but to each his own!

 

[Racer]

I like multi-taskers, so I would suggest an AA light with a diffuser that can do double duty as a lantern, or illuminate the trail when you're out walking.

As a backup, I would suggest a AAA light (like the microstream) that can do double duty as a headlamp (clipped onto a ball cap) or as a backup to your bigger light.

I like to camp, and I've been thinking a lot about this same question. This is what I've come up with.

 

[750.356]

Where are you camping and hiking where you're needing a 'really bright' light?

I only ask because, I generally find that I don't need much light at all while camping in a remote location. When I'm out in the woods, with almost no light pollution and dark-adapted eyes, the 3-lumen low focused through the TIR of my little E1L looks like the freaking Bat-signal! Honestly, hurt-your-eyes, make-you-squint bright. It was after the last time I was in the upper peninsula of Michigan that I realized I wanted a light that was either much dimmer than my E1L's low mode, or much floodier.

I scored an F04 diffuser for the E1L, and found that this was a lot better for really dark environments (though still a little too bright). The low mode of my A2 red also gets an honorable mention. Great camping light.

You really don't need a really bright light when you're in an area that is completely devoid of ambient light, like in the city. You're eyes adjust very well after it's been in a really dark environment. Sometimes when I backpack at night, if there's a full moon out, I don't even use my headlamp. I would say 200-300 lumen light source is perfect.

Damn dude, really? 2-300 lumens seems like the Ark of the Covenant being opened when I'm in the woods. Seriously. I think my face melted off like the Nazis at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark the last time I tried a Malkoff M60 with dark adapted eyes in the woods. YMMV, of course, but I honestly find that 3 lumens is almost overkill in these situations. This is in fairly dense wooded areas though, where you're not looking much farther than 25M.

 

[Gryffin]

Where are you camping and hiking where you're needing a 'really bright' light?

I'm with you. I generally just use my little red tent light, and my Zebralight, in camp.

The exception is truck camping, mostly because that tends to involve a large family group. Big campsite full of people who like it BRIGHT. My Rayovac is just for lighting up *my* end of the campsite; there are usually several white-gas Coleman lanterns too, it's hard to tell it's night time! Oh, and then there's the bonfire, which I'm pretty sure has been seen by the guys on the International Space Station...

 

[LEDninja]

the only thing we had to light the way was a small maglite ...

Mag has finally done a proper update on the MiniMag. Maglite 2AA Mini Mag Pro+ LED Flashlight, Price: $28.99. 245 lumens or 25% of that (61 lumens). The incan. version is 14 lumens. So at 17X or 4X brighter the Mini Mag Pro+ LED Flashlight is no slouch. Not recommending it, just FYI.

When you buy your flashlight see if a neutral (sometimes called warm) tint is available. Better outdoors.

 

[Howecollc]

It took me 25 years to finally realize that the only flashlight to have while camping is one that is strapped to your head.