Flashlight for 'round the world travel

[sweefu]

Hi everyone, newish user but long time lurker here.

I am an avid camper, rockclimber, hiker etc, and have found so much useful info here over the past year.

I have just finished uni, and am about to spend one year backpacking around the world. If you are interested you can look at a rough itinerary here: http://g.co/maps/f74wc

I will be traveling through some fairly dangerous countries, mostly on buses and trains, and will be doing a lot of hiking along the way.

I believe I will probably take 3 torches with me, one small 1xAA edc light, one larger 2xAA light with some throw, and a headlamp.

The only strict requirement I have on the lights is they must run on AA batteries (I want to be able to walk into a tiny store in Russia and find the batteries I need.)

I also require the lights to be very reliable, have very low or no parasitic drain, no detectable pwn and high levels of efficiency at each output level. My budget is quite open - i will be relying on these lights so happy to pay for quality.

I would greatly appreciate some suggestions or comments from this fine community of people.

I already own quite a lot of lights (even though I have never posted, CPF has cost me a lot of money), and will probably own some that are suggested here, but would greatly appreciate your suggestions none the less..

Thanks in advance.

Jonathan

 

[deklan]

Hi Jonathan, my humble suggestion:

1xAA edc - Zebralight SC80 (7 light levels + strobe and also has the flexibility to use CR123a batteries if needed)

2xAA thrower - Klarus XT-2A or Quark AA2 Tactical R5 (both use XPG-R5 emitters, so the throw would be quite decent)

Headlamp - Zebralight H51 (you have a choice of cool white, NW, floody)

Spare Eneloops and a small-sized charger and you would be ready for your adventure :)

 

[Quiksilver]

What's the budget for your trip, if I may ask?

As for lighting, I'd suggest a small EDC 1xAA from 4Sevens, a larger 2xAA SureFire (E2L Outdoorsman), and a headlamp from ZebraLight (H501 or something). The expensive one will be the SureFire, but the others should be reasonably priced and youll always have the SureFire reliability when you need it.

Other option is a Fenix LD20 ... Its a good 2xAA light, although I would make sure to get it from a reliable dealer and not a dodgy auction site bargain.

edit:

To be honest, I would not take three lights with you on a 1 year backpacking trip. Two at most. A double AA handheld and a single AA headlight.

I assume this isn't wilderness backpacking? If you're going to primarily be in cities, towns, and tourist destinations, you can get away with just one light (headlight). If you're going to take occasional jaunts out into the bush somewhere, then a second might be nice (handheld).

If I was going backpacking for a year, I'd take my Zebralight H501 headlight and I'd purchase a SureFire E2L Outdoorsman. I'd love to take my CR123 lights (SureFire Minimus and HDS Rotary) but really the logistics of finding/carrying CR123 cells is arduous. I could pack a couple boxes (24 batteries), but really thats just extra weight to lug around for 12 months. AA is definitely smarter, as you can buy batteries as you go and thus have less weight on your back.

And this is from a backpacking website:

• LED Torch/flashlight: there is really no reason to take a large flashlight away with you, a small LED (key-ring sized) light (such as a Princeton Tec Pulsar, Impulse or similar) is fine - ask yourself: how much do you plan to walk around in the dark? Use candles during power cuts in hotels (normally provided). A LED (compact) head-lamp (again Princeton Tec have an excellent range) can come in useful, notable if camping or on night-buses. New LED technology means tiny torches are very effective. Plus they can be carried with ease and always kept easily accessible (there is no point having a great flashlight in you bag if you can't see to enter the padlock combination). There are loads of good torches available - get a compact one and keep it within easy reach.

 

[onetim]

As a hiker I don't have to tell you that every bit of space and weight will be extremely limited. I suggest that you carry just two Zebralights. Rig them with neck lanyards and magnets as described in other threads here and use one as a backup and battery carrier for the other. Consider an H51F and an H51. The H51F floody will be perfect for reading maps, train schedules, and late night cheap hotel toilet runs. The H51 will be useful for trail/road walking. One worn around your neck will be more discreet than a headlamp. Being discreet is key to safe travel.

Managing all your electronics on a long trip (cell phone, gps, camera, personal locator beacon, flashlights, etc), their batteries, and chargers requires careful planning.

 

[GaAslamp]

I suggest that you carry just two Zebralights. Rig them with neck lanyards and magnets as described in other threads here and use one as a backup and battery carrier for the other. Consider an H51F and an H51. The H51F floody will be perfect for reading maps, train schedules, and late night cheap hotel toilet runs. The H51 will be useful for trail/road walking. One worn around your neck will be more discreet than a headlamp.

Agreed, the H51 series is usable as both a headlamp and EDC flashlight, so having two provides the most redundancy. Also consider the H51w and H51c, as in my opinion they provide superior color contrast in natural surroundings (not everybody agrees--it's an individual matter). You won't find a more efficient regulated flashlight/headlamp that runs on a single AA, currently, and it works relatively well with alkalines, too. If you do end up getting these and plan on using one as a headlamp, then also get a Nite-Ize headband because it's better and more practical than the one ZebraLight includes. Or, as suggested by onetim, you could wear it around your neck instead.

Unless you really need a long thrower, a non-floody version of the H51 should suffice--it has a pretty good balance between the hotspot and flood, and can throw some. If you still want a longer thrower (and it doesn't hurt to have even more redundancy if you're willing to carry another flashlight), then take a look at the 4Sevens Quark AA² Turbo and EagleTac P20A2 MKII; the former will throw a bit farther while the latter is slightly brighter on maximum (for everything else, look up their specs).

Managing all your electronics on a long trip (cell phone, gps, camera, personal locator beacon, flashlights, etc), their batteries, and chargers requires careful planning.

If you can use chargers, I'd recommend bringing eneloops for the flashlights, and backing them up with lithium AA primaries (L91 "Ultimate Lithium"). Alkalines will work in a pinch (when you have no other choice), but are not as effective in these flashlights on the higher modes and at colder temperatures; they also run a substantially higher risk of self-destructing and thereby ruining the flashlights when stressed by usage or temperature extremes.

 

[NOREAT]

:welcome:
For your 2xAA light, I would say a Surefire E2L-AA Outdoorsman. Two output levels, no parasitic drain, and extreme durability. Only problem is it costs $180.

 

[archimedes]

I think I would consider a stainless steel Peak for the EDC torch - either El Capitan, or Logan.

Both are tough, plus the new versions have QTC variable output, and long runtimes.

The Logan also has the advantage that (with its adapters) it can run AA, AAA, or CR123A if necessary....

 

[sweefu]

Wow, what a response - thank you to everyone who took the time over Christmas eve/Christmas to help me out!

I had thought that zebralights would be quite high on the list of recommendations. I don't own one, but do own many other headlamps (fenix, led lenser, princeton tec etc), so had been looking at the zebras for their single AA format.

I had planned on taking with me 8-12 energizer lithium batteries, because I am aware of the limitations of alkaline (but must be able to use them in a pinch). I had not really considered taking a charger and some eneloops. I have plenty of eneloops, but no travel charger, does anyone know of a good one?

I have been looking at the E2L-AA for a while, but so far couldn't quite find a reason to buy it. But i suppose this trip would be a perfect excuse ;)

Does anyone own an E2L-AA and a quark aa2 turbo? I would be interested in hearing your thoughts.

Regarding the Peak lights - I have read great things about Peak lights, and while I don't own one, I hope to at some point (after this trip). But my feeling is that stainless steel would be too heavy for my purpose.

I should also clarify that although the itinerary I posted shows mainly cities, I will be spending a lot of time hiking and camping in fairly isolated wilderness along the way.

Thanks again to everyone who has commented so far, please keep the info coming!

finally, @Quiksilver, my budget for the trip is around $20,000 but it could vary depending on how long I stay in each place

 

[eh4]

I lack the experience with other lights, have mostly just read extensively on this forum and recently obtained a floodly ZL headlamp about two weeks ago... but I've been using flashlights all my life back from when you just flashed the light for a few seconds or minutes so that the batteries didn't die quick.
I second the idea of two zebralights, one floody headlamp (love the hi cri) and one hot spotted handheld.
The floody light is so much better for getting common tasks done than any light I've used before, even though the throw positively sucks, it's a light that's destined to get a lot more actual use than many more powerful and more focused lights.

Besides you can order identical replacement lights double quick, especially if you pay extra for quick shipping.

And yes, the 2 battery USB travel charger that comes with 2 AA eneloops, available online is a great charger according to review, and it is equally great in my recent experience.
This charger will charge either 1 or 2 AA or AAA at once, but of course you may not charge an AA and an AAA at the same time.
The charger is reported to work by taking taking the 5V @ .5A delivered by standard usb and dropping the voltage while boosting the amps to something like 800 or 850 for a single AA and then either splitting the mA or else alternating which one gets the charge if charging two AAs, I forget.
The charger is reported to work by sending a spike of charge and then measuring the battery's charge, or it's resistance, or something (sorry) but it does not rely on the battery heating up or anything so crude to determine when to stop charging. When the comparison measurement between charging spikes reads that the battery is charged, the charger will simply waste the AC until you unplug it.

On the other hand, the basic wall charger that comes with a nice handful of eneloops has been reviewed as being Not That Great, using a dumber charge method and needing to charge batteries in pairs. I have no personal experience with it.

Personally I'd look into getting a little solar cell that was compatible, along with any usb/european AC adapters needed and go for the little usb travel charger. or maybe you'll be near outlets most of the time and no worries about solar charging.
Finally those pal-lights that plug into the end of a 9 volt look good too. not a lot of light but long lasting and cheap enough, most of the weight is the battery itself. I'd be tempted to take one along even if I didn't take a 9 volt for it.

 

[archimedes]

If you want to keep weight to a minimum (as a backpacker), you can get Peak torches in aluminum instead. The steel is not really a lot more weight in such a small light, but that option is there. One distributor even sells these in a version with the aluminum body and the steel bezel. Peak even make a few of these pocket lights available in titanium.

If you decide to go with a solar charger and eneloops, you may want to take a look at cottonpickers thread - he is a member here who makes a great travel kit for this purpose.

Cheers!