Geocaching Flashlight

[ExclusiveTSX]

Hi I'm new here and to be honest don't really know much about flashlights. I'm looking for a good reliable flashlight for geocaching and it seems that alot of the previous info is getting outdated. I'm looking for a flashlight somewhere in the 20-40 dollar range. I'm not sure that led is necessarily the way to go for this but I'm assuming so after using a few led flashlights in the past. Any suggestions would be great.. If I posted this in the wrong section please feel free to move it. Thanks!

 

[Woods Walker]

I never went geocaching but have found a few during hikes. They were inside 30 cal ammo boxes that are OD if memory severs me correct and if we are talking about the same thing. The ones I found were located at points of interest within the respective trail system aka near a water fall etc and then kind of hidden from view but normally within a few miles of the trail head or at least that was the case with the two I found.

So I am going to say a headlamp would be best like the PT 4-mode Rebel EOS or maybe a Fenix L2D/L1D OR L2D/LD20 flashlight for a backup/extra throw. Picked these as both the headlamp and flashlight has a good mix of throw and flood light for area coverage. Personally I would try and find the small box before sundown and if running late use the light to make it to the trailhead etc. Also a take trail map and compass for a backup to the GPS. Many trails have multiple junctions and if unknown it can be easy to get turned around. Also the ones I found were located on blue trails one of which was off the AT. Trails like that can go on forever.

Edit.

The Rebel EOS is within your price range. The flashlights are a bit over.

 

[ExclusiveTSX]

Hey thanks for the quick reply! I should have specified that I don't think I'm really looking for a headlamp right now, just a handheld flashlight. Also the I really like caching at night because it adds another dimension of fun to caching, and it's much cooler temperature wise during the summer. I will check out that handheld though.

 

[Viper715]

A tad over your price but not by much. Try a 4sevens quark in a warm led. You choose your favorite battery.

 

[Toaster]

Eagletac P100A2 (code CPF8 puts the price right under $40) runs on 2xAA batteries and is pretty much the best thing going at $40 imho. You can read more about the light in the detailed reviews found here and here.

 

[yellow]

somewhere in the 20-40 dollar range.

in that price region, You are more-or-less limited to cheapo offers (like Dealextreme, Kaidomain, ...).
These lights will work, but are far away from reliable.

At up to the double amount, some "new" makers - sold mostly online - offer genious lights, very rugged, good materials, good finish, multimode, ..., You will learn of them just by reading in here.
Typical names were: Fenix, Jetbeam, Olight, Shiningbeam, ...


As a start, decide what BATTERIES You want to power Your lights.
The 2 main systems are Ni-Mh --> leading to a 2*AA sized light, and Li-Ion --> leading to a 1*18650 light.
Both are, imho, best of their breed, with the 18650 light being better (smaller, thicker - a bit better to grip, more power in cell)

Also a combination of Headlamp + handheld were ideal.
I would advise: Shiningbeam L-mini 2 as a "starter" led light + Streamlight Argo HP as headlamp. 2 protected 18650 cells (from member AW) for the L-mini and 1 protected 17650 for the Argo HP + 1 doublecell-multiformat Li-Ion charger for the cells.

 

[jhc37013]

As Toaster mentioned above look at one of the Eagletac models the P100C2 or T100C2.

Use your CPF member discount and you'll be really close to your price range and still get a wonderful light. Good luck

 

[Henk_Lu]

I am a geocacher...

The light I always recommend is the Fenix TK20 for its neutral white tint, great color rendition in nature. What's more, it takes AA and is tough. It's my main light i my backpack, used for nightcaches.

In my pocket, I have a Ra Clicky, my wife a Fenix PD20. Those are used by day, if we have to check some dark holes, a rock formation and so on. We never leave without a flashlight, even by bright sunlight, yestrday we had to enter and wlak down a dark canal suddenly. You'll also preffer check a hole with a ligh than touching the living creature that may be inside...

Along with my TK20, I now have a Quark AA-2 neutral white in the backpack, it replaced the Fenix LD20 OP. Those are lighter than the TK. Last, but not least, if we especially go on a nightcache, we'll take some stronger lights with us,like a TK10, EagleTac T10C2 or even a thrower like TK11 or Jetbeam Raptor RRT-2. The Olight M30 would also be good, if the built quality was better and the runtime on CR123A longer and regulated.

To cut it short : If you are limited to one light light in your price range, take a 1 x AA light like the Quark AA (neutral white if still available) or the Fenix LD10. I would strongly advise you to raise your budget and to get a TK20 (or a sronger one in that range with CR123A). The advantage of AA is, that you probably already have the rechargeables for your GPS, so you simly buy 4 to 8 more and that won't cost anything else anymore. The advantage of CR123A is that real brightness only comes from them and those lights work in any connditions.

Keep in mind that you don't need everything immediately and that you are on CPF now, you'll see what I mean...

Good hunting,

Henk

@ Woods Walker

Yes, geocaches are at places of interest and you'll see places you's never see otherwise. Each of us knows such places, this way you can show them to other people. Of course, there ara also caches "thrown in the bushes" by cachers who just want to have their own caches but have no real ideas.

"Night Caches" are done with reflectors. You search the first reflector with your light, go to that place and look for another reflector and so on, until you arrive at the treasure. This can be more or less complicated, lead you over a nice way or cross country. So, a good light is a must here!

 

[JBorneu]

I'm gonna go with what Henk_Lu said. The Fenix TK20 is probably your best option, although slightly over your budget. If you don't want to go past your budget, look at the other 1AA and 2AA lights Fenix and Eagletac offer. Run it on precharged NiMH rechargeables for best performance.

Yest, li-ion cells give more power, but I rarely recommend them to people new to high end flashlights because AA cells are so much simpler to buy, charge, discharge, replace and they are cheaper. A lot of flashaholics don't consider this because they have plenty flashlights, but if you forget to recharge your 18650 cells you have a light that might be able to use 2 CR123 cells (and those are VERY costly in retail stores and you are much more likely to find AA cells) but is pretty much useless if you can't get those. If you forget to recharge your NiMH cells, you can use alkalines.

 

[f22shift]

sometihng neutral or incandescent becuase it's usually hidden in the something woodsy.

 

[RobertM]

:welcome: to a fellow Geocacher!

I've been Geocaching since 2005 and a member of CPF since 2007. Combining these two hobbies is great fun! Below, I will discuss what I have found to work and what I personally use, the reasons behind it, and some options to fit your budget (or come close ).

The two flashlights I find most useful when Geocaching and the ones that always come with me are my SureFire A2 Aviator and SureFire E1B Backup. The A2 is hybrid incandescent/LED flashlight in one and the E1B is a two-mode high/low LED flashlight with a nice, tight focused beam.

I would strongly recommend an incandescent as your primary searching light when Geocaching. The color rendering from an incan is very important in the woods (LEDs have a really though time rendering the reds and greens that are ever so present in the woods). In addition, when searching for a Geocache container that is camo'd (either with camo tape or paint), sometimes the color rendering ability of an incandescent can be the distinguishing factor in whether the cache stands out from its surroundings or not.

Next, you really need a low output light as well. This will be used as a backup to your main incandescent, used when signing the log book, and possibly for navigation through the woods when stealth is needed (a little light goes a long ways in the dark woods). An LED is perfectly fine for this low output need.

So with that being said, you can probably see how the A2 is a great Geocaching light with its 50 lumen incandescent beam and low level LEDs built right into the same light. Since these lights are $199 retail and can even be obtained for around $90-110 on CPF Marketplace, I understand that it is WAY out of your price range. So lets look to a cheaper solution, but more in your price range...

What I would suggest is a SureFire G2 and a Fenix E01. The SF G2 is an excellent, rough, tough, weather resistant, reliable incandescent with a 65 lumen beam. This will work great in the woods and for searching for the cache. The E01 is a very small, AAA powered LED flashlight which emits around 10 lumens, but runs for around 20 hours on a single cell!

I would suggest putting the E01 on some sort of lanyard or chain around your neck for caching. Unless you like putting flashlights in your mouth, you'll thank me when you are trying to sign the logbook in the dark

This G2 + E01 setup could actually be better than having a single A2 because you would now have redundancy. If you are going to venture into the woods, ALWAYS HAVE MORE THAN ONE FLASHLIGHT! There is saying here on CPF, "Two is one and one is none." Even the best built flashlights in the world could fail on you. Plus its always nice to have the second light to help you find your batteries when reloading in the dark.

I once brought a brand new, high quality flashlight on an in-the-woods Geocaching outing and the lamp died within 15 minutes of use. Luckily I had my E1B with me as well. Keep in mind that the likelihood of this happening is really quite slim, but it can happen (and did happen to me).

The G2 is around $30-40 depending where you buy it and the E01 will run you around $15. I understand that these are still over your budget a bit, but I think these will make excellent Geocaching tools in a great combination.

With whatever you decide on, be sure to check out our list of dealers and their associated CPF discounts to save yourself some money. This list can be found here:
"CPF Specials" webpages/dealers

-Robert

 

[jankj]

Look at shiningbeam.com. He has several lights within your budget for whatever your preferred battery type is - and with service and quality way beyond what you typically find at DX or KD.

That being said, if you go up in the 50-80 dollar range you'll find lots of really, really nice lights. My personal favorite for the moment is warm tinted quark (actually, neutral white - they're called "warm" because it's warmer than the typical "cool" white LED). That goes a bit toward better color rendering outdoors. I won't actually argue against incans as I haven't used one since I put a replacement LED in my mag 3D... but I find neutral/warm tint to be pleasant to use both outdoors and indoors.


Oh - since this is going to see regular use, I highly recommend rechargeable batteries. It will be a one time investment, but will pay back really quick. For the novice, I recommend a reputable brand that makes low self discharge nimh batteries, typically AA size. Eneloop is guaranteed high quality, but several others exist. I'm very happy with eneloop, so I stick with that. Or you can bite the bullet and go for the top performance li-ion chemistry that requires a bit more of attention - Stick to a few simple rules and you're OK, but break those rules and the abused li-ion batteries may very well go when charging.

Oh - if you go for a light that eats AA batteries, buy one that eats 2 AA batteries! The increase in performance (runtime, maximum brightness) is worth the slightly larger size.

 

[ExclusiveTSX]

Wow where do I start lol.. I can't believe how quick and thorough these responses were!

As Toaster mentioned above look at one of the Eagletac models the P100C2 or T100C2.

Use your CPF member discount and you'll be really close to your price range and still get a wonderful light. Good luck

I definitely will check these out, where do I find the discount code?

I am a geocacher...

The light I always recommend is the Fenix TK20 for its neutral white tint, great color rendition in nature. What's more, it takes AA and is tough. It's my main light i my backpack, used for nightcaches.

In my pocket, I have a Ra Clicky, my wife a Fenix PD20. Those are used by day, if we have to check some dark holes, a rock formation and so on. We never leave without a flashlight, even by bright sunlight, yestrday we had to enter and wlak down a dark canal suddenly. You'll also preffer check a hole with a ligh than touching the living creature that may be inside...

Along with my TK20, I now have a Quark AA-2 neutral white in the backpack, it replaced the Fenix LD20 OP. Those are lighter than the TK. Last, but not least, if we especially go on a nightcache, we'll take some stronger lights with us,like a TK10, EagleTac T10C2 or even a thrower like TK11 or Jetbeam Raptor RRT-2. The Olight M30 would also be good, if the built quality was better and the runtime on CR123A longer and regulated.

To cut it short : If you are limited to one light light in your price range, take a 1 x AA light like the Quark AA (neutral white if still available) or the Fenix LD10. I would strongly advise you to raise your budget and to get a TK20 (or a sronger one in that range with CR123A). The advantage of AA is, that you probably already have the rechargeables for your GPS, so you simly buy 4 to 8 more and that won't cost anything else anymore. The advantage of CR123A is that real brightness only comes from them and those lights work in any connditions.

Keep in mind that you don't need everything immediately and that you are on CPF now, you'll see what I mean...

Good hunting,

Henk

@ Woods Walker

Yes, geocaches are at places of interest and you'll see places you's never see otherwise. Each of us knows such places, this way you can show them to other people. Of course, there ara also caches "thrown in the bushes" by cachers who just want to have their own caches but have no real ideas.

"Night Caches" are done with reflectors. You search the first reflector with your light, go to that place and look for another reflector and so on, until you arrive at the treasure. This can be more or less complicated, lead you over a nice way or cross country. So, a good light is a must here!

Thanks for all the in-depth input! The TK20 does look like a nice light but I'm slightly worried that 45 lumens may be too low.. Im only basing this off of comparing the 45 lumen rating to other flashlight lumen ratings.

sometihng neutral or incandescent becuase it's usually hidden in the something woodsy.

When I go out on caches now alot of us still tend to bring led>incandescent due to it's brightness. Thanks!

:welcome: to a fellow Geocacher!

I've been Geocaching since 2005 and a member of CPF since 2007. Combining these two hobbies is great fun! Below, I will discuss what I have found to work and what I personally use, the reasons behind it, and some options to fit your budget (or come close ).

The two flashlights I find most useful when Geocaching and the ones that always come with me are my SureFire A2 Aviator and SureFire E1B Backup. The A2 is hybrid incandescent/LED flashlight in one and the E1B is a two-mode high/low LED flashlight with a nice, tight focused beam.

I would strongly recommend an incandescent as your primary searching light when Geocaching. The color rendering from an incan is very important in the woods (LEDs have a really though time rendering the reds and greens that are ever so present in the woods). In addition, when searching for a Geocache container that is camo'd (either with camo tape or paint), sometimes the color rendering ability of an incandescent can be the distinguishing factor in whether the cache stands out from its surroundings or not.

Next, you really need a low output light as well. This will be used as a backup to your main incandescent, used when signing the log book, and possibly for navigation through the woods when stealth is needed (a little light goes a long ways in the dark woods). An LED is perfectly fine for this low output need.

So with that being said, you can probably see how the A2 is a great Geocaching light with its 50 lumen incandescent beam and low level LEDs built right into the same light. Since these lights are $199 retail and can even be obtained for around $90-110 on CPF Marketplace, I understand that it is WAY out of your price range. So lets look to a cheaper solution, but more in your price range...

What I would suggest is a SureFire G2 and a Fenix E01. The SF G2 is an excellent, rough, tough, weather resistant, reliable incandescent with a 65 lumen beam. This will work great in the woods and for searching for the cache. The E01 is a very small, AAA powered LED flashlight which emits around 10 lumens, but runs for around 20 hours on a single cell!

I would suggest putting the E01 on some sort of lanyard or chain around your neck for caching. Unless you like putting flashlights in your mouth, you'll thank me when you are trying to sign the logbook in the dark

This G2 + E01 setup could actually be better than having a single A2 because you would now have redundancy. If you are going to venture into the woods, ALWAYS HAVE MORE THAN ONE FLASHLIGHT! There is saying here on CPF, "Two is one and one is none." Even the best built flashlights in the world could fail on you. Plus its always nice to have the second light to help you find your batteries when reloading in the dark.

I once brought a brand new, high quality flashlight on an in-the-woods Geocaching outing and the lamp died within 15 minutes of use. Luckily I had my E1B with me as well. Keep in mind that the likelihood of this happening is really quite slim, but it can happen (and did happen to me).

The G2 is around $30-40 depending where you buy it and the E01 will run you around $15. I understand that these are still over your budget a bit, but I think these will make excellent Geocaching tools in a great combination.

With whatever you decide on, be sure to check out our list of dealers and their associated CPF discounts to save yourself some money. This list can be found here:
"CPF Specials" webpages/dealers

-Robert

Wow, thank you for all of you're time you put into that review! I do agree with you about not entering the woods with one light at night, however I normally cache with my girlfriend and she will have a light of her own as well. So I will probably stick to just one light.. I checked out the G2 and am somewhat concerned with the lumen output, like I mentioned responding to another post earlier it seems somewhat low compared to other lights. Also I prefer to cache with an led over an incandescent, who knows that may change over time but for now I think I'm in the market for an led. I know my price range may be low for what I'm asking but the flashlight addiction has not gotten to me yet lol.. Thanks again for all of you're time!

Look at shiningbeam.com. He has several lights within your budget for whatever your preferred battery type is - and with service and quality way beyond what you typically find at DX or KD.

That being said, if you go up in the 50-80 dollar range you'll find lots of really, really nice lights. My personal favorite for the moment is warm tinted quark (actually, neutral white - they're called "warm" because it's warmer than the typical "cool" white LED). That goes a bit toward better color rendering outdoors. I won't actually argue against incans as I haven't used one since I put a replacement LED in my mag 3D... but I find neutral/warm tint to be pleasant to use both outdoors and indoors.


Oh - since this is going to see regular use, I highly recommend rechargeable batteries. It will be a one time investment, but will pay back really quick. For the novice, I recommend a reputable brand that makes low self discharge nimh batteries, typically AA size. Eneloop is guaranteed high quality, but several others exist. I'm very happy with eneloop, so I stick with that. Or you can bite the bullet and go for the top performance li-ion chemistry that requires a bit more of attention - Stick to a few simple rules and you're OK, but break those rules and the abused li-ion batteries may very well go when charging.

Oh - if you go for a light that eats AA batteries, buy one that eats 2 AA batteries! The increase in performance (runtime, maximum brightness) is worth the slightly larger size.

I'm going to check out some of the lights on his site right now and I'm sure I'll be back with questions lol.. Thanks!

 

[ExclusiveTSX]

What do you guys think about this light? http://www.shiningbeam.com/servlet/the-109/Olight-T-dsh-25-Regular-Cree/Detail

 

[jchoo]

I had an Olight, an M20 Warrior Premium. It was a nice light, but just didn't "do it" for me. It was well built, and tough, but the ergonomics left a bit to be desired.

I'll definitely second the suggestion of a neutral white quark while they are still available! I've got my eye set on the AA tactical. 4Sevens offers free shipping (always!) and an 8% CPF member discount, bringing your cost down to just over $50 for either of the single AA models.

http://www.4sevens.com/index.php?cPath=297_310

The neutral white LED will give better color rendition, especially in the woods, and I just like the mode switching on the tactical better than on the standard quark - but you should decide for yourself which UI is right for you.

 

[Linger]

www.shiningbeam.com
American website. Lots of rominsen lights for sale under $20. Totally reliable, solid build quality and great output, chose AA or cr123 (lithium-ion 16340). Way faster shipping than ordering from Hong Kong (dx, kd)

(sorry I'm at work and only read through the first 1/2 dozen replies)

 

[Gunner12]

Don't worry too much about output. 10 lumen is more then enough to navigate in the dark. When you are close or want to look for things, you can always switch to a brighter mode.

The Olight T25 could work for you. The coupon over at shiningbeam is "cpfuser" from what I recall. For any 4sevens store(Eagletac store, 4sevens, Fenix Store), use "CPF8"

:welcome:

 

[Henk_Lu]

While someone spoke of incandescents, I talked about warm tints. Perhaps we meant about the same : Better color rendition?

I'm looking forward to get my Dereelight CL1H V4 with the Q4/5A pill. While the TK20 with the Q2 neutral white is already good speaking of "warm" in comparision to the "normal" Q5 or R2, the 5A should be better, perhaps equal an incandescent with fresh cells?

45 Lumen not enough? Maybe, that depends on how dark the forest is and on how much your night vision is already adapted. Another thing is the SMO reflector, we didn't talk about reflectors yet. Unfortunately, the TK20 has an SMO, which means that the hotspot is quite bright, but the spill lacks of brightness. Not good to enlighten the way you just walk on. That's why I carry a smaller light with an OP reflector, which smoothens the beam and gives the spill more brightness. If 45 Lumen are really not enough, you tighten the head and have 150 Lumen.

I don't know that specific Olight T25, but it takes AA, which is good, it has the same power as a Fenix LD20 and an Op reflector. Should be good. Only point with Olight : You need two hands to change the mode by twisting the head. The new model of the T25 has the infinium UI, very nice, but probably pretty useless for geocaching. I preffer the typical tactical UI for the main light : Head loosen - head tightened. For the secondary light, I preffer the sort of UI where you change the output by clicking (turbo by tightening the head).

 

[Larbo]

If your going to use this in the day to checkout dark hiding spots you will need a bright light, say in the 80 to 200 lumen range, there are alot of lights in the $60 range that would work fine, more or less you have to chose the size and battery you want, better to have to much light (is there really such a thing) then not enough especially when searching for that micro.:thumbsup:

 

[RobertM]

Something else to keep in mind...being warm tint doesn't necessarily mean high color rendition unless it is specifically a high-CRI LED.

For example:
Incandescent - 100 CRI
Pure white SSC P4 - 75 CRI
Natural white SSC P4 - 80 CRI
Warm white SSC P4 - 80 CRI
Natural or Warm white SSC P4 High CRI - 93 CRI

IIRC, Cree's warm and neutral LEDs are around 80 CRI as well. While they are obviously better than the cool ones, they aren't nearly as good as incan or high-CRI specific LEDs.

-Robert