Hunting/Woods Light

[kerneldrop]

So I get to use my kids as an excuse for this light....so my wife won't mind at all. ha

I need a larger light for Hunting or the woods. I say larger just for increased run time. I live in the south where it's hard to see more than 20 yards into the woods anyways....I'm not shining on the other side of a bean field.

I've been looking at one of the large Malkoff Hound Dog/Wildcat or Elzetta Charlie.

I'm sure you can't go wrong with either. Is one preferred over the other at this forum?

Is there another light you would recommend? I'm not fixed on any one brand. I do like ultra-reliable qualities...at whatever price point that takes within reason.

Thank you

 

[Enzo]

Is hunting with a light verboten?

 

[kerneldrop]

Is hunting with a light verboten?

ha, I did not mean spotlighting...
I meant as just a light to have with me for trailing, or just to have. Definitely not to use as a terminal aid.

you can use lights here for predators...but not for deer and other typical game.
but I have thermal optics for predators

 

[thermal guy]

For shorter distance up to say 50 yards it would be hard to go wrong with the wildcat. It's got a huge spill but will still reach out 40-50 yards no problem. A plus with the new wildcat is it has a diffuser film on it. If you take that off you still have a very large hotspot but she will throw 100 yards easy. Kinda like two lights in one

 

[Scotty321]

I don't have any Malkoff lights, but I'm sure they are much better...

However, for about half the price, I do have a Streamlight HL-4 and HL 5-X I like. They are compatible with 18650's and CR123's. The HL-4's low is around 60 lumen (800 cd) rated at 40 hours with Streamlight's 2600 mAh 18650's (I use Nitecore 3400 mAH 18650's), has a max of 2200 lumens (30,000 cd) for reach when needed, and a floody spot type beam. The HL 5-X has a large hot spot with a low of 220 lumens (3,620 cd; not suggested for looking at things close up; about 10 hours with 2600 mAh 18650's), but it's medium at 1000 lumens (14,100 cd) has a rated 3 hour runtime with 2600 mAh 18650's and illuminates a large area at 50 yards (high of 3300 lumens @ 51,000 cd). Both of these are available at Cabelas if you have one locally. I'm assuming you'll get around a 30% increase in runtime with 3400 mAh 18650's.

I keep the HL-4 as an emergency light for the house and as an all-around light, where I have the HL-5X for identifying things outside. The HL4 has a manual clicky at the tailcap, while I'm pretty sure the HL 5-X uses an e-switch placed near the head (better ergonomics when changing modes IMO; adds about an inch to the overall length). Both require 18650's with the small button tops and will fit 18650's with a USB port.

I can't speak to their durability for mounting on a rifle, and might suggest them primarily for handheld use. Mrgunsngear has a YT video on the HL 5-X.

 

[knucklegary]

Have you check out Acebeam L18, L19?

 

[kerneldrop]

...

...

Thank you, both. I'll check out the Wildcat and the HL-4 and HL-5 Streamlights. My local basspro/cabelas still gets raided nearly daily...even the flashlight aisle is bare, lol. I won't mount them on a rifle. At least I have no plans to. I do like the idea of two lights for the price of one when the reliability for my uses might be the exact same.

 

[JimIslander]

I use various Zebralight headlamps for the woods here in the Lowcountry of South Carolina. In camp I use an HD604D for the flood, but on the trail the HD600D (17 spot 80 spill). Works great in our thick woods, which are probably very much like yours. Lasts a loooong time as well.

 

[kerneldrop]

Have you check out Acebeam L18, L19?

No. I'm new to the game and are unfamiliar with pretty much most brands. I will read about them.

I use various Zebralight headlamps for the woods here in the Lowcountry of South Carolina. In camp I use an HD604D for the flood, but on the trail the HD600D (17 spot 80 spill). Works great in our thick woods, which are probably very much like yours. Lasts a loooong time as well.

Yes our thickets probably look the same. ha. Every now and then I come across a strip cut, but majority of our woods are thickets, cutovers, or bottoms. I will look into Zebras.

I suppose there's several reliable options at the ~$100 price points. I don't know what those options are, but I'm learning. I appreciate y'alls recommendations.
At least flashlights are cheaper than pistols. ha

 

[knucklegary]

You will more than likely find yourself needing more than one, two, or more (-;

 

[kerneldrop]

Ha, that's what I'm realizing. At least it's cheaper than benchrest and handguns

I can already see it...I'll fall into the trap of getting a specific-role light for every need. Haha

the biggest problem for me is knowing the difference in real-world practical qualities vs marketing hype.
I can quickly identify marketing junk in precision shooting because it's what I do...but not so much with flash lights.

 

[Owen]

As you already know, you can't see far in the woods, anyway, so there's little need for tons of lumens, or throw.
Between li-ion batteries' capacity, and the output of modern LEDs, you don't need a large light to get long runtimes at practical brightness levels, either.
Plus, our eyes adapt pretty well to different levels of light. You're gonna need a certain amount to really see well, regardless, but when you go beyond that, by using more lumens, you actually create a need for...more lumens:ironic:

I really only look at Malkoff for tactical/work/emergency lights, and Zebralight for all-around use, so my experience and suggestions are typically limited to those.

For what you say you want to do with the light, give some consideration to Zebralight's SC600w MkIV Plus(not a "Floody" model, but a very large spot with bright spill), and the SC600Fc for a handheld, and H600Fw or H600Fc for a headlamp.
Those will all provide very wide beams that'll run for a very long time, and if you want to light up the world with quadruple digit lumens for a few minutes, they'll do that, too.

Personally, I much prefer the hands-free use of a headlamp, and don't need much brightness or runtime, so a 1xAA version is enough for me. The 18650 models^^^ are larger, but more versatile, and offer lots of both.

 

[kerneldrop]

For what you say you want to do with the light, give some consideration to Zebralight's SC600w MkIV Plus(not a "Floody" model, but a very large spot with bright spill), and the SC600Fc for a handheld, and H600Fw or H600Fc for a headlamp.

Thank you. Which 18650 batteries do you use in the SC600w and the SC600Fc? Zebra says to use one 65.0-65.2 mm long.

 

[Owen]

The 18650 models I have are the SC64w HI and H600w, but I use the Sanyo NCR18650GA that Zebralight sells.
I don't know what's "best", but they're proven cells that other brands also relabel and/or add protection circuits to.

 

[kerneldrop]

Personally, I much prefer the hands-free use of a headlamp, and don't need much brightness or runtime, so a 1xAA version is enough for me. The 18650 models^^^ are larger, but more versatile, and offer lots of both.

I'm circling back around to headlamps today. The AA is all I need.