LED for Walking?

[MSaxatilus]

My wife and I ussually go out for a walk or a run after dinner. Now that the days are getting shorter our exercise will likely be confined to the cover of darkness. I'm attracted to the LED lights for thier long battery life and no bulb replacement. But is their a LED torch that is powerfull enough to signal passing cars and light our way through darker sections of the walk, or would I be better off with a typical incandesent light, powered by a couple of AAs or the like? Our walk/runs ussually last about an hour, so you could imagine I would go through a bunch of AAs in week. Expecially, using my Princeton-Tec 2 cell configuration that I'm using now.

I also have a Scorpion that does an excellent job, but goes through batteries and bulbs way too fast for this task.

Any suggestion? Thanks for your help.

 

[dark star]

I hike at night (for an hour or so) , I think the Arc LS is near perfect. You will also need to use NiMH AA cells and a recharger - the total tab would run $100 to $140 ( may be hard to explain to your wife !). But the whole kit would last many years.

 

[hank]

I carry two -- an Arc AAA for walking, and a brighter 'BadBoy' (module in a 2xAA Maglight) for flagging down cars.

I'd suggest, strongly, that for two people walking together each carry a small light such as the Arc AAA, or -- if you are lucky enough to be in an area where you can see the stars at night and your eyes can adapt to good night vision, use red or orange LED lights such as the Streamlight Stylus or the Rigel Systems red dimmable light.

Of course auto headlights will ruin night vision for 20 minutes each time -- using the existing Scorpion or a bright white LED light to get their attention is essential. Or a portable strobe light.

 

[freeze12]

I reccomend the "Pal Light" Why? Small,bright,dimmable,alway's light on feature & very good Battery life.This light is an excellent bang for the buck!

 

[B@rt]

Keeping in mind most motorists have already compromised their night-vision with their headlights, I'd go with a LS-based light , such as an Arc LS or a mod provided by one of our members...
Of course the new Klx series by Surefire are something to look at...

 

[dark star]

From my experience the Arc AAA is not bright enough and the KLx series from Surefire would be very expensive to operate (unless you own a battery company )

 

[Darell]

I agree that an LS-based light running on AA's is your best bet. More than enough light to see the trail, and bright enough to signal cars. Plus cheap to run, especially if you have a set of NiMH batteries already - but still cheap to run even if you have to shell out 15c for each AA at Costco.

 

[ElektroLumens]

Originally posted by MSaxatilus:
My wife and I ussually go out for a walk or a run after dinner. Now that the days are getting shorter our exercise will likely be confined to the cover of darkness. I'm attracted to the LED lights for thier long battery life and no bulb replacement. But is their a LED torch that is powerfull enough to signal passing cars and light our way through darker sections of the walk, or would I be better off with a typical incandesent light, powered by a couple of AAs or the like? Our walk/runs ussually last about an hour, so you could imagine I would go through a bunch of AAs in week. Expecially, using my Princeton-Tec 2 cell configuration that I'm using now.

I also have a Scorpion that does an excellent job, but goes through batteries and bulbs way too fast for this task.

Any suggestion? Thanks for your help.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">This is exactly the reason I got interested in LED flashlights. I regularly go for walks at night. I didn't used to be concerned with lighting when going for walks. A couple of incidents convinced me I need lighting.

One time I was out for a night time walk, and it was pitch black, couldn't see a thing. I'm walking along, and this dog comes up from in front of me, and starts barking and snarling viciously. Okay, I back up and go back from where I came from. I could not see the beast!

Another time I'm out for walk. It is very dark. As I'm walking towards my house, I hear a rustling in the dead leaves on the ground. As I approach a bit closer, I see this small animal turning around a few times, and then point it's rear at me with it's tail up in the air! Uh oh!!!! I very slowly and carefully back up.

Well, after this incident, I decided I would never go for a walk without a flashlight. I realize that incandesents use way to many batteries, so I began to have an interest in LED flashlights.

Phewwwwwwww, long story.

I use a 3 'D' cell flashlight, modified with a 1 watt Luxeon Star. The StarLux, is a 3 'D' cell flashlight, which I will be marketing, begining about Oct. 7th. See my web site for details.

Wayne J.
www.elektrolumens.com

 

[Roy]

You might want to look at the Lightwave 4000. It's a 10 led flashlight that runs on 3 "D" cells. It's big enough to be used as a club if the ocasion calls for it. I'm currently performing a runtime test on it and so far it has taken about 40 hours for the output (as measured by my photocell) to drop 50%!

 

[webley445]

I'd say an LED was a good choice. I would ask you how dary is where you walk. Dim, no lights at all, sparce street lighting? Also what do you want to spend? It's up to you. Before deciding check out some of the retailers that CPF members buy from to resaerch pricing, then check out soem of the sites that review lights and will give you an idea of how they perform and their durability. i find that most folks will recommend lights that they own and like.......and I'm NO EXCEPTION!

Look into the Streamlight 4AA. Has 7 LEDS, bright, not expensive, uses inexpensive, readily available AA's, and sturdy. I think it would fit your needs as I have used it for the same. good luck, choosing is half the fun here, and be sure to let us know what you decided on.

 

[pec50]

How about PT Attitude or Streamlight 4AA LED. PT runs on 4-AAA and the Streamlight on 4-AA. Attitude is very "pocketable" and relatively bright 3 LED. Although, considerably larger, the 7 LED Streamlight provides a very broad floodlight-like beam that is great for walking or jogging. About $17 and $23 respectively.

 

[Quickbeam]

I would recommend no less than 7 LEDs or a bright Luxeon Star light for walking at night on or near a well traveled road.

Lightwave 3000, or 4000, Tektite Expedition 300, Streamlight 4AA 7 LED, etc. for the 7+ led lights.

For the bright Luxeon Star lights, several members here make such lights for sale (when available) and InReTec makes retrofit Luxeon bulb systems for Mag style lights. Arc Flashlight commercially makes Luxeon Star flashlights.

Keep the Scorpion with you for those "long distance pulses" you may need on occasion.

 

[guncollector]

Call me contrarian...

I suggest an alternative route: a SureFire 9AN. It uses rechargeable NiCads (just make sure not to use any from Lot CK-43, SureFire will ship you replacements for free), integrated-dual-lamp assembly means with a twist of the bezel you can have either 20 lum. (100 min.) or 140 lum. (30-45 min.), and built SureFire tough. It'll run you about a $150-175, but should last a lifetime (with occasional bulb replacements).

That's what I use for our family's evening walks...

 

[ikendu]

Originally posted by MSaxatilus:
...would I be better off with a typical incandesent light, powered by a couple of AAs or the like? Our walk/runs usually last about an hour, so you could imagine I would go through a bunch of AAs in week.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">My 'economical' light for everyday walks is the Ray-O-Vac 4AA Camper with NiMH AAs and a KPR103 bulb. It is very bright with good, long throw and extremely economical to operate on the rechargeable NiMHs. And... you won't be filling up our landfills with spent alkalines or lithiums.

Get a backup LED light like an ARC AAA, Infinity or PT Attitude for the times when the KPR103 blows (as any incandescent bulb will).

 

[Albany Tom]

I think much of it depends on what road you're walking on, and how fast the traffic is. If it's a suburban area, with no through traffic, and speeds of like 20mph, I think a 3 or 4 LED light would be fine, and easily noticed.

If it's a road with 35+ mph speeds, and/or through traffic, I respectfully suggest you find a safer place to walk. Almost every year, in this area, someone plows into a police car, parked off the road, with all of it's lights on. Just because you can be seen doesn't mean the driver will react, or is paying attention. I see near misses all the time, in the daylight, with people who are jogging or walking on the highway. People just don't care! It's better to be alive, than "dead right".

Back to subject - for a small light, I love my newbeam converted minimag. Just the right size, nice light, rugged, etc.

 

[BuddTX]

Check out this site:

http://www.auroralites.com/cgi-bin/store

Also, AA batteries are pretty inexpensive. Rayovac Maximum Plus AA's (my prefered brand to all others, except maybe lithiums), is 5.97 fir 18 at Wal-mart.

Also consider placing some of these on your body:

Pelican mini-flasher, 7.50 at www.brightguy.com.

A general observation by me, is that, while LED's are not the piercing, ultra bright lights that incandescents can be, they can be SEEN for a long way, and are very noticable. The Streamlight 4AA, 7 led is very noticable for hundreds of feet, and it would get a drivers attention.

 

[MagLED II]

You are either using a PT Rage or a Tec-20. if the light output is sufficient for you, then I would suggest an PT Imact or Impact 2. they use 4x AA and 4x AAA batts respectively. the lights use a single LED, but that LED is set in a deep reflector and has a special lens to harness the full out put of the led. I have an Impact and a TEC-20. The Impact puts out a comparable beam to the Tec-20. The Impact 2 is a smaller version that has the same output as the first Impact. the Impact 2 uses AAA bats instead of AA bats. Both are waterproof to 500ft. They can be purchased from www.brightguy.com BrightGuy

Good Luck

 

[Erik Johnson]

The SureFire 9AN mentioned by guncollector sounds quite intriguing. I wonder if the Tipoff Beamshaper (F34) would give a wider beam, requiring less aiming while walking.

Erik.

 

[Mike Painter]

I gave up trying to wear anything to warn cars. Flashing lights, reflective vests, the people always said they couldn't see me. I walk facing traffic and cross the road if there is something oncoming and nothing in the other direction.
A drunk might drift towards your warning light.
I carry a small LED and rarely use it.
If dogs are a problem forget the LED and get something like a dive light that is *very* bright. It will stop a single dog completely.
My neighbors dog walks with me now and he is the king dog for miles around. If he doesn't show up just calling his name will get the neighbor dog to stop and look in the direction I came.

 

[shipinretech]

How many foot-candles does your neighbor's dog put out?

I think that a lot depends on how light adjusted your eyes are. If you are walking around traffic, you are going to need something like a headlight to see your own feet after getting hit by some doof with high-beams on. If you have the pleasure of living in the country, you can do quite well with a minimal light.