LED Thru-hike suggestions.

[Woods Walker]

LED Thru-hike suggestions.


Over the summer I have completed around 120 miles on the Appalachian Trail during multi day hikes. But want to prepare for a true Thru-hike. For those not familiar with this here is some info.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thru-hiking


Clearly 2165 miles over maybe 5 months is a long walk. I am gathering gear that is durable and lightweight. Over this summer I used my ZL H501w/H501-Q5 or Rebel EOS for a headlamp and Olight T15. My preference is for 1XAA lights but could go with other suggestions and battery types. I used LSD NiMH and sometimes CR123 if employing my T10 body for the Olight. On a longer trek I can't really depend on LSD NiMH despite having a Silva fold up solar charger. There is just not the time to mess around with this. Also CR123 is no go. AA Lithium primaries would be packed at first but as was the case this summer some of the places I hiked off trail like gas stations for supplies only had alkaline batteries. So the light must be able to function with these just incase I am forced to use them. So here are my preferences.


1. AA or AAA batteries.
2. Long runtimes.
3. True low and bright high.
4. Light weight and durable.
5. The flashlight should have reasonable throw.
6. Should use same batteries as my headlamp

If the light breaks I am not going to get a replacement from the seller even if covered under warrantee. Just too much fuss so the flashlight will have to work and keep on running. Am I ok with the current T15/H501w (my preference over the 2nd H501-Q5) or is there something better out there that is relatively trouble free for months of use? I have seen LED 2xAA Mags and 3XAAA headlamps on the trail at the lean-to shelters and people seemed to like them but think AA is better than AAA not that lights such as my Rebel LED EOS and E01 are beyond consideration.

So far I used the headlamp for camp work and the flashlight for night hikes. I promised myself these would be avoided but just last weekend I found myself hiking 4 hours in the dark. Just a month before hiked the last miles to the next shelter when running late. Needed throw to see the trail markers far off. So got to believe that there will be times when a night hike might happen even if this is not preferable.

Clearly my headlamp is going to do much of the work as was the case this summer. But posted this in the flashlight section for input on a flashlight as a backup and for greater output and throw than my headlamp can provide. Also unlike overnighters I would have a hard time justify multiple flashlights when I already have a headlamp. Any advice from Thru-hikers or anyone would be appreciated.

 

[Marduke]

Quarks have an unbeatable low low (and runtime).

 

[sabre7]

Except for throw, a Gerber Infinity Ultra AA would make a great addition to your lineup, it does great on alkalines. I would imagine the T15 goes through them pretty quick.

 

[Krotchitty]

Call Peak and tell them what you want.

They will build it... inexpensively and well.

Buy 2 of them, then go for a hike.

 

[Woods Walker]

Marduke.

I tuned out all the Quark talk after the initial run came without a lockout feature being that the threads were not anodized. I didn't really believe the talk that eventual this would wear out anyways and make the lockout non functional as this has never happened to me in real world use. I guess it could however. But now that the Quark has anodized threads and guess could be locked out in the pack I should read up on the reviews. Another factor in my initial disregard to these lights for this purpose was that fact they didn't have a longer term track record of durability. This is clearly no fault of the product as being new it is unavoidable. I missed the window for a North to South route this year. This is my preference over Springer to Katahdin because time is less of an issue. No way I would hike Katahdin in winter with my Thru-hike gear and think there is a point when the end is shut down but don't know. So by at the earliest say next June I would sure get good longer term durability reports from CPF users.

I find the ZL low more than enough for most camp work. The T15 has a 6 lumen low if my memory is correct and this is nice but can be overkill. Looking at the info from 4SEVENS.

Moonlight: 0.2 lumens for 10 days (1ma)
Low: 3.5 lumens for 2 days (10ma)
Medium: 18 lumens for 6 hours (50ma)
High: 70 lumens for 1.5 hours (250ma)
Max: 90 lumens for 1.2 hours (350ma)
Strobe: 90 lumens for 2.5 hours
Beacon: 0-90 lumens pulse for 18 hours


3.5 lumen mode sure seems nice. Not so sure about the 0.2 but have no experience with this. How does it work for you? How has your Quark held up? I know 4 Sevens stands by his product but this will not matter if on the trail. Also I hate alkaline batteries and adding high capacity NiMH batteries to my list after the ZL H50 and TK20 debacles. Seems you were right about my TK20. It has been over 3 weeks and the Duraloops have not self discharged. But on my last multi day trip I was forced to use alkaline batteries in the EOS after my NiMH ran down do to unexpected use. I would have packed some Lithium but screwed the pooch in my planning. All the gas station had near a road crossing was the junk batteries. So how do the Quarks function with these? If I stop by a drug store or Super market I would spend the money and get better cells still one never knows and to get stuff mailed to me on the fly is extra logistics that I don't want to depend on any more than necessary.

 

[Woods Walker]

Except for throw, a Gerber Infinity Ultra AA would make a great addition to your lineup, it does great on alkalines. I would imagine the T15 goes through them pretty quick.

Yea it does eat batteries on the higher modes but guessing they all do. Still I will check out that Gerber for the alkaline issue.

 

[Woods Walker]

Call Peak and tell them what you want.

They will build it... inexpensively and well.

Buy 2 of them, then go for a hike.

Never heard of Peak so will check into this but two flashlight plus headlamp is one too many.

 

[sabre7]

Come to think of it, a PakLite with 1 lithium battery & lanyard would probably last the entire trip easily without ever needing to get more batteries for it at all. I believe their website has testimonials from AT hikers and others who chose it for that reason.

 

[Hooked on Fenix]

I know that you'd prefer to use AAs, but I can't think of many lights that take 1AA that would work well. L.e.d.s need upwards of 3 volts to run properly. 1AA lights need a boost circuit to get up to that voltage and when power runs low, they usually shut off instead of slowly dimming. Your 3AAA EOS headlight slowly dims (after regulation has ended) until the batteries are totally drained. You'll need this longer tail of runtime for emergencies in the field.

I suggest you bring your PT EOS headlight and back it up with your 1AAA iTP A3 EOS flashlight (I know you have one). If the headlight fails, you can turn the clip around and clip the flashlight to a hat. The flashlight has a higher high than your Fenix EO1 and a lower low, and matches the battery size of your headlight. With that long of a trip, you need to keep the weight down. Going a size smaller for your lights will hopefully save enough weight to be worth it. Have fun on your trip. I envy you. (I haven't had the time to go backpacking since my successful overnight trip up Mt. Whitney in July.)

 

[Woods Walker]

Come to think of it, a PakLite with 1 lithium battery & lanyard would probably last the entire trip easily without ever needing to get more batteries for it at all. I believe their website has testimonials from AT hikers and others who chose it for that reason.

This one looks cool.


http://www.9voltlight.com/inc/sdetail/14555

No throw and wouldn't work for a unexpected night hike but for a trip to the privy on a moonless night or seaching thought the pack at 1.5 oz maybe it would be nice and keep the headlamp running longer if not needed as much. I will read up on these somemore.

 

[Woods Walker]

I know that you'd prefer to use AAs, but I can't think of many lights that take 1AA that would work well. L.e.d.s need upwards of 3 volts to run properly. 1AA lights need a boost circuit to get up to that voltage and when power runs low, they usually shut off instead of slowly dimming. Your 3AAA EOS headlight slowly dims (after regulation has ended) until the batteries are totally drained. You'll need this longer tail of runtime for emergencies in the field.

I suggest you bring your PT EOS headlight and back it up with your 1AAA iTP A3 EOS flashlight (I know you have one). If the headlight fails, you can turn the clip around and clip the flashlight to a hat. The flashlight has a higher high than your Fenix EO1 and a lower low, and matches the battery size of your headlight. With that long of a trip, you need to keep the weight down. Going a size smaller for your lights will hopefully save enough weight to be worth it. Have fun on your trip. I envy you. (I haven't had the time to go backpacking since my successful overnight trip up Mt. Whitney in July.)

I also have a L2D-Q5 so that maybe in consideration along with other 2xAA brands like the Quark etc. To be honest I have not run down the T15 as use Duraloops and don't want to trash the cells by over discharging. Maybe I will try this with some of the higher cap NiMH that has been cycled out to see if there is a fast shut down. I found out last weekend that the ZL does give me some warning if the batteries are running low. At first I believed it turned off like a switch but this came from using it as an area light. Paying closer attention when used as a headlamp I found it lost its modes and gave some warning before shutdown. The EOS headlamp will also have indistinguishable modes with the exception of a little bit lower low than the reduced med or high as think the low is still under somekinda regulation before the other modes give up the ghost and go into DD.

The EOS has proven reliable if not a bit more bulky than some one of my other 3XAAA headlamps. The EOS 1XAAA flashlight is still an unknown. I have dropped it maybe 5 times 2 of which were on the street. So far it has held up. The low is better than the E01 and medium and high are brighter however that darn E01 can run on some beaten up batteries and is bomb proof. I would use my Jakstrap a backup headlamp with any single cell flashlight. Funny thing about the jakstrap is that I can wrap it around a tree. Did this with the S2 last weekend when taking a sponge bath in the woods for hands and headlamp free light.

So far the ZL has performed well on the AT. Same goes for the Rebel EOS.

But if using the 3XAAA EOS I would have to pick from the S2, iTP EOS or E01. I had to return the S2 to Leatherman due to a faulty switch that gave me problems from the get go. The turnaround was fast and the new light seems somehow brighter than the old plus still has the nice floody flawless beam that makes me like it so much. The output is nearly what the iTP offers once the greater flood is taken into the account or rather my eyes can't tell the difference so I guess that is all that matters. However the iTP has also worked well on the AT and the low is nice. Maybe I will also wait to see what 4Sevens has to offer if I go the AAA route. Before I do the full Thru-Hike looking to do the 90 miles in Mass non stop just to make sure I got all the ducks in a row. So I got some time to work things out.

 

[LED_Thrift]

Good luck on your trip.

I would stick to AAs since you are going to need long run time and they have 3x the capacity of AAAs. I think the L2D would be a great choice since it is known for battery efficiency, and has plenty of power if you need it. You don't need a real low low on your torch if you have one on the Zebra. Same battery as the Zebra. You could use an L1D or similar for weight savings.

When I backpack I usually take the L2D, a one cell AA light [Jetbeam or L1D] with a headstrap or a small headlamp, and two coin cell lights, one on my jacket and one near the top of the pack [to see what's inside]. These are good for low light needs, and help save battery power of the other lights.

 

[Gatsby]

Very interesting challenge you have ahead and it will be quite interesting to hear the results when you get back...

There are some conflicting needs it seems. Reliability tends to favor a one stage, arguably a twisty, rather than a digital light. However, digital lights obviously have the benefit of wider bandwidth with low lows (and long runtimes) and higher highs (for those bump in the night moments...). AA is somewhat limiting although there are a lot more options now than, say, 3-4 years ago (pretty much prior to the original Fenix L1 starting the AA luxeon revolution). Given the flexibility - a proven digital design ought to be reliable and ought to be perfectly fine (although I'd still stick another light in the pack - I know weight matters but a simple 1AA twisty like a Peak Pacific without batteries is de minimis).

I'm going to go another direction then and suggest an LRI Proton Pro - which has some positives for this application. It is a proven design - it has infinitely variable brightness so you can get as much or as little light as you need, and it has a red LED for even longer runtimes and preserving night vision. It should run just fine on lithium or alkaline cells.

 

[saabgoblin]

Hey Woods,

you are ahead of the curve on me because I haven't even upgraded my EOS yet but here are my thoughts and what I presently carry. I currently have a Lumapower LM33 that has a nice sheath with an attached D-Ring that I slip through my load lifter straps so my light is right on my shoulder strap. Now the LM33 is a Cr123 based light but Lumapower has some very nice newer lightweight single AAA/AA options that I don't have direct experience with but are worth taking a look at over at Battery Junction. I love the LR33 for the builg quality, output, size, and weight plus a great beam profile.

I just aquired a Jet Beam Jet Pro 1-V2 from Bugout Gear and output wise and throw, it compares nicely to my Surefire E1B on a singlle AA platform. I received two tints, one warm that I am really liking and one cool which is like most leds in terms of color temperature. The Jetbeam has a programable interface that they call IBS, Infinite Brightness System, and you can program multiple modes and brightness settings. Jetbeam's is on their third version,V3, of this light and I really like it but I haven't quite gotten the hang of the programing as of yet but the light has fantastic throw and an overall great beam pattern. I'll have to create a thread for the Jet Beam IBS setting nuances to see what others are experiencing but it is a truly powerful light for an AA platform and if you program a very low low, you will probably get a fantastic run time. I believe that the preset settings are High, Med, and Flash/Strobe.

I know a lot of people love Fenix but I have no experience with them at all and while I love Peak lights, they are practically all single mode and would not be my first choice for this venture.

Thanks for all of your work on the EOS reviews!

 

[Sgt. LED]

I'd stick with only AA lights and headlamps. 1 cell to mess with.
I would NOT take a 5 month hike without bringing a couple of spare lights. Weight is a concern but safety is a bigger concern.
I would only take warm tinted LED's since they are only going to be used outside and they make nature look natural. :laughing:

 

[M.S]

I hate to say this, but I don't think that you need a second light... If you really want I would suggest Photon Pro, it uses one AA, it's light weight, has decent throw and low levels.

I was hiking in the Finnish and Norweigian Lapland near Russian border 3 weeks ago, I took my H501W and P3D and I did not need the Fenix at all... Thank god I left the heavy TA30 home and picked the lighter P3D at last minute.

 

[Oddjob]

For a back up light I suggest the Fenix E01. Aside from the tint the E01 would be good for its runtime and durability. I have found the light from the E01 to be more than adequate for around camp at night. Put a lithium in and forget about it until you need it.

 

[davidt1]

Sounds like you want to be UL. I was gonna to suggest the EZAA for its small size and light weight. Something like that plus one of your Zl headlamps and the ITP flashlight for backup and you should be set.


By the way, Woods Walker is no novice. He is a very experienced hiker/camper and puts his gear through real-world use.

 

[Owen]

I tuned out all the Quark talk...

Stay tuned out, at least for this purpose. I'm reading about other people having problems with the programming, something I had also posted about a few weeks ago, and I'm about to send my now single(but varying) mode and unprogrammable 2AA tactical version back for warranty service. I really love that light, and am confident 47s will take care of me...but recommend it for a thru-hiker, no.

What I always thought of as my "serious hiking light" was a CMG Infinity Ultra-G, and the Arc AAA-P for backup.
Today, I'd probably take the same, but maybe use a ZL H501w with the other lights in reserve.
I know it's not "ideal"(depending on your criteria), but some people thru-hike with a Photon II microlight.
I'd be resting the whole time it was dark, and making miles the whole time it wasn't.
I mean, are you really going to hike after dark and heighten the risk of injury on a 2k mile trail you want to finish, and with no people or medical care available the vast majority of the time? I wouldn't, and I'm borderline retarded when it comes to taking unnecessary risks:sick2:

 

[Yucca Patrol]

That Pak Lite is really fantastic. Would be great in a first aid/emergency kit.