Lightweight backpacking...flashlights has to go...

[Ian2381]

I have an upcoming backpacking Mt climb this July and was warned that we need to have lightweight packs since its a major climb during rainy season.
It was just an overnight climb but will be an exhausting one.
I will be tasked to bring a 4 person tent so everything else got to be trimmed.

I was previously thinking of this setup for my lights and do a beamshot comparison:
Surefire Z2
Solarforce L2 (warm Tint)-(18650)
Solarforce L2m w/ Lens (AA/14500 powered)
Torchlight C78 (warm tint)-(AA/14500)
Zebralight SC50n
Akoray K106 neutral w/ diffuser
MiNi AA

I think I'll have to be content with this setup or even less the Solarforce:
Torchlight C78 (warm tint)-(AA/14500)
Zebralight SC50n
Akoray K106 neutral w/ diffuser
MiNi AA
Solarforce L2 (warm Tint)-(18650) Tentative

Its really frustrating...:shakehead

 

[Tekno_Cowboy]

Why are you leaving the one Surefire behind? It should be the most reliable light in that list. :thinking:

 

[kengps]

You must be related to the poster who's "hiking to Everest base camp" with 2 lights in his pack, one on his belt, three hanging around his neck, a headlamp, and still asking "what other light should I bring?"

How about just 2 lights? A necklight for general purpose, reading, etc, with 50+ hours of runtime. (that should be enough for overnight)(something like a Mini123) And a small-sized thrower. Like maybe a Ray D1, or Lumapower D-mini with teleforce. Both around 18,000-20,000 lux. What more do you need?

Or three lights at most. Mini 123 on neck lanyard, Z2 or C2 on your belt or pocket, Tiablo A10 or Solarforce Masterpiece Pro1 in your pack. And that's overkill. It's one overnight right?

If it were me, I'd have the mini on a neck lanyard, and a D-mini Teleforce. If this post is not a joke (the Everest one had to be) then if you hike overnight with 5 flashlights, you'll be laughed at and humiliated. Have you ever even slept outdoors before?

 

[Blindasabat]

I have never needed nor seen the use of a huge light like the Solarforce or Z2 on a camping trip. If that list is what you have to choose from and you are looking to cut your load, I'd take just the SC50 and MiniAA. Possibly the Akoray instead of the MiniAA ONLY because it is neutral which is very useful camping as I would not trust the Akoray as much as the others. I am not familiar with (nor ever heard of) the Torchlight C78. I would however bring a small headlight as it is also extremely useful climbing & camping.
If you really want to bring a bigger light, I'd put the warm drop-in into the Z2 as I suspect it is lighter and in my experience a more reliable host due to contact issues I have had with Solarforce.

I have spent more time picking lights for trips than I have spent on all my other gear combined, but I have been a hiker far longer than I have been into flashlights. I used to just bring a photon and a Petzle Tikka on 10-day hikes in the mountains, but I actually found that more than sufficient (at the time, but not any more:tinfoil.

 

[was.lost.but.now.found]

Sorr, I just have to ask - if this is a serious climb, would it not be expected for each of the 4 people to have their own ultralight tent? The good ones are like a couple ounces at the most. This would also distribute the load so to speak.

 

[DarkoMaledictus]

Personally I would go with a Ra clicky as a backup/tent light and for your main a modded c2 or z2 surefire light with a sst-50 led. No real need for anything more... its not like your going on a rescue mission, and if you were I would just bring a HID anyways ;p. As for the climb, I'm guessing its during the day... night time climb would be suicide...

Both these lights are very lightweight, no need for throwers on a mountain or even at camping... its not like u r hunting or on a special military mission
The modded c2/z2 can throw far enough for almost any situation anyway. Even the modded version might be a bit overkill, just a regular z2/c2 would be enough!

Sorr, I just have to ask - if this is a serious climb, would it not be expected for each of the 4 people to have their own ultralight tent? The good ones are like a couple ounces at the most. This would also distribute the load so to speak.

Yep I would go for that setup... 4 person tent on a mountain is asking for trouble! One baddly mounted 4 people tent equals more or a large friction zone the wind can use to spell death for the whole group. If its not a serious climb then I guess it could be ok, but it really depends on a lot of factors! On a serious climb I would never enter such a deathtrap!

P.S: Hope you weren't thinking of bringing more than 2 lights, seriously that would just be silly and a complete waste of the weight quota! On a hard climb you want to be as light as a feather, every once counts!

 

[yowzer]

My typical backpacking setup: Zebralight H501w and a Quark Mini AA NW. In a pinch, I could do without the Mini. For a climbing trip where you're probably starting up the mountain when it's still dark, though, I'd keep it or maybe use a 2xAA light instead.

 

[waddup]

for simplicity id take only 1 type of cell (AA) primary or lithium or both, and 2 or 3 lights that can use them.

D10, Quark etc.

 

[Ian2381]

Thanks for all the replies, I'm currently out of money for getting a new tent but I have a smaller tent which is a coleman SUnrise which will get me seriously wet in this rainy season. My friends will be the one bringing other stuff we needed like cook set, etc. The Hike will take 8hrs to summit on a 3k feet mountain with steep terrain.

In my light setup You guys are right on a lot of aspects and the only reason I wanted to bring a lot of lights is doing a beamshot comparisons of my modded lights which are mainly warm and neutral.

I think I'll still bring the following.
Torchlight C78 (warm tint) - wanted to try a flood to throw light especially having a warm LED which I think is good for throw, its also lightweight
Zebralight SC50nw - This is my newest light and will be my headlamp.
Akoray K106 neutral w/ diffuser - Camp lamp / cheap and easy to replace
MiNi AA - Backup light which will not be used and just for emergency.

I'll be leaving the Surefire and Solarforce behind to minimize weight and having standard batteries for all my lights (AA/14500).

This set up is still not finalized and still thinking about most of your suggestions.

 

[NightKids]

Replace the Akoray with the Fenix E01, I wouldn't trust the Akoray cause it doesn't seem very reliable from my personal experiences.

 

[Ian2381]

Replace the Akoray with the Fenix E01, I wouldn't trust the Akoray cause it doesn't seem very reliable from my personal experiences.

This Akoray is quite reliable since I already modded it with neutral emitter and soldered, cleaned and lubbed it good. It now acts as one of my EDC and has survived several drops even on marble flooring. And also it will be used as camp lantern and need to be bright enough.

 

[NightKids]

I didn't realise you modded it, it is quite attractive for a budget light. Would love to see a torture test... lol

 

[Ian2381]

I didn't realise you modded it, it is quite attractive for a budget light. Would love to see a torture test... lol

At first it flickers from time to time and is very unrealiable. but now it has a smooth reflector and neutral white tint, the beam is not that pretty. I throw it several times and dropped straight to a carpeted floor, dropped it to a marble floor and even submerged it to water for almost an hour. it never stopped working.:thumbsup:

 

[Jethro]

8 hours to summit a 3k footer? You sure that isn't supposed to be meters? Maybe you will be with small children.

Anyway... I lightweight camp all the time. Like at least 40 nights a year. I carry a Surefire LX2 for serious horsepower when I need it, and a Petzel E+light which if you aren't familier with is like maybe an 8 lumen headlamp at best. I use the headlamp probably 97% of the time, and the Surefire 3% of the time. Sometimes I go on a trip and never pull the Surefire out.

 

[Ian2381]

8 hours to summit a 3k footer? You sure that isn't supposed to be meters? Maybe you will be with small children.

Anyway... I lightweight camp all the time. Like at least 40 nights a year. I carry a Surefire LX2 for serious horsepower when I need it, and a Petzel E+light which if you aren't familier with is like maybe an 8 lumen headlamp at best. I use the headlamp probably 97% of the time, and the Surefire 3% of the time. Sometimes I go on a trip and never pull the Surefire out.

Wow 40 times a year.:thumbsup:
It will take a lot of hiking before the actual assault to the summit, and we will be going with beginner climbers.

I think the Zebra light SC50 will be my most used light on this trip. Second will be the Akoray k106 neutral for camp light purposes. The Torchlight will be used for long distance spotting.

This will be a day trek expecting at the top of the summit before night time. Hopefully everything will go as planned since we have a lot of people here not bringing any single lights.

 

[jankj]

I think the Zebra light SC50 will be my most used light on this trip. Second will be the Akoray k106 neutral for camp light purposes.

No headlamp??? But I guess you can makeshift a bungee cord or whatever ....

The Torchlight will be used for long distance spotting.

Except you don't. What is there to spot? The summit? Too far away.... Where to put your feet? Too close, a spotlight is too bright at that distance. The rocks? They more or less look the same. Don't get me wrong, it is great fun seing how far away you can illuminate rocks. But realistically there is very little NEED to do so.....

On a cloudless night, you are far better preserving enough night vision to see the faint outline of the large scale terrain features. A dim headlamp will let you do just that, and also give you enough light to see where you put your feet and hands.

A spotlight/"throwy" light can sometimes be useful if you have diverging tracks and need to see where they go the next, say, 100-150 meters or so. That is sometimes helpful for choosing the track that leads the way you want to go. IMO, you rarely exceed 150 meters of useful illumination distance with anything small enough to be in your pocket on a lightweight trip, so you may as well choose the smallest available "thrower" over "best possible" thrower. Sometimes, seeing 150 metes is not anywhere enough to help you find the way. At other times it is incredible useful - but most of the time you don't need it, so go small and lightweight.

This will be a day trek expecting at the top of the summit before night time. Hopefully everything will go as planned since we have a lot of people here not bringing any single lights.

Then your lights are 1) for camp chores, 2) backup in case there is a delay and you need to shuffle the last bit in darkness, and 3) to play with/test. Prioritize accordingly. Playing (a.k.a. "testing") is important and underrated, IMO.

 

[jeeves]

It appears your group is relatively inexperienced.

It also seems that you've gotten the information about lights that you were looking for.

I'f I may make a suggestion, from experience with 'new' campers/hikers... When packing the 'group' gear, such as the tent and cookware, consider dividing it between packs. The tent, for example, can typically be broken down into parts. The polls and stakes have their own bag, the tent and rain-fly(sp?) are also typically separate items. Weight can be distributed between hikers evenly this way. Instead of one person having to worry about the 10 lb. tent and how to pack it. The same person can be 'assigned' to carry the polls and cooking UTENSILS(spatula, knives, spoons), while another hiker can be 'assigned' the tent body and a larger portion of food, while a third hiker can carry the rain-fly and some cooking tools(pots, pans, stove).
My .02 based on how I read that you were going to be packing your gear.


Have a great time! That's what matters.

 

[mcnair55]

You need to be lightweight packed you say for an over night climb,yet you want to take so many lights

Surely 2 is enough,main and back up.

I really would enjoy the look on your leaders face when he sees you lit up like Blackpool Illuminations.

 

[Zatoichi]

Of all people, we shouldn't mock him for wanting to take an excessive number of lights. Last time I went camping I bet my flashlights weighed as much as everything else put together lol. The flashaholic in me couldn't pass up a chance to try all my favourite lights out in the countryside with no ambient lighting.

Mind you I was based on a campsite and did my climbing during the day. All the same I ended up taking half of them climbing with me because I was worried about leaving them in the tent.

Of course, the sensible thing to do is leave the heavy artillery at home. I would strongly suggest taking a headlamp too, unless you have other arrangements like one that'll clip to a cap.

Enjoy your trip. :thumbsup:

 

[Flashlightboy]

It's your back so take what you want however when I do similar trips I take 2, maybe 3 lights.

1. Surefire headlamp.
2. Surefire E2L or E1L

and if I'm feeling kittenish perhaps a CMG Infinity Ultra.