need a light for my tent

[woppini]

I want something a little more durable than the CMG bonfire series. I have been looking at the CMG ultra, and the Palight. Would the cmg have make a decent area light? or would putting the white cone on the palight work a bit better? I hear that the beam on the pal can be almost too narrow unless you doink with the lense. What have some of you folks used? Oh, because of the priceless advice from everyone here, my inova is on its way! (salavating)

 

[Saaby]

How big is the tent?

Some people use (for smaller tents I assume) an Arc AAA hung from a string. I wouldn't suggect the PALight, even with the cone...while it's a fine light, it just isn't the light for this application. What might work is a PALight with the top taken off, although that exposes all the electronics and this is probably not a good thing in nature.

I personally use a Energizer folding LED light (Wal-Mart) with a metal plate glued to the back. Then I stick a strong (Got it out of a hard drive) manget on the outside of the tent to hold the light up. It makes an almost perfect area light--even for larger tents.

So what is the *perfect* tent light? Coleman makes a light designed for tents. It coems with a Xenon bulb. I took the bulb out and put in a stepup+4 LEDs...unfortunatly I have not been able to test it yet in a tent as in the process the casing for the light was ruined (My fault) and I have not purchased another light yet (For the case).

 

[PeterM]

I got a Madmax sandwich from Dat2zip, Not much to damage unless you smash into the led hard. It's cranked down quite a bit specifically for use as a tent light. It's too bright otherwise. When I want to use it in the tent, I'll take the head off and hang it upside down from the peak. Or, for larger areas, It can be set it up in "candle mode". Though without some cushioning, I'm sure I'm going to chip the collimator doing this. It gives an unbelievable amount of real pleasant light. If I won't be using it in the tent for awhile, I'll just adjust it back up to 500 mah or so for general use.
Two lites in one

 

[txwest]

I would highly recommend the Survival PALight with the 5mm LED & the white cone. Get the Motorist Pac & request the 5mm LED & white cone. In the tent you'll have a very low, medium, & bright area light. The always on is great because it'll let you see around the tent but not bother your sleep. There are now 2 different ways to hang it: a wire loop on the end & the SS clip on the side. You'll have to take out the lens to put in the cone, but that's the way I prefer to use it anyway. If you need to go outside for something, just pop off the cone & turn it on high. You'll have a light that puts out a large area of light with a decent centerspot. Also, if you go walking at night, you can put the cone on, hang it on the outside of the tent, & put it on flash. Makes it very easy to find your site when you come back (and your not having to shine your light on everyones tent, if you camp at a site with other campers).
The Energizer folding LED Saaby mentions is nice too, but even the 1 led mode is too bright when you want to sleep. And it doesn't convert to a flashlight. You'll also probably find the PALight pulling double duty sitting on your nightstand when you're not camping. I think the PAL is the perfect tent/bedside light. TX

 

[Streak]

I have used the Krill mainly but more recently the Glo-Toob (www.glo-toob.com) whose LED's are brighter than the EL technology of the Krill.

http://www.worst4x4.freeservers.com

 

[**DONOTDELETE**]

I used the Energizer folding LED that Saaby and txwest mentioned, until I got my Madmax from Dat2zip. I use it exactly as described above by PeterM. Both are great, with the latter being what I currently use.

 

[Seth]

ramptapult,

Any suggestions for a lithium powered tent light, that could perform better in the cold temperatures?

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">I´d go with the CMG Infinity Ultra w/ a Lithium AA cell.

Nearly indestructible, gives a lot of light for a single Nichia LED ( even a lot of very useable spill-light ), plenty of runtime.

The glow-in-the-dark lanyard is a bonus, too

Seth

 

[txwest]

Just need to put a diffuser & a dimmer on it.

 

[Afterimage]

I'm planning to use a Dorcy 4AA area/focusing lantern with a Ledcorp PR2 LED. These LEDs have 180 degree spread and can be sourced cheaply from a Turtlelite 1 clone. Either hang it or set it up in a variety of positions using the attached stands. Should be good for almost 100 hours of operation.

 

[Luminocity]

I use the Eternalight Elite X-Ray. I simply tie it at the top of the tent facing down. Works great! Kinda pricy, but since I am a Flashaholic, I had to have it anyway!

You can adjust it for many different levels of brightness. It is water tight, is bright enough to use on the trail, has strobe modes which are great for signaling/locating.

The auto off timer feature is great too. Just turn it on and it will gradually turn off one LED per minute until all 4 are out after 4 minutes. This generally gives everyone enough time to wrap things up and get into bed. Works like a charm with helping the kids to settle down as they know when the lights will go out!

Also, it comes with Lithiums, so it makes for a great cold weather light.

I purchased mine from Eppes Corner for $49 and change.

 

[Sigman]

A lot of good lights discussed here...

I love my EternaLight ($49 is a great deal at Eppes Corner EternaLight Elite X-Ray .). Do I need to talk about it's EXTREMELY long runtimes, EXTEMELY adjustable brightness levels, VERSATILE signaling modes)

The standard model EternaLight "Ergo 3" can be had for around $35 and has "most" of the features of the "Elite". It doesn't have the "Night Beacon Mode" or lithiums or the magnet, or the stronger case...you can add lithiums yourself - a wise idea (but for what the lithiums cost, may as well get the "Elite"!).

The folding "4AA Eveready Energizer LED Lantern" with cold cathode tubes is GREAT for $10, but you don't get all the GREAT features of the EternaLight.

A "PALight" with the white cone is another good area light.

A "CMG Ultra" inserted into an opaque 35mm film canister (with a hole cut out to fit) works as a nice little area light.

If you are a true "Flashaholic" you'll end up with all of these anyways and then will be able to use the "best" one for your needs. Many of the smaller ones make great backups for the large ones anyways, so you need to take them all!

 

[txwest]

The Eternalight would be a good choice. You can get the X-Ray (not Elite, but does have the night beacon) for $35 from Hosfelt, + shipping. If you wanted to leave it on for a "nite-lite" though, you'ld still probably need a diffuser. Even 1 bare LED on & dim seems to put out a lot of light when your eyes become dark adjusted. The beacon light left "on" instead of "blink" would probably work well. This is a first rate light. TX

 

[RonM]

I also vote for the Energizer Folding 2 LED light. Broad light dispersion and selectable between 1 or 2 LEDs. With the 4 AAs, you can get a lot of runtime.

 

[Gone Jeepin]

Luminocity, I second the vote for the Elite X-ray. I got mine a few days ago from Eppes

. I have been using in the car and around the house and getting used to the features. I think it would be nice as a tent light for the auto shut off, adjustable dimming, and night beacon functions. The Techass.com forum had a camping story regarding the X-ray.

Sigman, I liked the ideas you posted. I am going to try the one with the film can and an Ultra for small area light.

Keep the ideas comming...

 

[Sigman]

Ooooh I almost forgot...

EternaLight Ergo 3 w/Green & White LED
Click on pic for details.

How about an EternaLight with the green/white or red/white LED options? Color, white, or all selectable! Even though I own an "Elite", I have an Ergo 3 with the green/white option right next to my bed. Nine times out of 10, I'm using those green LEDs to "trek around the house" at night! Very easy on the eyes, and you have the two white LEDs if you need a "quick change" of modes!!

 

[Tomas]

Energizer Folding 2 LED light

 

[ikendu]

Originally posted by RonM:
...Energizer Folding 2 LED light. Broad light dispersion and selectable between 1 or 2 LEDs. With the 4 AAs, you can get a lot of runtime.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Get's my vote too. I've used it for reading and just working around the tent at night. It's good. I used it with Alkalines at 36 degrees...worked fine. If dropped...the batteries can sometimes "pop" out. But it will keep on workin' when you put them back in.

Originally posted by woppini:
I want something a little more durable than the CMG bonfire series.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">The Ultra might be what you really want. Great all 'round camping light with broad, smooth beam and good runtime. Easy to carry in the hand, clipped to a ball cap or around the neck with the lanyard. Not so great as your ONLY light (I have an incandescent for something really bright). But...if I could only have one..it'd be the Ultra. 'Cause it won't suddenly quit on you leaving you in the dark!

 

[BeamChucker]

I second the transluscent 35mm film canister idea on a cmg infinity (or ultra) or Arc AAA. I did this with an infinity this summer. It was just enough light to get around the tent at night without blinding you or waking the others up. The kids loved it because they would take it down to read at night. I loved the infinity because it lasts forever on an AA so even when the kids neglect to turn it off, it will still last a few more nights. I think next summer, my newer CMG Ultra is going to wear the film canister and my kids both get an infinity to read with. I've looked at the CMG blaze and the other one that's similar to it (can't remember the name right now) and felt that they were great tent lights but only tent lights. The infinity's have multiple uses and are a good tent light with that film canister on there.

StreamChucker

 

[txwest]

Chucker,
If you were going to use it for a night light, the standard Infinity would be better than the Ultra, which would be good for reading. That's the advantage of the adjustable brightness like the Eternalight or the PALight. TX

 

[woppini]

the energizer light seem nice, but i would think while camping, water resistant is a must, unless i am mistaken that maybe some moisture on this one is ok. And wow, cant seem to find it anywhere