Recommendation for hiking flashlight

[wiiawiwb]

Update (2) ......

I just ordered the Quark Mini 123. I will carry it as a necker. When I hike I have many of my survival instruments on my neck (whistle, IZULA, firesteel, compass). Now I will add the Mini 123 to them. My thinking was that if I ever got separated from my pack I would still have the Mini.

I bought the Fenix clip which, in a CPF thread, someone cleverly showed how to attach to the Mini 123 so I could clip it to my hat should I want to.

Now, my final mission is to get one more hand light that would backup the HDS.

The Fenix TK12 is is interesting because it has a 65 lumen mode (12 hrs.) which should be more than adequate for night hiking to go along with the 280 lumen, 120 lumen and 11 lumen modes.

The EagelTac T20C2 also has a 60 lumen mode (13 hrs) to go along with the 300 lumen and 5 lumen mode.

I like the two above because many of the other handhelds seem to have a mode near 40 lumens but not many have the 60 lumen area covered. Plus both have good enough power should I need it.

Finally, all the lights will be in the 123 format so I can minimize carrying multiple-format batteries.

Am I on the right track?

 

[Belstaff1464]

Am I on the right track?

Yep :thumbsup:

 

[Girryn]

Fenix LD25 imo, neutral tint and 2aa with multimode in a simple ui.

 

[wiiawiwb]

The flashlight craze has fallen upon me. Here I am looking for flashlights for survival purposes after having never had one before. Now, I just bought my third flashlight and it has nothing to do with hiking. Decided to get a Tiablo A9 Q5 with an aspheric lens. I could probably use this to illuminate a hiker on a mountain's summit!

I gotta stop this before I get myself in trouble.

 

[ASheep]

I gotta stop this before I get myself in trouble.

Haha by virtue of being here, you're already in big trouble mate! It seems like you have made some solid decisions though, and there's a whole world of lights out there you never even knew about before! Your wallet will hate you for being here, but you'll never be in the dark again!

all the lights will be in the 123 format so I can minimize carrying multiple-format batteries.

Battery standardisation is a great thing!
When I go outdoors, whether camping, hiking, or just for a walk in the park at night, I always standardise batteries. If I need a headlamp, I take my H501w, and therefore my Quark (NW) has a AA or AA^2 body, and my iTP A2 eos rides backup.
If I'm out in the bush, I bring an incan, usually an A2 aviator (cr123/IMR123) which means my trusty Quark has its 123 body fitted, and an E1e rides backup. These sets of lights all share batteries, which means I only have to bring one type of spares. I try to keep one set of spares on me for each light I have. Plus, once the aviator declares the batteries "dead" they still have enough juice to run the quark for hours on the lower modes!

 

[noisebeam]

I'd go with a single AA or AAA light, small & light

 

[pjandyho]

The flashlight craze has fallen upon me. Here I am looking for flashlights for survival purposes after having never had one before. Now, I just bought my third flashlight and it has nothing to do with hiking. Decided to get a Tiablo A9 Q5 with an aspheric lens. I could probably use this to illuminate a hiker on a mountain's summit!

I gotta stop this before I get myself in trouble.

Unless you are rich you gotta stop the buying. Because when you receive your HDS light you would get addicted and would be asking for more. There is a cerakoted run from HDS coming up in two to three weeks. You may want to keep a lookout for that. :devil:

 

[Woods Walker]

I also roll out with AAs as my GPS uses them. Often I will use my ZL H501w and Quark Mini AA packed with a Nitecore headband and DIY lantern kit. If just night hiking I take a Fenix HL20 and a 2XAA light such as a Fenix TK20 or L2D-Q5 as weight isn't an issue. Staying out for the night takes more gear than hiking so look to keep pack weight down. Don't forget to take extra batteries just incase. A few times I needed to hike into the am to reach a campsite though long night hikes can be kinda risky when camping out. To be honest the vast majority of my needs are taken care of with headlamps.

I have also used a 3XAAA PT EOS headlamp plus E01 or iTP EOS A3 flashlight. I have a few CR123 flashlights that will get some play during those cold winter nights.

 

[wiiawiwb]

Unless you are rich you gotta stop the buying. Because when you receive your HODS light you would get addicted and would be asking for more. There is a cerakoted run from HDS coming up in two to three weeks. You may want to keep a lookout for that. :devil:

Oh brother, you would have to tell me that. Nooooooooooooooo!

As Three Dog Night once sang, "Momma told me to come...."

 

[epd1102]

I carry a SureFire L1 or L2 in a BlackHawk belt holster. I like those lights because the low beam will give me a long battery life if I need to hike or do something close at hand in the dark. The high beam will help me to identify things in the darkness, signal for help, search for things, etc.

 

[GeoBruin]

You're going to get a lot of recommendations. I will just keep it simple by saying that you should get a head lamp first, and if you have money left, then get a backup. You will thank yourself later. Also, regardless of what you end up with, try to get it in neutral. Trying to use cool lights on the trail after having neutral lights is almost painful.