The best torch (I own) for nightime bush survival is the Zebralight H501

[old4570]

Re: The best torch (I own) for nightime bush survival is...

I think just about all the flashlights I own are good enough ...

Just depends on why your there ...

Ultrafire 502B SSC P7 , Lo = 100mA Med = 500mA Hi = 1.5+A
Ultrafire 501B R2 , Driven hard .. Good thrower .
Solarforce L2 SSC P7 Lo = 200mA Med = 1A Hi = 2A
MTE SSC P7 Hi = 3A [ Throws as well as a R2 ]

Navigation / SOS / search ?

Solarforce L2M [ Mini ] Lo = 30mA Med = 350mA Hi = 1.2A

For me , a Single 18650 Flashlight , + single RCR123A light , + single CR123A light .

One of my SSC P7 or R2 > 18650
A20 or WF-601C + CR123A Q5 5 mode twisty ...

Too much to chose from ...

 

[AusKipper]

Re: The best torch (I own) for nightime bush survival is...

I think just about all the flashlights I own are good enough ...

Just depends on why your there ...

Yes, Ultimately your just going to make do with what you have and just about any light (except a Gerber Tracer and maybe some tiny keychain lights) will be better than nothing. Its just that some lights make the task easier.

You really gotta go out there and do it yourself with your own lights to know for sure whats going to be the most useful.

On the day your just going to be using what you have on you though, and there will be less to chose from then (unless your coming back from a torch convention...)

 

[LightWalker]

Re: The best torch (I own) for nightime bush survival is...

Im not sure how far "fully discharged" the batteries are ones it (the TK10) starts flickering. I do know that i'm not supposed to full discharge Li-Ion though, because it shortens the battery life.. Anyway, new batteries should arrive next week and it will happen no longer.

All my other batteries are NIMH anyway.

Are they rechargable or primary?

 

[AusKipper]

Re: The best torch (I own) for nightime bush survival is...

Are they rechargable or primary?

I have both. But I only use the primary's as backups, or in non-edc's that I use once in a blue moon.

In my TK10 i have some soshines and ultrafires currently (rechargables). Looking to upgrade someday to AW, probably once the ones i have become useless.

 

[old4570]

Re: The best torch (I own) for nightime bush survival is...

Yes, Ultimately your just going to make do with what you have and just about any light (except a Gerber Tracer and maybe some tiny keychain lights) will be better than nothing. Its just that some lights make the task easier.

You really gotta go out there and do it yourself with your own lights to know for sure whats going to be the most useful.

On the day your just going to be using what you have on you though, and there will be less to chose from then (unless your coming back from a torch convention...)

Ive been out there with a cheap Luxeon that put out maybe 1W , and it was up to the task , only problem was run time , sucking some 700mA and putting out some 700Lux of throw @ 1 meter [ CR123A ]

Thats where the Cree multi modes are just fantastic ...
As long as the light / battery combo can give decent run time , then you may have a usable flashlight



Above are whats at hand - All bush worthy ..




Solarforce lantern - screws into L2 bodies - Flashlight and lantern in a very small package that can go with you ...

 

[AusKipper]

Re: The best torch (I own) for nightime bush survival is...

Solarforce lantern - screws into L2 bodies - Flashlight and lantern in a very small package that can go with you ...

You shouldn't post things like that... you'll have me blowing more of my money on torches I dont need

(the Zebralight is my lantern, the Zebralight is my lantern, do not need to buy a solarforce lantern.... must keep my money in the bank... You would never have it on you when you need it anyway..)

 

[Blindasabat]

Re: The best torch (I own) for nightime bush survival is...

Excellent write-up and a good read.

I like my Zebralight H30 a lot too. It came with a warm Q5 that works OK outside - nothing like truly neutral or warm emitters, but good enough. It's lack of throw as you found out is limiting for searching quickly (if that is all you have). You have to walk more of a search pattern looking close to you to find things like fire & shelter materials. That's fine as you have found if you have other lights like you had, but I try to plan for failure of my primary lights (and backups).
So I prefer a more balanced beam for all around use in case I am stuck with only one remaining light - especially my headlight. I have modded a PT EOS with a 15 degree optic and Luxeon SV1H star that gives it a well balanced beam for distance on high (and even medium) but great moderate flood with a soft spot on low. Too floody is a waste of lumens to me. I often have to use the H30 on medium when I would still be using the EOS on low - negating its efficiency & runtime advantage. Of course I don't like the bigger size, order of modes (hi-med-low), and 3AAA power of the EOS, so the search for the great 1AA or 1CR123 headlight with good balance of features continues.

Interesting use of the flashing mode of the TK. I typically carry a Novatac for a locator beacon (EOS as backup beacon) on trips. A long pause-short flash beacon is great for that.

Multi-modes are essential unless you have a couple of complimentary lights - one with low only maybe.

Hey old what are numbers 3, 4, & 5 in that picture (the small ones?

Thats where the Cree multi modes are just fantastic ...
As long as the light / battery combo can give decent run time , then you may have a usable flashlight

http://www.photofreek.com/view-353_zzzx.jpg
Above are whats at hand - All bush worthy ..

 

[SuperLightMan]

Re: The best torch (I own) for nightime bush survival is...

Third one is definitely an Ultrafire A20 (cr123a-powered)

 

[callmaster]

Re: The best torch (I own) for nightime bush survival is...

You can also feel the wood to tell if it's dry enough for fires, etc. A very big difference between green wet and dry wood.

 

[AusKipper]

Re: The best torch (I own) for nightime bush survival is...

Put some cotton balls and Vasaline in your first aid kit. A little Vasaline on a cotton ball will start with the smallest of sparks, and burn well enough to get dry tinder going. Works good on blisters as well.

Well, 2 weeks later...

Finally went to the shops and brought both cotton balls and vaseline. Smeared vaseline all over the cotton ball, got the fire steel thingo out, and poof, nice ball of flame first go

So I think i'll make a couple up and stuff them in the first aid kit. The steel/striker wont fit in there, but it will make it easier to light a fire with the lighter.


While I was there I got a couple of fire lighters, and nope, you cannot light a fire lighter with a firesteel thing (well, not when your not desperate anyway, i may have got it going if i kept trying more than a few times).

 

[jankj]

Re: The best torch (I own) for nightime bush survival is...

Congratulations on your experiment, you just gave me another nudge to buy another zebralight! lovecpf

As for the water, the main issue is boiling it after extracting it from stagnant ponds etc, so it really needs to be something metallic. Ray Mears would whip something up from wood or something... i'm sure I would probably do the same before I died, or simply drink it straight from the water holes without boiling and hope I dont get sick. As it was just a drill I didnt bother risking it.

Agree completely as far as parasites and the like, those can be treated later. But an acute stomach sickness is the LAST thing you want to deal with in a survival situation.

If you search for it, you can find some advise about using alu-foil to fashion a cup, and you can find reviews that this does not really work well at all... In theory, you can boil in a paper cup, which is easy to demonstrate in the lab and almost impossible to do in the field.

My advise is to research a bit more on the use of iodine... A small bottle of iodine tincture 2% should be easy to squeeze into your kit.

EDIT: A very, very old and well-proven method is to heat stones and add them to whatever holds the water. That way, you can boil water in basically anything that is bowl-shaped, provided it doesn't leak or melt.

 

[SureAddicted]

Re: The best torch (I own) for nightime bush survival is...

Ray Mears would whip something up from wood or something...

What Ray Mears uses and recommends is a SureFire E1L, he also sells it on his website. In Ray Mears goes walkabout, Rockart, he uses his E1L in the caves.

 

[AusKipper]

Re: The best torch (I own) for nightime bush survival is...

EDIT: A very, very old and well-proven method is to heat stones and add them to whatever holds the water. That way, you can boil water in basically anything that is bowl-shaped, provided it doesn't leak or melt.

I remember seeing something like that once.. i didnt remember to do it though!! Next time maybe.

As for the al-foil cup, i was thinking of something like that, it would have to be small, but survivors cant be choosers, also the alfoil in my kit would make an emergency switch for my TK10.

Actually I think i'll go out and add some right now...

 

[AusKipper]

Re: The best torch (I own) for nightime bush survival is...

What Ray Mears uses and recommends is a SureFire E1L, he also sells it on his website. In Ray Mears goes walkabout, Rockart, he uses his E1L in the caves.

True that. He also uses it on the "desert island" episode of extreme survival. Everything on his site is ridiculously over priced also...

While watching Ray Mears is certainly better than watching big brother or something, its not quite as educational as I would like.

Tin foil and two Vaseline covered cotton balls wrapped in cling wrap have now been added to the mini first aid kit at the cost of 2 (from 4) of the tissues.

 

[SureAddicted]

Re: The best torch (I own) for nightime bush survival is...

Tin foil and two Vaseline covered cotton balls wrapped in cling wrap have now been added to the mini first aid kit at the cost of 2 (from 4) of the tissues.

Smart idea, I've done the same.

 

[matrixshaman]

Re: The best torch (I own) for nightime bush survival is...

Good read - I always like preparedness info. I've known about the vaseline covered cotton balls for quite a while but have not added that to my EDC. I'm thinking I'll go for one of those little tubes of vaseline and a hand full of cotton balls squashed down into a plastic zip lock bag. That way I can make them as needed and the vaseline won't get on other things or melt off in a bag (as I think it might do under hot summer temps). My EDC is probably bigger than a lot of people would have but I think the idea of keeping a small tube with the cotton balls separate may work for smaller kits too if you take less cotton and a partial vasleline tube rolled up. I think I've seen these as small as finger size - might be the ones made for lip balm.

While I haven't used it much (recently acquired) I think FirstLight USA's angle head flashlight might be a good combination of a very small light that can be clipped on pants, shirt etc with a forward light pattern that has both throw and a lot of light or can be held with the finger loop making it somewhat of a cross between a headlamp and a hand held all in one unit. It's a fairly unique light that hasn't had a lot of attention on CPF and this might be a good unit for such situations. I'm not sure it would be my first choice since I haven't used it enough to know how useful it will be in a real survival situation but I think it's worth mentioning.

 

[sdlotus]

Re: The best torch (I own) for nightime bush survival is...

I like the headlamps also.I just need the light that is a good thrower to go with it.For the water a few years ago some one made a collapsible cup.May have been aluminun.Would fold flat not sure any one makes these today

 

[AusKipper]

Re: The best torch (I own) for nightime bush survival is...

I like the headlamps also.I just need the light that is a good thrower to go with it.For the water a few years ago some one made a collapsible cup.May have been aluminun.Would fold flat not sure any one makes these today

I did a quick google and found some stainless steel ones.

Unfortunately they do look a bit big to EDC, and i'm not sure how water tight they would be, or how well they would stand up to being put directly on the fire, however, if they did stand up to being put on the fire and where water tight they would sort of make good replacements to the cups I have in my backpack (I say sort of because the ones in my backpack have things stuffed in/around them, so they sort of take up no space anyway...)

Hmm, to order or not to order...

They do come in smaller sizes, perhaps if i got the smallest it would be small enough to edc.. at least in winter when I am wearing a coat.

 

[bansuri]

Re: The best torch (I own) for nightime bush survival is...

(the Zebralight is my lantern, the Zebralight is my lantern, do not need to buy a solarforce lantern.... must keep my money in the bank... You would never have it on you when you need it anyway..)

Thanks for that mantra, it's working... for now.

 

[matrixshaman]

Re: The best torch (I own) for nightime bush survival is...

I've got one of the collapsible SS cups that is quite small - roughly 2" or so in diameter and around 3/4" thick. I've seen them around online but found mine in a garage sale - worth every penny I paid for it (25 cents)