Just wanted to share an idea I came up with to use a regular flashlight hands-free. Let me know what you guys think, and I welcome any comments/ideas to improve its use.
I know there're some flashlight accessories for hands-free use - 4Seven's Prism, Nite Ize Headband, and using clips with baseball caps - but they all seem too flimsy for active sports use, and I usually don't like single purpose accessories for Every-Day-Carry.
However, one of my EDC items is an 8 piece of cord with a Nite Ize Figure 9 that I use for bunch of things. So I used this to rig up a cross-chest string sling that holds a flashlight under your armpit that can be easily tighten for secure positioning, or loosened for comfort and intermittent use. Its secure enough to jog with, is pretty stealth (unlike a headlamp), and is in a nice position for reading, walking, bicycling or doing anything with your hands. Its also comfortable enough to just leave there for hours of intermittent use, like an evening at the campsite.
The key to make this work are the knots. They must be quickly and easily tied (blindfolded), yet have at least one being secure and the other being adjustable. So far I've come up with the Constrictor Knot at the rear, and the Clove Hitch at the front, with the bonus being that these are very closely related knots (a single twist separates them), and they work well with round objects. The Constrictor is totally secure (tourniquet material) while the Clove Hitch is less secure, but highly adjustable. Too little or too much tension will unravel a Clove Hitch, but this application seems to maintain just the right tension for the knot to hold well. This is a good site to see how to speed tie these knots CLICKY and CLICKY. I can set up this string sling in 30-40 seconds, perhaps a minute blindfolded.
You can also include a safety into the sling - simply ball up the excess cord and stuff it in your waistband. If either knot fails/slips, the balled-up excess and/or other knot will catch your flashlight from falling.
The steps to set up the string sling are as follows:
1) tie the constrictor at the rear
2) position the flashlight mid chest, loop the cord around your neck
3) tie the clove hitch at the front
4) adjust clove hitch to a predetermined height (4 fingers below sternum for me)
5) put your arm through the sling
You might have some issues if you have excess weight, clothing or perspiration....... YMMV.
Front view, loose mode (tighten up into armpit if jogging, for example)
Side view, loose mode for illustration. Note safety line tucked into waistband
Adjusting to predetermined length
Constrictor on left, Clove Hitch on right
Used some Glow Cord and you get some tail reflectors for safer nighttime walking/jogging/bicycling. Just tie-off the safety line to the other side for more surface area/reflectors.
I know there're some flashlight accessories for hands-free use - 4Seven's Prism, Nite Ize Headband, and using clips with baseball caps - but they all seem too flimsy for active sports use, and I usually don't like single purpose accessories for Every-Day-Carry.
However, one of my EDC items is an 8 piece of cord with a Nite Ize Figure 9 that I use for bunch of things. So I used this to rig up a cross-chest string sling that holds a flashlight under your armpit that can be easily tighten for secure positioning, or loosened for comfort and intermittent use. Its secure enough to jog with, is pretty stealth (unlike a headlamp), and is in a nice position for reading, walking, bicycling or doing anything with your hands. Its also comfortable enough to just leave there for hours of intermittent use, like an evening at the campsite.
The key to make this work are the knots. They must be quickly and easily tied (blindfolded), yet have at least one being secure and the other being adjustable. So far I've come up with the Constrictor Knot at the rear, and the Clove Hitch at the front, with the bonus being that these are very closely related knots (a single twist separates them), and they work well with round objects. The Constrictor is totally secure (tourniquet material) while the Clove Hitch is less secure, but highly adjustable. Too little or too much tension will unravel a Clove Hitch, but this application seems to maintain just the right tension for the knot to hold well. This is a good site to see how to speed tie these knots CLICKY and CLICKY. I can set up this string sling in 30-40 seconds, perhaps a minute blindfolded.
You can also include a safety into the sling - simply ball up the excess cord and stuff it in your waistband. If either knot fails/slips, the balled-up excess and/or other knot will catch your flashlight from falling.
The steps to set up the string sling are as follows:
1) tie the constrictor at the rear
2) position the flashlight mid chest, loop the cord around your neck
3) tie the clove hitch at the front
4) adjust clove hitch to a predetermined height (4 fingers below sternum for me)
5) put your arm through the sling
You might have some issues if you have excess weight, clothing or perspiration....... YMMV.
Front view, loose mode (tighten up into armpit if jogging, for example)
Side view, loose mode for illustration. Note safety line tucked into waistband
Adjusting to predetermined length
Constrictor on left, Clove Hitch on right
Used some Glow Cord and you get some tail reflectors for safer nighttime walking/jogging/bicycling. Just tie-off the safety line to the other side for more surface area/reflectors.
