The Under-rated 5mm LED (AKA - Night Kayaking!)

[Quickbeam]

Night kayaking and the under-rated 5mm LED

It's hard to miss the fact that everyone is ga-ga over Cree, Rebel, and SSC LEDs right now. "Brighter! Brighter! Brighter!" appears to be the recent clarion-call of the modern flashaholic. Have 5mm LEDs gone the way of the dinosaurs, or have they been quietly filling their prime niche and we've simply overlooked their usefulness in our quest for the brightest light on the block?

I recently had the chance to go on a moonlight kayak trip on Mountain Island Lake in North Carolina. I met up with a co-worker who was able to borrow a kayak for me to use. I'm experienced in flat-water trips with canoes, and have had some experience with mild whitewater.

I wasn't sure what lights to bring, but I knew I would need a headlamp, and all the lights would need to be watertight. Figuring I had better be ready for almost anything, I decided on the Princeton Tec Apex (with Eneloops). I brought the PT Matrix 2 as a backup waterproof headlamp. I also brought my UK eLED Q40 (with Titanium Endurables) for spotting with it's tight beam. For a stern light I brought a PT Eco Flare that I modified with a Terralux module (8 hours runtime on 2 AAA alkys).

As we unloaded the kayaks and all the rest of the gear, I was (of course) interested to see the headlamps people brought. There was a Cyclops LED/Xenon on one person's head, several had Petzl Tikkas, one had a PT Aurora with almost dead batteries, another had a PT Scout, and one person had an incandescent Eveready with well used batteries. Nearly all the headlamps were LED, and not a one (besides mine) had a Cree, SSC, Rebel, or even a Luxeon.

When we all set into the water I immediately realized I was over-illuminated. I didn't take this as a big surprise, being a flashaholic and all, but it was a bit irritating. The PT Apex with the 4 LEDs on LOW was brighter than anyone else's headlamp. Using the spot was out of the question. Most headlamps were set on their lowest possible setting, and even the person with the Cyclops headlamp chose the "one 5mm LED" setting.

Even with so little light being used, the headlamps actually had to remain pointed at their highest angle upward to prevent blinding fellow paddlers. The spill from the headlamps provided plenty of light to see the bow of the boats and one another at close range. The Terralux-Eco Flare I used as a stern light was clipped to the loop on the back of my PFD vest. Part way into the trip, the people behind me actually requested I turn it off because it was too bright!

The full moon provided more than enough light to see by on the lake. As the boat traffic died off we all turned off our lights completely to enjoy the natural surroundings (this is legal to do in a human-powered boat on an inland lake as long as you have a white light at hand to quickly turn on to prevent collisions.)

We made landfall after about an hour of paddling. We walked around on a sandbar, had a couple beverages and snacks (who would think that Cheese-its would taste so good after an hour of paddling!) and chatted for a while. Lots of stories about daring whitewater trips, past parties, kayak technology, and trying out each other's boats.

After another hour we packed up and headed back. After the boats were launched the lights once again were shut off until we made landfall back at the access ramp. There was simply no need for them.

Now of course this particular situation may be a bit different from many. Conditions were nearly perfect. We were on a wide open man-made flat lake with no wind. A mostly clear sky and full moon allowed for enough light to see other kayakers within about 50 yards. There was no fog or mist, and only light boat traffic at the start of the trip.

What amazed me the most, and served as a stark reminder of past experiences I have had, was how much light 5mm LEDs are able to produce relative to nighttime natural lighting. I think we tend to get desensitized to the background light in urban and suburban settings and forget just how little light we really need to operate and function at night. We also tend to get caught up in the "get the brightest!" mentality when looking at new lights. Most adjustable output "High Output LED" lights just can't dim down enough for the conditions we were in. Even their lowest settings would still have been blindingly bright and severe overkill.

The often over-looked and under-rated 5mm LED is still a top performer in my book. LEDs keep getting brighter, but our eyes still really only need the same small amount of light that they always have needed to work well in the dark.

If you ever get the opportunity to go on a similar trip, consider a simple 5mm LED headlamp that can either dim way down or run just one LED – even that may be too much. Of course it's a good idea to have one of those extra bright lights with you for those "just in case" moments, but I'd bet it wouldn't need to see any use.



Now how about some of your experiences where the simple 5mm LED was all that was needed and/or best suited for the tasks at hand? Which lights did you use? Under what conditions? Let's hear it!

- Doug P.

 

[Illum]

does using a fauxton to locate a dead fuse in the car while sitting in the dark parking lot with pouring rain trying to figure out why the dashboard lights don't come on considered a story?

its a personal experience....and when your heads stuck under the wheel and heels resting on the headrest a surefire might not be as versatile here....I mouthed the fauxton and tried to locate a non-existent fusebox under the wheel [I later found it under the hood, yeah genius....]

driving under the conditions using even my inova X5 meant really bright light reflecting back to me if I shined it on the dashboard, so I locked the fauxton on constant on and left it on the dashboard slope, perfect!

by the time I arrived home the fauxtons pretty much history, but I made it home without ever going over the limit, thanks to the fauxton.

not exactly a story worthwhile to be placed with the surefire ones, but hey

 

[Illum]

ouch...DP

 

[Daniel_sk]

Very good story, thanks for sharing.
I have a similar experiemence with my Arc AAA-P, I was blown away by those 5-7 lumens in the woods - it was really enough light for me, I almost felt it was too bright! For most of the time, I could live with just one 5mm LED.

 

[greenLED]

That's a great story and a reminder that "real world" doesn't always mean one's living room or backyard. Thanks for sharing.

What amazed me the most, and served as a stark reminder of past experiences I have had, was how much light 5mm LEDs are able to produce relative to nighttime natural lighting. I think we tend to get desensitized to the background light in urban and suburban settings and forget just how little light we really need to operate and function at night. We also tend to get caught up in the "get the brightest!" mentality when looking at new lights. Most adjustable output "High Output LED" lights just can't dim down enough for the conditions we were in. Even their lowest settings would still have been blindingly bright and severe overkill.

I have a PT Apex Pro, and I also think the 4 LEDs are overkill, even on "low".

 

[Riddick]

My inlaws RV for 6 months of the year, and swung on to Long Island NY to visit their daughter (my wife) and camped at a local camp ground. Invited to visit them for dinner and some beers. After a while it got dark and I mean dark

So I took this oppertunity to do a real hard look at lights in real dark environment in the woods. My wife and I are campers and backpackers but my wife is a cancer patient (lung) and for the last 10 years or so there have been no trips (looks like next year will get nod to head back into the wild)

Anyways I bust out the lights . . . . . and the winner is SureFire L1 2nd generation. 1.1 lumens is about perfect, toss on my Poland Spring bottle cap and it was perfect! Now I knock the cap off and hit that 22 lumen high beam, Jesus!, thats bright and some damn long reach to-boot

Inova X1 got the next spot nice little flood and the X5 is good choice also but the X5 looked like a blazing cylinder, come to think of it, its to bright yup you herd it here the Inova X5 is to frigin bright! SureFire's L2 and L1 cree are all way to bright. I really like that 2nd Gen. L1 I can't believe that its 22 lumens! And 1.1 lumens is perfect at least thats my assessment. Mr. Quickbeam is absolutely correct you certainly don't need all that crazy brightness (maybe in ambient light you need the extra brightness). There is a guy on here, Subumbra I think is his handle , went through Katrina and if I remember correctly is another supporter of the dim light camp, a great read I wish I could find that thread again it was that good!

Quickbeam your the man! I completely agree, dim light is the way to go in the wilds:thumbsup:




PS I really love your Flashlight reviews page and love those throw and output numbers you always posted/ uh. . . you think you could post the numbers for the new L1 cree?

Prettyplease with a LuxIII on top!!

Riddick

 

[KeyGrip]

I am consistantly impressed by the Inova X5. Mine has never run off of new batteries. For that matter, it has never run off of batteries that register on a ZTS meter. Last Friday I estimated it was putting out about two lumens, as it was getting it's butt kicked by an Arc AAA-P, and was just slightly brighter than one 5mm LED jammed into a mini-mag with alkaline AAs. I popped in a "new" set of cells and, holy crap! My favorite part? The damn thing lights up if I take the tailcap off and put my finger over the + end of the cell.

 

[Oddjob]

On a recent camping trip I used my PD-S and HDS most of the time but I did occasionally use my Fenix E0 and it really is amazing how little light is necessary when out away from the city. Where I was camped was a short walk through the woods to the washroom and when I accompanied my wife I had either of my lights on high with an F04 beam diffuser because she likes having the bright light to walk in the dark woods. On occasion when I went by myself I tried my E0 (which is usually on my keychain) and it was more than enough.

I agree that the lowly 5mm LED is underrated but for me it is because my other lights have turned me into a tint snob and not because of the brightness. I just do not like the bluish tint:shrug:. For the most part I am not too picky about my lights except when it comes to tint.

 

[GarageBoy]

Thats why I have redundancy in lighting. A little Inova X1 for reading, etc, Fenix P1 mod for blowing everything away

 

[Flying Turtle]

My E0 is still my main EDC (in the pocket) with the old Arc AAA as backup (on the keychain). I seldom feel the need for more light, though I do occasionally also carry a Proton. I've got my share of Crees and Luxeons, but am not ready to give up on the trusty 5mm.

Nice story Quickbeam.

Geoff

 

[Marduke]

Agreed, less is more. While everyone (even me ) seems to be getting caught up in the latest and greatest, brightest available. But last I checked, the lights of yesteryear were plenty bright, and it has not gotten significantly darker since then....

 

[Illum]

I am consistantly impressed by the Inova X5. Mine has never run off of new batteries. For that matter, it has never run off of batteries that register on a ZTS meter.

isn't that surprising? the X5 will function on cells that doesn't even click on the ZTS, let along click and no light

the A2's LEDs were more than I can ever use in dark nights, indoors or out, I began from putting the high powered lights beside the bed for good measure, but now a year later, all I really use is really just a SL stylus, if not then a pak-lite. the A2 still gets pocket carry [just in case] but its not getting used in anyway shape or form.

 

[scottaw]

I went camping a few months ago with my Apex Pro and P2D, wow, what total overkill. I'm heading out camping again tomorrow, and while i'll take my apex just to have a headlamp, im packing my Ultra-G, old school L1, and red X5 (with pretty dead battery.), and im sure it will be MORE than enough.

And maybe the cree'd 6P, c'mon after all i am a flashaholic.

 

[bouncer]

Years ago some old friends and I used to go on night hikes wherever we could often navigating by one friends green led on his car key one night while hiking in a local wildlife conservation area we all seperated into twos with our own light and kind of played tag well long story short the young lady I was paired with and I stumbled upon two guys with a light brighter than my Mag and as we backed away I heard the shotgun slide rack luckily they thought we were a couple looking for a quiet spot they could have been police though they never identified themselves as such wish I had had a couple of good surefires back then let me tell you we made it out without getting shot but my night hikes tapered off after that and I was more careful about where they were

 

[R11GS]

I have done more than a couple of night kayaks. Several on moving water; albeit flat moving water (lower Colorado river). Several on lakes (small and large) and even once on the Gulf of California.

I have done a lot of open desert (no trails or near visual references, just brush) night time hiking and even night time mountain hikes when the weather is good.


Two things have been essential for both of these activities - good GPS's (always carry two if you "depend" on them) and good lights.


But good lights for these applications mean to me they first and foremost *must* do red!!! The sailor's saying "red light at night saves sight" is to live by! When using white or other colors for maps, food (it just looks wrong with red), it must be very dimmable. I don't care if they do other colors like green too, they must do red. Red is what will do the best at preserving dark adaptation. See my thread on red headlamps. Of all the headlamps out there, I could only find three good options *for me* that have any red LED's (much better than lenses) and of these only one is completely water-tight, the Primus Primelite A(or AR). I have a Fusion and have used it on the water and it has awesome dark capabilities with the ability to go very low on both white and red. It is not water tight, but has been fine for me on the water. It does not have any good throw at all and it is not the best balanced and the lamp doesn't point downward as far as would be good.

But a good thrower is extremely important too. Especially if there are power boats on the water. I've carried a SF 6P (with red lens of course!) at hand for this. When you see a boat with lights and you see red on your right and green on your left and the lights appear stationary against the horizon (or even close to it; this means it's on a collision course with you!), then shine your best thrower their direction when they get close. I don't like to shine it at them until they are getting too close for comfort 'cus most boaters will think you are not simply signaling then of your presence but will assume you need help. Many boaters are completely unaware that there may be paddle boats on the water at night and that they don't require any lighting.


But to be honest, for me I generally don't use a light at all when actually paddling at night. That's what using the red light is all about; preserving dark adaptation. I use the light almost solely to rummage in the kayak, not to see when paddling. I enjoy the dark and the even think that the stealth factor is very fun. Over 99% of the time I'm paddling in the dark, no one will even know I exist.

 

[MikeSalt]

I do like my powerful lights, such as Fenix P1D-CE, Mag 6D ROP-LO and Mag 2D ROP-HI. I will always have these with me on a night hike 'just in case'.

However, I am going to try to set up a night-hike club of some form. The flashlights listed will totally annihilate the darkness, and destroy the point of night-hiking. I am reviewing 5mm LED flashlights from Poundland ($2 each). When I find one that I am happy with, I will buy maybe 20 or 30 as hand-me-outs. I will strictly limit any personal flashlight to about the same output to preserve the night.

 

[Khaytsus]

But good lights for these applications mean to me they first and foremost *must* do red!!! The sailor's saying "red light at night saves sight" is to live by! When using white or other colors for maps, food (it just looks wrong with red), it must be very dimmable. I don't care if they do other colors like green too, they must do red. Red is what will do the best at preserving dark adaptation. See my thread on red headlamps. Of all the headlamps out there, I could only find three good options *for me* that have any red LED's (much better than lenses) and of these only one is completely water-tight, the Primus Primelite A(or AR). I have a Fusion and have used it on the water and it has awesome dark capabilities with the ability to go very low on both white and red. It is not water tight, but has been fine for me on the water. It does not have any good throw at all and it is not the best balanced and the lamp doesn't point downward as far as would be good.

Mind want to mention that you need to be careful that you're not looking at a map with RED features. They'll completely disapear on a map under red light.

I'd personally prefer a low output white for natural rendition.

 

[light_emitting_dude]

Nice story....thanks for sharing!

I live in a susburban area with alot of ambient lighting and can only appreciate my lights when I go out to my camper which is very dark and out in the county. As I was lighting up a cigar, I wondered if it was possible to navigate in the dark with just the spark of a bic lighter. I left my lights behind and I was able to navigate and find some wood just by flicking my bic momentarily!

A little light is more than enough in total darkness. I'm glad I kept some of my 5mm lights!

 

[270winchester]

I have "a few" pretty good Cree, SSC, Lux V lights

but when I was in the Yosemite Valley where it's COMPLETELY dark at night, my infinity ultra-G was bright enough to use as a bike light on the road. it was a very illuminating experience(I know I suck for using the easy pun).

 

[SilverFox]

Hello Doug,

I seldom use a light while night kayaking, until I am looking for a place to beach. I carry my LionHeart and mostly use it on the lowest setting. It is slight brighter than a 5mm in the hot spot, but the hot spot is quite narrow. The multiple settings allow me to ramp it up if I need more light.

When your eyes are dark adapted, you really need very little light to move around.

If we are taking off from a camp site and want to return to the same site, I will set my EternaLight to dazzle to mark the area. It always amazes me how bright that light is at night on the water.

With all of this said, I still carry a bright "thrower" light. You never know when you may have to rescue someone, and that requires a little more light.

Tom