What light for school camp?

[Twinkle-Plank]

If going to school camp soon and I get to buy one new light for this occasion. So i ask what light would be good for this purpose. It must have a decent run time, run of alkaline. Oh and Im taking a magcharger just in case.

 

[jp2515]

If it was a outdoors type of setting I would suggest adding a headlamp.

 

[LED_astray]

I'm guessing the MagCharger will take care of the Wow factor.

If you'll be working in the dark, a head lamp is a great suggestion.

I'd suggest something small and convenient, e.g. Fenix E01. My reasoning is based on the assumption that you'll have cabins, mess hall, etc. with lights. In that environment, you won't need much except walking between sites and the E01 is plenty for that. The other reason for small and convenient is so you'll have it with you all the time. It could literally be a lifesaver, e.g. if you get delayed on an afternoon hike and don't get back before dark. (If you are more primative, a compact light is still good. But you would need more batteries, maybe go up to AA size too, and wouldn't hurt from having brighter modes.)

Have fun.

 

[Zainal Abidin]

I would suggest Fenix TK20. uses 2xAA. A school camp may be at a remote camping sites, with night activities.

 

[Hooked on Fenix]

That depends. Some school camps for some reason don't allow flashlights. My elementary school's sixth grade camp didn't. They took away my flashlight until the trip was over. Luckily, they didn't find the 32 lightsticks I had hidden in my sleeping bag. That was nearly two decades ago. Anyway, what grade is this for? What price range are you considering for your light? If you need long runtime and it has to run on alkalines, I'd suggest a single mode fairly dim l.e.d. light if you're on a budget. A Fenix E01 is a good light for this. It gives 11 hours regulated at 10 lumens on 1 AAA alkaline battery. It costs $12.50 online. A Gerber Infinity Ultra is also good for this and works with one AA or one AAA and costs $15-$23. If you need something brighter, get a multilevel light like a Fenix L2D, LD20 (both are $50+), or even a new multilevel Rebel l.e.d. Minimag flashlight. If it's actual camping and not in Cabins, a headlight may be more useful. A 50 lumen Rebel l.e.d. Princeton Tec EOS headlight would work great. Princeton Tec also has a line of Amp flashlights that would be good. The Amp 3.0 (4AAA/40 lumen/4 Nichia GS l.e.d/$25), 4.0 (4AA/50 lumen/Rebel l.e.d./$35), and the 5.0 (4AA/65 lumen/Rebel and 3 Nichia GS l.e.d./$45+). The 3.0 and 4.0 have two levels, 100% and 50%. The 5.0 has two levels for each type of l.e.d.. A mag charger seems like overkill for a school trip. It will most likely end up being used to blind other kids and be confiscated by a teacher. Even if you're mature enough to avoid doing this, other kids may not be if they borrow or take your light to play with.

 

[Twinkle-Plank]

They need us to take flashlights and were gonna be staying in two person tents and im looking for anything up to $100 bucks.

 

[deranged_coder]

The new multi-level mini Maglite might be good. Costs ~$20, has two usable levels of light + slow blink + SOS and will run on AA alkalines just fine.

Higher up on the budget range, maybe the NiteCore D10 or D20. Runs on AA batteries, has great output on high, long runtime on low, and can ramp anywhere in between the two so you get the right compromise of output and runtime depending on what you currently need.

I would also look into the Fenix L1T v2.0 and L2T v2.0. Two very usable light levels and also uses AAs.

JetBeam Jet-I PRO I.B.S. would also be a nice light. The I.B.S. system allows you to assign your choice of light level to the three available modes and it is very easy to program.

EDIT: Almost forgot about the EagleTac lights. The P100A2, P10A and P10A2 run on AAs so they might be worth a look (P100A2 is still on pre-order though)

 

[Saint_Dogbert]

+1 for the headlamp, I think you'd find that a headlamp is extremely useful - reading a book or a map or what have you - a magcharger will just be too bright for close-up stuff at night.

For a regular flashlight, I'd go for the Fenix LD10 or 20 or Nitecore D10 or 20.

 

[seaside]

Brining something very bright or eyecatching to school camp is usually not a good idea. Both teachers and kids will notice it, then you know what could happen.

I would say, bring something like Mclite, and keep nice LED at home for yourself.

 

[hyperloop]

with a budget of $100, get TWO lights, an E01 to hang around your neck on a lanyard and another light with the remaining $87.50.

A 2 level Fenix sounds about right, the LD20 springs to mind for $62.95 (not taking into account the discount you get at 4sevens) and you STILL have some spare cash to either get alkalines or invest in rechargables.

Review of the LD20 is HERE looks like a pretty nifty light, i may have to get one for myself.

 

[jankj]

Use a headlamp and possibly a backup light, something that runs on regular batteries (AA or AAA). Trust me, basically ANY headlamp and light will do for this trip. If you don't like headlamps, get one anyway. If you don't believe me, get a cheap 3*AAA headlamp and test it.


But - you're looking for something nice, aren't you? Something you would want to keep and use Then think a bit about what you would like to see in that "future use". If that is unclear, then go for a general purpose light with convenient form factor and AA batteries.

There are several good suggestions already. Here are mine:

Headlamp: My favorite: Zebralight H50. But the other ones mentioned above are good as well.

General purpose light: Fenix LD10 or LD20. (one v.s. two AA batteries).


And - although these light will work quite well on ordinary alikalines, you will get much more stable performance, better runtime and brighter light with low self discharge NiMH rechargeable batteries. Get some Sanyo eneloop and a good charger. (A good charger will charge one or more battery independent of the others, so it won't matter if one battery has 75% and the other has 20% charge. ).

 

[Twinkle-Plank]

Would just buying a nite ezi drop in for a AA mag work? And taking 2 sets of spare batteries work.

 

[buickid]

There are better drop-ins!
I've read that the TerraLux Extreme is good... Check it out at LightHound. Theres a MiniStar 2 and a MiniStar 2 EXTREME, the EXTREME is the one you want. The TerraLux click switch might be handy. Maybe a glass lens too!

As for me, I took my POB HID to camp... That was fun. :x

 

[Egsise]

with a budget of $100, get TWO lights, an E01 to hang around your neck on a lanyard and another light with the remaining $87.50.

A 2 level Fenix sounds about right, the LD20 springs to mind for $62.95 (not taking into account the discount you get at 4sevens) and you STILL have some spare cash to either get alkalines or invest in rechargables.

Review of the LD20 is HERE looks like a pretty nifty light, i may have to get one for myself.

+1
Get also a diffuser to light the whole tent.

 

[LEDAdd1ct]

I would like to echo the suggestion not to bring anything super bright, flashy, or expensive. In these sorts of environments, things may develop legs and wander off.

 

[farmer17]

A lot of people like head lamps and I've had several, but never used them, for some reason. A small AAA light like a Fenix LOD that you can hold or clip to your hat would be what I would prefer. Then maybe a Surefire G2L or G2 with and R2 upgrade, something that can get wet and put out a lot of light. I don't know what your camp is like but I would shy away from extremely expensive lights or items that might get lost or walk away.

 

[LukeA]

I'd take one of the new Rebel minimags with my name dremeled into the body.

Looks common, has good runtime on low, is easily replacible, has my name on it indelibly to help prevent it "walking off."

 

[Gunner12]

It could be cheaper to buy a new light then it is to buy a drop-in for the Minimag. Which Niteize? the 3 5mm LED one or the 1 Luxeon I one?

I wouldn't bring something like the LD20 unless you have it with you all the time. Someone might be envious and you light might grow legs.

If you want to bring something small and bright, I'd go for a more budget type light.

 

[Nyctophiliac]

When my ten year old daughter went off to camp last year,( called 'Parents Get Lost' over here in UK, but it consists of adventure type activities for a week.) I gave her an Olight T15 3W ( her choice ), a Gerber Infinity Ultra, a Gerber Infinity recon and a handful of Fauxton lights on her fleecy zips and bags, plus four new AA batts ( Alkaline ). So she would have a combination of low flood for reading and a bit of throw with the T15.

She mostly used the Fauxtons! I think that's what I would have done when I was her age too. She doesn't like to have anything in her pockets and the fauxtons on the zips were much more handy, and expendable.

When do I get to go away??

 

[Twinkle-Plank]

Theres no chance my lights will grow legs because.
1)All the trouble makers are not allowed to go.
2)Im quite a strong guy.
3)The lights will always be in my bag that I carry with me.

The cheapest light with a good brightness is a energizer dolphin.