Which 72-hour light?

[Blacktop]

What light would you put in your 72-hour kit? For those not familiar with a 72-hour kit:
When a disaster hits, experts predict that it will take government agencies at least 3 days to respond with the basic supplies and distribution ability to help the general public deal with the disruption of normal life. Until then, you are on your own! Everyone should put together a portable kit with enough food, water, shelter, and other essential items to get you through the first 72-hours of an emergency. Put it in a duffel bag or something that you can grab on the way out the door if you have to evacuate without warning. You'll check the food, water, medications, and batteries periodically in order to replace things before they expire or go bad.

I'm assembling mine now and was wondering what light you'd put in the kit to get you through 3 days, keeping in mind that it may sit unused for 6 months at a time?

I'm a newbie, so please forgive if this has been covered before!

 

[logicnerd411]

IMHO, I would think that the original CMG Infinity would be great for that kit, although it is a bit dim for LED lights. If you're looking for full blast LED power, you can choose between the Arc AAA and the CMG Infinity Ultra.

Dan

 

[IlluminatingBikr]

For three days, you could use the Blaster II for 8 hours. The Blaster II has a full runtime of 24 hours.

The Blaster II is much brighter than the Infinity Ultra and Arc AAA. It is also quite bigger. It will probably be very useful to have dim light you can use for close up things, and another light with throw, like the Blaster II.

 

[Charles Bradshaw]

Infinity Ultra with Lithium AAs (eveready energizer L91) last 10 years. One 4 pack per light should be ample for the 72 hour kit. Get the civilian Ultras, as they come with clip and neck lanyard (very useful accessories).

Another option is and LED headlamp.

 

[ChrisA]

I'd definately choose lithium powered lights. Arc AA or CMG Infinity Ultra equipped with a lithium cell. For longer throw and runtime I'd take something direct driven. Maybe one of the new Streamlight 5-watters powered by 3 123s. Both lights should have at least two sets of spare cells attached or nearby. But remember - the most important thing in such a situation is water ! I'd sacrifice any other item in that kit for one or two additional bottles of drinking water...

Chris

 

[flownosaj]

[ QUOTE ]
Blacktop said:
keeping in mind that it may sit unused for 6 months at a time?


[/ QUOTE ]

I'd ditto the lithium recomendation. More than likely, most emergency kits will go for years, unchecked, untill the're needed.
A good AA light would be best to have on-hand since once the lithium AA's start to run down, you can still get a few regular AA's. If you're expecting a long power outage and you still want a small light, this is a good way to go about it.
123 lights are great and provide excelent runtimes, but unless you've got a stash of 123's it may be a little harder to find replacements cheaply. For most 72 hour kits, this shouldn't be much of a problem though. 10 hours of dark and you sleep through most of it...

For long runtimes with a bright light (but not as small as the other two), check out Elektrolumens--bright and long runtimes.

For something that will be more stationary, check out some battery powered lanterns.
A headlamp is often needed for bathroom breaks /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

As to actual recomendations, check out some of the review sites and figure out what you think would fit your environment and possible scenero as only you know what would best fit your plan. What I would recomend for my own home and Texas plains would not be the best for a NYC appartment dweller...



-Jason

 

[Double_A]

I also suggest some lanterns for area lighting. In a real emergency/disaster psycological concerns are more important than many realize. Sitting in the dark with your wife and kids, in a scary environment with an ARC AAA, is not very comforting. Sufficeint light will help a family's ability to cope. Having two or three flourescent lanterns that light up a whole room is very valuable, when compared to directional lighting of a flashlight (even a flashlight pointed up at the ceiling) Most run for 20-40 hours on a set of batteries. I have a very compact folding lantern made of Energizer. It uses 4 D-cells and has two tubes in it. Instructions say it will run for 40 hrs using one tube and 20 using both. This lantern is the size of a thick paperback book and folds open and stands up, for 360 area coverage. Most alkalines will easily store for three or four years. Of course You need that EDC light to find your supplies in the dark, but we are talking about what goes into a 72hr emergency kit.

GregR

 

[Double_A]

P.S.

Are we talking about a 72hr kit or a bug-out kit? Bug-out kits by deffination need to be portable and carryable. My 72hr kit only needs to be unpacked and carried from the shed or garage to inside the house.

GregR

 

[Quickbeam]

If I had to choose only one hand-held light and battery type didn't matter, I would probably go with the Streamlight TwinTask 3C. 2 LED lighting levels and incandescent bulb all in one with rediculously long runtimes on the LED settings. Remember, alkalines have a 7+ year shelf life. Store them outside of the light in their original package until needed. Replace the C cells in the kit with a fresh 4 pack once every few years and you should be fine. No need for expensive lithium batteries.

http://flashlightreviews2.home.att.net/reviews/streamlight_twintasks.htm

I would, however, also recommend the inclusion of an LED headlamp such as the PT Aurora or the Petzl Tikka or Zipka. All tasks are easier to accomplish with both hands free.

 

[flownosaj]

Qucikbeam's site is one of the best tools I've given to my friends interested in flashlights. Facts, facts and more facts...


Double A-- I have 2 kits, home and car. The Home one is more stationary and lives in the closet. The car kit is not really a "buggout bag" but is for any kind of emergency where I can't reach my house and is designed to be portable.
The car kit ranges from the "it's late and I'm stuck at work" to the more dangerous, "a tornado/earthquake/flood just hit and I'm stuck at work."

-Jason

 

[Roy]

The Lightwave 4000 has a runtime to 50% brightness of 48 hours....this is a 10 led, 3xD flashlight. The Angelux has a runtime to 50% of 24 hours....this is a 1W LS on 2xD flashlight.

Take a look at the Run-Time Plot sticky in the Reviews Forum for the runtime of your favorite light.

 

[TheBeam]

You definitely need an led. If you want something small I would go for an Arc. I have unscrewed the head on my Blaster from Elektrolumens and used it as an area light, this works very well with a long run time.

 

[PlayboyJoeShmoe]

I am not prepared in the way many of you are. I don't have a bug-out bag, or tons of food and water put aside.

But light-wise I'm THERE baby!

I don't have a headlamp per say. I do have several different lights that clip to the bill of a ball cap and also a Nite-Ize head strap that will hold Mini's (madmax and opalec) Infinity (ultra) ARC AAA (non LE) and some other lights.

Whoever said Streamlight Twin Task 3C is on to something. It is a superb light! Extra Cs should be no problem. It is most likely what would be found in my bug-out bag if I had one!

For around the house, no flourescent lamp yet... But SEVERAL lights that will stand on tail and light up a room pretty good! And I have LOTS of D cells around here!

So light-wise I feel pretty secure!

And one light for a long time, SL 3C TT fer shure!!!!

 

[Hoghead]

Blacktop,
Welcome to CPF!
I suggest you think of small size lights, because there is
only so much room to put things & there are so many things
that go into a kit like this. I suggest one Infinity Ultra
for each person with lithium batteries, plus one spare
battery for each light. Also one bright light, something
like a Surefire G2. If you have the room in your kit & the
money one LED headlamp per person would be very useful.
The headlamps I recommend are Petzl Zipka or Zipka Plus,
because they are so small. Also one battery change for each.
You may want ARC AAA instead of the Ultra so you can use the
same batteries as the Zipka.
I hope this helps & enjoy assembling you kits.

 

[BentHeadTX]

I have an Anglehead on order for just that need.
It will run (as Roy proclaims) 24 hours on 2D batteries so throw a 4-pack in the bag. Water is easier, your water heater will provide you plenty of water if it shuts down. Always have cans of food laying around so I can survive on that.
Lights..lights and more lights! The bike lights (BB400 Luxeons) become lights for my wife and one child. The Mini-LGI takes care of the other child. The 5W Cyan 5D will run for days and my Micro Illuminator is my EDC.
Anglehead 8 hours a day should work great for the 72 hour time. Now for that light to arrive /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon23.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif

 

[linearintigrator]

As another option, i always include an adjustable brightness,waterproof,fairly small light fitted with lithium AA batteries...The EternaLight XRay. With about 40 hours of light on high setting, to 700+ hours on low,and many settings in between, Plus the ability to automatically flash SOS for you, or be used as a night light in a strange room. Check them out...

 

[wwglen]

Before I found this Web Site and upgraded a lot of my lights this is what I did when Hurricane Floyd flooded our town and caused 3 days without power:

2 Dorcy Cool Blue lights for the kids (Have 3 now). These make GREAT night lights. Keep them on in their rooms all night and I did not notice anny dimming after 3 days. About $7-$10 each.

I also use these when the family is traveling as night lights.

100 Amp-Hour Deep Cycle battery hooked up to an inverter. This powered a 5 watt compact florescent in a lamp fixture. Lighted up the whole family room. Also powered a Combo TV/VCR 15 Watts. Keept the kids occupied.

Camping Lantern on top of refridgerator in Kitchen.

One 3-D, one 2-D Mag Lights, Lots of 2-C lights with rechargable batteries.

One Angle Head flashlight modded to have the Red Jumbo Bright Radio Shack bulb in it. Also made a great night light.

Out of all these the Battery/Inverter and the Dorcy Cool Blue were probably the best for long term use.

One point of interest. At TARGET in the battery section there where lots of PANICING people looking for "D" and "AA" batteries. There were LOT of "C" but they where whining that they couldn't use "C" size in their flaslights.

I pointed them over two rows to the Flashlight section. There where GOBBS of 2-C light on CLEARENCE with batteries 50-75% off. They where too paniced to even think that they could buy a new light.

wwglen.

PS Long burn moderattly bright LED are the way to go. If the power goes off I will take one of the bulbs from a Dorcy and put in in my 4-D Pumpkin Lantern (Clearence from target after halloween) and use that as out main area light away from the inverter. This should burn for MONTHS.

 

[Stanley]

Think a Streamlight TT 2L should do the trick for this... Lithium batts and LEDS (with Xenon option for throw) sounds like the perfect combo! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif

 

[paulr]

I can tell you from just having been in a blackout that an Arc AAA bounced off a ceiling makes enough light for psychological comfort--you can't read or fix circuit boards in that light level, but you can see who you're talking to or where your drink is. It's about like the light from streetlamps on a normal light and is enough for most of the time.

If you're talking about a home kit (not a bugout bag) you don't have to worry much about keeping stuff tiny. I'd say there's no need for expensive high tech electronic toys and lithium batteries. Just keep around some 99 cent household D cell flashlights and some alkaline batteries for them and spare bulbs. You might want to use PR4 bulbs (lower power and dimmer than standard PR2 bulbs) for longer runtime. You might also want to store the spare batteries in the fridge for longer shelf life, but in practice alkalines last for years anyway.

If you want a long-running small light, I agree with the suggestion of a CMG Infinity or Infinity Ultra, and you might as well put an L91 in it (though that's not essential). Or better yet, put an Arc AAA on your keychain so you have it with you all the time.

Now as for how much light you need. I'm assuming you're intending to just sit through the outage like practically everyone did in this one that just ended, i.e. you're not a rescue worker or adventure seeker. Remember that in a 72 hour outage you won't need anything like 72 hours of continuous light. First of all, even in the winter you'll have 20+ hours of daylight, during which you won't need your flashlight that much if you can situate in a room with a window. Second you'll hopefully spend 20+ of the nighttime hours sleeping, again not needing light. So that leaves about 32 hours tops. You won't really need light during every minute of even those 32 hours, but it can be reassuring, so might as well plan for it. A CMG Infinity can run that long on just one alkaline AA cell. An Infinity Ultra would a 2 or 3 spare AA's, still not so bad. An Arc AAA might need 6 spares, but since they're AAA's they'll take very little space.

It's very handy to have two or more lights, one to leave stationary illuminating a room, one to carry if you need to go somewhere (like another room). A headlamp, or a light with a pocket clip that you can attach to a headband or hat brim, is very useful for two-handed tasks like cooking.

Oh yes, re-reading your message, you really were asking about a bugout bag. OK, you're thinking of an emergency where you have to leave your home and maybe hole up at an office or something (a shelter will have its own emergency stuff). You're asking about lights. Again, I'd say don't obsess too much about flashaholic tech toys, they are fun, but this is a time to just be practical. I'd say keep in mind you'll be lending your lights to people so bring some along that you won't need to worry about getting back. My local discount store sells cheap plastic 2AA lights at 2 for a dollar. I'd say get several (maybe 4) of those and a dozen or so AA alkalines (maybe even a 24-pack), plus one or two CMG Infinities and an AA powered transistor radio. It's nice to have everything use the same battery type so you can swap batteries around. Keep in mind that an Infinity can run on a cell that's practically dead--if you have AA-powered incandescent lights and the batteries get too weak to run them, don't throw out the batteries, keep them around for use in the CMG's since they'll be good for many more hours there. You should also have a bright light like a PT40 for the occasional situation that might need it.

Finally, in your emergency gear, light really isn't that important, yes you should have some, but don't obsess over it, other stuff is likely to matter much more.

 

[Joe Talmadge]

[ QUOTE ]
linearintigrator said:
As another option, i always include an adjustable brightness,waterproof,fairly small light fitted with lithium AA batteries...The EternaLight XRay. With about 40 hours of light on high setting, to 700+ hours on low,and many settings in between, Plus the ability to automatically flash SOS for you, or be used as a night light in a strange room. Check them out...

[/ QUOTE ]

I think the Eternalite is a much better option that most mentioned here. If you want to stay with lithium batteries, you can use it with lithium AAs -- though in all honesty I gather that someone who will put together a 72-hour kit will also rotate his battery/water/food/etc stock a couple times a year, so lithium might not be as strictly required. Still, the Eternalite's best feature is that you can switch it from high -- which is much brighter than the single AA lights being mentioned here and runs for plenty long -- to something like 9 lower settings when you don't need so much light or you want to conserve battery power. In addition, it stands on end, for those times you want to just point it at the ceiling.

However, in real emergencies, I've found nothing works better than an adjustable headlamp. You will find tons of situations where you need both hands -- it makes no sense not to have a headlamp in your kit. I have a Princeton Tec Aurora, which runs on 3 AAAs and again has adjustable brightness (3 levels), giving runtime vs brightness options. If you absolutely had to have lithium batteries (which, now that I think about it, could be very useful for an east coast winter), just go with a AA headlamp and lithium AAs.

Whatever you do, though, do get a headlamp. Any other light should be a supplement to it.

Joe