Outdoor light collection

If you were building a collection of lights for outdoor use what would you pick? Outdoor use includes getting to a hunting stand pre-dawn, fishing in the dark, hiking, and campsite activities.

Assume that you have no lights in your collection.

You'd want something with good runtime without changing batteries every 5 minutes, good throw for seeing the croc on the other side of the bank and fairly tough. I'd take a Dorcy 3D 1 watt luxeon.

As everything else, it depends on what the task is, and outdoors is still a pretty wide term.

When I go hiking or fishing in the woods, I only need a reliable durable light with good runtime in a small size which uses regular batteries (in case of an emergency), throw is not that important. I have a cheap 12-led cluster light who has fullfilled all my needs so far. A SL PP 4AA Luxeon would probably also work as a general purpose light, but maybe to bright in close and not that much flood. Good size and durability though.

When I go boating (in our small boat), size doesnt matter, but throw(so we don't run into any rocks etc) and runtime does. So far I have used a handheld lantern type of light, dont know the english term, but it uses 4D-cells and has a handle, not the best runtime, so I'm looking for a magmod that can replace it.

But usually when I'm outdoors, I go to sleep when it's dark or it's bright enough anyway (summer nights are very short in Sweden, and there's not much fun sleeping outdoors or go fishing in the winter).

+ Osram Golden Dragon Lantern for in-tent use

Man, you must really be afraid of the dark, or just a true hardcore CPFer!

Seriously though, do you carry all those lights? And what do you usually do? Caving?

A little clarification: I'm not looking for 1 outdoor light but a group of lights like LEDcandle posted that could handle most situtaions.

Thanks guys.

I've found that a 1 -3 LED light will get you almost everywhere that you need to go to. Then I would get a good thowing light to spot things out in the distance for a minute or two. Something like a 2C mag with 3 cr123 in it would be good. I can justify the use of c123 batteries becuase it is never on for more than 30 seconds.

My brother had a good combination. He got a PT Rage and a PT attitude and put them on the same key ring. That way he had a long running light for walking and doing close up tasks, (which he uses most of the time) and a bright light for spotting things farther away.

Lobo said:

Man, you must really be afraid of the dark, or just a true hardcore CPFer!

Seriously though, do you carry all those lights? And what do you usually do? Caving?

Click to expand...

hAha... you guys haven't seen jtice's picture then

Well, I don't do much outdoor stuff cuz over here its an urban jungle (except occasional trekking), but this is what I plan to carry.

Up to date I have not carried all this because I have only recently completed purchasing most of these lights. The next trek I bet I'll follow the pic And prob add even more lights.

If I ever go caving anywhere (beginner's cave obviously ), I'll have to throw in a headlamp and stuff.

My setup generally goes like this for most fishing/hiking/frog gigging stuff, though hunting is a bit different.

I wear a headlamp for walking around, used to be PT EOS but now I use a PT Apex. I like its flood and throw options. I also wear my Surefire L1 (the new version) around my neck and it throws a bit further than my Apex. My E2e often rides in my pocket and for long distance reach I carry either a TL-3, an Ultrastinger or a Strion depending on how much spare room I have.
With the L1 and Apex I have pretty good runtime and if something happens where I need more runtime I can strip the batteries out of my E2e to feed my L1.

LEDCandle, awesome drawing. (What'd you make it with?)

Assuming I currently have no lights and also a pretty decent budget, I guess I'd want an HDS EDC U60XRGT, Arc-AA/Infinity Ultra (or both!), a few Photon Freedoms in various colors (really handy, also great as a locator for bigger lights, just put one of the more power-efficient colors -- red, orange, yellow on slow blink), and of course, a Surefire... maybe an M3 or an A2.

Usually when I go in the woods for a backpacking trip (5 days) I would carry the following lights:

Sure Fire M3 - For throw and brightness, although I might consider bringing my Gladius now instead.

Headlamp - Petzl Zipka Plus

Smaller Light - For general use, one that takes AA'a or AAA's. I haven't gone camping since I have had this light, but the Fenix 2Lp would be my choice now.

Tent light - Brunton Lamplight LED flashlight/Lantern.

I also bring a small solar charger for topping off the rechargeables in the AA or AAA lights.

Oh, also usually have something on my keychain, Photon microlight or more recently an Arc AAA.

Emergency lighting in my pack also consists of several lightsticks in various sizes.

For my tastes, the SF A2 has been a near perfect outdoorsman light.

General Use - Tikka XP Head Lamp, 1 set of spare batteries
-Decent throw
-Slide diffuser for flood
-Multiple brightness levels
-Uses common aaa batteries

Spotting - Surefire e2e, spare bulb, and 1 or 2 sets of spare batteries
-Good throw
-Simple switch mechanism (less things to fail)
-I prefer incan over LED for foggy/rainy days

Emergency & tent lighting - Inova 24/7
-Multiple flash/pulse/strobe modes for emeregency or marker use
-Low or red for in tent use

Neck - Jil DD
-Excellent lighting for its size
-Reported 20 hour runtime (haven't tested this myself)

for the long range stuff outdoors i have to say that i love my mag74 smaller SF lights work great close in but if you want to reach out an touch somthing =P 600 lumens is very nice. oh an 1 hour+ runtime doesnt hurt either =). Sf c3 with a beamshaper works great for close up. no hot spot to hurt the eyes. and outdoors its just like flipping the lights on because the flood is so wide. Were I you, i would seriously consider adding a modded maglight to your outdoor setup, in most situations they are overkill. but in the woods away from ambient city light, 600+ lumens is AMAZING not to mention really really usefull. (the sidespill alone should be enough to make everything in front of you luminated while the hotspot shows you whats coming down the path =)

bratch said:

If you were building a collection of lights for outdoor use what would you pick? Outdoor use includes getting to a hunting stand pre-dawn, fishing in the dark, hiking, and campsite activities.

Assume that you have no lights in your collection.

Click to expand...

For climbing into a treestand, fishing, and campsite activities, I would want something hands-free and not too bright. Any lightweight, multi-LED headlamp would do.

For walking to the stand it might be nice to have a red flashlight, to prevent spooking game. That might also be handy doing things in the stand when you don't want to attract attention.

I have come to prefer a flashlight for hiking. When you hold something in your hand you get better depth perception from shadows and can see a lot better in the fog. For a primary walking light you don't need much brightness, maybe 10-20 lumens, a little on the floody side compared to a tight spot beam.

It is nice to have a light that has a lot of throw, for checking things out. Runtime is not important, and incans have better color rendition. I'm thinking SureFire M3T, but the weight probably would not be justified. A SureFire G2 would work well too.

The last light is one for your emergency kit. I keep a LED keychain light in there for just in case nothing else works or is available.

Scott

BD Vectra IQ
IU (CMG) or Ultra-G
extra batts

I think the Surefire U2 is a good main light option. It's very tough, can get pretty bright, but can be dimmed down to conserve battery life (6 levels) so it could last 10+ hours with a good beam still. LED & waterproof, it should take punishment fine. I just got it as my main light. If you need more power, the question would be for how long. Maybe bring a massive lumen light for those "special moments". But you're probably not going to get several hours or more if you need it.

I carry a Inova X-5 on my belt and a head lamp,for night fishing something w flood and throw works well.