Flashlights for Africa - Thank You!

It has been a long time since I posted anything on this board, almost two years! The reason being that two years or more I found this board and asked for recommendations on what flahlights would be suitable for me to bring to Africa. I got a great response and a lot of help. I am still in Africa and have finally made it to an Internet cafe.

I wanted to say thank you again to everbody who helped me and to give a short little report.

Here's a list of the flashlights I brought with me:
-Arc LSH
-Arc AA
-Arc AAA
-Nanomate
-TnC Key-Lux AA (very early production, shipped to me without even being anodized)
-Ultra Infinity
-Princeton Tec and BD headlamps (combo LED and incandescent)
- something I can't remember the name of, it's yellow, takes four AA batteries, has interchangeable 1W LED and Incandescent heads?!

My definite favorite is the TnC Key-Lux AA with the Arc LSH in 2AA form coming a close second. The Arc AA and the Ultra Infinity are nice for reading at night and other small chores and great for loaning out to African friends.

The Arc AAA and Nanomate are nice small lights, but the size batteries they take are not available here, although I knew this before coming out and brought a supply with me.

Overall I am extremely happy with the lights I brought out, but I wish I had something that had a little more throw. Oh well, I will find something that fits the bill when I return to N. America in 2007. Having the majority of lights running on AAs is necessary.

Feel free to respond or send PM to me, but I won't be able to check in again for several months.

Thanks again!
kermit

Hey Kermit,

Thanks for the update. Where in Africa are you?

Dave

THanks for the update Kermit, stay safe and healthy!!!

Glad to see those flashlights have held up and done their job. Just think of all the lights that you have missed since your trip. When you come back you will have a few years to catch up on! I am kind of jealous! Stay safe over there and good luck.

Ah, I just checked your original posts, you're in CAR. Take care, I hear things are pretty lively in the North West at the moment. I haven't been to CAR but I've been around DRC and Uganda a lot. You have PM.

Stay safe!

Dave

Good to hear back from Kermit,
Small twisty switch LED AA lights have always been a favorite type of light during my world travels. Maybe we should send him a Pacific Luxeon AAA but with optional AA body to Kermit? The Pacific will tolerate those "heavy-duty" AA cells in a pinch. Throw in a few Gerber AA 5mm LED lights and maybe a UKE or Streamlight propoly 4AA Luxeon for throw? A Fenix L2P with the switch shorted for "twisty" switch operation?

Hey Kermit, the yellow flashlight with interchangable 1W and incandescent heads sounds like the UK 4AA eLED flashlight. I love it and think it is one of the best things to carry when darkness is long and battery supply is low.

For throw, I'd recommend the Streamlight ProPolymer, 4AA Luxeon light. As you can see from the graph Doug made, it has a runtime of about 3 1/2 hrs.

Really, the throw master is a Lux I or Lux III LED in a C/D sized maglite if you're able to afford it. A good LED current is 500 mA. You can get AA to D adapters so you can use AA cells. There are many options to check out when you return.

Hey Kermit what is a TnC Key-Lux AA that you liked the most. Don't think I ever heard of one. Where can I find some info on it or a picture ? Thanks

search TnC
&
http://www.imagometrics.com/FLReviews/TnC_KL_A.htm (note the pic of the "CPF Special")

FYI, Kermit's origial post is here:

If you were moving to Africa...

-john

If the only batteries available there are AA, my guess is they're zinc-carbon AA. Any lights that use 500 mA from AA cells will have very limited runtime. The UK 4AA eLED might be a good choice. For higher powered AA lights I'd go for some NiMH cells and a solar charger.

Hey, Kermit Good to hear from you !!!

I'm happy to hear that the Arc LSH (second) is still working!

Kermit a good throw light is the new Streamlight ProPolymer 4AA Luxeon. http://www.brightguy.com/detail.php?Sku=STR68344

The Propolymer 4AA Luxeon has much better throw than your 4AA eLED (the yellow one).

Wow, cool to hear that the lights really did make a difference. Stay safe and may your path be brightly lit.

paulr said:

If the only batteries available there are AA, my guess is they're zinc-carbon AA. Any lights that use 500 mA from AA cells will have very limited runtime. The UK 4AA eLED might be a good choice. For higher powered AA lights I'd go for some NiMH cells and a solar charger.

Click to expand...

What's delivery time on web ordered batteries like ?

kermit said:

- something I can't remember the name of, it's yellow, takes four AA batteries, has interchangeable 1W LED and Incandescent heads?!

Click to expand...

I remember that thread, it was definitely the UK 4AA LED/Incan that got mentioned. People seem to be migrating to the SL 4AA Propoly for some reason. I still like the UK.

Hey there kermit, glad you stopped by! I remember that thread as well...don't be a stranger! You must be a busy one for sure! Fill us in on your life over there if you have time?

good to hear from you. I still remember your original thread.

abvidledUK said:

What's delivery time on web ordered batteries like ?

Click to expand...

I would guess somewhere in the region of infinite. Very few merchants will ship to africa because of endemic fraud (for instance, essentially all credit card transactions out of Nigeria involve stolen cards) and anything sent by mail is prone to theft in transit. If Kermit can get batteries delievered, he's very lucky indeed.

Not all of Africa is rife with corruption. I'm living in Cape Verde, just off the coast of Dakar and I have had flishlights delivered to me here ok, with only a little drama. Africa is a big complicated place. Some countrys are doing pretty well, and others are a real mess. We do get blackouts though, so flashlights are extra useful.