Workbag light

I'm facing a decision - which light I want to throw into my workbag

It's a toss up between these two lights, the Arc AAA Premium 2005 edition and the Fenix L0P. I want to keep the light small because the bag is getting heavy enough as it is.

Essentially it boils down to the time honored dilemma. Runtime - short vs long? You can guess which is short and which is long. The Fenix has better tint, but will tint even matter in an emergency? And, that's IF I even encounter an emergency.

The Arc is surprisingly bright though, the 2005 premium version is scary bright in a totally darkened house, very much more so than the 2003 standard edition, which I have as well. The 2003 version got retired to become a BOB light because I liked the increased output of the Nichia CS versions better.


Also, if it really does matter, take into account that I always have my EDC's with me (U2 and either Fenix L1+ or E1e+KL1) in the event that I need to call upon a serious blast of light.

Hey KevinL!

I vote for the Arc. Runtime is king in the land of bag lights. You already got serious lumens in you EDC. A small long running light is more useful than alot of people realize. An Arc with a fresh lithium battery is a great "stash light." Even better, stash an Arc AA if you got one. Then you have at least 15 hours of very very useful light.

kelmo

I'd say go for the Fenix L0P. Bring along a spare NiMh AAA and you got more lumens and just as long lifetime as the Arc.

Peak Pacific stainless steel with either AAA lithium (5 hours regulated) or AA body and AA lithium (13 hours regulated output)

The stainless body will take the hits from the other things in the bag and not get crushed. The stainless version should be out in the next 10 days with a cost of $60 for the AAA light and $10 for optional AA stainless body.

Hmm, neat.. all good suggestions, thank you.

The Arc is likely going to be a standby light. I used a cheap 3-LED AAA light in my laptop bag, and it never got used. Oh well. So guess I can't take a spare NiMH with me, it would self discharge.

No Arc AA here, but I have a CMG Inf Ultra old style. Bit big though, I'd like to keep weight down since the bag has everything else in it too.

Light will have its own pocket, so no scratches even on HA3. I'll need to check out the Peak though, it sounds interesting on its own merit. $60 - cheaper than the Fenix L1+ stainless I bought too.

But definitely, runtime seems to be the common thread in all the posts, if I'm not wrong. The means differ but the objective seems to be the same thing. Maybe I'll take the Arc.

More inputs still welcome, since I can always change bag light whenever I feel like

be sure to drop 2 or 3 of those little keychain lights in the bag, someone 'round here sells them for a good price

that and some duct tape lets you tape one to the wall or whatever and have some light on something when you move around, and if you have to leave it there or give it away it costs less than a cup of coffee.

-David

Ultra G and a ErgoMarine for me.
Ultra G for its long runtime and im kinda clumsy, so dropping it is not a problem.

Ergomarine for its long runtime and its "variable output", i can juz leave it ON in my bag while im in a dimly lit room for presentation, so i dun have to dig into my bag blindly for stuffs

I own a Jil DD and I have procured them for perhaps a dozen people. The combo of size, run time, brightness, beam quality, simplicity, and price are hard to beat. The N battery would be hard to come by in an extended emergency, however. But if you can't get to a better light in 20 hours of run time, you've got bigger problems than finding a flashlight.

W.

ARC needs to make a C cell light.....

David: Great idea, now I finally know what to do with the hundreds of the little keychain lights sitting around here

They do make great gifts though.... I have never had one rejected. Although, sad to say, I did have one person dismiss them as inconsequential. Believe me that person will *NEVER* get another light from me.. ever again. Not even if they need one.


Arc and a C-cell would be something indeed to behold. Runtime would be somewhere in the region of "forever".

Ultra G.. nice light. I have the CMG Infinity Ultra, the non-US-govt-issue version. Same awesome runtime and same build quality (minus HA). I love the fact that it will actually produce full output for 12 hours, useable light for 3-4 days NONSTOP and then dimming light after that. If I was going to end up in a place where there was no electrical power, I'd take that light and my U2.

wmirag, good point. 5 hours on the Arc should be enough, ~10 hours on my U2.. and if not, it's time to call down the Light from Above, because I'm gonna need it - BAD.


PS: Actually, I just thought of something. My workbag has 4 lithium AA cells in it, to be used in case of emergency for my GPS or 430EX Speedlite. Maybe I should seriously consider carrying the CMG Inf Ultra, because then I can both take advantage of humongous runtime and the 4 AA spares in a time of crisis.

The bad thing about lights is that often when you have to rely on them, it's during a difficult situation.