LIGHTS OUT! The worst time for your light to go out?

Arkayne

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Joined
Nov 28, 2005
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629
Location
San Diego, CA
I was riding through one of my favorite canyon runs at night and I bent my derailleur when it hit a huge rock. It was internally damaged and I couldn't shift anymore or pedal reliably. It was ok, I had my Light & Motion ARC HID light on me so the darkness wasn't a problem. I was about 4 miles away from home so I turned around and started to walk back..... until the light dimmed.

My light started bright white but it was slowly turning blue, which basically means for me to GET MY *** OUT OF THE CANYON BEFORE IT CUTS OUT. My walk turned into a run but the light didn't make it.

All of those stories of mountain lions attacking hikers and packs of coyotes attacking came rushing into my head. I was scared! There wasn't much I could do so I just held on to my canister of mace/pepper spray (I keep that strapped to my seatpost on solo runs) and marched on by starlight.

That was one of my scary stories in the dark. What about yours?
 

JackBlades

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Aug 20, 2002
Messages
675
Location
Yorba Linda, California, U.S.A.
Drunken gang members in the Cleveland National Forest. Never had any trouble with them, but then I've never been stalked by a cougar either.

It must have sucked trying to push a bike and watch your back as well! I have an old Klein pinnacle, and could probably hoist it over my shoulder for the hustle out of there. :huh:
 

FlashInThePan

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Joined
Jan 9, 2006
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835
Location
Anchorage, Alaska
I see an ARC AAA or a CMG Infinity in your future.... =)

Definitely a scary experience, Arkayne! I haven't yet had a light fail on me in a critical situation...but that's probably only because I'm not adventurous enough to get into the cool situations to begin with! Anyway, I guess that's just another great reason to have your A2 with you at all times. Or barring that, an ARC AAA for basic backup. ;-)

Glad to hear you made it out okay! Was this Mission Trails?

- FITP
 

Arkayne

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Joined
Nov 28, 2005
Messages
629
Location
San Diego, CA
FlashInThePan said:
Glad to hear you made it out okay! Was this Mission Trails?

Heeeey San Diego brethren!

Yep, good call on Mission Trails! I parked my car (I called it home for this post) near the visitors center and was in between mountains nearest the 52. It sure got dark fast :(
 

BigHonu

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Apr 1, 2002
Messages
1,242
Location
Honolulu, HI
jtice said:
It hasnt happened yet,

but I do alot of caving,,, and you do NOT want a light going out on you there.
Thats why you always bring at least THREE lights with you.
~John


Must agree wholeheartedly here! Two is one and one is none.
 

yellow

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Oct 31, 2002
Messages
4,629
Location
Baden.at
inside caves (just beginners stage, no rapelling), I change batts.
Or take another light
or change batts on the lights I lent around,
then, finally, there will be the lights my buddies brought with them
(the ones that had not to be used because of my lights, they are still better than no light at all)
 

AlexGT

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Jan 15, 2001
Messages
3,651
Location
Houston, Texas
I'm glad you came out OK, I always carry spare lights and batteries with me, and keep my lights at least 80% capacity (Li-ions) just make sure all your lights use the same type of battery so you can trade to a longer runtime light in case of emergency. I'd say strap some spare batteries to the botom of your seat, they don't weight much and could save your butt in the future.

AlexGT
 

hquan

Enlightened
Joined
Oct 13, 2005
Messages
246
Location
North Carolina, USA
I once did an internship in a small town in Montana. There is no light pollution there and very few street lights. This all means that at night, you literally couldn't see your hand in front of your face on a moonless night. I was riding home on a dirt bike and the light went out... which meant that I couldn't see the street or even be sure that I was riding in the right direction. Traffic was very light - which was bad because the light from the headlights would've been very useful. When a car did pass, I got my bearings and got an idea of where the road was by carefully watching the car's path. I made it home without a wreck - but swore that that would never happen to me again (and it hasn't!)
 

CLHC

Flashaholic
Joined
Dec 25, 2004
Messages
6,001
Location
PNW|WA|USA
At least you're able to relate your experience here. And like what the others mentioned about back up lights. That Light & Motion is some bike light to be sure. Maybe the models with them HID+LEDs (NiteRider) would be in good order too. . .

Enjoy!
 

Lee1959

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Nov 18, 2005
Messages
2,020
Location
Michigan
I one time lost my only flashlight while out hunting. I did not notice it till I had started on my way back in and it was getting dark enough to use the flashlight. I went to the belt sheath and no minimag. Now here I was in the middle of a small swamp, meaning a few square miles, turning pitch black, in water up to my knees, I had lost my bearings when I could no longer see my compass and ended up in the water. Yes I could have set up a small emergency camp but that old thing pride stood in the way. I had never been lost, and I was not about to hear it from my dad and brother in law who were waiting on me, I was driving.

Luckily it was dark enough that I could often see one small light in the distance through the trees, red on a tower. I used that bearing point and came out after an hour or so of tripping over logs and spashing through water at times up to my chest. It was the time I learned the hard lesson of backup lights.

One of the things I know after 40 odd years in the woods, in the dark, animals are the least of your worry. Tripping over something, stepping into a hole, falling over an unseen edge, simply running into a tree and jabbing your eyes, incapacitating yourself in some manner is many times more likely. Once that happens, you are at the mercy of the elements, and mother nature does not suffer fools well.
 

357

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Jan 15, 2004
Messages
1,951
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usa
this is whys I always carries at least one backup to my primary light.
 

CARNAL1

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Sep 24, 2004
Messages
186
Location
Mt Holly Springs, PA
What self respecting Flashaholic only carries one light? I carry a minimum of three lights with me when I take the garbage out to the curb.

1. ARC AAA-P rev 4
2. SF Z2 Combat light
3. ARC LSH-ST LuxIII modified by LitFuse

Something that We should all remember is that we are Flashaholics,
We own the Night.

Nuff Said,

Happy Dark Trails.
 

Ray_of_Light

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
May 11, 2003
Messages
1,147
Location
West Midlands, U.K.
It happened more than thirty years ago, on the top of Mount Vesuvius, my backpack fell down the trail. It contained all the flashlights, batteries, emergency gear, and the like.
There, at least, I had starlight. Few months later, inside an underground archeological site, the bulb of my main light failed... but I had a backup light there.
It isn't going to happen anymore. No more... Even before my CPF membership, I had three lights on me.

Anthony
 

leukos

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Apr 8, 2004
Messages
3,467
Location
Chicagoland
Not as exciting as some of your stories, but before my flashaholic days I was following a blood trail alone and after dark in a part of the woods I wasn't familiar with and my 3D Mag went out. Determined not to give up, I used my backup minimag with nearly dead batteries to try and follow the trail. It was starting to rain, and I knew if I left the trail there would be nothing left of it in the morning. So I followed it for another ten or fifteen minutes before it was just too dim to see anything. I was probably only a mile from the road, but the minimag was worthless. I decided just to turn it off since I figured I would see better with night-adapted eyes than with that sickly beam. I actually relied on my ears more to find my way back to the road as dark as it was, though the rain made it difficult. If I remember right, I did have a branch nearly gouge out one of my eyes, it scratched up my face pretty good. All in all, I made some pretty stupid decisions that evening. :ohgeez:
 
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nc987

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Joined
Aug 9, 2005
Messages
460
How many lights i take with me totally depends on the situation. If im caving, then i have a minimum of 2 handheld lights and my headlamp with spare batteries for all. If im taking out the garbage one light is really all i need.

I love that Surefire advertisement
 

Kryosphinx

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Joined
Jun 4, 2004
Messages
791
Location
NW suburbs, Chicago
The worst time is when you're trying to show off your light to people, and it malfunctions.
Then all you can do is mumble to yourself about what might be wrong.
 

Echo63

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Apr 26, 2004
Messages
1,777
Location
Perth - West Australia
i have only once had a light die on me when i really needed it, i was chasing an offender using my stinger to light the area (middle of a school with no power) when the battery died, so i put the stinger back in its pouch with one hand and drew my 6p with the other, kept on chasing him.

my duty lights may have been upgraded and changed around over the past 5 years but i still carry that 6p
 
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