Night hike: Fenix L1P or EternaLight?

I am preparing for a all night mountain hike. I definately have my Apex as a primary light and the Infinity Ultra as a rock solid emergency light along (and of course a photon on my zipper).
Now I am pondering the third light to carry with me. I can choose between a Fenix L1P and a Eternalight EliteXRay. Both fulfill the requirements AA batteries and waterresistant. Why only one? It simply bugs me to carry unused equipment on my back for miles and miles. So I try to minimise the load without ignoring emergency needs.

So, which one would you choose? The long lasting and versatile Eternalight or the nice throw of the Fenix? What is your experience?
Help me out here.

Assuming your primary light is a 'thrower', then the EternaLight is good for a nice, wide flood on a walking trail. Added advantages are long life at lower output levels, plus --- and this is a big plus --- a flashing mode which will draw attention if you're injured or lost.

I personally would carry the L1P with a Lithium installed in it. The beam is much more useful when walking down a path compared to a Eternalight (which would work well in a tent or if you were just walking slowly around camp or something).

I've always found the EternaLight to have to much glare to it.

I'd go with the L1P, due to it's superior beam. Carry a spare AA or 2 in case you need to use the L1P for extended periods.

The L1P served me well when I hiked in the Grand Canyon.

Remember that the EliteMax can float with lithiums on board.

any of the eternalights float with lithiums, I would say if its gonna be a backup/emergency light bring the eternalight. I think the extra features are good to have for an emergency light

Don't know about Eternalights. I've been taking dog walks with my L1P lately and it works well.

So far the score is 3:3
Let's see what other opinions will come in.

My preference would be to bring both. But if only one, then I'd lean towards the eternaLight. I really like mine since it's quite versatile and have already "mastered" the program on it. It is surprisingly white (no blues, purples, pinks) and almost on par with my TW0Js and my SureFire L2! This one surprised me because the beam pattern is a nice round flood without any blemishes.

Enjoy your night hike!

EternaLight gets my vote.

The damn thing will run (nearly) forever and the signalling capabilities might just save your life. Plus it's tough, waterproof, it floats, and it will fit easily in bag or pocket. It automatically turns off if activated accidentally, so no surprises in terms of dead batts.

BTW, I don't like the glare from these either, but I find that if I hold the light in front a me, with arms stretched out slightly, I don't get near as much glare. The body seems to block most of it this way.

I only have experience with the Eternalight, but I do think the beacon and SOS features have merit. The beacon is pretty strong. Don't discount the extended runtime either, in an emergency. The only drawback for trail use is that it can throw some light into your eyes. I'd fashion some simple collar for it. Or if you velcro it to the top of a hat brim that might work too.

I have both and I'd go with the Eternalight.

The little 'find me' light feature is nice to have when it is pitch black. Will run for a LOOOONG time on lithiums. Signaling and multiple levels also help.

Glare is and issue and if you use the light alot you may want to find a workaround to that.

Since this is more of a backup to your headlamp I'd try and secure it to the outside of my pack. Those buttons have a funny way of getting pressed when the light is inside a pocket or compartment.

Just my $.02

quite some years ago I bought an Eternalight for exactly this reason (and that "let the moving wheel look standing" strobe function).
It has never seen any use, because it is very likely to switch itself on. the button is not recessed enough. Additionally there is some magnetic problem, sometimes just coming near the light with something, even just with my hand, the damn thing switches itself on.
boring, without doubt my least used and least preferred light (and I have some of these cheap chinese lights also, but they also dont see much use)

As I just finished the L2P head mod, this is the way to go: Fenix with 2 stage output.

PS: its strange, but I do not like gripping the surface of the Fenix. That of my Triton (also bare HA3) or any cheap 2AA rubber coated host light is much more appreciated. Wonder if the L1T will change that.

The anecdotes about not being able to carry the eternalight inside the pack because the buttons can get pressed on worry me. I stay away from those lights on trips, because in a situation where you need the backup light, the last thing you want to find is that it turned on inside your pack 12 hours ago. But I wouldn't want to hike extended distances with a flashlight in my hand, either, so working out a way to attach the fenix to a headband or other way to carry it would seem necessary.

I have both as well, and the Eternalight would be my choice for a backup emergency light. The ability to balance runtime and light level, along with the night "find-me" mode and emergency strobe is fantastic. In comparison, the Fenix does nothing you can't already do with your Apex.

Enjoy your trip!

I've got both (don't ask how many! )...My vote goes ABSOLUTELY to the EternaLight - NO SECOND THOUGHTS about it!

It's a complement to your other lights and has too many advantages not to be no the trip! It's a matter of safety & survival!

I vote for the Eternalight, hands down.

IF you need a good AA battery powered, water resistent light, the streamlight ProPolymer Lux is excellent for hiking. Much better output than the fenix.

Thanks for all your input. It seems that the Eternalight gets more vote. I am thinking about attaching it outside of the backback with the night beacon on. This would take care of the accidental battery drain by switching itself on and helps to locate my backpack.
I never used the Eternalight for extended periods - only for around the house. So the glare thing worries me somewhat. I guess I just deal with it if I have to.
:thanks:

270winchester said:

IF you need a good AA battery powered, water resistent light, the streamlight ProPolymer Lux is excellent for hiking. Much better output than the fenix.

Click to expand...

Mmmm - you get me thinking here.... If this light had a second stage then I would not hesitate a second to get the ProPolymer Lux. It would be perfect. But second to perfect is not bad as well. Let's see, I am sure I can come up with an other 'good' reason to get this torch.