I read the thread "What was your flashlight collection 10-12 years ago?" and it set me to thinking about all the different lights I've had in my life. As a kid, starting around 1970, I was always on the lookout for better flashlights. I would debate with friends whether the Ray-O-Vac Sportsman or the Eveready Captain was the better all-around light. Whether the Ash Flash or the Fulton Anglehead was better for caving. Whether to backpack with a carbide lamp and Duracell 2AA, or a Sportsman 2C and Duracell 2AA.
We xeroxed tables of runtimes, bulb life, and weight for different battery-bulb combinations. We modded headlamps and built helmet-mounted backup lights for caving. When camping, I took half-a-dozen lights. So, I guess I was a flashaholic back then, even though I'd never heard the term.
Anyway, I started trying to recall exactly what lights I had ten years ago. I went down to the basement and started rummaging around in the wall cabinet where I keep most of my outdoors gear, looking to see what old lights I still have in there.
I found an inventory, from 1991, that lists all the gear that I had at that time. It lists each piece of gear and its weight, which was measured to a fraction of an ounce on a postal scale. That was for planning how to minimize weight for backpacking trips. Anway, I don't know what I had ten years ago, but I do know what I had in 1991, about fifteen years ago.
Listed below are lights I had on hand in 1991. Most of the models listed were above average lights for their time. All of my lights underwent real-life durability testing in the great outdoors, and it didn't take long to weed out the undesirable models. Most of the lights listed below could be trusted for rough outdoor activities. Only waterproof lights were regularly used for caving, which will eventually destroy anything else.
Lights on hand in 1991:
-Ray-O-Vac Sportsman 2C, several. (My favorite outdoor light. Not as robust as a Mag 2C, but smaller, lighter, and much better handling. A classic light, very well-built and reliable. Wish these were still available!)
-Ray-O-Vac 2AA Roughneck, several. (Tough, light weight, water-resistant, compact, excellent switch. Better than MiniMag. Wish these were still available!)
-Duracell 2AA side-by-side, several. (Loved by backpackers for light weight and reliability.)
-Eveready Skipper 2C, several. (Light, waterproof, awkward handling, floats.)
-Eveready Skipper 2D. (Waterproof, even more awkward.)
-TeknaLite 2AA. (Dim output, but waterproof and reliable.)
-MiniMag 2AA. (Reliable.)
-MiniMag 2AAA. (Reliable.)
-Mag Solitaire 1AAA, half-a-dozen. Were kept stashed in day pack, first aid kit, inside tent, attached to backpack drawstrings, etc. (Dim, but reliable.)
-Justrite 4D Headlamp. (Heavy, lots of light, good but ringy flood, reliable. Well over thirty years old, has seen a lot of hard use, and it still works.)
-Justrite Carbide Lamps, several. (Primary lights for backpacking, canoeing, camping, and caving. Even today, few flashlights can compete with the brilliant white flood and long runtime of a good carbide lamp. Closest would be the PT Corona, PT Apex, or Stenlight. Extremely reliable.)
-REI 2AA Fresnel Headlamp. (Light, compact, good spot, fair flood, reliable.)
-Pelican SabreLight 3C, several. (Expensive, waterproof, but not reliable.)*
-Pelican MightyLight 2AAA, several. (Bright little lights, but very unreliable.)*
-Streamlight PocketMate 2AAA. (Glovebox light, good map light, reliable, still works after twenty years of use.)
-Mag 2C. (Glovebox light, reliable, still works after twenty years plus.)
-Eveready Captain 2D. (Later model with pushbutton switch, reliable.)
-Mag 2D. (Heavy, reliable.)
-Ray-O-Vac 2D Workhorse. (Durable, good toolbox light, reliable.)
-Eveready 6v Camp Lantern. (Dim but long-running, not robust but reliable.)
Of the lights listed above, I still have the Streamlight PocketMate 2AAA, the Justrite 4D headlamp, the REI 2AA headlamp, one Eveready Skipper 2C, the Eveready Captain 2D, one Duracell 2AA, and all the Mags less one. All of these lights still work.
Most of the others were stolen while on trips, or else borrowed and never returned. A few were destroyed during outdoor use, one was destroyed by battery corrosion.
Note that all the Mags are still in production, and possibly the Pelicans. None of the others have survived as production models, so far as I know.
How have things changed in fifteen years?
A backpacker can save a little weight by carrying an LED light with no, or fewer, spare batteries. Cavers have a bigger, better selection of waterproof caving flashlights available nowdays. LED headlamps have advanced to the point that carbide lamps will soon be obsolete. If you spend $200 on a Stenlight, you get a headlamp that's marginally brighter than a $20 carbide lamp, but much more convenient to use. While I'm enthusiastic about fifteen years of technological progress in lights, I'm sort of nostalgic for some of the great lights of the past.
It's nice to have more light available outdoors, but old habits die hard. When using a LED light on a camping trip, it's very hard for me to just turn it on and let it run. Without consciously thinking about it, I automatically turn if off at every opportunity to conserve the batteries.
______________________________________________________
*I had terrible luck with the Pelican plastic lights, sometimes experiencing failures with nearly new lights. I had two Sabrelight 3Cs that kept working reliably after going through several tough caves. Inexpensive Eveready Skippers worked better and lasted longer than expensive Pelican Sabrelights. The Pelican 2AAA Mightylights were just junk - some would fail without ever being near a cave.
People kept telling me how great Pelican lights were, so I kept buying them to give Pelican one last chance to impress me. Pelican must have had quality problems back then, because I got two decent lights out of around a dozen. Sorry, Pelican fans, but that was my experience.
We xeroxed tables of runtimes, bulb life, and weight for different battery-bulb combinations. We modded headlamps and built helmet-mounted backup lights for caving. When camping, I took half-a-dozen lights. So, I guess I was a flashaholic back then, even though I'd never heard the term.
Anyway, I started trying to recall exactly what lights I had ten years ago. I went down to the basement and started rummaging around in the wall cabinet where I keep most of my outdoors gear, looking to see what old lights I still have in there.
I found an inventory, from 1991, that lists all the gear that I had at that time. It lists each piece of gear and its weight, which was measured to a fraction of an ounce on a postal scale. That was for planning how to minimize weight for backpacking trips. Anway, I don't know what I had ten years ago, but I do know what I had in 1991, about fifteen years ago.
Listed below are lights I had on hand in 1991. Most of the models listed were above average lights for their time. All of my lights underwent real-life durability testing in the great outdoors, and it didn't take long to weed out the undesirable models. Most of the lights listed below could be trusted for rough outdoor activities. Only waterproof lights were regularly used for caving, which will eventually destroy anything else.
Lights on hand in 1991:
-Ray-O-Vac Sportsman 2C, several. (My favorite outdoor light. Not as robust as a Mag 2C, but smaller, lighter, and much better handling. A classic light, very well-built and reliable. Wish these were still available!)
-Ray-O-Vac 2AA Roughneck, several. (Tough, light weight, water-resistant, compact, excellent switch. Better than MiniMag. Wish these were still available!)
-Duracell 2AA side-by-side, several. (Loved by backpackers for light weight and reliability.)
-Eveready Skipper 2C, several. (Light, waterproof, awkward handling, floats.)
-Eveready Skipper 2D. (Waterproof, even more awkward.)
-TeknaLite 2AA. (Dim output, but waterproof and reliable.)
-MiniMag 2AA. (Reliable.)
-MiniMag 2AAA. (Reliable.)
-Mag Solitaire 1AAA, half-a-dozen. Were kept stashed in day pack, first aid kit, inside tent, attached to backpack drawstrings, etc. (Dim, but reliable.)
-Justrite 4D Headlamp. (Heavy, lots of light, good but ringy flood, reliable. Well over thirty years old, has seen a lot of hard use, and it still works.)
-Justrite Carbide Lamps, several. (Primary lights for backpacking, canoeing, camping, and caving. Even today, few flashlights can compete with the brilliant white flood and long runtime of a good carbide lamp. Closest would be the PT Corona, PT Apex, or Stenlight. Extremely reliable.)
-REI 2AA Fresnel Headlamp. (Light, compact, good spot, fair flood, reliable.)
-Pelican SabreLight 3C, several. (Expensive, waterproof, but not reliable.)*
-Pelican MightyLight 2AAA, several. (Bright little lights, but very unreliable.)*
-Streamlight PocketMate 2AAA. (Glovebox light, good map light, reliable, still works after twenty years of use.)
-Mag 2C. (Glovebox light, reliable, still works after twenty years plus.)
-Eveready Captain 2D. (Later model with pushbutton switch, reliable.)
-Mag 2D. (Heavy, reliable.)
-Ray-O-Vac 2D Workhorse. (Durable, good toolbox light, reliable.)
-Eveready 6v Camp Lantern. (Dim but long-running, not robust but reliable.)
Of the lights listed above, I still have the Streamlight PocketMate 2AAA, the Justrite 4D headlamp, the REI 2AA headlamp, one Eveready Skipper 2C, the Eveready Captain 2D, one Duracell 2AA, and all the Mags less one. All of these lights still work.
Most of the others were stolen while on trips, or else borrowed and never returned. A few were destroyed during outdoor use, one was destroyed by battery corrosion.
Note that all the Mags are still in production, and possibly the Pelicans. None of the others have survived as production models, so far as I know.
How have things changed in fifteen years?
A backpacker can save a little weight by carrying an LED light with no, or fewer, spare batteries. Cavers have a bigger, better selection of waterproof caving flashlights available nowdays. LED headlamps have advanced to the point that carbide lamps will soon be obsolete. If you spend $200 on a Stenlight, you get a headlamp that's marginally brighter than a $20 carbide lamp, but much more convenient to use. While I'm enthusiastic about fifteen years of technological progress in lights, I'm sort of nostalgic for some of the great lights of the past.
It's nice to have more light available outdoors, but old habits die hard. When using a LED light on a camping trip, it's very hard for me to just turn it on and let it run. Without consciously thinking about it, I automatically turn if off at every opportunity to conserve the batteries.
______________________________________________________
*I had terrible luck with the Pelican plastic lights, sometimes experiencing failures with nearly new lights. I had two Sabrelight 3Cs that kept working reliably after going through several tough caves. Inexpensive Eveready Skippers worked better and lasted longer than expensive Pelican Sabrelights. The Pelican 2AAA Mightylights were just junk - some would fail without ever being near a cave.
People kept telling me how great Pelican lights were, so I kept buying them to give Pelican one last chance to impress me. Pelican must have had quality problems back then, because I got two decent lights out of around a dozen. Sorry, Pelican fans, but that was my experience.
