I just got back from camping...

The setting was Ventana in the Big Sur California coastal wilderness. A thick canopy of Redwood trees made it really dark at night. Not counting my headlamp I used the following.

1. Arc AAA-P, latest version. This IMHO is the ultimate backup light. It easily illuminated the trail with a soft flood that I had no problems navigating with. If you had a extra lithium cell you could easily hike all night. And we all know how small it is.

2. HDS B42 XRGT. The primary setting was near perfect for my eyes. The high setting was very good for intermediate ranges. I liked the very large hotspot. The color rendition of this light while still LED like, was tolerable. Especially after my eyes dark adapted. Attaching a white minimag traffic cone made a great tent light. The 4 levels were very useful.

3. Surefire E2O. This was the big suprise. During the 1st night I had an anxiety attack about not bringing my brightest light. This was quickly dispelled by the E2Os performance. This little light really projected a bright usefull hotspot out to 30 meters. And of course with great color rendition. The 2 plus hours of decent runtime made this the favorite loaner of the group (I didn't loan out the HDS, it's mine, all mine!).

I'm going to Yosemite next week to hike Half Dome. I shall bring my Arc AAA, HDS B42 XRGT, and my KL3 on a 9V tube. I am an incan man at heart but I really value the burntime and varible output of LEDs for camping. My buddy will be using my L2.

What are your experiences this summer?

Thanks for sharing!

kelmo

Yes, Run time is important when camping. I have been wanting a KL3 head, but have read that they're only OK with 6 volts. Is 9V OK? That would get me shopping...

Good trip you've got planned for Yosemite. You'll definetly be ready with what you have, even for a good night hike. An easy night hike is to go up Lembert Dome just before sunset and back down in the dark.

Which side of Yosemite do you camp in?

I was camping up in Lee Vining Canyon the first weekend of August, good hiking on the eastern side!

xring - yes the KL3 will run on both 6V and 9V. I also use a FM64 beamshaper for a very usefull soft flood of light.

borax - I'll be staying in the Valley. Thanks for the Lembert Dome night hike tip! Did you check out Mono Lake?

Ahh, Ventana. . .Very relaxing place and with the Post Ranch across the way.

No headlamp? Did you at least have a baseball cap to clip your Arc AAA to?

Ventana is a great place to go for lazy afternoon lunch. The views are spectacular from the restaurant. Sometimes sunny ocean views for miles or above the carpet of fog make it like flying in an airplane. No Pics? :shrug?

kelmo, I've been going up to that area since before I can remember, Mono Lake is one of my favorite places in CA. I'd spend every weekend there if I could! I do a lot of photography work up in that area and in Bodie a couple of times a year. Have you been in to Lundy Canyon? Beautiful. Another cool thing if you have the time some day, rent a kayak and go out on Mono at night, it's amazing.

I recommend Cattleguard or Moraine campgrounds in Lee Vining Canyon, but sounds like you've already got a place picked out, cool.

Couple other places, Gaylor Lakes is a beautiful spot, trail is immediately to the right as you enter the Tioga pass entrance station, good uphill hike...Definetly a day hike. Mono Pass is good, long hike.

Ok...I could go on for years with this post...

I completely agree about the Arc-P - Ulltra small and long running with a nice flood. Since I can't wear a true headlamp for more than a few minutes without getting a headache, I usually just clip the Arc to the bill of a cap instead. On camping trips the Arc-P is on my cap continuously after dark, to the point where I literally forget that it's there. The ARC-P is the one light I'll never be without in the woods.

I'm always surprised how little light is necessary in a totally dark campsite. The lower output lights always seem to get the most use when camping. Of course I always have brighter lights available, but I generally don't need anything more than the ARC-P or L1 on low once my eyes are dark-adapted. Also, when camping I'm typically carrying a light for hours so I really prefer something on the smaller and lighter side. The L2 is my go-to light at home, but it's a bit much when camping.

I gave my brother my G2 and L1T when he went camping last week.

He used them both, he said that everyones jaws dropped at the power of the G2 outshining a 6D mag, even the L1T impressed them.

I have a bunch of lights also, but I was surprised that my best light for walking on a path is the AAAP.

Here's what I like when I'm camping

• L2 as my walking and looking around light. I really like the length, the balance and wide flood. I use a 14760 rechargeable. Good on low as it is about half the brightness as with primaries. On high, it is comparable in brightness to primaries for really lighting up an area. I use a blue filter for a lower brighness level.
• HDS U60 with an opaque 35mm film canister around my neck. The film canister is an inexpensive way to create an LED lantern. It provides hands free light to walk by, read a book by, etc. Also, a lanyard clip on the end allows me to hang on a branch. Not pretty, but useful .
• Arc-AAAp in the pocket as a backup.

I went camping this past weekend, these are the lights that I used.

SF C2 w\P60 LA, for throw. Also, SF D3 Defender running 17500's for flood.

ARC AAA-P latest version, for backup and changing batteries.

Fenix P1, this really is a fantastic little light.
Still longer than an ARC LS w\123 twistie TSP by an 1/8 of an inch.

UK 4AA eLED w\ Duracell 2650 rechargeables, great combo.

My wife used my Princeton Tec EOS HL, she thought that I looked like a geek when I had it on. She would not give it back after she tried it for herself.

She also used my EL XM-3 w\2200 Mah rechargeables. She loved it.

For loaners to the other campers that we were with. I had

Princeton Tec 40's w\4 cell M@glite Magnum Star LA's with standard Duracell AA batteries.

Everyone had a Great time, can't wait until the next time we camp out.

Just got back from spending 5 days and nights at a cottage on Go Home Lake in Muskoka, here's the following lights I took along for the trip:

ARC LS modded with SX0H @ 330mA, UCL, IMS 17mm reflector primary light, ARC-P for backup and a floating 2AA PR2 SMJLED as the loaner.

Since the LS didn't have any sort of 2 stage, the ARC-P was mainly used indoors and clipped around my neck for backup. Eventhough the ARC LS I took with me isn't the brightest of my lights, I picked it for it's combination of durability, compact size, waterproofness, runtime and usable sidespill characteristics. The PR2 SMJLED was bright enough for shining around the cottage in darkness but wasn't much use once the campfire was lit up, overall still a good light to take along for when you need extended runtime.

Didn't get any nighttime or comparison shots, but here's some pics I took from the docks yesterday. This one started out as a LSHF-P with a few dings but with a few mods it's still shining strong.