Finding a flashlight in the dark ...glow?

I've seen two approaches to finding a flashlight in the dark:

(1) Make it glow or attach glow bands or paint with glow paint

Garrity makes a plastic body flashlight that is all "Glow in the dark". It doesn't glow very long and I've had mixed results with the paint too.

(2) Have the "bulb" or an LED glow and use some battery

I know the PALight does this and Eveready has a "Find Me" flashlight that has a little, blinking, red LED on the body of a regular incandescent flashlight.

What is your experience with the best solution for making your flashlight easy to find on the night stand or in a tent at night?

Ideally, I'd like to have a AA powered light (that leaves out the PALight and the D cell powered Eveready) that is easy to find. Got ideas?

...and, of course, I want it to be a LED light.

You could always buy some tritium vials from Bart, well when he actually has more in stock.
https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/137744

ikendu said:

What is your experience with the best solution for making your flashlight easy to find on the night stand or in a tent at night?

Click to expand...

A: Use another flashlight to find it.

(Seriously - that's what the "E" in EDC stands for!)

HDS EDC or Arc4+ with tritium bezel. "it's the only way to be sure".


CFU

:candle:

tritium is definitely the way to go, half life of about 12 years. as long as you aren't scared of the minimal radiation.

Other than tritium, you can also use glow in the dark materials. I have a "glow stick" made by LED_Candle and it works great. I sold glo-rings, which can be quite handy too; I just wish they made them with strontium aluminate. I'll be offering some high quality GID adhesive tape (glows at least 10 hours) early in 2007.

I prefer the glow paint in bezel technique. That's half the fun of buying the flashlights!

When fully charged it can be used as a signal if the person you're signalling knows what to look for, since a lens or reflector focuses the glow like a cat's eye.

I use glo-ring's and tritium vials/keyrings. Quite handy indeed.

MoonLight !

Use glow powder mixed in with epoxy. The glow powder is great stuff!
I put it on my little dog's collar, so I don't step on him at night.
Scooterman

I took some tritium keyrings and turned them into smaller, compact keyrings that went on the lanyards of a couple of my lights. Surprising how bright they are in dark dark. And you don't have to charge them.

Nitroz said:

You could always buy some tritium vials from Bart, well when he actually has more in stock.
https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/137744

Click to expand...

nt

Get a Fenix L1P and short the switch with a 50 ohm resistor (or something around that)... when off it'll have a very faint glow.

I have glow O rings around most of my lights. I charge them with UV before bed, and the glow all night.

carrot said:

Get a Fenix L1P and short the switch with a 50 ohm resistor (or something around that)... when off it'll have a very faint glow.

Click to expand...

I've done that to a couple of LED Turtlelights - Only it took a MUCH higher resistor value to dim 'em to an acceptable brightness (several hundred thousand ohms, IIRC). Measured current consumption was just a few dozen microamps. Works pretty well for direct-drive LED flashlights - but not so well for the ones that use an upconverter circuit.

SOmeone make tritium filled clear silicone O rings for flashlights.

in my 2AA cell maglight, I've got a Nite-Ize clicky tailcap. It also provides full/half/quater/slow flash/fast flash functionality. It also flashes a red LED in the tailcap once every 5 seconds.

Another vote for Bart's tritium vials:twothumbs

Best regards

_____
Tom

Skibane said:

I've done that to a couple of LED Turtlelights - Only it took a MUCH higher resistor value to dim 'em to an acceptable brightness (several hundred thousand ohms, IIRC). Measured current consumption was just a few dozen microamps. Works pretty well for direct-drive LED flashlights - but not so well for the ones that use an upconverter circuit.

Click to expand...

I have tested it on my L1P. It works well, but the resistor doesn't quite fit in the tailcap very neatly. I think it is approaching the brightness of a PALight when "off."