Help me help my Grandparents.

RdlyLite

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Hey, guys. As I was opening the package to my D-mini today, "it" dawned on me. My grandparents live in a VERY rural part of Zacatecas, Mex and very often the electricity goes out on their property. And many a time, my grandma must herd all her game at sunset and she frequently has to go looking for stragglers. My grandma is in her late 60's or early 70's. My grandpa has a little store and he has at also been cut short of his electricity many a times. He is on crutches becuase his leg had to be amputed many years ago.

Anyhoo, so I was thinking with my new found knowledge of lights, batteries, etc. I was thinking on sending them a care package of lights. I talked to my mom, and she said that flashlights are invaluable there. And she said that what I currently have puts my grandparents light to shame. :(

I have several lights in mind. But I would appreciate your guy's input on what to include in my package. Lets keep the costs reasonable (like around 100-200$). This package should also include the batteries.

Fire away guys!
 

65535

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Get rechargable's and send them solar panels, invaluable for charging the cells.

Something simple is good, maybe a headband light for your grandfather? SInce it would be hard for him to move without a way to hold his crutches and a light.
 

Newuser01

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SL PP 4AA Lux all the way.........
Long run time, great beam, throws like crazy, life time warranty. All cpf'r loves them. Easy tail clicky, easy to fine (green body), firefighters and EMS use them.

Load them up with Nimh and a couple of chargers. They run even longer on Nimh cells!!
If you need floody beam, get SL PP 4AA LED. Both are around 20, 25 bucks.

You can't go wrong.

Get them a few!!

Cheers.
 

skalomax

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Newuser01 said:
SL PP 4AA Lux all the way.........
Long run time, great beam, throws like crazy, life time warranty. All cpf'r loves them. Easy tail clicky, easy to fine (green body), firefighters and EMS use them.

Load them up with Nimh and a couple of chargers. They run even longer on Nimh cells!!
If you need floody beam, get SL PP 4AA LED. Both are around 20, 25 bucks.

You can't go wrong.

Get them a few!!

Cheers.

Agreed.
 

cratz2

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Hrmm...

$15 One headlamp (River Rock would be my choice) for your grandfather.
$60 Two ProPoly Luxes
$60 One NiMH Charger, 16 AA Cells, 4 AAA Cells

With yor $200 budget, that leaves a few $$$ for a couple 1xAAA keychain lights.
I'd also send a couple decent lanyards with clips with the hint to keep to either keep them on their wrists or clip them to their belt/clothes.
 

RdlyLite

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Sweet, guys! The SL PROPOLY was one on my mind, hehe. I gotta get my own, as well. I gotta look up that Energizer Lantern...hmmm.

Keep em coming.
 

regcrap

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If your going with rechargables i'd go with eneloops. They might have them sitting around a while before they use them.
 

paulr

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Rechargeables are good. Solar cells are only worthwhile if the electricity goes out for months at a time or something like that. Otherwise keep some charged cells around and that's that. I suggest this care package:

Two Gerber Infinity Ultras with breakaway lanyards (one for each of them as EDC) - $15-20 each
One Fenix L2P (bright light to keep handy) - $55 or so
A few Energizer 4AA folding LED lamps, $5 each?
One or two 10-packs of DealExtreme Fauxtons, $4.70/pack (put on keys, clip on things, give to friends, etc.)
One largish N-million-candlepower SLA spotlight with wall cube charger, preferably 12V powered so it can be charged or operated from a car cig lighter plug if needed. For when long range spotting is needed. $40 or so? Cheaper if needed.

12 or 16 Sanyo Eneloop cells and a charger, for normal use and power outages
24-pack or 40-pack or whatever of cheap alkaline AA's in case of a prolonged outage or some other situation. Store these in the fridge to prolong shelf life.

That's an all-AA system (except the spotlight) for which disposable cells should rarely be needed, total well within your budget. I don't see much point in messing with D-powered lights given how bright the Fenix is.

If you want stupendous lumens, maybe bag most of the small lights and get an Amondotech HID lantern instead.
 

Meduza

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My suggestion is:

Two Elektrolumens XR-2 (a super-tough tank that runs bright and long on two AA cells, does also tailstand great)
Two 10-packs of the DealExtreme Fauxtons (clip on keychains, clip on everything)
Two of DealExtremes new Cree AA light as EDC
8 Eneloops and a charger
 
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Newuser01

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One thing tho......

For older folks, it is better to have something to hold on to and easy to switch on and off. I love my newly acquired Jetbeam but would never suggest this for older folks.

Also fenixes, too easy for them to cross thread them and it will be dead as soon as the first battery change!
So in addition to the lights mentioned above, I like to recommend 2 or 3 C mag LED. Compare to AA models, these are soooo much easier to operate!! 2/3 AA minimag led's are still excellent choices.
Regards.
 

GeorgePaul

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Newuser01 said:
So in addition to the lights mentioned above, I like to recommend 2 or 3 C mag LED. Compare to AA models, these are soooo much easier to operate!! 2/3 AA minimag led's are still excellent choices.
The C format Mags are much lighter and more comfortable to handle than the Ds. I don't think the AAs are particularly difficult to operate, but the side switch is a bit easier for most people, I think.

I agree that it's a good idea to stay away from the exotic lights in this case.
 
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RdlyLite

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Good ones guys. Yeah, exotics are for me. :grin2: I was thinking durability, ease of use, and better than average brightness would suffice. Well better than what the average joe sees. And rechargeablility would be good.
 

speederino

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-eneloops
-SLPP 4aa lux OR Elektrolumens Lucidus XR-2 for outdoor use
-Gerber Infinity Ultra for indoor use
-then maybe something that takes C's or D's.

The Energizer 4D fluoro folding lantern is very nice. 20 hr high 40 hr low so claims the box. I have one in my SHTF kit, used it for a few hours but haven't run it out yet, so can't confirm those numbers. Then again, the SLPP Lux and the Lucidus are both bright enough to ceiling bounce and pretty much light up the whole room. Lucidus has a very nice flat tail for tailstanding too.

Energizer also has a 4aa folding led lantern that pretty much rocks for power outages...good flood for close task lighting, you can also hang it in your chest shirt pocket and pretty much do what you need to do. The 4aa folder might be a good compromise instead of a headlamp while still keep your grandpa's hands free for mobility. Don't know about your grandpa, but I know mine wouldn't be caught dead wearing something silly like that on his head. And he had both legs.
 

Face

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Wow - I hope my grandchildren are as thoughtful as you! :) That would be great.
 
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