No Jargon

Carl,

What kind of PSK are you referring to? Altoid's Tin sized or larger? Personally, in my Altoid's tin PSK, I have a Princeton Tec Pulsar, and an ARC-AAA. They're crammed in there along with all the other necessities that make up my PSK.

Now in my carry-everywhere-don't-leave-home-without it bag, I have a Brinkmann LX and a standard Mini-Maglite. And in my pocket, I have another ARC-AAA, and as soon as I post this, I'm running out to get a Surefire E2 or E1 to carry on my person. I find the ARC-AAA used 95% of the time, easy to feed, and extremely bright for the size. I would recommend this, as would others here in the forum.

IMO, if you are going to store these lights for a long period of time, anything lithium powered will be your best bet. And also, if this is for a PSK and there may be a chance of cold weather use, lithium is also the way to go. But, if your PSK is for let's say a crap-hits-the-fan type scenario, then commonly found batteries may be what you want to go with (AAA, AA, C, D, 9V). It'll be kinda of difficult to run out and purchase/trade/steal other speciality batteries in the event of a natural/man-made disaster or in some village in remote Africa, but you could find common sizes or even trade/barter with your neighbors.

Read these boards, evaluate how these lights will be stored/used/packed/fed, and ask more questions.

Great response from saunterer

The problem with the request for a "brightest, longest-running light" is that there are many lights that can be configured for bright, short runtime, and for dimmer, long runtime (through use of different batteries or different lamp assemblies). Typically runtime and brightness are at odds, so one of those needs to take priority. You don't mention size anywhere, and that will effect runtime greatly as well.

Heck, we ALL want the brightest, longest-running small light out there. But there simply isn't one light that is the best at everything. We need a few more parameters. My PSK would always have an ArcAAA plus a lithium-based light.

Carl,
The others are right. Please let us know more about your requirements. You mentioned something about regularly putting yourself in peril. The situations you face will dictate the type of light to use. I am sure that you noticed that on this DB we believe that there is a light for every task and a task for every light.
Looking forward to hearing more...

brightest and longest burning are exact opposites in the flashlight world. the ls2 has is really bright, but being bright, it doesn't have quite the runtime a not-so-bright flashlight would. also, it is small

that being said...what is more important? i think the arc ls is a perfect combination of the two and is even better when coupled with the arc aaa, even smaller with a much longer runtime.

end up getting the arc ls, get the aaa also, if you end up not getting the ls, get the aaa anyway

***edit*** in the time it took me to type this and wade through other cpf windows 2 people replied

There are tradeoffs to all your criteria. If I had to have a true backup survival light and I mean survival only and it needed to be the smallest I would choose the ARC AAA with one or two extra batteries. Or, I might go with a CMG Ultra-G with a Lithium AA. The above lights would get you out of the boonies but if you need to be able to see the ledge 50' in front of you I would pick a slightly larger light which I will leave to the real experts here as to which way to go. I have my opinions but there are some guys here on CPF that have ALL the lights AND use them in extreme conditions.

David

Whew! Tough question!

Right now I carry an Arc AAA and an Arc LS (with NiMH cells). In my small PSK I have extra AAA cells for the AAA, a couple of lithium batteries for the LS, and a CMG Infinity with several AA lithiums.

For me the Arc AAA is my most used, my Arc LS is for when I need BRIGHT, and the CMG Infinity is there as a long-lasting-but-dim general purpose light.

So far I haven't found one light that does it all ...

Funny, the 4 answers above were written at the same time and posted a couple of minutes apart and they essentially all say the same thing. You need to provide more info. but you can't go wrong with the ARC AAA.

David

I aggree with the Arc AAA being a good choice for
a PSK light, but have you seen the LED Solar powered light? When batteries are a concern (if you are in a third world country or survive a plane wreck) these are hard to beat. Mine is about the same brightness as an Arc AAA.

Follow this link for a description www.countycomm.com/light8.htm

It looks like plastic but is actually a very hard rubber-like material and has a more "quality" feel to it than the pictures convey.

I read your post to mean that the PSK would not be a one off but rather several (or very many?) will be made. If this means that price is an issue then Arc LS will set you back considerably. The Arc AAA would be an excellent alternative in that regards. That said the previous posts do the question some justice.

One other thing to keep in mind is that a tail switch with momentary on capability would allow the light to be used for signalling. This would speak for the LS rather than the AAA.

Great responses, given that I've provided so little for you to go on....Thanks!

That said, I'll try to put some meat to my question(s). I've got an Inova X5. Nice light. I've also got a SureFire. Again nice light. Both are too large, and neither is exactly what I want. I also have a Princeton Tec Pulsar in my "altoids can" PSK- not enough light. I am intrugued by the light described at www.countycomm.com/light8.htm- it may join my Princeton Tec Pulsar.

My (our) PSK's are a bit larger than the altoids can and are directed at 30 days survival with no hope of less and the likrelihood of more. Temps will be anywhere from -15F to +115F. Water is almost guaranteed, so "waterproof to 50 ft" is desired. Signalling capability is a plus. Contact with indigenous people is unlikely, so bartering for spare batteries is out. These lights are going to be used hard as EDC.

So! Small, intense, durable, "waterproof", click switch (momentary on) and able to sustain a longer burn time than the surefire with that approximate brightness ...yet smaller. I hope that helps. Price is an issue, but will not dictate choice.
-carl

The "Swiss Light" described in my earlier post is
also known as the "Free Light" and can be bought
on Ebay under that name at the moment.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1977201043

In 30 days, how many cumulitive minutes will the light be used? You can have bright of course, but then battery consumption does go up.

Lithiums are recommended of course. A couple of 123's can last quite awhile with careful use. A momentary tail switch helps.

Out in boony land, an Arc-AAA and a couple of spare AAA cells will do the bulk of the work. AAA alkalines are cheap and have a 5 yr shelf life. Tempurature is not as much a concern when the light is carried in the pocket or hand. The LS would only be needed for long distance and signaling. With such high quality dark available, the LS would be overkill for most tasks.

Peter Gransee

I think you were correct in your first post. Nothing besides the Arc LS with the pushbotton 123 pack would fit your criteria. HOWEVER, thats assuming that the new Arc LS body is reliably waterproof. I don't know that this has been proven yet.

I'd recommend carrying both LS and AAA and two spares for each. That should cover you rather well.

Let us know.

Mark

Carl,

My interest is piqued. Could you please describe the PSK's a little more? Are you making these for friends/family or for sale to the public?

I have been putting together some customized kits for my personal use (off the shelf kits compromise a bit too much for my comfort). I am interested in what you come up with. It looks (reads) like it will be a quality kit.

Since you have obviously been researching this carefully do you have any suggestions on kit cases?

Cheers.

Might be too big for your PSK, but Eternalight makes a good light. 40+hrs at full brightness, days at dimmer settings, water resistant (I am not sure to what depth), can be configured for temp on/off, can use lithium AAs if needed for cold weather(and it floats with lithiums), and a night-beacon mode to help locate it in the dark.

It may NOT be the best because it is bigger than what you are looking for (a bit larger than a deck of cards, and shaped like one too), is no where near the brightness of a 6V Surefire (though compares well with the Inova), and you cannot change the batteries without a screwdriver.

edited to add: oops, forgot this thread was in the Arc page....My vote goes is for the Arc AAA.


Aloha
Brian

I have just gotten a Free Light (from Tom Lang great to do business w/) and will be using/charging it in some of the lower temp extremes. I'll post on this forum when I have some idea of how it holds up. I have found that in the -10F- -30F range even a small handheld light is affected by cold. With the temperature range you have and unknown storage time I would recomend something that can take lithiums. The CMG Ultra w/ lithium battery is a good choice for small, longer runtime and useable light. But one of the Arc LS set-ups or a mod by someone in an AA mini Mag case.

OK, folks, I'm just a simple guy with a simple desire. I am electronically challenged, so jargon or technical talk frustrates rather than informs me. That said, here is what I want:

The brightest, longest burning, smallest, sturdy flashlight made. I think that may well be the ARC LS version 2, non factory second ...but what do I know? Can you folks assist?

Here is the deal: The target light will be used in survival kits otherwise known as PSK's or Personal Survival Kit's by folks who regularly and intentionally put themselves into extreme situations. When seperated from all other gear, the PSK will be all they have.

What say you?
-carl

RailLight-
Thanks.

Peter-
Total time used (TTU) is a tough one. So far, we see 9 to 20 hours. The 20TTU was an anomaly, but since the intended use of the kit (PSK) is exactly that, we need to pay attention to such use. We estimate the norm to be 14 hours at full power. Part of the desire for small size stems from an interest in keeping the chosen light close enough to the body to take advantage of body heat to preserve usefull battery life- however the issue may be that the light will be stored in the PSK.

Your point about overkill is interesting. There is a need to preserve night vision as well as a need to be covert. We have addressed this with the current light (Surefire) but find its battery consumption a bit too high. I suspect we could address it with the LS as well. The finding is that when light is required, we need as much as we can get.

Mark (Minjin)-
Thanks. Will advise.

Monanza-
Under seperate cover- perhaps E-mail. Let me give it some thought. This kit is not intended for sale and yes, it is the result of considerable research as well as actual field trial (by experts). What it IS NOT is a kit for John Q. Public. The concern I have is that there are folks who buy such kits but never develop the requisite skills to effectively employ them.

Brian (BigHonu)-
Eternalight rejected in prior study. I was not involved and details are not available ...but thanks.

Wit'sEnd-
Looking forward to your test results. Will they be posted on this thread?

-carl

Carl,

Which SureFire were you using? Was it a 1 or 2 cell light? I think Big Honu was right on the money with the Eternalight. Do you agree that lithium batteries are a big plus? If the A2 isn't Too big, this light gives you options that others can't; low level long burn time or bright and short burn time. Although not manufactured, an easy modification is putting the Opalec NewBeam in an E1e or E2e SureFire package. Size aside, from what your initial choice was; SureFire, I am assuming that the A2 might well be the ticket.

- Don

Almost every survival store online sells hand powered flashlights. These things cost around 10 bucks, and have a > shapped handle. Squeeze the handle for a momentary bust of weak light. They are cheaply made, but would be a neat back up light in case a hurricane knocked out your power for a few days. Great for the glovebox, as well.

Raven