Going camping

So the last weekend of Oct I get to go camping with our kids as their scout troop is heading out to the local reservation for a camping trip. It's pretty dark out there (go figure) and I'm looking forward to a chance to really let my new P3D Rb100 shine (rimshot). I showed it to our cub master and she told me in no uncertain terms that I needed to bring it on the camping trip (she liked the strobe setting). If I can swing the dough before we go I'm going to order another Fenix or two as well, probably L2Ds or maybe another P3D. I'm not really sure how many batteries I should bring though. Probably won't need THAT many but you never know. From what I've seen in the past I think it's safe to say that I'm going to outshine everyone else, not that they're likely to care since I doubt many of them are flashaholics. One exception might be our cubmaster's husband if he shows, he is a Metro police officer and military so is a bit more likely to appreciate a good light. I don't think he will be there much if at all though, he's not particularly good with kids. Probably one of the highlights of the trip, though, will take place on Saturday night when we go on a night hike through the woods. Unfortunately my lights will probably be useless for this because we are all supposed to be using...night vision goggles! Freaking SWEET! I've always wanted a chance to play with a set and I'll finally get to. But somehow I think having a 175-200 lumen light might be a touch counterproductive with those.

Night vision goggles? Holy cow! Might as well not even go on a night hike at all. If I were in charge I would say let them use the night vision goggles for the learning value of how they work, but make most of the hike as it should be... either by moonlight or flashlight.

I always look forward to camping where I can really enjoy my lights. Just make sure some mischevious kid doesn't flash you in the eyes with a light while you are weraing your night vision goggles...night vision goggles eh?...boy scouts have come a long way. I hope the kids are learning to appreciate the outdoors in a simpler way as well as using high tech stuff. Have a safe and fun trip!

Oddjob said:

I always look forward to camping where I can really enjoy my lights. Just make sure some mischevious kid doesn't flash you in the eyes with a light while you are weraing your night vision goggles...night vision goggles eh?...boy scouts have come a long way. I hope the kids are learning to appreciate the outdoors in a simpler way as well as using high tech stuff. Have a safe and fun trip!

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Well the NVGs are on loan from the Metro PD I believe. The point being that they may enable us to see critters that would otherwise flee from our "fire." They're not exactly standard issue to scouts these days, I think it's just because Cubmaster's hubby is able to borrow them for the occasion. I don't even know how many we'll have or if there will be enough to go around. It may still be worth it to take the kids on a night hike using flashlights too.

Just for a refreshing change from the P3D, why not get a P1D-CE Q5 as your next fenix flashlight? Up to 180 lumens, with the advantage of single-cell use. As long as you do not have the P3D Premium 100, the P1D will actually be brighter. It's a crazy, crazy world we live in.

If you are using night vision goggles, you might want to equip the other members of the group with single 5mm GREEN LED flashlights. Green is the best colour to prevent interference with the NVG kit.

MikeSalt said:

Just for a refreshing change from the P3D, why not get a P1D-CE Q5 as your next fenix flashlight? Up to 180 lumens, with the advantage of single-cell use. As long as you do not have the P3D Premium 100, the P1D will actually be brighter. It's a crazy, crazy world we live in.

If you are using night vision goggles, you might want to equip the other members of the group with single 5mm GREEN LED flashlights. Green is the best colour to prevent interference with the NVG kit.

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I was actually seriously thinking about getting one of those (or waiting for a P2D Q5) for the wife. She thought I was crazy when I bought a $40 Task Force 3W LED light at Lowes awhile back and probably thinks I'm more so with my P3D. BUT, she admitted to liking the fact that it's got the different levels. She would most likely be keeping the light in her purse instead of a pocket, but that's okay I suppose. Anyways, as far as the lights I'm looking to buy, I was looking at the L2D because I intend to mount one to either side of my helmet when caving to supplement my Apex that I intend to modify into a pure flood light (I have ordered some of the last bits of FastCar's diffuser material for it). While I could easily mount the Q5, I think the clicky would provide easier operation and I would get much longer runtime with the 2xAA NiMH batteries.

The light would be a Christmas present for her, though and I thought about getting it engraved with her name and maybe some sort of a message, I just can't think of anything to put on there that wouldn't sound cheesy after awhile. Plus I'm hoping for a better selection by then, maybe an L0D or L1D Q5 for instance.

Edit: Oh yeah, where would be a good place for inexpensive single LED green lights like you mentioned. And just a thought but if everyone is pretty much going to be wearing NVGs on the hike anyways (which I understand is the idea), then perhaps some sort of near IR LED light would be better to act as an IR illuminator.

Okay, small change. Apparently the NVGs are coming from the National Guard and not the Metro Police. But this should be a good thing, right? I mean, the military is probably going to have superior NVG equipment compared the civilian police force, right? Anyone have an idea what to expect with them or any recommendations should I choose to go on the hike? It's a 3 mile hike, but the allure of using NVGs may lead me to it anyways.

hehehe, get yourself an IR flashlight with a pencil beam and go sneak up on a neighbouring camp.....

Avatar28 said:

Okay, small change. Apparently the NVGs are coming from the National Guard and not the Metro Police. But this should be a good thing, right? I mean, the military is probably going to have superior NVG equipment compared the civilian police force, right? Anyone have an idea what to expect with them or any recommendations should I choose to go on the hike? It's a 3 mile hike, but the allure of using NVGs may lead me to it anyways.

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Please remember to write up and sare with us your experience when you come back.

Avatar28 said:

Okay, small change. Apparently the NVGs are coming from the National Guard and not the Metro Police. But this should be a good thing, right? I mean, the military is probably going to have superior NVG equipment compared the civilian police force, right? Anyone have an idea what to expect with them or any recommendations should I choose to go on the hike? It's a 3 mile hike, but the allure of using NVGs may lead me to it anyways.

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I have no idea what generation NVG's you're going to use but keep in mind that NVG's are along the 10,000:1 light amplification.

One of the el-cheapo 1XAA lights with a dark red lens will give you so much light it's not funny. Use a green lens or light to see without blinding the goggles, they're made to be close to blind to green or green/blue light.

Thinking about what we used. One of those red laser pointers is a trip under goggles. I took to pointing out flight obstacles to new pilots with one. The spot is visible for about 10Km with any decent goggles. "See that dark spot that might look like a hill if we had any light at all? (hit it with the laser) Don't hit it"

Red light shows up as good or better under goggles as white light does to the naked eye. If you want something that will get everyone's attention, have a red traffic cone thing on your lens and kick it on. Just about doesn't matter the lumens, 10 will look bright.

DanielG said:

I have no idea what generation NVG's you're going to use but keep in mind that NVG's are along the 10,000:1 light amplification.

One of the el-cheapo 1XAA lights with a dark red lens will give you so much light it's not funny. Use a green lens or light to see without blinding the goggles, they're made to be close to blind to green or green/blue light.

Thinking about what we used. One of those red laser pointers is a trip under goggles. I took to pointing out flight obstacles to new pilots with one. The spot is visible for about 10Km with any decent goggles. "See that dark spot that might look like a hill if we had any light at all? (hit it with the laser) Don't hit it"

Red light shows up as good or better under goggles as white light does to the naked eye. If you want something that will get everyone's attention, have a red traffic cone thing on your lens and kick it on. Just about doesn't matter the lumens, 10 will look bright.

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So, say, one of those red filters to go over the end of my P3D running on low? I'll just have to be careful not to kick it into turbo or strobe and blind everyone. I like the laser pointer thing too. I'll have to give that a shot. Would be excellent for pointing stuff out to the kids I'm betting.

Bushman, there aren't going to be any neighboring camps, unfortunately. However, there ARE houses and such in the vicinity along the lake. Hmmm. Maybe someone will leave their windows open. }

Actually, here's the camp on Google Maps. I'm not sure exactly where we will be camped out. Note the pirate ship on the end of the dock though. Not sure exactly how much of that area is owned by the scouts but it's quite a bit of it. The buildings in the center are one of the bathhouses on the right and the dining hall on the left. In case you're wondering why it shows the Nashville Intl Airport in the search results it's because it made an easy reference point along I-40 for me to orient myself and walk my way to the reservation.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=....469784&spn=0.002732,0.013561&z=17&iwloc=addr

Avatar28, have it engraved with "You are the light of my life" .

Avatar28 said:

So, say, one of those red filters to go over the end of my P3D running on low? I'll just have to be careful not to kick it into turbo or strobe and blind everyone. I like the laser pointer thing too. I'll have to give that a shot. Would be excellent for pointing stuff out to the kids I'm betting.

Bushman, there aren't going to be any neighboring camps, unfortunately. However, there ARE houses and such in the vicinity along the lake. Hmmm. Maybe someone will leave their windows open. }

Actually, here's the camp on Google Maps. I'm not sure exactly where we will be camped out. Note the pirate ship on the end of the dock though. Not sure exactly how much of that area is owned by the scouts but it's quite a bit of it. The buildings in the center are one of the bathhouses on the right and the dining hall on the left. In case you're wondering why it shows the Nashville Intl Airport in the search results it's because it made an easy reference point along I-40 for me to orient myself and walk my way to the reservation.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=....469784&spn=0.002732,0.013561&z=17&iwloc=addr

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Looks like an awesome place to go camping and should be a great time. Kids these days are pretty in-tune with modern tech so I bet you will create a few flashaholics by showing them your P3D.

When they are not using the NVG, make sure you show them how their eyes adapt differently when using the different light levels of the P3D. Lots of difference between 11 lumens and 200.

BGater said:

Avatar28, have it engraved with "You are the light of my life" .

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Cheesy and corny. I love it. It's just like something I would come up with. Thanks!

KingGlamis said:

Looks like an awesome place to go camping and should be a great time. Kids these days are pretty in-tune with modern tech so I bet you will create a few flashaholics by showing them your P3D.

When they are not using the NVG, make sure you show them how their eyes adapt differently when using the different light levels of the P3D. Lots of difference between 11 lumens and 200.

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There sure is. And that's a really good point. I was in charge of the science day program we did earlier in the year. I didn't think it had gone well, I was much less prepared than I had really wanted to be, but several others told my wife it was by far the best and most successful science day they had done. The kids apparently had fun and hopefully picked up a few things. So, anyways, yeah, that might be a good topic for an impromptu science lesson.

Avatar28 said:

So, say, one of those red filters to go over the end of my P3D running on low? I'll just have to be careful not to kick it into turbo or strobe and blind everyone. I like the laser pointer thing too. I'll have to give that a shot. Would be excellent for pointing stuff out to the kids I'm betting.

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A red filter would work well with that thing on low. You're going to be surprised how much light is picked up with red.

Oh, if you've never used them before, think in black and white but in green and white.

For some basic night adaptation stuff to go over with your kiddos, this is standard check ride material for pilots. From a civil site:
http://www.aoa.org/x5352.xml

The camping trip went surprisingly well. We only had one pair of NVGs to use though. We stopped midway through the hike and passed them along for everyone to try out. The rest of the time we had to hoof it through the fields and a little bit of woods along the edge of the lake in the "dark." I put it that way because the first half of the hike was overcast and we had plenty of light reflected off the clouds from Nashville and other cities in the vicinity. On the way back the clouds cleared up and we were practically blinded heading into an unusually intense near full moon (bright enough to see some color and kill any night vision we had until that point and I could probably have read by it).

The NVGs were surprisingly clear and sharp. It didn't seem at all grainy like the video you see on TV when they were reporting on the Iraq war and stuff.

Outside of that, I had my P3D and the two L2Ds. I also got my neutral white P4 emitter before we left so I was able to mod my Apex as well (which proved extremely useful for making sandwiches at night, even if some of the other adults DID make fun of me and tell me I was forgetting my vroom vroom sounds. :/ ). There were also a few naughty jokes made (among the adults) about the unfortunately shaped Fenix diffusers as well (when she first saw it, our cubmaster laughed and asked me if it went bzzz bzzz too LOL). I had given one of the L2Ds to the wife to use the first night and also gave her the second one to use on the flashlight hike the younger kids took if she went. It was certainly easy to tell where my lights were, though. They were the extremely, almost harshly, bright ones running around the site where she had loaned them to one cub or another to run to the bathroom or to get something or whatever. I may have planted a few seeds of flashaholism too. One poor kid in particular was trying to impress me with his 2xAA minimag.

Oh yeah, I found a good use for the strobe feature too. Aside from signalling across the campsite, I mean. Saturday night we had a little tent-or-treat thing where the kids could go around to the various tents and get little (non-candy) goodies. I put one of the L2Ds with a diffuser in our tent on strobe which made the whole thing flash nicely. It was a really cool effect.

Avatar28 said:

The NVGs were surprisingly clear and sharp. It didn't seem at all grainy like the video you see on TV when they were reporting on the Iraq war and stuff.

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You had 3 or 4th generation. One tube or two?

Yes, I'm as curious about this stuff as most here are about the flashlights :nana:

DanielG said:

You had 3 or 4th generation. One tube or two?

Yes, I'm as curious about this stuff as most here are about the flashlights :nana:

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One lens. Probably 4th gen I'm guessing considering how good they were and that they were current issue for the military (National Guard actually) at $12k/set.