Going camping and looking for a rechargeable LED...

I have a Suerfire G2Z light that I use for night carry. We rented a log cabin and I want a good LED rechargeable flashlight. I was looking at the Surefire L7. Any suggestions? Thanks. I want to keep it under 300$.

Just a couple suggestions. Take them for what they're worth. Rechargables for camping/hiking is not a good idea as far as I'm concerned. Issue like recharging them, not have spare cells, etc. should be considered. I tend to take less-expensive lights with me while camping, due to the increased chances of losing them. I've taken my Novatac and SureFire A2 on occasion, but I don't consider them to bee "too-expensive". Consider a 2D Mag with a TerraLUX drop-in. It's bright, with long runtime and runs on standard "D" sized cells, which everyone has at a campground.

Well, the Dereelight DBS will easily out throw the L7 and have more overall output(thanks to the much more efficient LED, more then double the efficiency) and has a low mode.

You would need a 18650 battery and charger though.

There are actually many lights that will out throw the L7 at a much lower price(Best cheap example being the WF-600). Thanks to the Cree XR-E (P4-R2 Bin), Seoul P4 (U and the upcoming V bin) and the Rebel 100. They have around the same/more output but a smaller source(more focus) ans about half the voltage(double the efficiency)

Any size, battery, quality/durability constraints?

:welcome:

You'll probably get a dozen suggestions but it would help to know more specifics: car camping vs backpacking, moderate vs cold temps, used for around campsite or long distance spotting or tent light, ...

I'll almost always recommend a AA-powered light for camping. You can use rechargeables if you have access to recharging (a car) for free and carefree usage. You can use lithium primaries if cold, weight, and ultimate performance are required. You can buy alkalines at any little backwoods store. The only negatives is there are no really high end AA form factor lights. The Fenix L2D (Q5 or RB100) is one of the better ones. The former HDS is supposedly coming out with a new twisty with 2xAA tube that will likely be the best AA light available for ~$200 (guessing... hadn't seen a price on the AA tube yet).

I'll back up the suggestion for the L2D/Q5. You'd be amazed at what it can do. It's likely that most of the time while camping, you'll use only the medium setting, and the then the lowest setting while in the tent.

Bring along just 3 or 4 extra pairs of batteries, and you'll need nothing more. I can't see how rechargeables make any sense at all in a wilderness setting.

I use a headlight when I'm camping - I used to have a princeton tech matriz with the 3 leds, but just upgraded to the black diamond Icon. Both use AA's (2 in the matrix, 3 in the Icon). I use NiMH's in them. If I'm going for 3 days or less, I put a set of fresh-charged batteries in, and take a spare set. If its a longer trip, I take the 12v car charger too. I have a 6 year-old, so backpacking ain't happening anytime soon, but if I was, I'd get a brunton solar panel to recharge the AAs. As it is, I can charge batteries for me and my wife no problem.

I've carried flashlights (usu a MiniMag, but other stuff too), and I've found that sitting and trying to read with a flashlight sucks. So does trying to cook breakfast if the sun hasn't come up yet. There is always something you need to do with both hands.

http://www.coleman.com/coleman/colemancom/detail.asp?product_id=2000000264&categoryid=1045

with rechargable AAs?

I use a SMJLED drop in for a minimag, I get about 15 lumens and 30 hours of run time on one set of batteries. Its great for camping, I never need to bring backup batteries.

g19lr45 said:

I have a Suerfire G2Z light that I use for night carry. We rented a log cabin and I want a good LED rechargeable flashlight. I was looking at the Surefire L7. Any suggestions? Thanks. I want to keep it under 300$.

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If your cabin has power (which I'm guessing it does since you say you want a rechargeable light) and/or you have access to a vehicle for a power source, I would also suggest the Fenix L2D. Except that I would go with the Rebel as it seems to do a little better job with the color spectrum and not making everthing looking flat and 2-dimensional, i.e. it is better for finding your way over rough ground. The brightness difference between the Rebel and Q5 is negligible so it really comes down to tint on that one IMHO. Anyways, it's AA powered so if you have access to a charger, a couple of sets of rechargeables for each light would do you good. If you don't have access to a power source AAs are small and light enough that it wouldn't be a big hinderance to bring a number of extra sets of batteries. The L2D is also only about $60 from fenix-store.com with the CPF8 coupon code so you could buy more than one; one for you and one for the wife, say.

L7 is old technology. Don't buy it for camping.
Most any LED light can be used with rechargeable batteries. More info on what you're looking for would help in making a suggestion. Size? Runtime needs? Throw or Flood? Battery Type? (Most any size battery has a rechargeable equivalent.) Multi mode or just On-Off?