Camping with led lights

Ok ,so I am going camping,I picked some lights to see what would be most useful. A real world test. Heres what I brought,Mag 85( I know not an led,but fun) EL Blaster 3D with seoul, long run time, El Mlf tri led upgraded with P4(500+ lumens of flood)2 levels. Eletro Lumens dacree,1 18650 with optic,Nitecore D10,mag 2aa with a smjled.

So what was most used..............................................................D10 for general lighting and variable level,very easy to keep in pocket, also the Eletro lumen dacree was 2nd most used,(momentary and twist for constant on)with its optic ,the throw is great,18650 gives 2 hr runtime,would spot the kids running around very easy.These 2 were a great combo.1 in each pocket. Backed with good runtimes.

The 3rd most used was mag 2aa with smjled inside the tent,just the right amount of light and rediculus runtime,I could leave it on all night!

I found the lights most used were the ones that are with you/in a pocket.:duh2:

Mag 85 was fun shining across the lake but too bright (if thats possible) for neighbors.Blaster 3d was nice, useful, I would bring it on a longer trip,this was just overnight.

Please post your real world uses!:twothumbs

When I go car camping I keep it simple. I bring my EDC lights (Twisty, PD-S, Novatac, HDS EDC) but only carry one at a time in my pocket and leave the rest in my bag. I then rotate them for EDC. I also carry an E0 (to be replaced by E01 this summer) on a neck lanyard. The neck light is a great backup/long runtime all purpose light. I use it to walk around camp and I mouth hold it for momentary hands free uses. If I just turn it on and leave it dangling around my neck it actuall lights my way fairly effectively. The EDC I use when I walk around away from the camp site or to light up farther distances. I also will bring a Nano charger to use with my AC car adapter but I have never needed to use it.

For camping I use a Tk-10 and a Energizer 6-led headlamp. The Tk-10 low mode is great for just about everything and the High mode is just fun or sometimes for looking for mysterious critters in the trees. Around camp, the little cheap headlamp does a great job. I use the red leds for reading.
This is my go-to combo for short term (weekend) camping.
On a side note, I thought I might mention that there are many different types of camping and the type I do generally involves hiking with a pack containing your supplies and setting up a tent that you carried with you.
If you car-camp or use a camper-trailer then you could pretty much bring whatever.

I just went backpacking last weekend for three nights. The wife and I did about 25 miles with a lot of elevation change. I brought my Petzl Tikka XP headlamp and Olight T20 Q5. The wife brought her Zebralight H30. (which I'm responsible for )

I never lit up the T20, and I mostly used flood/low settings on the Tikka. The wife mostly used the low setting on her H30 around the campsites and in the tent. I like having the T20 around if I'd needed to really light something up, but that situation never came. Honestly, on high it would be distractingly bright around the serene, high mountain lake in the wilderness.

When I carry everything on my back, it's not hard to leave things at home... I'm not sure if I'll be bringing the T20 along next time. I've been waiting for the Nitecore D10 to come out with a pocket clip. If I could clip that to my pocket, (like my knife) I'd probably go with that and my Tikka and leave the T20 at home.

josiah said:

I brought my Petzl Tikka XP headlamp and Olight T20 Q5. The wife brought her Zebralight H30. (which I'm responsible for )

When I carry everything on my back, it's not hard to leave things at home... If I could clip that to my pocket, (like my knife) I'd probably go with that and my Tikka and leave the T20 at home.

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With the D10 you have 3 different types of batteries with you. While hiking I really prefere to carry one type of batteries only. For me AA works perfectly for the GPS and all my lights, which are Apex (with a little pilot light), Zebralight H50 and my good old Infinity ultra. I might replace one of them with the D10 which is currently in the mail.

90% of the time I am using the Apex, just because its so darn comfortable. In closed quarters (mountain huts) the light is way too bright and there the cool little pilot light does wonders to keep my fellow hikers happy sleeping.

(I know, the pilot light is NOT AA, but because I don't consider that light as critical, I do not carry any spare batteries for it. If it dies it dies....)

Good point about the batteries. I generally don't use my lights a whole lot when backpacking, I prefer getting early starts so I'm not up a whole lot when it's dark. Knowing that all my batteries were going strong, I didn't take spares this trip.

I've had the Tikka for a few years, way before I knew of CPF and more options. Or even that a 3AAA setup is pretty inefficient. I'd love to have an H30 myself, but getting another headlamp doesn't make much sense at this point.

If the D10 and EX10 come out with pocket clips, it'll be a hard choice for me. I'd love to have an EDC light, and the AA format appeals to me more for an EDC, but like you mentioned, I already have two 123 lights. Hmm, quandary.

Paul6ppca said:

So what was most used..............................................................D10 for general lighting and variable level,very easy to keep in pocket, also the Eletro lumen dacree was 2nd most used,(momentary and twist for constant on)with its optic ,the throw is great,18650 gives 2 hr runtime,would spot the kids running around very easy.These 2 were a great combo.1 in each pocket. Backed with good runtimes.

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Same here; same two lights. I've not camped for a while. But I do cycle a lot, also in the night.

The DeCree is in my coat pocket. I still think it is the brightest, most compact LED thrower on 18650. Very good for lighting up the path in front of me, or investigating strange noises.

The D10 is fairly new, but has proven itself when I was doing repairs in the dark. I'm thinking of making some sort of simple headband for it, so it can also function as a headlamp.

Kees

My wife and I just got back into camping, and last weekend went car-camping with our son. The only light I brought (except the Huntlight FT-02x which now lives in my wife's car's glovebox) was my LumaPower LM31, and it was just about perfect for walking around at night, and lighting needs around the campsite, and in the tent. I used it on the low setting about 95% of the time. There really wasn't much need for throw.

We're going again this weekend, and I think I'll bring an LM33 I just got today, and a D-Mini, just for fun. The holster for the D-Mini has a pocket for a couple of spare batteries, so I should be all set.