suggestions for a caving/night hiking/general use light

Hello all,

I've been out of the flashlight scene for a long while and am no longer familiar with what's out there, and would like to ask for some help.

I've a friend who is looking for a light for caving/night hiking/general use. I suppose it should be small-mid sized, around a single or double cell light, have a good balance between flood and throw, and if possible, rechargeable or retain an option to be rechargeable (like the old U2s for example). It would also be good if the light had multiple levels, for some extended runtime. Price, hopefully not too high, as the guy is quite new to flashaholism, maybe around $150 or below.

Lights I've been tossing around my head include the SF L1, SF U2 (is it still available?), a Wolf-Eyes or Pila 3-cell light (possibly with LED tailcap), and the Elektrolumens EDC or Anglelux.

I know that most of what i suggested don't fulfil all or most of the criteria, for example, so hope that you folks out there could give a few suggestions whether a production or custom light.

Thanks in advance =)

Have a look at the RA twisty, it meets most of your criteria and i think that it was designed by a caver.
http://ralights.com

Look at the Nitecore D10, D20.

+1 for the Ra Twisty.

I think a quality 18650 light might be a good choice, if you tell him how to handle 18650 Li-ion cells. Fenix TK11 and Eagletac T10L are both extremely sturdy torches, altough they are both throwers.

I would look at any of the Fenix lights, including the L02D. What's nice about the Fenix lights is they have great runtime; they are very durable and simple to operate. Fenix also makes a neat new headband to hold your light(s) for caving.

Cavers generally prefer headlamps attached to their helmets since they need their hands free to move through the caves.

Perhaps a Princeton Tec Apex would be good. The newest 130 lumen model is getting good reviews and is considered one of the better off-the-shelf caving headlamps even if it is not quite as waterproof as PT claims. . . .

The only time I use a hand-held flashlight while caving is when I am using one as a spotlight to light up the ceiling of a big room.

A version of the U2 is still available, but of course the price is over $150. Besides a dedicated caving headlamp, an EagleTac T10C or T10C2 might be a backup option. A good balance of flood and throw, and can use rechargeable RCR123 3.7v cells. Only two levels (the low being 60 lumens) but both are very useful all-round lights IMO. Under $70 and good quality.

For a caver? The Zebralight H-30 or H-60.

For walking/hiking? Novatac 120P w/Extension Tube, or for a few more bucks, the HDS Ra Twisty or Ra Clicky (various lumen outputs, 85 is more than adequate, BTW).

For a camper? Some CPF members may scoff at me, but I'd say the Gerber Infinity Ultra is a great camping light. It won't impress anyone, but it will do the job well and reliably. (Really, any flashlight with a diffuser will work.)

If you're talking about recommending one light to do it all, my recommendation is "don't". Always carry a back-up. If you're doing any serious caving (or remote wilderness trails/camping), carry two backups plus spare batteries. One trick is to standardize batteries among the flashlights - that way, even if one breaks or fails to work, the batteries can still be used by the remaining light(s).

P.S. If you do a lot of outdoor activiities, you might also consider a high-CRI or incan light for better color rendition.

Hmmm... I would guess someone caving might want to have both hands free so I would second the suggestion for a headlamp or something which can easily be clipped to a belt or vest... :thinking:

Unless your friend knows where to get cheap CR123 primaries I would suggest sticking with something that uses AA or AAA batteries. Both primary (alkaline, lithium) and rechargeable AA and AAAs are very easy to come by; I have seen the Duracell Precharged rechargeable batteries and Energizer Advanced Lithium and Ultimate Lithium primaries in places like Walgreens.

As far as a clippable light, I like the PentagonLight MOLLE lights with the angle head. PentagonLight has apparently gone out of business (this is being discussed already in another thread so please do not bring that discussion here) but you can still find their MOLLE lights available some retailers. Runs on a 1xAA so batteries are easy to come by. Only a single light level, though. :shrug:

For a headlamp, I personally like using my Zebralight H50 but this is all flood and is useful for close to mid-range work, not for spotting long range. Still, it might be useful as a secondary if your friend has a hand held primary for longer range. Has 3 light levels. Also runs on 1xAA. The bracket that it comes with is made of GITD material which is a nice touch. :thumbsup:

Hand held light, I would suggest something like a 2xAA configuration since for outdoors it would be more easy to retain grip on it as compared to something small like a 1xAA. The NiteCore D20 or the Fenix L2T/L2D/LD20 would work since they have the multiple brightness levels and run on 2xAA batteries.

None of the lights I have mentioned will break $100 so you could easily recommend getting both a headlamp / clip light as well as a handheld and still have some money left over to buy batteries.

The eagletac T10L is NOT a thrower. It has a very bright spill beam (brighter than most of the lights of its size) and a fairly bright and somewhat concentrated hotspot. As it has an OP reflector, it really is not classified as a thrower. In my opinion, it provides the mix between flood and throw that the original poster wanted.

The T10L on 1 18650. The high mode supposedly lasts for around 2 hours, and the high mode supposedly lasts for 13 hours. Of coruse, this depends on what the capacity of the battery is. The high mode is supposedly 255 lumens, while the low is 60.

The T10C2 looks exactly the same as the T10L, but it can only use cr123's or rcr123s. It is supposedly 295 lumens on high, but tests done on these forums have shown that it is more like 270 lumens on high. It is also 60 on low.
Eagletac also has a single AA light (the P10A) and a double AA light (the P10A2). It is not as bright as the T10C2 or T10L, and it has less runtime as well. However, since it uses AA batteries, this isn't as big of an issue. It also has high and low modes.
In general, the eagletac lights cost less than many of the other lights in their class.

May I suggest asking Henry from HDS? He makes the clicky and goes caving so may be able to advise
Just a thought!

Between walking my dog at night and running in the morning, I log in two to three hours of flashlight usage outdoors daily.

For extended use (hiking, walking, caving), I suggest that flashlights with defined hotspots and so-called bright spills are eye-fatiguing. Using such flashlights becomes an exercise in "avoiding the bouncing ball (spot)". For short periods of time, say 30 minutes or less, they are extremely good all-purpose lights. For long walks, hiking, and caving; I'd suggest that floodier beams are desirable.

A pure flood isn't necessarily the best option, either. Our eyes need a certain amount of light to operate comfortably. Moreover, the amount of light needed is not only task-dependent, it also varies from individual to individual. Dispersing light uniformly to the peripheral vision may not be the most effective way of distributing a limited number of lumens. (Indeed, at lower output levels, I've found that under the 180 degree wash of a pure flood, the landscape tends to de-focus into a monotonous scene, where individual features become hard to distinguish.)

So, in my estimation, the best light for walking and hiking at night is a flashlight with a soft center spot with smooth transition to spill. These include models manufactured by Novatac, HDS, Bitz, and Liteflux. (I recommend the Novatac and HDS with extension tubes because of the runtime advantage.)

Arguably, other flashlights with wide center spots with smooth coronas would also work (Fenix L2D, D20; SF L2, L4; etc.).

How much abuse does his cave lights see?
Would easy to find batteries be better then other ones(like CR123 and Li-ion batteries)?
What about multimode?

There are a lot of lights that might work. From the Fenix E01(won't work well but will work for the task) to the RA lights.