Your fav LED for walking in the woods at night?

Im looking for a flashlight to use to be able to see what Im stepping on if I am walking in the woods at night. I was looking at the CMG Reactor 3, and the Streamlight 4-AA LED flashlights. I would like it as bright as a standard normal cheap 2-D flashlight. But, Flashlight Review said of the SL 4-AA that it was not good for "long range lighting tasks."

I wanted an LED assuming it would weigh less (for backpacking) and the batteries would last longer.

Any advice for a newbie?

Thanks

Terry

You can check out a readily available ElektroLumens VI, which you can run off of either 6AAs or 3CR123s, with the 6AA batts having a longer runtime, and you can still carry spare batts. Its focused beam via the 30mm optics is more than enough to pick out distant objects, and it has enough spill light to walk around in. 5Ws of light is more than enough to get you by in darkness.

My own favorite LEDs for walking around campsite and in a small night hike is either my Space Needle, my NexNeedle, or my Helios...

Re: Your fav LED for walking in the woods at night

I haven't tried enough to have a favorite but it certainly wouldn't be any of those listed so far. It would be a low powered 5mm LED, like a CMG Infinity. The only thing I'm not sure of is what color. I want to try a cyan one. Anything with a Luxeon is far too bright. The Blaster VI is also far too heavy. Bright lights are for finding something you put down or dropped. For just walking along, better to use something very low powered and not mess up your night vision.

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HI Terry
i would have to say my
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Space Needle 2 for woods
tho it might look like overkill actually ya can't have too much dark sucking in the woods.. you just can't tho from a distance i noticed in our woods my wife was flicking around with it and it looked like someone was arc welding , kind of a neat effect.. hmm i wonder if you what the limit is on holding the power down before the metal melts?

Re: Your fav LED for walking in the woods at night

In walking through part-snow covered Mendocino National Forest at night, I came to the conclusion that if a light's too dim or too narrow, I'm not comfortable moving at a pace I would normally walk at... It took me longer to get back to camp after a small hike with my Opalec Newbeam than it did with my Space Needle. Even the walk to the drop-chute BRoom warranted more light, as something less than an LS not only creates a dim and uncomfortable feeling, but is inadequate for longer throw applications.

IMHO, night vision works two ways. You can have very low illumination, but that would mean you're relying on ambient lighting from the moon or stars to give you a feel of depth of the path ahead and environment to the sides of you. This means you're limited to a small area, maybe in campsite, and you're not crossing rough terrain. Or you can rely on overpowering light. This virtually eliminates night vision, in the sense that you don't rely on outside ambient light anymore. But this is where a great side-spilling light, like the Blaster VI or Helios comes in; your night vision is a result of the light, not ambience. In a trail environment, your entire trail's lit up. And the throw can light up objects well in advance of 100feet ahead of you. This is where something insanely bright is, IMHO, not just desired, but necessary for walking in the woods at night.

My roommate hiked from the bottom of Yosemite Valley to the top of Half Dome, and he did it during dark hours to catch a glimpse of the moon shinning onto the valley. After now seeing the Blaster VI and other more powerful lights, he regretted carrying only a LightWave 3000 on the trail; it just wasn't enough light to not only see where he is at, but where he's going as well...

And to add on: it'd be foolish to carry only one light on you to a camping trip... So if you carry a reflectored incandescent on a trail, then you're set for a smaller LED for immediate illumination... This is my only justification for using anything smaller than an LS for a night hike...

I go with an Infinity Ultra and a good incan to see a way off.

A Luxeon equipped torch such as my Elektrolumens 4D 5c converted 5 watt maglight provides a superb light source for walking in the woods. The drawback of this torch is its size iif you are climbing stiles or grappling uphill.
But it provides unrivalled illumination. If you are out with a group of people nominate one to carry the torch.
I also use a 2AA 4LED torch in a headband for hands free operation. I used my "Oranges & Lemons" as the light source, and found it reasonably efficient for grappling through a wooded trail up a Derbyshire hillside!

Re: Your fav LED for walking in the woods at night

I can't believe you guys. I used my Mag 3D to work on my car a couple of blocks away recently. I got tired of carrying it even on a 3 minute walk down a sidewalk. And you guys want to take 4 D cell lights hiking in the woods for hours. You're tougher than me is all I can say.

Re: Your fav LED for walking in the woods at night

I wouldn`t use any LED light to navigate my way round the woods just over the hill from here, as no LED could possibly be bright enough. Anything short of a Maxabeam would be too dim.

You just don`t know who`s lurking there and what they`re doing, or about to do.... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/eek.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

Re: Your fav LED for walking in the woods at night

I'm going with paulr. I regularly take brisk night time walks for fitness and the fun of it. Street lights are about 1/2 mile apart in our area, there is very little traffic, and my routes often cross a golf course, so my needs are similar to "woods at night". Ever since popping one of Wayne's sandwiches in an old Maglite 2xAA Minimag, that's all I take. It's the perfect night time walking light. Plenty of power for the woods and light enough to not be tiresome over the 40 minute carry. Enough of my night vision is preserved that I often click the light off when ambient lighting (often the moon) and shade conditions allow. Any of Wayne's sandwiches will suffice, but these days I'm carrying a MadMax+ w/ Q3x. I run NiMH and keep a couple spares in my pocket.

Re: Your fav LED for walking in the woods at night

Chris brings up an interesting distinction - "walking" (known paths and routes) versus "orienteering" (bushwhacking new forest routes). You may want more long range light for orienteering to allow more accurate spotting of compass targets. You'll want a headlight for map reading too.

As for lurking people...I don't think more power solves that issue. If anything, it makes it worse. More power attracts attention from further away. He who has the light will always be at a tactical disadvantage. Better to "run silent run deep". Nothing short of no light and NVG will solve the lurking threat. I don't worry about it on my night walks. I'm traveling fast, there isn't any pattern to when or where I walk, the area doesn't have any gangs or crime issues, and I'm familiar enough with the terrain to switch the light off if I hear anything.

Re: Your fav LED for walking in the woods at night

Are we talking friendly woods or unfriendly woods?

Friendly woods would be like, dirt roads or pine needle covered foot paths, or leaf covered ground with no brush around?

OR, Unfriendly woods, like where there are no trails, and high brush and rocks and uneven ground?

For friendly woods, I like a custom made light that Mr. bulk made, the LGI, with fresh batteries.

Why do I like this light? It gives out a very white, wide flood of light that does a great job of lighting things up <75 feet around you, yet does not seem to hurt your night vision too much.

As he is not offering any for sale now (and when he does, they sell out pretty quickly). Maybe a dat2Zip module is one to consider also. Other commercially available alternatives might be:

Electrolumens would be a good alternative
Also, The Streamlight 3c, 10 LED is nice
I have heard that the newer InReTECH 2AA adapters are much whiter than earlier ones.

For Unfriendly woods, I would say, BRIGHTER IS BETTER. and I would also include a headlamp.

There are LOTS and LOTS of possibilities for lights here, both incandecent and LED's. Br. Bulk's Space NeedleII and his NexNeedle are two lights that I would use (one in each hand). Both are 5 watt Luxeon Star's, but one has a beam, and the other has a wider light. Both are very white and very bright. Make sure you have fresh batteries and a change of batteries with you, as they go from full to empty within minutes.

Other possibilities are the PRinceton Tec Surge. BUT there are lots of bright lights to consider here.

Re: Your fav LED for walking in the woods at night

I look at this pretty much the way BuddTX does.

For any kind of woods there's a lot to be seen. That requires the brightest light I have. If I'm confined to LEDs, I'd pick the Space Needle II, simply because it's my brightest LED.

Re: Your fav LED for walking in the woods at night

Hello Terry,

Welcome.

I have to break down the answer into categories:

For covert movement (during capture the flag), Pelican L1 with my hand over it to minimize the light spill.

For Search and Rescue, TigerLight. I know it's a rechargeable, but I have two of them. Leave one on the charger and use the other. Backed up by a UK SL4 (or UK SL6) but they are a bit on the heavy side.

For general around camp use, EternaLight (several models to choose from). The EternaLight offers several dimming modes to suit your needs. It is not a long distance light, but works well at close to moderate distances.

Of course the ARC AAA light comes along as a back up light.

Not knowing your situation... My suggestion is to buy them all... and more!

Tom

Re: Your fav LED for walking in the woods at night

Good thread,
For long distance spotting, my 5D 5W Cyan with 30mm optics. Real pain to haul around but good for campsite use. For walking around, the BB equipped 2AA Brinkmann works great. Elektrolumens will be coming out with a 2D angle head light that will clip to your belt or backpack soon. It is waterproof, has different colored filters in the tailcap, runs for 24 hours, has the micropuck voltage regulator and can use Fraen or the 30mm optics.
The Angle head sounds like the perfect light for roaming through a forest. When I get mine (they are not out yet) I will throw a review up.

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Terry said:
Im looking for a flashlight to use to be able to see what Im stepping on if I am walking in the woods at night

[/ QUOTE ]

For seeing what you're stepping on I'd use a LED light such as the Inova X5T or the Surefire L1. If you plan to scare away animals or spot Bigfoot in the distance, you'll need a focused high-output, probably incandescent light like one of the 2 or more cells Surefires.

If I am not expecting to attack or be attacked (which is just about all the time) I just use my turquoise arc AAA. It lets me see things easy enough without really disturbing the "feeling of the forest."

The correct solution is one of our new worklight products, powered by a deep cycle 700 Amp-hour marine battery, and a friendly Sherpa to carry it all. If your woods of choice do not happen to be in Nepal, however, an InReTech adapted Mini-MAG should be OK for familiar terrain with good trails.

If you are exploring in the woods at night away from trails, your best choice of accessory is probably a battleship anchor securely attached to your body. Moving around in strange woods late at night is dangerous and not something to undertake unnecessarily, people securely attached to battleship anchors rarely get lost in the dark. If you are exploring in the woods by necessity instead of choice, after you tell somebody where you are going, the following combination is probably a good idea:
1. Good maps of the local area in a waterproof container.
2. Extra dry clothes and an emergency blanket
3. Firestarting equipment
4. A spare flashlight and spare batteries
5. Bug spray
6. First Aid kit
7. Sunglasses and sunblock (Here in Oregon, people get lost for WEEKS.)
8. Compass
9. Signalling equipment
10. Extra food and water

Once you have the ten essentials, then you should worry about the weight of a big, bright, long lasting flashlight. Our TRILIGHT product is a bit heavy, but will provide light for a week or more continuously.

Having an FRS radio, a GPS, and a cell phone is not a bad idea, too.

I realize my reactions may seem a bit drastic, but we've had three parties get lost within 100 mile of where I am writing this in the last three weekends. So far we're three for three in getting them back, but that won't last.

I would have to say you should have both an led light and a incandesant.

In thick or dense dark woods a good multiple led lite such as the SL 7 or 10 led lights or a LS is the better light. More like a bright moon light lit night that does not cast shadows like a bright incandesant will. The incandesant will be better an open area for its throw and light power.

IMO brighter is not always better in this situation!

An incan. is also ok on familiar paths, but thick, dark, leafy woods, It just doesn`t penatrate well, an it kills your night vision all together. An If I blows for what ever reason, you had better have an led light for back up in a bad situation.

Eric
ps. If you have both, do a test.

As one who has used multiple lights in the woods at night while hiking, hunting, and for other recreational purposes, I might be able to provide some insight into the situation.

1. You are not going to want to carry some 15 pound club of a modified maglight through the woods, no matter how bright it may be or how many overdriven 5 watt luxeons it may house. I tried this once with my lowly unmodified 3D version on a hunting trip--never again. Not only will the added weight become cumbersome, but it will be hard to manuver through branches, brush, and the like as well. Anyone who suggests otherwise has either never hiked any considerable distance through wooded terrain at night, or posseses greater strength and endurance than myself.

2. While bright incandecants are great on open terrain and for navigational purposes, a multi-led or luxeon flashlight will more than suffice for simply walking a trail or treking through familiar areas. I have found that even the 65 lumens of my G2 provides excessive amounts of illumination when used in wooded areas. It turns out that much of the extra light is waisted as it glares back off of foilage and undergrowth, an effect that not only completely wrecks your night vision, but decreases your ability to judge the flow of terrain typically outlined by the night sky as well.

3. LED light typically provides more of a flood-like beam useful for identifying features not as readily visible when using the more condensed beam of an incandecant or tightly focused luxeon (Say, an overhanging branch.) Additionally, the pure white/slightly blue color LEDs typically provide allows you to enterpret your surroundings with a greater degree of accuracy.

For these reasons I have chosen on two primary lights for walking in the woods at night. The first is an inretech white luxeon dropin installed in a minimag (perhaps soon-to-be brinkman.) This serves as a primary navigation light for when I know where I am ,and more importantly, where I am going and how to get there. Secondary service falls to my SureFire G2, which not only serves as a backup, but also as a medium to long range identification and orientation tool. I have been in several situations where I was not quite sure that I was on track until I whipped out my G2 and WHALA! "There is that tree that I was looking for..." Last but not least is my ARC AAA clipped to a keychain that serves as a redundant backup and tasklight.

Just my 2 cents.

Respectfully,
Dale