Updated - *Trip Report* Uh-Oh, doing a night hike

I'm going on a camping trip to Nordhouse Dunes here in Michigan next weekend, but my brother and I can't take next Friday off to drive four and a half hours from the Detroit area to get to the Dunes on the northwest side of the state before dark. Once we get there, we will have to hike a few miles in to the camp sites. In the dark.

Anybody else doing any fall hikes/trips? The days are getting shorter here in the northern hemisphere and the night starts early. Flashlight season is upon us!

As you can imagine, I am already planning what lights to bring. I really wish I could get a Quark Prism before then, but they won't be available, so I'm bringing my ZL H30 for sure, and my PT EOS which has a better beam for walking around IMHO. But for hiking I want to also have a good hand held. Who am I kidding, I'll bring at least five. I will likely take my recently upgraded SureFire L1 K2 TFFC Neutral and likely the recently upgraded Cree R2 WH - which is a super thrower overdriven, but might still be too cool for what I like outdoors - especially compared to the warmer lights. It is a little more green/yellow on low though, so maybe it will work since it will be on low most of the time. Maybe my Malkoff M60W in a G2 with McC2S tailcap? I may want to bring my new U2 just because I'm still having so much fun with it. The M-HDS (Milky HDS) U60(120) is just about perfect except the tint is cooler than I like using outdoors. I wish I could find my lost NovaTac Supernova 120P modded with high CRI. :mecry:
I want to keep the load somewhat small to save room for cold/rain gear, so I only plan to bring smaller lights - which is all I really have besides Mag C&D 3-cells anyway.
I recenty found that my L1 gen1 with K2 TVOD has such a low Vf that it runs very bright direct drive on 1 CR123 in an E1 body! It ought to run a long time too. Oh, and the Quark AA Neutral Tactical.

Re: Uh-Oh, doing a night hike

Dude, you're so set for lights :thumbsup:

The moon should still be pretty full next weekend, so you'll probably be okay for seeing your way if you aren't under too much tree cover. You might want some very low level lights, or something red or green, for detail in the shadows. That way you can keep your moon-vision working.

Of course, the high-power arsenal is a must, in case anything goes bump in the night. Hiking in the dark is one of the best things, have a good trip!

Re: Uh-Oh, doing a night hike

Night hikes are the best! I recently went on a mile or two long hike in Barstow and loved it. I used my cheapo modified Rayovac headlamp, Zebralight H30-Q5 for back up and my E2DL for my hand-held.

Enjoy your trip!

Re: Uh-Oh, doing a night hike

If the moon is up, you don't really need much light to hike. Unless you hike in the forest.
Your selection is pretty much very prepared. Actually, you'll only need your ZL, a floody light and a small EDC as back-up if you want to keep the load trimmed. Oh, don't forget spare batts.

Re: Uh-Oh, doing a night hike

I know I could really get away with just a HL and backup - like I used to before FL addiction. But I just got a few lights upgraded so this is my chance to use them in the wilderness instead of the yard, garage, at work, and local street walks.

If it's not cloudy, then I may not need my lights much, but what fun would that be? Some of it will be in the forest. The hike sarts in the Manistee Nat Forest, then goes into the dunes for a little while, then onto the beach for almost a mile.

I just checked and moon rise is at 7:36PM so there won't be much moon during most of my hike. The moon should be higher for the beach part at the end, but still not very high. Even ay 10PM, it will only be 22 degrees above the horizon. Source for moon data is a nice little program I have called Cybersky. I've had it for years. It's easy to use, accurate, and flexible. I confirmed moonrise with the Naval Observatory site.

I will probably end up taking just one L1, a DD RCR123 L1, and the Quark in addition to HL's. The rest rest are overkill. I'll take a couple of bigger lights for unpacking at the car in the dark, but leave them at the car.

Zeruel said:

If the moon is up, you don't really need much light to hike. Unless you hike in the forest.
Your selection is pretty much very prepared. Actually, you'll only need your ZL, a floody light and a small EDC as back-up if you want to keep the load trimmed. Oh, don't forget spare batts.

Click to expand...

Re: Uh-Oh, doing a night hike

I totally get wanting to take a bunch of new mods to get a sense of how they perform.
But maybe this isn't the time for it? only you can decide.
You're already selecting warm tints for outdoors. If you have a 14500 for the Quark you can take a spare battery but probably won't use it.
I set the Q T for moonlight and med, put the Zebralight on the head but leave it off. I actually prefer hand-held for walking (the shadowless world of a headlamp get to me when I'm walking long distances). With that you'd make an all night hike, maybe resetting Q T to max if you need to search for a trailhead once or twice.

Re: Uh-Oh, doing a night hike

that sounds like an awesome idea. me and a buddy are planning an all night valley hike in the mountains near us, for some reason getting out at night seems very intriuging. Have a great time, take some pics!

Re: Uh-Oh, doing a night hike

I love night hikes! This time of year I hike until I need a light then turn around at that point. I only do this on familiar trails. What works for me is a nice floody headlamp, got me a Minimus for the next hike, and a thrower for a handheld on low. The latest L1 is great for that. That way I can illuminate down range and have a quick access high beam for those "What was that?!' moments. And since they are both single celled a couple of spares is all I need.

I keep an Aeon in my left pants pocket at all times so I have a backup.

Whatever you bring will be fine! You do have some nice lights Blind!

Be safe and enjoy.

Re: Uh-Oh, doing a night hike

My favorite way to go on night hikes this time of year is to hike up a local mountain and get to the top in time to see the sunset. I watch the sunset while making a cup of hot cocoa with a titanium cup and my Vargo Triad XE stove. After seeing the sights and warming up from a cup of cocoa, I head back in the dark using my flashlights. I found that when it gets dark, few people are on the trail and it gets creepy, it gets cold, and the longer I stay on the trail at night, the more likely it is that my car will get broken into or stolen (my car has been broken into before). Hiking back just after it gets dark ensures that no one has enough time to break into my car, it doesn't get too cold outside, and that I may have some company on the trail besides the mountain lions (yes, I have seen them on the local trails before). I'll probably be able to spot more threats on the trail when I receive the light I just ordered, a Solarforce L2 with the 18650 extension and a Thrunite XP-G R5 Drop in. With the Uniq I.V.B. switch I have already, I'll have a light with infinitely variable brightness that puts out 345 lumens on high for 4+ hours.

Re: Uh-Oh, doing a night hike

Kelmo, I Wish I had a Saint Minimus. I tried DeFab's and it seems to have a great general purpose beam for walking and around the campsite in additional to an awesome UI. I say SEEMS, because I only saw it inside during the day, but it looks great. An L1 will likely be my handheld of choice, I just need to determine which recently modded lights I feel I need to test, compare, and possibly take beam shots of. I just got a new(er) camera I want to test too.

HoF, that sounds like a really nice setup there for long late evening walks when you need to see the mountain lions. Holy &^%$#@!

Re: Uh-Oh, doing a night hike

Hooked on Fenix said:

With the Uniq I.V.B. switch I have already, I'll have a light with infinitely variable brightness that puts out 345 lumens on high for 4+ hours.

Click to expand...

Hi, sorry to hijack this thread, but i've not heard of this switch, could you post a link to it? or PM me? thanks in advance. Solarforce with infinite variable brightness sounds extremely interesting.

Re: Uh-Oh, doing a night hike

hyperloop said:

Hi, sorry to hijack this thread, but i've not heard of this switch, could you post a link to it? or PM me? thanks in advance. Solarforce with infinite variable brightness sounds extremely interesting.

Click to expand...

Here's the link: http://www.lighthound.com/UNIQ-Cont...ire-C-M-P-Z-and-other-Flashlights_p_2302.html

Doesn't work well with a single lithium-ion cell, but works fine with 2 123As and should work with 2 18650s. Mine makes a humming noise when at certain levels, but other than that, works fine. I have had limited use for it since it doesn't work well with one lithium-ion cell. I originally had it to use on a 6 volt Cabela's light (another 6P knockoff) with a Solarforce R2 drop-in. It didn't completely turn off with that dropin (had something like a moon mode that didn't turn off). Hopefully, I'll have better results with the new setup. I'll let you know the results when I get the parts.

Re: Uh-Oh, doing a night hike

I find the medium mode on the Rebel LED EOS good enough for most hikes. Sometimes use the H501w and TK20 combo just for fun. On the AT I try to avoid night hikes all together in favor of setting up camp early to get some rest. Often take a ZL and 1xAA or CR123 flashlight. In anycase night hikes do happen more this time of the year as it is dark after work.

Re: Uh-Oh, doing a night hike

Hooked on Fenix said:

I'll probably be able to spot more threats on the trail when I receive the light I just ordered, a Solarforce L2 with the 18650 extension and a Thrunite XP-G R5 Drop in. With the Uniq I.V.B. switch I have already, I'll have a light with infinitely variable brightness that puts out 345 lumens on high for 4+ hours.

Click to expand...

Just got this light in the mail today. Testing it against my other lights showed just how bright it is. I tested it on a white wall against my Fenix TK11 R2 on high (240 real lumens). The TK11 has more throw (brighter hotspot) but the XP-G light's hotspot extended out to the distance of the big Cree light ring in the beam of the TK11. This new light is definitely brighter than the TK11 R2. I'd guess it's right around 300 real O.T.F. lumens. With the dimmer switch, it has a dim find me type mode that is under 1 lumen, actually still bright enough to read with and just enough to find your way through a house when it's pitch black inside. The dim find me mode can be locked out with a quarter turn of the tailcap. The dimmer has a normal low of about half as bright as my Fenix P3D Q5 on low which would put it at around 2.5-3 lumens. When I tested the light on high against my TK11 R2 at close range on a white wall, I was seeing spots for a couple minutes. These lights are bright. No rings in the beam of this light either.

Re: Uh-Oh, doing a night hike

It sounds like you are all set with lights!!! I hope you have a great time!!

Don't ya just love flashlight......er, Winter?!

After Hike report

Well, I'm back and here is the detailed report!

The quark 123 neutral tactical worked very well in hand switching between low and high with a twist back and forth during the hike in. I used low most of the time until we reached a point where the trail was hard to see, like a fork or whatever. Then I used a quick twist & blast of high to see the trail ahead and figure out where to go. I was holding the light low near my waist and in the perfect position to twist the Quark head with my thumb and pointing finger. I kept my K2 TFFC L1 with 6degree optic on all the time too since it's wider beam was more useful on low. It would have been more useful on high too (and I did use a blast of it several times) but it was easier to keep my hands low where the tail switch was harder to use. I thought whether a side clicky like my LRI Proton would work better, but the UI of the Proton would have made it take just a little bit longer to double click to turn off low and turn on high, then ramp down to low again. It would have worked except I would have had a hard time resetting the right low each time and the Proton is too cool a tint for depth perception walking in fall leaves. My high CRI Novatac would likely have worked well since it has a grip ring. I held my L1 minime K2 McE2S in the same hand as my camera with the light between two fingers. The NT could have gone there too and possibly worked for switching except it is thicker and would not have been as comfortable for the whole hike.

At one point late the first night, somebody who had gone to bed got up to "take a walk into the woods" and when I heard rustling, I flashed the L1 K2 TVOD at him. He nearly fell over. Next morning, he asked out loud to the
group: "who was that who seared my retinas last night when I got out to go to the bathroom?" I admitted I thought he was a camp scavenger (racoon). Oops.

Lights I took:
1. Surefire L1 head with 6deg Carclo Lux3 optic on E1 body with McE2s and IMR123 ~275 lumens
2. 4-7's Q123 Tactical Neutral set to low and max
3. SureFire L1 gen2 with K2 TFFC neutral - great throwing spotter with great tint
4. SureFire L1 Cree with R2 WH upgrade - also a good thrower, but tint not as good outdoors compared to the neutral L1.
LEDs (Quark, L1 gen2 neutral K2, NT 120P high CRI)
5. Novatac 120P with Tactical tailcap, Hight CRI SSC, and Supernova mod. Very useful. High CRI was not clearly better or more useful than just plain neutral tints.
6. SureFire KX2 on FM18350 E1 body with 18350 in it. Good all around light but not new, so not used.
7. River Rock K2 3AA lantern $12 on clearance at Target. Just got it, so I used it in tent hanging up - low was very useful for hands free.
8. 1AAA Headlight band with MJP Extreme III mounted. Used it first night on head. Nice, but cool tint and usually needed two hands to twist without moving the flimsy pivot mechanism on my Nuwai 1AAA headlamp holder. The Ex3 itself was great.
9. Zebralight H30. Used attached to the front of my jacket the second night. Clipped pointing down it worked very
well for a walk-around or "grab some firewood" light. Needed medium more due to floody diffuse 'beam' or really
lack of a beam. It was better mounted on my chest than my head.

Re: After Hike report

Blindasabat said:

I flashed the L1 K2 TVOD at him.

Click to expand...

Ouch - instant destruction of night vision.

When it is pitch black and I need to go for a wee walk - I feel around for my Jet-IIIM, then I check that the head is loosened, then I click the switch. I can see enough to not trip over stuff, but the output is low enough that my eyes don't hurt and I can retain my night vision.

Yeah, it was a direct drive K2 TVOD on IMR123. It runs at a stable 2.25 Amps on high! Low Vf, low lumen droop K2 emitter, and low voltage droop cells make for a nice combination. ...and short run time on high.

One thing I forgot to mention was that I purposely only brought a spare 3.0V RCR to replace a primary or RCR if needed, since I did not specifically check for full charges or fresh cells except for the IMR and another 3.0V RCR123 since they don't have as much capacity.

i'm doing a night hike tomorrow night. maybe i can catch a meteor shower.
should be 37deg yikes and clear.
5mi loop, 4hrs

bringing.
hand warmers
layer up the clothes with breathable underlayer,gloves
gps backtrack
cell
h501, quark2aatac, maratacaaa, fauxtons, aa's
tabletop tripod, p&s cam
mini first aid
firestarter
snacks, water
knife

not sure on
alcohol stove,kettle
monocular
mini picnic blanket

f22shift said:

i'm doing a night hike tomorrow night. maybe i can catch a meteor shower.
should be 37deg yikes and clear.
5mi loop, 4hrs

bringing.
hand warmers
layer up the clothes with breathable underlayer,gloves
gps backtrack
cell
h501, quark2aatac, maratacaaa, fauxtons, aa's
tabletop tripod, p&s cam
mini first aid
firestarter
snacks, water
knife

not sure on
alcohol stove,kettle
monocular
mini picnic blanket

Click to expand...

Booze??