Did a night hike, some thoughts on a few lights

I went up last night at 10 p.m. into the San Bernardino National Forest. It was pitch dark last night so it was a great way to test out some lights. *note: DO NOT watch Blair Witch Project before attempting

First off, I was excited to try out some Surefires but quickly realized that they were too bright. I turned on the L4 and blinded myself so that went into my bag quick. I then tried an ARC AAA thinking it won't blind me. It was bright enough to see and navigate but too dim to identify nasty critters (Spiders, Snakes etc) so the ARC AAA went in my pocket.

The X5t came out next and it provided just the right amount of light to hike the trails and identify critters. I found a spider in the middle of the trail about a mile in the size of my palm. I think it was a tarantula or something.

My friend busted out with a Pelican Stealthlight which I laughed at until he turned it on. It had a pencil beam that reached out pretty far. The beam was ugly and yellow but it had the narrowest beam I've seen yet. It was good to shine things far away.

The P61 was a good "Light Everything Up, I Heard Something" light. It has a nice flood and produces a ton of light. About 3 miles in we lit the area up with a Isobutane/propane 100watt Markill Lantern. It attracted the entire ecosystem of bugs so we turned it down to about 30 watts of light.

After cooking up some food, we headed back out having learned a few good tips:

*In open dark areas, brighter is not always best. It ruined our night vision and attracted alot of bugs.

*Runtime is very important. 1 hour runtime goes quick when hiking. A light with over 5 hour runtime was welcome (like the X5t)

*A soft flood type light for walking, a penetrating tightly focused light and a bright floodlight - 3 necessary types for night hikes/camping.

*A dual output headlamp worked great. Carrying a flashlight for 2 hours really sucks when hiking in rough terrain.

*Nothing to do with lights:
Bring a can of bug killer spray to create a perimeter for setting up camp. We made a 10 ft diameter circle barrier for cooking and eating. There were Fire Ants (amongts others), spiders, silverfish and some we couldn't identify crawling around everywhere.

This coming weekend should be darker (no moon) so we might go up again to test out some more lights.

Sounds like fun /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Agreed on the headlamp, Fox.

On a night hike, I normally use a Pelican Headsup 3 LED for area illumination to see where I'm going, and a UKE2L (with a homemade lanyard) to light up the way ahead. Both lights have more than enough runtime for an uninterrupted hike.

Having said that, a dual output headlamp is definitely a plus to have, as it frees up both hands. But I'd think that something like a Petzl Duo (I think thats the model) in which you can go directly from LED to Incan or vice versa with the flick of a switch, is a better choice for headlamps. Some headlamps have a 'toggle' button which could leave you in total darkness for a second or two while you're trying to toggle btwn the LED and Incan!!

Fox...
I had the same problem , my Arc LSH-P was TOO bright sometimes. Its good to have a bright light, if you are going to leave it on for a while, but for quick, 10 second things, you really need a low power light. My x5t did pretty well for that,,, being softer, and more of a flood of light.

Im hoping the AAA's and inova x1 comming to me will fill in that low light gap.

I am also thinking of getting a low light level cyan light, to better preserve my night vision. I think red is better,,, but I'm not a big fan of red,,, so, I think cyan is the next best, and still be able to keep alittle color retention.

actually cyan isnt all that good. the reason red is good is because you only see the color, not the light. cyan light is what your eyes are most sensative to. (i could be wrong so dont take ti too serioulsy)

Thanks for sharing your observations FoxMulder. I love reading stuff like that. Reading about your actual experiences in the woods with various lights is alot more interesting and valuable to me than some more beamshot pics.
Good job. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Peter

What LitFuse said /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

CM

Can't wait to hear about your next outing, was interesting and gives food for thought.

Thanks guys. Night vision was a real problem. It was so dark that as we navigated with our X5ts, our eyes became somewhat acclimated to the darkness. As soon as we heard a noise and shined a bright light (like the P61, MN20 etc) our night vision was toast for the next 5 minutes. Does anyone know any better way? A red beamfilter? I've heard that if you rapidly open and close your eyes (Squeezing hard), you adjust much quicker? Is that old wives tale?

On with useless stories:
It was real fun doing it and I can't wait to go again! On the way up, there were some weird things that happened. I know it's just our minds playing tricks on us but when you can't see 5 feet in front of you because it's so dark really starts to get to you.

About 10 minutes into the hike, my right foot sunk into a rock slide and I fell down. It felt like my foot was sucked in. Over 4 hours later, on the way back my right foot again slipped and went the same way (to the left this time) and I fell. WEIRD, we kind of jogged away from that spot.

As we were hiking up a narrow trail, we came accross a tree that had a large branch that looked like it was driven into the tree. Again, we jogged past it trying to ignore it.

At one point, it was so quiet that we could only hear some bugs and our footsteps. All the sudden I joked "Wouldn't it be funny if all the sudden the footsteps didn't add up? Like there was a fifth feet? Ha HA...." After a few seconds, it wasn't funny as our mind was really playing tricks on us!

At one point I was in the lead and walking. We were next to a stream which was pretty loud. I stopped and looked back and didn't see my buddy! I screamed like a little girl and called him on the radio. Phew, he answered and said he was checking out a weird spider. DANG IT, next time say something!!!!

OK, on to more light stuff:

I'll take my camera and take some pictures next time. Are there any requests for beamshots? Maybe some shots on how the trail looks with different lights? The A2 actually worked great with the LED's on Constant on and more lumens on tap instantly. Out in the ol' National Forest though, 50 lumens was just not bright enough /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif For distance illumination, over 100 lumens were necessary and a tight focus. A KTx would be nice /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

I think next time we are going to strap a PT Aqua Strobe on our Camelbak just in case.

FoxMulder said: ....Surefires but quickly realized that they were too bright.

...ARC AAA...was bright enough to see and navigate but too dim to identify nasty critters
... brighter is not always best. It ruined our night vision and attracted alot of bugs.

*Runtime is very important. 1 hour runtime goes quick when hiking. A light with over 5 hour runtime was welcome (like the X5t)

*A soft flood type light for walking, a penetrating tightly focused light and a bright floodlight - 3 necessary types for night hikes/camping.

*A dual output headlamp worked great. Carrying a flashlight for 2 hours really sucks when hiking in rough terrain.

Lots of valuable lessons!

My wife and I take 20 minute walks each day and in the Fall it is usually in the dark. We really like the "dim, floodlight on all the time with a BRIGHT light in your pocket if you want it" approach.

Our own experience from actual, clinical trials /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif has left us settle on these two lights:

1. Always on: PT Attitude ...3 LEDs

This puts out a really nice, white, flood of light. It is compact and has really great runtime. For these extended hikes that you describe, a headlamp would really be nice. My daughter has the Aurora and really likes it.

2. In the pocket, REALLY BRIGHT light: UK 4AA AS2

Very compact, really bright but uses AAs (NiMH) so the battery cost doesn't eat you alive for routine use. The efficiency of using AAs is REALLY appealing to me. Although, a 3 LED light works so well for most of the time that I actually end up using the BRIGHT light very, very little...so a 2 x 123a light is probably a good choice for this style light and would be even more compact and lighter too.

I've always found a few things that were needed for a lighting "want", when you're out camping or in the dark...

--A light that doesn't blind you
--A light that is insanely bright
--A light that has an insane runtime
--A light that is extremely small
--A light that throws an insanely long beam
--A light that throws an insanely wide beam

Lots of insanities, but in situations where different applications would warrant different flashlights, I find these attributes a good focus...

Fox,,,
Some beamshots would be great if you find a nice straight trail.

I plan on doing a night walk soon,,, maybe even by myself! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/faint.gif

I'll be taking my Arc LSH-P (of corse) my PT Tec 40, Inova x5t, and hopefully have my Arc AAA by then.
I'll give my report.

Whenever I go camping I take my LSH-P, Arc AAA le and the Arc AAA turquoise. I was very pleasantly surprised at how well the AAA turquoise performs out in the woods. It gives plenty of light for night hikes and it want hurt your night vision.

ditto with ur feelings...
was camping last month, and i had my tec 40, surge, and X5t... gues which was used most?
the x5, i found the tec 40 even too bright. the surge was like lighting up the WHOLE campsite., shining it i could light up tents even at the opposite end of the campsite.
but sadly, it was too bright....
the x5 was just nice, enuf light without snuffing out my nightvision. In the tent however, the x5 still killed my NV, prob something like an infinity ultra would be ideal for inside a tent...

On a fishing trip in Northern Canada I found the Mini Maglite with the Opalec New Beam Module to be perfect. It is simular to the Surefire A2 on it's low setting. Of course there was no background light whatsoever. When walking at night in my neighborhood I use a traffic wand on a KL3 and carry a bright light. Also have been using the Inova 24/7 on my belt lately. Still had a close call recently. Nearly got hit by a drunk or sleeping driver with Inova 24/7 flashing and wand lit.
oldgrandpajack

Ah... Does my heart good to see some folks recognize that brighter is not always better, despite the flashaholic compulsions that direct us otherwise. In the 2½ day power outage we had here in Charlotte, my wife and I discovered the same thing: Dim is often better and a headlamp is a requirement, but you need a bright light for occasional spotting. Happily the Streamlight Trident fit the bill quite nicely for the majority of these requirements during the outage, but I would now go with the Petzl Myo3 or Myo5 for the extended runtime and better spot/flood beams.

Re: Did a night hike, some thoughts on a few light

I see you folks are learning what I have been saying all along: Brighter is not always better. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

A hiking staff is also a very good idea: provides balance and acts as a support if you twist an ankle.

Back when I was in my early to mid twenties, I lived out of a backpack and tent, in Hawaii. I would have been very happy with: CMG Infinity Ultra, Inova X5T, Arc LS, and Coleman Peak 1 Expedition Headlamp with Versalux PR-2 LED bulb. Unfortunately, they did not exist way back then. So I was stuck with the penlight from Hell: never worked when you needed it to, but did when you didn't need it to. I still have it as a reminder of an extremely lousy flashlight.

Some of you should remember these: metal body (aluminum or steel - aluminum I think), translucent white plastic head, #222 bulb, and that nasty push switch with the groove in it near the tip (to hold it in the on position - yeah, RIGHT!). Ran on 2 AA batteries. Anything but reliable.

The Solitaire is vastly superior to that penlight. The bulb never bother me, as it is the mechanism that is most unreliable in this 2AA penlight.

I would also find the PT Impact (4AA) useful.

Re: Did a night hike, some thoughts on a few light

It sounds like these wise folks have defined the utility of Streamlights Twin-Task lights.

I used several models while beach vacationing at Hilton Head.. The 3/6 LED modes sufficed for casual walking, and I had the instant access to a bright Xenon when the possibility of an alligator in the path arose (it happened too). Really versatile, and long lasting lights.

Re: Did a night hike, some thoughts on a few light

I'll be going on a hike in September that will be partly at night so this is an interesting topic. It sounds like the new Peztzl Tikka Plus headlamp would be about right for most of the time with a 5W McModule in my pocket for occasional use. I was originally thinking of McLux + McModule or a 2AA BB400 Brinkmann in place of the McLux for longer runtime and cheaper batteries, but the BB400 driven lights might be too much light and too much hassle to hold the whole time (and change batteries every couple hours).

Of course, my turq Arc AAA will be there too as a backup (gotta use the 4th AAA cell since the Tikka takes 3).

What do you think? Is the Tikka Plus the best choice for a hiking headlamp? I'm not too keen on the dual lamps--I'd rather carry a regular light for the high output and I'd rather avoid any incandescent if I can. The lightweight of the Tikka seems like a real selling point, and while I doubt the 80 hour battery life claim, it should get me through a night of constant use on its highest setting without dimming too much.

- Russ

Sounds a lot like caving (except bugs are no problem with the latter )! A multi-level headlamp such as the one we're experimenting with:

http://www.speleogroup.org/attinya.html

might work well.

Mike Cowlishaw