Oh the madness - lights for backpacking Europe...?

Hey guys - well the madness is beginning...

I'm at one of those pivotal points in my life where I felt the need to pick up and backpack Europe from June to August this summer - its going to be a busy and fast paced 3 months in this rough order: London, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany (Munich), Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria (Innsbruck) , Italy, Monaco, Spain, Paris, back to Spain (Pamplona) for the bulls, then to Greece (Athens and the Islands) then back to Germany (Berlin and Dresden) then Prague, Vienna and end in Budapest.... one of the highlights is running with the bulls in early July (After doing a cage dive w great whites in S Africa over the summer and skydiving two years ago, this is really one of the last things on my lunatic list).

I'll be doing hostels most of the time and carrying everything I need in my Kifaru Mollex + Long Pockets + E&E. My lady thinks I'm nuts and is just meeting me for the week in Greece (the only time I'll be in hotels)

Anyway, I digress.

On to the important stuff - what lights to pack.

Oh yes the realistic part of me says just a Minimus, Clicky and Arc-AAA, but the flashaholic in me disagrees, vehemently. What about my E2L? Shouldnt I also bring an AA light? A glotoob would be handy for camping... You guys can feel my pain.

ANYWAY... since these types of threads are always fun, just wondering what lights you would pack for 3 months of European backpacking from the contenders below and why?

Here is a list of the arsenal I'm considering:

Surefire Saint
Surefire Minimus
Quark MiNi 123 Warm
Maratac-AA
Maratac-AAA
Ra Clicky Tactical 170
Surefire LX2
Inova X5 with Red LEDs
Arc-AAA P GS

P60 Hosts:
Malkoff MD2
Surefire E2L
Surefire C2
Surefire 9P
Surefire G2
Surefire G3

P60 Drops:
Malkoff M61
Makoff M60
Malkoff M60W
Malkoff M60WL
Malkoff M60WLL
Malkoff M60LL
Malkoff M30W
Surefire P60L


Thanks!
-Harry

I'm relatively new to flashlights, so I can't really recommend any lights, but a few questions come to mind.

-What is your battery preference? If primaries, that may add weight. If rechargeable, will you have appropriate socket adapters or at least places to charge? If something happens to some of your batteries, will there be places that have batteries (compatible batteries) in the countries you will be in?

-How safe are the areas you will be in, as in, might you need a lot of light at a given point?

-Are you going with others who may also need a spare light from you?

-I'm guessing you'll be in wooded areas a lot, so is a warm light important vs. cool lights?

I think you should get a quark mini AA and either a headlamp or something that can be fashioned into one.

Hey man - great questions...

-CR123s do it for me and even in africa I could always find them (no offense to any afrikaners reading ) - with that said, I want to bring one AAA or AA just in case... Even though I know I can find CR123s in most places in Europe and I'm already planning to have my better half bring me a fresh SC2 when we meet up in Greece - which is about midway through the trip.

-yes yes yes - this always happens and thanks for bringing it up! I can guarantee SOMEONE will need a light. I'm meeting up w different people throughout the trek and I can pretty much guarantee they'll ask for a light. This is where I'm thinking a maratac AA or AAA comes in handy - dont want them f'in up a surefire

-this plagues me - I will be doing a few hikes and camping, but not sure if it warrants me bringing an M60WLL...

1 headlamp
1 AA general use
1 2x123 p7 / mc-e just in case.(if you need to buy spare batteries you might find some, 18650 you wont)
1x itp/martac AAA just because its amazing and weighs nothing

Surefire Minimus...Because you should have a good headlamp with you.
Surefire LX2...For your high output light with throw.
Surefire G2 W/M60LL...For a long running small general purpose light, Nitrolon kicks ***!
Surefire G3 W/M60WL...Same reasons as above just brighter, warmer and longer.
Maratac-AA...You probably should have a AA powered light.


+ 2 spares carriers, one for the G2 and one for the G3, a P60 in one, and a P90 in the other. Full of cells of course. And about 2 boxes of SF123A's(+the 8 in your lights) to be safe! And maybe 8 energizer lithium AA's.

And if it was me, i'd probably use the LX2 for most things just because of the UI and it has a clip. The rest would be hidden in my bag.

If you bring the full size Saint, you will have a headlamp and an AA compatible light "just in case". I'd bring the E2L for general use. The long runtime and the output levels are good for your trip. I'd also bring the Clicky as a relatively high output light, plus the low low might be useful. EDIT: If not the Clicky, the LX2.

Carrying more than three lights is unnecessary, IMO.

I'd bring two small lights that use AA and have low/high settings and that's it.

When I'm camping I make fires and then go to bed. In the cities it's always light. One light with lower settings could last you for your whole trip. Two is just for redundancy.

If I was carrying everything for 3 months less is more regarding lights.

waddup said:

1 headlamp
1 AA general use
1 2x123 p7 / mc-e just in case.(if you need to buy spare batteries you might find some, 18650 you wont)
1x itp/martac AAA just because its amazing and weighs nothing

Click to expand...

+1 on the above suggestions. I've done the hostel/backpack thing in Europe too including Russia and Eastern Europe and IMHO most of the towns and cities are pretty well lit. Even the trains and stations are navigable without need for extra lighting. But if you're doing a lot of camping out, then maybe you need more light than the above.

If you're staying in hostels and dormitories, a light with a low low is useful if you get back late and don't wanna wake your dorm mates with a couple of hundred lumens in the face Personally I would leave the Surefires at home rather than trust them to hostel/dorm lockers unless you plan on having them with you at all times.

If you're moving around a lot which seems to be your plan, I'd seriously consider a lightweight setup rather than being prepared for a total blackout in the major cities of Europe :twothumbs

trekking through Europe's countries, according to my opinion, one doesn't really need a lot of flashlights if one stays in the cities most of the time. Even when camping, a few lights will do. A light with a low low would be very handy when going to bed though (camping and a hostel).

From your list I would bring the Ra 170 and the QMini123Warm as a backup. I'd consider a SF headlight (minimus) since you don't have a ZebraLight for chores and bathroom trips but the Ra and the QMini both have low lows suitable for this usage (well, the QMini's low would still be a bit bright in the middle of the night). Two, perhaps three lights would be plenty I think.

-If you want to go really light then the Ra would be all you would need.
-the warm tinted QMini would be great if you are in more wooded areas...

Add a few! (CR123's are plenty available here in Europe's countries) spares and you're all set!

+what the others have said...

Pick your favorite lights. Europe is not much different from anywhere in the states as far as needing lights or not.

While the Malkoff drop-ins are great, I am not sure you could count on getting some of those on your list by June. That is, if you don't already have them and are in the process of just choosing which to take with you.

I like the Glo-Toobs for camping. It's nice to have a lantern effect without having to share light with everyone/everything around you. I find the amber color calming at the end of the day. [Obviously not on a frantic strobe setting. )

bring a aa or aaa light, dont bother going for a cr123. They are hard to find here in europe and very expensive. last time i checked a single cr123 costs 16,9$ here in Norway.

The E2l is a great suggestion but I think a Zebralight headlamp like the H501 could be priceless. The 501 is a AA model there is also the H31 due to release at the end of the month that is cr123. The 501 is great up close light with the H31 having a reflector for better throw.

gcbryan said:

I'd bring two small lights that use AA and have low/high settings and that's it.

When I'm camping I make fires and then go to bed. In the cities it's always light. One light with lower settings could last you for your whole trip. Two is just for redundancy.

If I was carrying everything for 3 months less is more regarding lights.

Click to expand...

I agree with gcbryan: when backpacking extensively through Europe, less is more. I was fortunate enough when I left the Navy to have had 60 days of paid leave saved up, and I used it to backpack through Germany, Austria, Italy, Switzerland, France, and England. My pack weighed more and more each week, and I ended up shipping about a third of my gear home from Germany by mail. I recommend you do yourself a favor before you go by shaving your pack weight everywhere you can. This means limiting yourself to two lights (and perhaps a headlamp). A lighter pack and simplified resupply logistics will give you the intoxicating freedom to pick up and go at a moment's notice, and help you get the most out of the experience. It will also make schlepping your pack through the train stations much, much easier.

With regard to choice of lights, CR123 primaries are going to be hard to find in "tourist" areas, and relatively expensive. Other posts in this thread echo this perception. Li-ion rechargeables require a recharger, which adds weight, and requires reliable access to the grid, which could be a problem off-trail among the Dolomites. In contrast, AA's are available everywhere throughout the EU, as readily as they are in the USA. To take advantage of their availability, I recommend that you seriously consider limiting yourself to lights that use AA cells.

There are several excellent AA lights that offer decent output and runtimes; I suggest a 2xAA for camping (neutral or warm tint for outdoor use; Fenix, Derelight's Javelin, and 4Sevens all offer suitable lights). I also suggest you keep a versatile, general purpose a 1xAA pocket light handy (for example, NiteCore D10, or perhaps even the EZ-AA; you could even get a NiteIze headband and use the D10 as your headlamp, if cost is a limiting factor). You might also consider taking a Maratac AA or AAA for friends you meet up with, just in case (no real weight penalty with these lights, especially the AAA model using a lithium primary).

Before you go, load up your AA lights with L91 lithium primary cells, and take an 8-pack of L91 lithium primaries as spares. (The lithium primaries are long lasting and weigh less than alkalines, and in extended backpacking adentures, every gram counts.) Your girlfriend can bring you another 8-pack (or more) if your burn rate is high. Finally, if you start to run low on lithium cells, you can always switch to locally sourced alkaline cells, if lithiums are not readily available.

My two cents worth of advice notwithstanding, I envy you the trip (especially now that my work keeps me desk-bound). When you get back, start a new thread and let us know what lights you selected; how they performed for you; and the lessons learned, so that others might benefit from the experience.

Bon voyage, amigo...

think you'd need a separate backpack just for your lights

if it were me, i'd probably just pack (from my own collection)

1. Zebralight H501 (AA)
2. Akoray K106 (AA/14500) probably 14500 with 4 spares
3. Fenix TK20 (2xAA) probably not use my eneloops, just stick with primaries and i'd also bring the red filter just in case.

Not too sure about CR123s but i figure if a store sells CR123s, they definitely should have AAs

Don't overcomplicate things.

G2 + M60WL for your main, MiNi 123w for spare and tailstanding.

Maratac AA and AAA packed away separately with a few lithium primaries, just in case the main light and/or batteries are lost or damaged.


On the subject of batteries, if you do happen to run out of CR123A, let me know

KingCanada said:

Surefire Minimus...Because you should have a good headlamp with you.
Surefire LX2...For your high output light with throw.
Surefire G2 W/M60LL...For a long running small general purpose light, Nitrolon kicks ***!
Surefire G3 W/M60WL...Same reasons as above just brighter, warmer and longer.
Maratac-AA...You probably should have a AA powered light.

Click to expand...

This would work as my suggestion too.
Drop one of the G2's, the WL is excess.

I like AA for travel, Africa or Europe.
A single AA headlamp (Zebralight, Fenix HL20)
A 2xAA multimode (LD20, Quark AA^2)
A backup AA Maratec, Quark AA , iTP A2.

Minimus and Clicky, you don't want to carry too many things on your back.

On a longer journey, I would go for lightness.
1 small light and one AA or double AA. Those will do