Survival LED Flashlights: Quick Question ??

I have a recent model Fenix with dual 123's - it only has low (70Lm) and high (240Lm) and i am looking for a few more flashlights to kept for emergencies only - most likely stored in my BOB (bug-out-bag/ goBag)

The Fenix on low still burns through the batts. rather quickly.

I want to stay with only one battery type - be it 123's or AA's ect. (so I can ditch the Fenix if I need to) - no rechargeables, only lithium, due to the long shelf life.

Any ideas on batt. type and light type ? - thanks

John H.

EDIT:

My initial thought is four identical lights - two in the GoBag and two in the kitchen cupboard, all with lithiums. But
perhaps a need a headlight as well, at least in the GoBag.

...

What about multi-UI PD30 R2 or R4 ?

The Photon Rex is good in that it can charge from any battery source (1.2-3 volts) out there. It gets 20 full charges from a single D-cell battery.

Something like a Pak-Lite which attaches to a 9-volt battery and gives you 1200 hours on low (if that's true, never owned one to test) would be great for longevity.

Neither of these is going to be a thrower or anything. I personally use a JetBeam RRT-0 with AA extender so I can use CR/RCR123's or the more commonly found AA batteries. And when it'll go 80/100 hours on low-low mode, that's plenty of light for navigating at night (and with the control ring takes a split second to go to full blast for spotting things at a distance).

Seems like the Fenix6 PD30 might be the ticket - uses 123's and has a low (10Lm) mode that burns for 65 hours.

thanks for the ideas...John

How big is your budget? Do you have to have more than 1?

If you still want Cr123's, Check out the Ra lineup. These are some of the most durable lights available, and both the Twisty and Clciky are regarded as equally durable. The Clicky has 4 individually programmable modes, from fractions of a lumen to highest output, in about 23/24 steps. You can also program in an SOS, or strobe.

They're expensive, but extremely efficient, batterywise.

Otherwise, check out soem of the other 123 based Fenix's. The PD10, 20 and 30 all offer a greater range of modes, and offere lower lows that will run for much longer.

Just a thought, how about a Gerber Omnivore? It can use several types of batteries.

Sort of nice to be able to use whatever is at hand if it happens to come to that (if you are prepared enough to have a bugout bag then I figure you are prepared enough to have backup gear . Wish more people had that much foresight).

My kit uses a Fenix L0D and 4 AAA lithium batteries in a sealed plastic carrier.

Seriously considering going to the Omnivore, perhaps next payday .

Personal choices aside the PD30 idea sounds great. If it works for you, go for it.

Apart from the PD30 i proposed ,one should consider the TA21 with 12 UI modes :
http://www.fenixlight.com/viewproduct.asp?id=98

Of course it is more expensive ..

Foxfyre said:

Just a thought, how about a Gerber Omnivore? It can use several types of batteries.

Sort of nice to be able to use whatever is at hand if it happens to come to that (if you are prepared enough to have a bugout bag then I figure you are prepared enough to have backup gear . Wish more people had that much foresight).

My kit uses a Fenix L0D and 4 AAA lithium batteries in a sealed plastic carrier.

Seriously considering going to the Omnivore, perhaps next payday .

Personal choices aside the PD30 idea sounds great. If it works for you, go for it.

Click to expand...

Hey Foxfyre,

I was at my brother-in-law's last winter in NH - his electric went out for a week...no heat. We drove to Boston to buy a generator to run his furnace.

To me, that brought it home real quickly, so now I'm on a mission to get my Bug out Bag finished and 6-weeks work of supplies for the house, by summers end.

Meaning, if need be, I can survive 6 weeks in the house with no electric, gas, water, sanitary sewer, food or gasoline - Any time of the year, living here in NE Ohio.

I have the water and food, some gasoline (10 gals) – small 2,000 watt Honda - camp stoves (two types), etc. - always with a back up in each category. Overkill, perhaps, but that's my M.O. I guess.

My thought at the time was what if the whole NE was out of power – generators (or any relevant supplies) would be gone w/in in hours.

YMMV

John

The PD30 works well with the white cone attachment,or the flip up defuser that Fenix sells.Good if you dont have a lantern handy.

TriChrome said:

The Photon Rex is good in that it can charge from any battery source (1.2-3 volts) out there. It gets 20 full charges from a single D-cell battery.

Click to expand...

I had terrible luck with my Rex. The first one quickly went into a state where it would not charge. Photon sent me a new one which worked for a while and then it too would not charge. They are a good company so they would probably send a third. But I gave up. I think it's a flawed light and I would not depend on it for anything other than novelty factor.

For BOB use, I'd stick with either a high quality low output long running twisty or a high quaility multi-level light with one very low setting. Lithiums would be a must.

Even if you settle on CR123's, I think having one AA light won't seriously break your rule. In fact there may be additional safety in having at least one AA light because AA batteries can be bought or scavenged all over.

W.

I just got in my warm 4sevens Quark 123^2 Turbo and measured current draw on the various outputs.
ONE of the settings had a remarkable outcome: on "low" it just draws 6mA while providing usable light! Even on rechargeables this one will last a while.

Manufacturer claims 5 DAYS(!) runtime.


Timmo.

Moving away from your one battery type rule (which is a good rule of thumb), you may want to seriously consider the Fenix E01 as an all-purpose emergency light.

You get a lot of mileage out of one AAA battery - more than enough to justify carrying it in an kind of emergency bag.

-Trevor

Our first year in where we live now in GA we lost power for a week in a winter storm. We're now set to go primitive on site for two weeks comfortably and can bug out of our home in less than ten minutes.

We even play with our led crank charged lantern for fun and to keep it charged.

I believe there is no such thing as overkill in a survival situation. If you need it and have it then it's just enough. If you need it and you don't have it then it's improvisation time :green:, and that means lost time and energy you may not be able to spare.

I carry a 1 X 123 light as a primary edc. Seems to be the best power and runtime to weight and size compromise so far and hope 123 lights work just as well for you if that's what you choose. :twothumbs

325addict said:

I just got in my warm 4sevens Quark 123^2 Turbo and measured current draw on the various outputs.
ONE of the settings had a remarkable outcome: on "low" it just draws 6mA while providing usable light! Even on rechargeables this one will last a while.

Manufacturer claims 5 DAYS(!) runtime.


Timmo.

Click to expand...

Quarks are what you should be looking at for ultimate run time and an ultra low setting. You might also consider battery availability in an emergency. Either pack lots of backup primaries in your BOB or consider an AA/AA^2 light or just buying an AA body for your BOB light. Lots of options.

Thanks for all of the information - here's what I ended up with;

The Cupboard:
Rebel 3-cell LED - (I love this light)
Fenix TK 11 (R2) - (great quality but only two mode w/ 70 Lm as the lowest)
Maratac AA Black - (AA's option is the reason here - AA's are sold everywhere)

The Bug-out-Bag:
Fenix TA 21
Maratac AA Black
Pak-Lite w/ Lithium Batt.

I bought two boxes (12-count each) of Sure Fire 123's and a bunch of AA's at Lowes.

The Maratac AA and the Pak-Lite w/ Lithium Batt. seem like great lights for the BOB as a back up - the TA 21 will be the main light. i chose the TA 21 based on my satisfaction with two other Fenix lights and the fact that it has a zillion modes with the lowest @ 170 hours.

Thanks, again.

John H.

If you're talking survival, I suggest a decent light or 2 in every battery configuration. You never know what will be available. Including CR2 batteries. I think AAA lights are greatly overlooked. Imagine how much burn time you could save in your tactical 2x123 light if you have an efficient AAA light for around the house-type activities. If people abandon their properties in case of emergency or catastrophe just imagine how many AAAs will be left behind in all their remote controls.

Great thing about Quark lights is you can have your 123x2 tac light, and for around $20 get a AA or AAx2 body for it. Then you can use both batteries with one light.

+1 on the PD30

I have actually just been testing the PD30 R4 runtimes for emergency use to see how it will do and this is what I've came out with so far.

I started with two fresh cr123's set it to max turbo and ran it for 10 mins and then turned it off for 5-6 minutes until the low battery indicator started flashing. On turbo it began flashing at 101 mins.

Still using the same batterys I changed the output to high and got another 20 minutes and then to medium where I got another 15 minutes when the low battery indicator began flashing.

Lastly I switched it down yet another level to low and expected it to die soon after, I thought maybe an hour or so- well it's been 10hrs and the low mode (11 lumens) is still going strong and has not dimmed a bit since I first switched it to low.

I would say now I feel very comfortable with this light in a emergency situation i.e. power loss.

Edit- Ok so the low mode finally went out at 13hrs 57min