Camping observations with Surefire Kroma and LX2

This past week, myself and a few friends did some wilderness hiking/camping and it gave me an excellent chance to use a few of my favorite lights and to deploy them for review in a real world scenario. So, I thought I might post some of my observations.

My two favorite lights have been the Kroma and the LX2. The LX2 for brightness in a compact size, and the Kroma for versatility. I generally use the Kroma as a nightstand light, because the low red is perfect for middle of the night tasks such as making my way to the bathroom without blinding myself in the process, and it is nice to have the high beam available just by pushing the tailcap a little further incase I have to investigate a strange noise, or something along those lines. However, I've been a little disappointed with the 50 lumen main beam around the house and yard, which is why I bought the LX2.

So, we hiked out to a small lake in the middle of some small mountains in northern New England. It is a fairly popular destination for hikers like us, and although there is no campground, there are a couple of small shelters in place for hikers/campers that are set up around the lake, and there were a few other people camping there as well. We arrived shortly before sunset, and both the Kroma and the LX2 were still running on batteries that had been used for my last weekend camping experience about a month ago.

The first night I used only the Kroma, and I found some things out about my light that I had not realized from daily tasks/home use. First, the main beam is more than sufficient when you are out in the woods and camping. It has a tight beam up close, but spreads out quite a bit and evens out its artifacts quite nicely at a little bit of a distance. There is a big difference between using the Kroma in the yard or in the neighborhood, and using it in the woods. In the woods, there isn't a lot of space until you hit trees. This is why the main beam was more than enough, and seemed so much brighter without any other light around way out in the dense forest.. Next, the usefulness of the two red LED settings was great. The low red allowed me to perform tasks without drawing much attention to myself, and the high red allowed me to navigate a trail or a path through the woods without disturbing other campers if my light happened to shine on their tent or in their direction, the way a bright high white beam would. I was really happy with the two red settings. Next I tried the Bright blue setting and I was amazed with how much flood seemed to come out of it. It really lit up everything around my. The eye picks up much more in the blue light than the red light, so the difference of the high red and high blue was noticed right away. The high blue was quite nice in this aspect, and it also made certain colors stand out much more like florescent yellows, oranges, greens, and reds. I also felt that the low white setting was also quite useful, and seemed much more bright while using it to navigate a path way out in the woods than using it to walk down the street.

The next night I decided to use the LX2, and was really amazed with the power of this little light. The thin and lightweight LX2 fit quite nicely in the small side pocket of my carpenter style pants, to the point where it is forgotten that it is being worn at all. The low beam of the LX2 seemed every bit as bright as the high beam of the kroma and has a warmer tint to it, which is nice against the colors of the forest. And, the high beam was incredible. It really seemed like I was packing a much bigger light. It throws a nice tight beam and also spills quite a bit of light in the surrounding area. However, the high beam was almost a bit too bright to use after the eyes adjusted to the darkness. When navigating around the forest with the low beam, the light was more than bright enough, and I began to miss the privacy that the red modes of the Kroma had afforded me. I really do like the LX2, but for camping in the deep woods, I do feel that the Kroma is the way to go because of it's versatility.

Throughout the rest of the trip I used both lights about equally. The Kroma finally drained the remainder of its batteries on the last night, and the LX2 is still running on its original batteries after two camping trips and much useage in between. I am equally impressed with the running time of the LX2 as I am with the power of it's two settings. All in all, both great lights, both plenty bright, and both would make great lights to have in a recreational or a survival situation. I must mention that a while back I started to feel a bit of buyers remorse over the Kroma due to the 50 lumen main beam, but I have to say that it is just about perfect for the deep woods/wilderness. More than bright enough, and a real nice beam once it gets out a little bit. The only minor issue that I have with the main beam is that it is a little bit cool in tint compared to the LX2. I do have to say that this is going to be my primary camping light and if I could only bring one it would be the Kroma.

I have always loved the Kroma because what is does it does so well. I look at it as a low powered performer. It sits on my night stand and also serves for use in emergency animal shelters after dark. Easy to move around without disturbing already stress animals. You will be hard pressed to find another light that can put out a colored flood like that. The closest might be the 4Sevens RGB and while dollar for dollar it is a great buy, it lacks the near perfect flood and UI of the Kroma. Personally I do find the blue LEDs too harsh for my taste but as you say they work well with your eyes to provide a LOT of light.

The LX2 is my favorite in town walking light as low is bright enough for most tasks and hiugh is available if needed for longer reach and clarity.

I totally agree with the opinions of both individuals regarding the Kroma. It's floody red leds are excellent at navigating in the dark without disturbing others. I too was/am somewhat disappointed by the tint and output of the main white beam, but the colored leds more than make up for that shortcoming. I'm heartened to hear that the low white beam of the Kroma is useful out in the wilderness. Thanks for the review. This light definitely needs some more positive press. :thumbsup:

Always good to have more folks posting about real-world usage of their SF's - what works (or doesn't work) for whitewallin' is not necessarily how we're going to be using these lights. :thumbsup:

All great points from the above posts. The moral of the story is that the Kroma really does rule when it comes to wilderness situations. And, the shortcoming is certainly not the tint or the power of the main beam. If anything, the battery life when running the main beam a lot is not as long as the LX2. Otherwise, I am so happy with the light, and I hope others who own this light get a chance to get out there in the wild and take it with you. You will not be disappointed.

The other thing that I learned is that blindingly bright lights are not necessarily a benefit when you are in pitch black conditions, and in semi close quarters such as that of a forest. A light that has a sufficient high beam, in terms of throw and spill, with a multi-spectrum option for a low beam is absolutely perfect. The Kroma is an awesome light for the wilderness.

By the way, the LX2 isn't a perfect beam either. Not in terms of white walls, anyway. Its near perfect, but looking very closely it is slightly off centered and there is a very faint donut happening. But, get the LX2 out in the woods in a real situation, and it is an amazing beam. I'm so glad I got the chance to put these instruments to a real test, and so glad that they performed the way that they did. By the way, they both were dropped, banged around, got rained on, and the Kroma was dropped in the lake. No issues at all!

rebelproud said:

The other thing that I learned is that blindingly bright lights are not necessarily a benefit when you are in pitch black conditions, and in semi close quarters such as that of a forest.

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I had that exact experience when I started out here.
(But at least I learned & re-equipped well for the next year. :huh

rebelproud said:

By the way, they both were dropped, banged around, got rained on, and the Kroma was dropped in the lake. No issues at all!

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Most excellent. At their heart, SF's are users. :thumbsup:

Nice info on the Kroma - thanks. I generally use the E2L when out backpacking. You're right on - anything over 50-60 lumens gets a bit much when your eyes are night adjusted, and usually the low on it at 3 is perfect. The F04 diffuser rarely leaves it too.

I also like to bring my LX2 and once beamed a guy walking along the nearby stream weirdly at 3 am dragging a huge branch in the dark. :shrug: Could hear some strange noises down there and shocked the living #!&$ out of him.

Excellent info. Your post illustrates how "shining" a light around the house, and using it in the real world can make a big diffference in just how good a particuar light is.

If I could carry only one light on a camping trip it would be my A2 Aviator with the white LED's.

Having the combination of the low and the high make it perfect for me.

And I like the color rendition of the Incandescent bulb.
I do always carry a spare bulb.

Great post! :thumbsup:

Your report shows *exactly* why I tend to not pay too much attention to white wall type of flashlight reviews. These lights are made to explore the great outdoors, so pack your lights, grab some spare batteries, get out of the house far from white walls, and have fun!

I love my kroma. However I rarely use the red leds. Im not sure if i should swap them out.

In regards to the battery life, you may want to look into Milkyspit and see if he can mod the Kroma. I know he has modded the kroma with a Seoul P4 but that increases brightness and I believe does not sacrifice battery life.

However he might have other LED choices that may keep the stock performance but improve the battery life.