Back from Vacation with new insight.

We are leaving for the beach in just a couple of days and I don't want to be under prepared. We are staying for 9 days and I don't want to choose wrongly.
Should I take the charger and Li-Ion's or only take primaries?
What would you mix and match out of the lists below?

Lights: BC40,Ti Quark, Ti Infintium, Ra Clickies, L1, Quark(1.4A 3-mode), G2L?

Drop-ins: 2.8A Linger Special, 2.8A XM-L, M60, M61W, M61HCRI

Hosts: L2P, C2, MD2(H/L+clip), MD2(plain)

I want to go prepared but can't nail down with ones to take along for the fun.

Thanks for any and ALL help on this,

Jamie

Re: What to take on vacation? Opinions Please

M61HCRI in the MD2 w/ Hi/Low Ring and a RA Clicky set to always come on in a very low mode.

In my experience, that will more than suffice for exploring the outdoors at night (M61HCRI) and navigating your hotel room in the dark (RA Clicky). I had a lot of fun looking into the water with my M61HCRI at night and spotting fish.

Skip the charger, bring charged batteries and backup primaries, in case you run through your rechargeables.

Re: What to take on vacation? Opinions Please

Z-Tab said:

M61HCRI in the MD2 w/ Hi/Low Ring and a RA Clicky set to always come on in a very low mode.

In my experience, that will more than suffice for exploring the outdoors at night (M61HCRI) and navigating your hotel room in the dark (RA Clicky). I had a lot of fun looking into the water with my M61HCRI at night and spotting fish.

Skip the charger, bring charged batteries and backup primaries, in case you run through your rechargeables.

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The only thing that worries me with that is leaving the rechargeables in discharged state too long. Sounds like a good plan on the lights. MD2 H/L M61HCRI + RA Clicky. On the HDS/RA Clicky, High CRI or 140GT with red filter?

Re: What to take on vacation? Opinions Please

I'm in the same boat. Getting ready to go to beach and reading this helped. One question, what happens if rechargeables are left in a discharged state too long. How long is too long?

think2x said:

The only thing that worries me with that is leaving the rechargeables in discharged state too long. Sounds like a good plan on the lights. MD2 H/L M61HCRI + RA Clicky. On the HDS/RA Clicky, High CRI or 140GT with red filter?

Click to expand...

Re: What to take on vacation? Opinions Please

I took 2 MD2's to Fiji last year, I found that the M60W MC-E was the best, it put out about 400 lumens of nice warm light in a very floody pattern. Lit up a lot of immediate beach front and made the grass look great at the resort. Had the benefit of not blowing away all the other guests etc.


Out of your list, definately take the High CRI, and maybe the xml if its nice and floody otherwise, take the linger. You will also need a dress light I think.

As for cells, buying extra primaries will be excessively expensive. Take a rechargeable setup if you can (doesn't take much room if you have cells in the lights already, and cells loaded into the charger with the cord wrapped around it. Just make sure no shorts

Re: What to take on vacation? Opinions Please

tolkaze said:

Out of your list, definately take the High CRI, and maybe the xml if its nice and floody otherwise, take the linger.

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My XM-L is not floody. The Linger Special is a single mode High CRI and has a diffused UCL lens, one of the Clickies is a High CRI also. With the MD2 MHCRI it sounds like that would be a good trio.

tolkaze said:

You will also need a dress light I think.

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The only "dress" lights I have to choose from are the Olight Ti Infintium and the Ti Quark 123x2(modded to neutral)

tolkaze said:

As for cells, buying extra primaries will be excessively expensive. Take a rechargeable setup if you can (doesn't take much room if you have cells in the lights already, and cells loaded into the charger with the cord wrapped around it. Just make sure no shorts

Click to expand...

I have 2 dozen primaries that I could take along, there's NO WAY I would buy them at a B&M except in an emergency.

Thanks for the good input.

Re: What to take on vacation? Opinions Please

I am a typical flashaholic that always takes too many lights when on a trip. If your Ra is a CRI model, I would just take that, and stick to primaries, the Ra has a graceful step down.

Re: What to take on vacation? Opinions Please

PoliceScannerMan said:

I am a typical flashaholic that always takes too many lights when on a trip. If your Ra is a CRI model, I would just take that, and stick to primaries, the Ra has a graceful step down.

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Yeah, I've had the High CRI for a while and just got a 140GT this week.(at least one of them is going)

I almost forgot, I may take the ZL H501w for when I need both hands.

Re: What to take on vacation? Opinions Please

I'd take the L1.

Re: What to take on vacation? Opinions Please

kelmo said:

I'd take the L1.

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I do love the L1 too, disappears in the pocket. Mine has an E1B clip.(I'm a bezel down guy)

:sigh:

Re: What to take on vacation? Opinions Please

think2x said:

I want to go prepared but can't nail down with ones to take along for the fun.

Jamie

Click to expand...

just for fun i would take the G2L, C2 and MDH2 and all your drop-ins. play around with them (drop -ins) on the beach and have a a ball. 9 days definately calls for a charger so you might as well bring it along too.
have a safe trip.

Re: What to take on vacation? Opinions Please

I'm down at the beach now with a bunch of my favorite lights. This time I've got mostly AA lights (H50, SC50w+, D11.2, QMini), plus a Maratac AAA and the always present LF2XT. These are loaded with NiMHs and I did bring a charger just in case. For a little extra power I also brought the QMini 123 loaded with a primary. For reading in bed there's a Photon Rex ready to shine. Maybe this should be adequate for three days.

Sick? Maybe. Semi-obsessed? For sure. At least I'm in good company.

Geoff

Re: What to take on vacation? Opinions Please

Answer? Simple. Take them all!

Re: What to take on vacation? Opinions Please

I agree with HotWire's advice on this one. However, reminiscing about my M60W MC-E, I just went to the marketplace and bought a DD model with MD2. Yay

Re: What to take on vacation? Opinions Please

Will there be cocktails at the beach? If so, take the one you'll mind losing the least.

Re: What to take on vacation? Opinions Please

PCS said:

Will there be cocktails at the beach? If so, take the one you'll mind losing the least.

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I doubt there will be any at the beach, it's just me, the wife, our 2 kids, wife's BF and her daughter. Plus I've only had the occasional "beverage" literally half a dozen times since fall of '08. (that's where all my flashlight money came from.)

Re: What to take on vacation? Opinions Please

HotWire said:

Answer? Simple. Take them all!

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Trying hard to resist doing just that. Part of me wants to play with the BC40 too. If I take it I want to take the charger, if I take the charger then..............you see where this is going.

Re: What to take on vacation? Opinions Please

Personally, I would say leave the charger at home. I'm a minimalist while I'm on vacation, and I think messing with a charger and rechargeable batteries would bother me. It'll be a little more expensive to use primaries, but hey, that's what vacations are for, right?

Re: What to take on vacation? Opinions Please

think2x said:

I doubt there will be any at the beach, it's just me, the wife, our 2 kids, wife's BF and her daughter. Plus I've only had the occasional "beverage" literally half a dozen times since fall of '08. (that's where all my flashlight money came from.)

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Me too!! All my cocktail money has been going to flashlight and part purchases recently.

Good grief. My flashlight addiction has thoroughly and completely superseded my more traditional addictions. It really is a sickness.

Re: What to take on vacation? Opinions Please

Well you've got 6 people, so unless any of them carry their own light, you need 6 lights. I bring a headlamp, a multiple output, and Fenix E01s or Photon Freedoms for the balance. If you feel like taking a thrower or something else special, ditch one of the little lights. I adopted the one light a person rule after going to Hawaii and having to spending a night with four people and two lights in the car on high ground waiting for the Tsunami risk to pass. It is much easier if each person has a light, particularly with children. It is one less thing that they can argue about.