Real Family Flashlight advice for a Novel.

OK Flashlight Guru's, I need some help with some concepts for a novel.

This is my first post, and please let me know if this is out of bounds, improper or I am just plain wrong in any of my hypotheticals. And some of this may be politically incorrect, but it is fiction. I understand it will be vetted first, so here goes.

The setting is the US, NA at least, as we know it today. And family, as in the best of our past- family beyond the nuclear -is still paramount, at least to this group. This is a story of, an eccentric father who's preached war/apocalypse, to his 3 sons and daughter, regarding our enemy/ largest creditor. The worst happens, begins with cyber attack and then a couple of LEO satellites disguised as "benign, multi-purpose" explode over CONUS creating an EMP that disables all electronics. Nothing original here.

Assume every character knows, they and theirs, have to get to a safe- centrally located geographically location (Ouachita's, perhaps), and are essentially prepared for such an event by "Pops" over the years. The journey from various locals is the book.

That said, I need input on how everyone would protect and travel to this central point. Pop's gift to all the "kids", is a mid sized, home built Faraday footlocker that contains all the essentials for the journey. Only the electontics in the footlocker survive the EMP. Everything else- grid, transportation, communication is fried, as far as civilians go.

I know this may sound crazy, but the reason I am approaching this forum is because all you guys love light. Not to get to primal on y'all, but light abhors the dark. Thus, the journey, (from prior instructions) take place often at night. And the main characters, being bearers of light, must have it at hand. So light sources are imperative. Assume Pops eccentric anticipation has at least bled over to the children as far as basic survival skills are concerned.

Thus my need for advice: What would, as far a light sources go, have been included for each family in their "box". Some of their journeys will be longer than others, some beginning in urban areas, others more suburban, rural. The travelers range from single to others with newborns- but all must make it "Home" on their own talents, cunning and will. They will scavenge, but must leave bearing primarily the contents of the EMP proof footlocker.

The light sources need to be fit for the endeavor- from practical, offensive or defensive use to energy sources capable of being "recharged" along the way. Potential multi use: Headlight, Picatinny or Weaver mountable, universal pistol mountable, infra-red lens? Must be durable, easy to use, even modify. What would you want if you had to travel through such a post-apocalyptic US with family in tow, at night primarily? What could you use dependably if you were forced to use a portable solar charger? What batteries might be interchangeable or adaptable for multiple uses. Is it even possible?

Everything must be available, at least for the " Survival Box", to any consumer. However, money isn't a consideration in stocking it for persons/ family's journey. And has been kept updated annually, for each, by Pops.

Remember, this is fiction and the family and their surviving the journey homeward the story. What lights would you use to fight the dark that remained?

Please let me know if you feel this is an improper post or where I might find a more appropriate forum. I'm researching and, though fiction, I need up to date, practical info and advice on portable light sources specific to the above theme. I hope I've come to where the experts reside.

Thank you very much, in advance.

John Patton

Pops could easily outfit the kids with a variety of flashlights, allowing them to use almost any kind of battery they can find along the way, and allowing overlapping use. Seems like there are so many good ones out there that would work as a "fits most task" light that you could choose almost any. Fenix, 4sevens, Thrunite, take your pick. A good setup would probably be something like a Petzl Tak-tikka, a 4sevens Quark of some flavor (especially with extra bodies to take various battery types) and a small AAA light like the Arc. Weapons lights are, of course, good to have.

I think the more important thing Pop could do is include a few different charging setups, and some good protected Lithium batteries of one flavor or another. Probably of the lithium-cobalt variety with a solar charging setup, since that'll provide the best power density and portability. I'd say include enough to run each light plus have one in the charger, and then some primary batteries as well.

So many possibilities, so few pixels. Some thoughts:

Maglites are the number one brand name flashlights in N America and everybody has one. You can check them out in 'most any store or as for everything, on the WWW. They are particularly useful as clubs, in the larger sizes. Passe for CPF members, by and large I mean.

Serious rechargeable lights include windup ones made by Freeplay. You wind a dynamo that charges a battery. There is a company called Nightstar whose lights are sealed tubes you shake to charge an induction capacitor and that will survive almost everything and forever- with the exception of an EMP, but you have your supplies coming out of faraday boxes. Freeplays are fairly bright but their working lives are limited to the life of the battery pack (so at least a year), and Nightstars not so much bright but are, in effect, going to be eternally rechargeable.

High end flashlights are all over this site, but the best known and most end-of-the-worldy- type company, that a wise grandpa would choose, would probably be Surefire. Surefires virtually specialize in the use of lithium 123 batteries, which that company pioneered in flashlights. Surefire is #1 in the military and police worlds, but expensive. 4Sevens is a company which makes lights that run on very low and very hight light output and if I was going to be sneaking around in the dark I would want quite a dim light, possible filtered red to spare my own nightsight. This isn't as much fun as it sounds. BTW, if Grandpa is a made in the usa kind of guy, he chooses Surefire.

With the exception of the maglites, all the lights I have listed rely on LEDs, which last forever compared to 'old' bulbs, and are very nearly indestructable- within reason. And they use various smaller batteries, 123s, AAs and AAAs.

EDIT: one should mention headlamps. The better commonly available ones are made by Petzl. They are Swiss or French, I forget which.

- Nuclear EMP would only disable roughly a third of the motor vehicles in the US; the majority would stall when the pulse hit, then could be restarted, albeit with minor problems (faulty dash lights, non-functional gauges, etc.)

- There's no special container needed for shielding, an ammo tin that just happens to have good contact with ground will work.

- Travel by night is only practical in the desert, otherwise you're unable to see distant large obstacles and your lights give away your position.

- The only easily replicable source of light is fire; in a long-term power outage situation, it comes down to making sure you have a method to start a fire (magnesium block, tinder plunger, etc.) and finding clever ways to keep smaller fires burning (ashtray and Fritos, wick in a Crisco tub, etc.)

- If you're going to generate and store electricity for lighting, it'll have to be something small-scale just for portability's sake; a backpack solar panel connected to some common-size NiMhs within (you're more likely to find common size batteries along the way.)