What characteristics in a light would you want in an emergency situation?

Imagine that you are on the subway in New York and the power went out and for some reason the emergency lights did not work. You have to have a light to navigate your way out of the car and to the surface.

Or

You are in a building and there is possibly a fire and the power fails. You have to use a light to get out of the building.

Whatever the case what characteristics would you think necessary for a light in an emergency? I was thinking a surefire 100 to 200 lumens with possible low light option. A mix of flood and throw might be good too. I would use primaries to insure they worked.

What are your ideas?

In a subway, I wouldn't use anything unless I was sure that I wouldn't get tackled for the light. But if I was to use a light, I'd start with a lighthound key chain light until I needed more light. Then would use my key chain light, my L0D. Worse case scenario, the zip tie holding it to the main ring breaks if someone makes a grab for it.

I have one rule when it comes to my tools: The only useful tool is the one you have with you when you need it.

My emergency lights are the same ones I carry on me (not in the bag, or car) everyday which are also my camping lights, work lights and house lights.

1. In order for me to carry them discreetly, they have to be small. All my lights are single AA and AAA.

2. They have 3 modes. The lowest mode is useful when I need to conserve battery, yet it has to be bright enough for me to do some work. No firefly or low low modes here.

3. They can be used hand-free.

4. They have a floody or flood beam.

5. Brand is irrelevant.

Easy for me I'd take a Surefire 6P/G2 with a malkoff M61LL moduel.

Anyting bright enough to lead me out of this scenario, be it my peak eiger level 8 or my HDS 170 tactical. In total darkness, either one would be useful.

As already stated . . . .


The most important characteristic would be Convenience.


If you can't carry it easily and conveniently,
then you probably won't have it with you, when trouble arises.


Next . . . .

I would want a multi-level light, so that i could choose
the brightness output for the specific situation.

If the emergency was a flood, I'd like it to be waterproof. If the emergency was falling out of a plane, a parachute would be handy.

In order for me.
1 it has to not break / has to work.
2 it has to be convenient to carry.
3 provide good quality light levels for user's needs, ideally with a good low, med, high.
4 long run times. -I consider long run timens Very Important and I spend a lot more energy poring over run times than lumens, but 1-3 are just even more important.

It would:
- use one battery.
- have long run time on low.
- be extremely durable.
- be waterproof.
- have a simple UI but multiple modes.
- be small enough to be able to do other things with my hands while holding it (short but functionable lanyard).
- allow me to carry 1 extra battery.
Good thing my EDC is a HDS 170 Cn.

1) Convenient to carry. For me, a 2-cell light that uses CR123 batteries is no problem, particularly something as thin as the Surefire E-series. My EDC has been as large as a Surefire 6Z or G2Z, but I wouldn't want it any bigger than these.
2) Durable and reliable. It has to work when needed. LED lights are preferred in part for this reason.
3) Waterproof.
4) Easy switching method.
5) Either 1 mode with a reasonable balance between brightness and run time, or 2 modes with a default high setting or very fast and easy way to get the high setting. I would not want any more than 2 modes - I don't want to be cycling through a bunch of modes to get to the one I need in an emergency. When I need high, I want high quickly, but I also want a good way to run the light for extended periods without overheating or draining batteries unnecessarily.
6) Unaffected by cold - lithium batteries are preferred.
7) Good throw. Turn on a good light indoors, and everything is lit up, so I am not overly concerned with flood capabilities.
8) Depending on the emergency, some ability to use the light in a defensive capacity.
9) Depending on the situation, a means for attaching a lanyard might be nice, although I don't EDC one.

The light on my person as I type this is a Surefire E2D LED. Before that, my EDC was a Surefire L4. Either of these would meet all of my requirements for an emergency light.

I am sure there are already lights that fit most of our needs or at least mine.

I like either 1-2 batteries AA or cr-123A
Great battery life
Waterproof
Flood to spot
small enough to fit in pocket and remain comfortable

losing my train of thought. watching tv with the family

double post, sorry. Had issues with my first post

For the two scenarios mentioned (subway and building with power outage w/ possible fire), just about any light that works would be sufficient IMHO.

Ideally an HDS or SF E1B that one is likely to EDC would be nice but any silly old light should do except if there were some smoke and then the TIR beam would be handy. But then again with smoke in the building I'd be dead :sick2: inhaling the stuff pretty soon anyway, my light would hardly make a difference if I am not able to get out soon

Any flashlight that works is better than no flashlight. So what flashlight is convenient to carry all the time? For me its a Photon Freedom in a front pants pocket. I haven't needed to use the Freedom in an emergency long enough for runtime to be an issue, but I would feel more comfortable with an AAA light. Unfortunately, I've experimented with all kinds of ways to carry a single AAA light and haven't found one I like, but the quest continues.

Kind of funny because today I gave my brother my old SF 6P. He wanted something good to throw in the bag he takes to work just in case he needs to navigate out of a building or the subway in an emergency. I sent him the links for replacement lamp drop-ins (LED) and told him he should get a M61wLL for the runtime. Just before giving it to him I loaded it up with two fresh batteries and gave it a test only to have the lamp light up for a second and go out. It was the original bulb, probably 16-17 years old, so not a big deal and better now then in an emergency. Once he gets that M61wLL it will be very good for his intended use.

mbw_151 said:

I would feel more comfortable with an AAA light. Unfortunately, I've experimented with all kinds of ways to carry a single AAA light and haven't found one I like, but the quest continues.

Click to expand...

I find full length AAA's to long, but sub AAA's (10180/10280) go very well on a keychain.

- Multiple low lumen levels - like 3 or 4 levels below 30 lumens, since using the least amount of light to accomplish a given task gives you the longest runtimes.
- Moonlight 0.2 lumens that will run 250~400 hrs on a 1xAA. For all intensive purposes moonlight is effectively free/perpetual light that you can just leave on permanently and not worry about it.
- High-end doesn't matter to me much... 80 lumens would be fine.
- A back-up light and a back-up battery (s).

BTW, I don't really consider a subway breakdown & finding your way to the surface, or stuck in an elevator for a couple of hours, to be an emergency - that's an "inconvenience" that my cellphone light can handle. For me its stuff like getting lost in the woods, or a SHTF disaster causing power loss over an extended period of time.

I'd like to weigh in with some experience here. Subway tunnels are not for the faint of heart, or faint of illumination. Just because the section the train is stuck in has no power, does not mean that no sections have power. Walking along the tracks is absolutely unsafe. The raised platforms in tunnels are meant for worker convenience to remove workers from the deadly 600V third rail (in NYC), and it is easy to trip and fall from these without adequate illumination. Having seen these tunnels with the E-lights on, I would not want to navigate through them without good lighting. It's like walking along train tracks with all those trip hazards, plus control cables and conduits to trip over, a third rail to dodge, and miscellaneous garbage off to the sides. It is valid to say that whipping out a power light is likely to get you swarmed. The best response in a simple power outage is likely to wait for things to calm down a bit before taking decisive action. I know we all want to play hero, but at least make sure that your train - and all the other trains that could hit you and kill you are stuck too, and that rescue is dangerously far away.

Also the tunnels can swallow a hundred lumens within 20 feet. The steel dust gets everywhere and makes things stealthy.

tl;dr, just because you have a light doesn't mean you know the hazards in urban infrastructure. Just because your train quit doesn't mean the system is down. And just because you have a light and are calm doesn't mean everyone else is.

1) grip, silicone, heat resistant: if you have frozen hands, damaged hands, this is important

2) hold in teeth, see (1)

3) twist -and- button. either way to activate

4) ultra low lumen sub .1 level

5) strobe

6) mode that will blink out the current state of battery voltage so you know the health of the battery

7) trits

8) at least 200 lumen max, and half/flood half/spot beam.

9) Multi-battery compatible from AAA to AA, IMR 10440 to 1xCR123 or 1xRCR123
all these types will be able to fit. spacers/springs/foam available to prevent rattle.

10) glass lens inside a poly outer ring w/poly replacement lens in case glass breaks

11) extra battery compartment that is NOT in use, carry spare battery inside the tube unused