which light to use in hurricane, Katrina?

I am wondering about the storm Katrina hitting US coastal cities causing rain, foggy conditions. Should one use high power search light HID or incandescent? LED doesn't have much throw in foggy condition at all.

Anything with a large reflector would be nice, since a light with small reflector would not cast a beam too far. A SF m3T, M4, or M6 is the way to go with reliability, out put and throw. Don't even bother sith stock mags, they wouldn't light up more than the rain on you eyelids...

I don't consider all the SL rechargables, Tigerlights, and Magchargers because electricity could be a problem, so disposable batteries is a plus.

Most of the HID's I have seen, with the exception of the UK light cannon and the MiniHID run on rechargable packs, thereby render them up to the fate of the availability of electricity.

other lights I can think of are the SL TL3 or the ProPolymer Xenon(uses AA's)...

Nick

You didn't mention what type of tasks you would put it to use for. Indoor light when the power is out? Outdoors walking down the road?

I would select a light based upon easy to locate batteries (and have a store of them set aside in advance - batteries are among the first items to disappear from store shelves when the warning comes). I would not depend upon re-charging (assume lengthly power loss). Spot vs. spill is dependent upon the task. Squeezing a battery over a long period would be a priority. (We'll see how long it takes to get the power on after this hurricane).

Perhaps two lights that share a common battery type - one for intensity and the other, smaller form factor for use at night(s) when the power is off.

sorry, I would need a light to walk outdoor just incase to reach shelter area. I might need the light to shine outdoor to get medical emergency for family for instance.

From my understanding of what goes on during and after a hurricane, I think that duty is pretty rough for a flashlight.

First is the "event" itself -- certainly chaotic and possibly downright violent. You will have to grab-and-go to safety, wherever that is. 300 miles out of town, a local shelter, your attic. I read one account of a person calling from a cell as he was preparing to chop through his roof from the inside as the water was rising. Your light will have to both serve and stay with you during this time.

After the storm there will be a long period without power, during which you will be busy working. Repairs will need to be made, people will require assistance, all your daily routines will involve dealing with cleanup. It will be hot, wet, and stinky. I understand that it is common for people to spend the days working on their homes, "commuting" from the shelters until their spaces are suitable for sleeping. This is generally a week or more.

The way I look at it, this requires a kind of EDC-able light system. I would want a good lanyard and a light that was pocketable for the event. Afterward, during recovery, I would think a work light would be good -- something that can tailstand or can be used as a headlamp.

About runtime, if you are getting, say 6 hrs of sleep a night, that means maybe up to 6 more hours of activity by flashlight per night. Over 2 weeks that would be up to 84 hours of runtime required.

So here's what that translates into for me:

- pocketable size
- lanyard
- water and impact resistant
- long runtime, say more than 40 hrs
- easily available batts

Of my lights, my Princeton Tec XL comes closest to meeting those criteria. It is bright enough to work by, AA batts, tough as nails, and runs something like 50 hrs before you are in the dark. You could potentially "do" a hurricane without changing batts.

Scott

I think it is a combination of lights with a backup supply of batteries. For me I think I would be leaning to my Eternalite Elite X-ray as my personal light, A2 for hi and low power (another personal light), M3 for search and spotlight if operating in the outdoors after the event. It would also help to hand out a pile of the squeeze lights from countycom.com to others. I know I would also have my EDC Arc AAA V4, but it might just get put away as my last ditch emergency light.

The recommendation by Beezaur re: lanyard is a good one - it would be easy to misplace your light in the mess. I think water resistance is probably important too. I'd give some real thought about whether you want your "throw" light to be a headlamp. Leaves your hands free for climbing over things - points where you look, harder to mis-place. Hands-free has a lot going for it post-hurricane.

What we used (here in SouthFL):

PrincetonTEC headlamp
(very useful to keep your hands free so you can do stuff, like refuel the gennie in the middle of the night)

LightWave 4000
(seriously long runtime, used by family members for trips to the bathroom)

LED Lantern
(Got it here on CPF, but the thing has no markings on it; used for general room lighting)

LionHeart
(only in really low mode, until the Pilas ran out)

Maglite 1W Lux mod with adj output
(CR123s, again in low mode)

When it is pitch black, you don't need much light!!

Here's what I had ready to go for the hurricane.

http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=90857

I feel it is very important to have your hands free as much as possible to do various things. Carrying a light in your hand limits your capabilities.

A headlight or 2
a powerful modded maglight
a small long running light (LionHeart or something that can run for over 10-20 hours),
a lantern and extra batteries are all that is needed.

If at all possible one or more of the above lights should be able to float in case you drop it in the rising water or whatever.

Like mentioned above, in pitch black you will be surprised how much light you get out of 30ma and a tri-lux running on 3x123.

Thanks

Curtis

Eveready dolphin or an Energizer Toughcase,
durable, bright good runtime and they float

Must have long running lights (low or mid level LEDs).

"C" and "AAA" are avaliable after everthing else goes.

Must have at least one throw light.

I have:

Minimags with MJLED's for the kids.

Energizer 1-D LED lanterns

Energizer folding 4-AA lanterns

2D Mag light modded with 3 watt clone running a Dorcry AAA circuit about 1-Watt and 30+ hours.

Kids Halloween lantern (4-D) modded with about 18 generic LEDs running at about 20mA per LED

Streamlight 3-C Twin Task. (Must have at least one light that runs on C cells).

2 - Raovac 3-AAA headlights.

2 Dorcy Cool Blue.

If I could only have two I would go with 3-C Twin Task and modded Mag Light or Modded LED Lantern.


wwglen

A headlamp of some kind and a Surefire A2 Aviator with sixpack of extra batteries would probably do you very well.

Figure around 16 hours per two batteries on LED mode with the A2 probably longer and you have the option of short very penetrating incan light as needed. 8 batteries should give you in the neighborhood of 64 hours of light, probably closer to 80 when it is all said and done.

The headlamp should use common batteries and should have a few spares as well. Should have high and low modes.

Between these two you should be covered for any kind of mobile need to carry with you lighting you might need.

For hunkering down, my guess is any one of us would have enough lights, batteries etc. to keep us well lit for a very long time.

Chris

Seems like the Gladius would be a good light to have.
It can run at low intensity for increased runtime, has good throw and a strobe to signal...

Any dern one that didn't wash away...!!!??

Its been awhile since NC has had a major hurricane, in the area where I'm from in the southeastern part of the state its been about six years. Not that I'm complaining, but my memories of the six or so we had in a few years span was that the Flourescent lanterns came in handy and D batteries were a must. After discovering this place I'd probably say something different, but lights I can remember that were important during the storms were:

Pelican SuperSabre Light, waterproof, lots of throw, good runtime and uses batteries that are normally easy to find during an emergency.
D cell mags: bright and good throw, useful for a variety of tasks although now I would probably use something different
Mini-mags, everyone had one in our house. handy for trips to the bathroom, to check the generator.
Generic 2-D cell lights, had one in almost every room in case more light than the mini mags was needed.

Now I'm sure I'd use all sorts of different lights. Probably would keep my A2 and a Kl1 on my person, possibly even my C3 with SRTH if I had multipocketed pants. Around the house would be my Lightwave 3000 and 3C twintask. Dorcy 3D 1watt would come in handy inside and for short range trips outside also. Maglites and Modded Minimags would also be useful. My EOS and Pilot would probably be almost glued to my head, even though it might be a bit bright for most short range indoor use.
Geez, I'm gonna have to give this some more though. Might help to have a list of what I need to prepare, just in case this year. This could change though if I'm in my current location instead of home from school, Raleigh is quite a bit different than the rural area I'm from and the light requirements would generally be less.

Last year, with two coming through, we lost power twice, once for 7 days, once for 8. The lights we used the most were the LED 4D lantern mentioned above, the A2's (luckily have two), a Q3, and a 3X123 Mag mod for exploring the back yard at night while the dogs were out.

Considering Katrina's aftermath, I would recommend lights that are "waterproof", not simply "water resistant". As mentioned earlier, Princeton Tec is a company that comes to mind. Most of their lights (even some of their head lamps) are truly waterproof. Try dropping some of these other lights 3 or 5 feet under and see what happens.

My suggestion would be:

PT Impact XL
PT EOS
PT Attitude
PT Aurora

Very good run times, tough and waterproof.

One other must have. ElectroLumens Blaster 3P. 3 D cells and you have nearly 3 days of continous light. Which in turn means a week or so of light (off of one set of batteries!) if used 8 hours a day. Roughly 22-24 hours at full brightness and then gradual drop off over the next 48 hours or so.

Probably, one of the most logical choices. Not waterproof, but water resistant....good enough.

I agree with many others. But I believe variety is the key. By that I mean to have several different types of course including leds. Such as:

1 AAA, 1AA, and maybe a coin cell.

A few that take 2-4 AAA, 1 or 2 AA, or a 1 cell cr123.

Something with throw 2-3 cr123 or a 4AAA.

And a decent headlamp.

I always believed emergency lights should be waterproof I do not like lights that aren't. I also agree that a lanyard is important. If necessary I'll make one out of string or a shoelace etc.

Also it's important to have extra batteries rechargeable and non-rechargeable. Other things I deem useful are A small solar charger, tea candles, and a few chem lights.
I've been looking at shake, wind ups, and solar lights. But I only have 1 solar flashlight.

Its important to realize that you may wind up with whats on your person, in your work area, or in the trunk of your car, or whats in your luggage. If your in your vehicle or a vehicle you may reach a point when you may have to leave it.