Good Camping/Hunting/Outdoor LED

I'm a convert to LED. I'm not officially a flashlight junkie, but well on my way. I've always liked the incan because i've never really had an LED that iw as too impressed with. I pikced up a dorcy headlamp and love it, it's great for doign things aruodn the house.

Now the questions:

Who makes a bright ruggid led that i can use when I'm hunting/fishing/outdoors/camping or just working outside.

also if anyone can point me in the right direction of another good headlamp led, i'm game for that, these things are addicting!!

I've got a UK 4AA eLed, this is a great light for camping, long runtime (11 hrs)and usefully bright.

If you want great throw, get the Streamlight ProPoly 4AA luxeon (4 hr runtime).

For a headlamp, I'm just about to buy the Petzl Zipka Plus.

http://flashlightreviews.com/reviews/petzl_zt_plus.htm

Surefire A2, I know it's not just a LED light, but I think it offers the best of both worlds, LED light with long runtime and a regulated incandescent light (the incandescent beam will have better throw and will also work better if you are ever caught in the fog).

Even though I think that the A2 would be the best light in your situation, if you want a LED only light the Surefire U2 or Surefire L2 would be good choices. Also look at the HDS EDC and McLuxIII-PD.

Not sure what your price range is, but I'd recommend the HA3 Pelican M6 LED from http://www.batterystation.com/cpf.htm

It's bright, got excellent throw, regulated, and about as rugged as they come!

-Allen

I am fairly new at this but one thing that I do with my lights is camping. You need several lights for inside and outside the tent. The StreamLight Pro-Poly Luxeon 4AA and 3C are for foraging around in the woods and hiking and overall long range very bright bomb proof lights, excellent runtime and quality, for headlamp the River Rock 1 watt at Target is a best buy and while your there get the River Rock 1.5 watt lantern for area lighting, keep it below eye level as it is extremely bright but is regulated and will run for 8 Hrs on 4AA's while at Target don't forget to pick up a couple of the River Rock 2AAA penlights, nice little pocket carry for around the campsite or looking in bags or trunks. Inside the tent you need a nice dim light like the 1AA or 1AAA Dorcy. All the above lights I carry now for camping and they work fantastic, all very durable and if you buy all I have listed it should be right around $100 and they all run extremely long on AA, C and AAA. Now lets hear what the experts have to say.

Check out the Black Diamond Zenix IQ.

I use a Surefire U2 for my hunting/camping needs. It's a bit pricey, but a perfect light because of the dimming function. Use it on lowest setting for around the campsite and fiddling with your weapons, but when your walking through the bush etc you can turn up the brightness level.
Love this light. Now one of my hunting mates wants to buy one of these for himself.
Definitely one worth looking at. :rock:

head right on over to the Flashlight Recommendation Checklist
http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=96884

Having said that my Camping/backpacking standard is a Surefire L2 and a Princeton Tec EOS headlamp. (Total cost about $210)

My wife uses a Gerber LX3.0 and a Princeton Tec Aurora headlamp. (Total cost about $80).

We have yet to find a situation that those light combinations won't get us through.

If you have a Sam's Club near you, pickup a pair of Sam's Club Element 1W Luxeon flashlights. $26 for the pair. The lights use 3AAA batteries which snap into a carrier that loads into the light. Great spill and pretty decent throw for a 3AAA light.

As mentioned above, the Streamlight ProPoly 4AA Luxeon is a great light. Excellent throw and good spill, too. Less than $25 if you buy it online.

I have nothing against Surefire, but holy smokes, $270 for a U2? My entire collection of lights didn't cost as much as that single light.

My logic is have several lights for camping trip so you have a backup. Cheap lights like I've mentioned won't make you sick to your stomach if you lose one. I think I'd be really ill if I lost a U2.

Type of LED light will depend on your exact need. But in general many night hunting/camping activities require lower output levels, with only occasional use of high power.

Thus a variable output light like the HDS EDC, Surefire L2, A2 or U2 can be very useful. However they are quite expensive, but likely no more expensive than your hunting rifle. Whether gun, knife or flashlight, a quality machined item is often expensive but lasts a long time, so the cost amortized over the items lifetime is quite low.

A different approach is simply take two lights: a low power broad beam light like an Arc AAA-P or Peak Matterhorn, combined with a higher power single stage light like a Pelican M6 3W. That will be cheaper than a U2, but (depending on specifics) not much cheaper than an A2.

http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/arc_aaa-p.htm
http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/pelican_m6_2390.htm

What Kris said!

Trying it again, since I tried to post right at the outage last night.

You look like a clown, but you can't beat a headlamp for the woods.

I have a Petzl Myo XP, which is an unregulated LuxIII headlamp. Pretty versatile with multiple brightness settings and a flip-up diffuser. Only drags are the lack of regulation and it's not quite built like a tank like the Night Hawk Evos are, but you get a much more usable spot/spill imho for general use. With the diffuser up I can still see a good area in front of me, tho' in urban/suburban areas the diffused light craps out more than 6' in front of me or so. With the diffuser down you get a decent sized spot. If you hunt around, I've posted beamshots comparing against a Streamlight ProPoly 4AA LED (7 - 5mm LEDs)

Note that the MyoXP is *not* as bright as some of the other Lux3 lamps. I believe this is because the light is somewhat gimped for the sake of runtime and/or heat management. There is a "boost" mode which is supposed to increase brightness about 50%, but you can only hold it down 20 seconds at a time before it automatically drops to "high" to cool down. I believe the "boost" is actuallly full-power, so normally you're running about 2/3 speed with it on "high".

A bit lower on the brightness scale, but also very popular is the LuxI Princeton Tec EOS headlamps. These are regulated, so you'll get a good couple of hours out of them before you start the slow dimming process. Some people don't like that all the weight's up front, so ymmv.

The 5mm led lights like the Tikkas are also very nice, tho' sorta limited to close-range duties. Great for working around camp and in the tent, not so good for trudging your way down the trail. Note the newer Tikka XP is a LuxI light, built sorta similar to the MyoXP with a sliding diffuser. Unlike the Lux lights, you'll get a strong blue cast with 5mm's, which can seem a bit off when you're used to incans.

I'm definitely of the "more lights is better" camp. Especially when you're ending up with friends who aren't as well-prepared as we are. A few River Rock 2AA's will make for handy loaner lights. But especially if you're going with a lower-powered headlamp, you'll want to have a good thrower along for the ride when you have to go trudging through the woods. A ProPoly 4AA Lux is a good choice here.

--> Andy

BlackDecker said:

I have nothing against Surefire, but holy smokes, $270 for a U2? My entire collection of lights didn't cost as much as that single light.
My logic is have several lights for camping trip so you have a backup. Cheap lights like I've mentioned won't make you sick to your stomach if you lose one.

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Yeah, that. :goodjob: UK 4AA eLED, and if you want incand, get the module from brightguy, or buy the incand model. They are really inexpensive, but not cheap. That/those + A Propolymer 4AA for illuminating the Visigoth hordes at respectable distance--say an arrow's flight or so--and some flavor of headlight will provide all the lumens, backup and security you need, without completely fracturing the exchequer. Unless you enjoy thrashing around with those BIG square lights like they use on CSI--the ones with the curly telephone cord hanging from them, and the big donut hole in the beamshot.

I have enough stuff hanging off me when I'm camping, and compact, light & handy is my way. I don't even carry my Mag 3D mod much any more. (But it is in the trailer.) :candle:

sniper said: "....some flavor of headlight...without completely fracturing the exchequer...."

The original poster already has a Dorcy headlamp (I assume the 3AAA 1W Luxeon): http://www.brightguy.com/detail_int.php?Sku=DOR410100

so he should be OK in the headlamp department.

Re price/cost of a U2, HDS, A2, etc, yes they're expensive but people often spend even more money on shorter life items like fancy backpacking tents. Actually a HDS B42 or A2 isn't all that expensive IMO, but the U2 is pretty steep.

A much cheaper variable output alternative is the Vari-Brite 52L (the poor man's U2):

http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/britestuff_vari-brite52l.htm
http://emilionworkshop.com:3072/osc...d=282&osCsid=e0409981161347ca1a6b6802a56d4e6a

That said I would not take any fancy light to a rough environment, say, caving. They'd just get beat up. Much less expensive but still capable lights like the Streamlight Propoly Lux 4AA, UK 4AA can take a beating, still work and you don't care if it's scuffed or gouged.

For camping I think variable output is really important -- two levels is OK, more is better. Of course this depends on the type of camping.

Backpacking to a primitive site far from civilization implies no ambient light so you'd want a variable output light.

Pulling the car into a KOA with adjacent campers running Coleman lanterns, well you hardly even need a light. You might instead want earplugs and a sleeping mask.

Anything from Inova will make an outstanding camping light, especially the 24/7 and the X series, and it won't break your bank. I use my XO even for caving. Also, you should consider a headlamp such as Princeton Tec EOS and other flashlights, like the SL Propolymer 4aa or 3C, all great lights for outdoor activities. Buy all of them if you can afford it.

joema said:

Pulling the car into a KOA with adjacent campers running Coleman lanterns, well you hardly even need a light. You might instead want earplugs and a sleeping mask.

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HAHAHAHHAHA HAAHAHHAHAAAHHAHAHA <Gasp, Wheeze> HEEEEE HE HE HE, HAHAHAHA THUD <sound of me falling on floor after passing out>

It is SO true!