Do you carry a back up flash light?

[Miner]

Maybe it's because I'm an engineer who has worked with various communication devices over the past 15 years and I know many of the things that can go wrong with them. My cell phone is the thing I trust the least in my pack.

[Another Kevin]

+1 for Mags' toolkit. I sent my tiny can opener ahead in my bounce box and found no foil packs of tuna, etc in a couple of the AZT trail towns. I like the idea of combining it with my mini SAK on the same idiot cord.

That's what I do - Leatherman Squirt PS4, P51 can opener, and idiot cord. I'd call it a safety cord, but it's hard for me to think of myself as a safety.

[scrabbler]

LEDs have a 100,000 hour lamp life and my headlamp burns 150 hours on 3 AAAs. Amazing. Now I don't even carry spare batteries--I can buy them in a town if the light starts getting dim, which gives me dozens of lamp-hours of warning.

Not necessarily. Many of the high powered LED lamps just STOP when they reach a certain voltage, there is no such thing as dimming - it's all high powered or nothing. Be sure which kind of LED lamp you have if you want to follow that practice.

[squeezebox]

What happens if your headlamp falls into water or gets forgotten somewhere etc. stuff happens. My spare flashlight weighs less than 1 oz.
And it's my porchlight to find my tent on the way back from a night time privy break. Some things , like light after dark, are so important that a light weight back up is worth while. I won't carry an extra tent, sleeping bag, etc. but a 1 oz light ? yes.

[10-K]

What happens if your headlamp falls into water or gets forgotten somewhere etc. stuff happens. My spare flashlight weighs less than 1 oz.
And it's my porchlight to find my tent on the way back from a night time privy break. Some things , like light after dark, are so important that a light weight back up is worth while. I won't carry an extra tent, sleeping bag, etc. but a 1 oz light ? yes.

Backup lights, a second pair of shoes, carrying an extra days worth of food, extra clothes to wear in town - these are all currently being discussed. I'm seeing a trend.

If my light fails I'll somehow manage until I get a replacement. (my iphone flashlight would have to fail too).

[garlic08]

What happens if your headlamp falls into water or gets forgotten somewhere etc. stuff happens. My spare flashlight weighs less than 1 oz.
And it's my porchlight to find my tent on the way back from a night time privy break. Some things , like light after dark, are so important that a light weight back up is worth while. I won't carry an extra tent, sleeping bag, etc. but a 1 oz light ? yes.

I can't argue with that, with anyone whose hiking style requires light after dark. Mine doesn't. I did lose my headlamp for a week or so on the AT (found it again in the unused hydration pocket on my pack) and it didn't bother me a bit--I was going to continue another week like that until I hiked to an outfitter somewhere.

Like 10K says, somehow we manage. Like when I lost my multitool a decade or so ago and never missed it. Or forgot my spoon on a hike and realized there were disposable chopsticks all around me on the forest floor. Or ran out of toilet paper and now that's not so important to carry any more. Or hiked into town needing to wash all my clothing. Or had to sit around camp wearing the shoes I hiked all day in. Or ran out of food a day early. Worst was losing my tent stakes once, but somehow I managed with trees and rocks for a week or so.

Sure, all those things are good to have, but there are ways to cope without having a spare. I like to think of travelers in the days before flashlights.

[Traveler]

Backup lights, a second pair of shoes, carrying an extra days worth of food, extra clothes to wear in town - these are all currently being discussed. I'm seeing a trend.

If my light fails I'll somehow manage until I get a replacement. (my iphone flashlight would have to fail too).

So the iPhone is your spare..... lol

[10-K]

So the iPhone is your spare..... lol

Right - I said that about 50 messages ago. Carrying yet another would make *2* backup lights.

The general consensus is that a smartphone light isn't worthy enough to be considered a backup light so yet another, 3rd light is needed.

[Coffee]

My smartphone is also my backup light. While it is true that a smartphone could break, when you look at the probability of both my regular headlamp breaking or running out of batteries (I carry spares) AND my phone breaking during the same unlucky event, the risk seems pretty low. My phone's light is actually bright enough to blind someone and could be used for hiking if needed, plus it doesn't seem to drain the battery more than running other apps.

[Matt65]

I usually carry my BD Headlamp and a 4Sevens Mini CR123X with a spare CR123.

[Mags]

Maybe it's because I'm an engineer who has worked with various communication devices over the past 15 years and I know many of the things that can go wrong with them. My cell phone is the thing I trust the least in my pack.

Never trust machinery more complicated than a knife or fork. -RAH

[rafe]

Not necessarily. Many of the high powered LED lamps just STOP when they reach a certain voltage, there is no such thing as dimming - it's all high powered or nothing. Be sure which kind of LED lamp you have if you want to follow that practice.

Umm, that's not true. Both of my LED headlamps have two brightness settings, plus a blink mode. I'm pretty sure that's done with PWM (pulse width modulation) rather than a resistor. So the low-brightness setting really does save juice. Battery life is just not a consideration. I did a 600 mile section with one set of batteries (four CR-2032 coin cells.)

[Miner]

Rafe, you misunderstood his poorly written response. It use to be that as the battery started getting low, the light would start to dim from it's rated power output at that setting. Many LED lights today, no longer do so. They stay on at their rated power until they can no longer work, then they stay off. Well my 0.2oz photon keychain lights (weight without the keychain) do still dim as the coin battery dies, but they are pretty primitive compared to most modern flashlights/headlamps such as my Fenix brand flashlights.

[10-K]

.................... nevermind.. I misunderstood what you wrote Miner. I agree with you.

From the REI website:

Rather than gradually dimming as batteries drain, regulated headlamps offer a steady brightness level throughout the life of the batteries. This is a positive—and deservedly popular—feature.


The downside: When batteries are exhausted, the light of a regulated headlamp can go dark abruptly. This may leave you scrambling to replace batteries in the dark. A dimming light on an unregulated headlamp gives you early warning that batteries are nearing the end of their usefulness.

[July]

For hiking a simple e-lite and photon are great for me. For higher end flashlights/leds/batteries these guys can answer ALL your questions http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/content.php (sorry for repost)

[July]

Check it... moon.

[saltysack]

July
That's what I'm thinking...I have a zebra head light at under 2.9 w battery think I'll add the photon as u and mags....sounds like good set up for me.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Wise Old Owl]

Not necessarily. Many of the high powered LED lamps just STOP when they reach a certain voltage, there is no such thing as dimming - it's all high powered or nothing. Be sure which kind of LED lamp you have if you want to follow that practice.

As a veteran of electronic school & as a Amateur Radio Operator- its the end of the life of the battery that causes the dimming in LED's and the first indication of replacing or recharging them. SO yes there is dimming! And the lamps can dump you in the dark with some models. Have you really used these lamps in the field?

[Wise Old Owl]

Check it... moon.

Excellent but its never in the right place when you need it.

[lemon b]

Whats a smartphone? ( too much fidget factor to have even entered my mind as to buying one) Usually I don't even pack a regular cell phone.