Camp Lighting - Low Weight Low Power LED Help

[Brownnatep]

Does anyone have any recommends for low power low weight camp site lighting. I know camp fires are restricted in many places and I have been trying to research a LED type system for general light around the camp site. Thanks for any advise!

[Maineiac64]

Just use a headlamp, black diamond, petzl, etc.

[RangerZ]

I don't have one but Luci lights are pretty cool.

[Slo-go'en]

Cheap solar garden lights only weigh a few ounces. Carried on the back of the pack you can usually get enough sun for it to stay on for at least a few hours. These are most effective in the spring and fall when there aren't a lot of leaves on the trees yet. During the summer it stays light out late enough I don't think there is much call for a night light.

[AllDownhillFromHere]

I have a Luci, not exactly ultralight at 5 or 6 oz, but definitely awesome as a camp light.

[Cosmo]

Why inflict your light on everyone else? Use a headlamp and keep it out of other people's faces and tents. Some of us enjoy the natural darkness away from town lights--it's a Nature thing.

Cosmo

[Hatchet_1697]

Headlamp and this crushable reflective lamp shade is the lightest I’ve found at 0.3 oz. Works well for small areas.

https://www.montbell.us/products/disp.php?cat_id=14072&p_id=1124622

If you carry an external battery w/USB (phone charger) these are bright and light at 5g each.

DROK® 5PCS 3LEDS Handy USB LED Night Light 5V 150mA 6000k Pocket Nightlight with USB C... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0179CK3LC/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_tai_1s-7zb...

These are good at car camping sites or remote areas where you’re the only camp for miles, but please be respectful and don’t add light pollution to everyone else’s wilderness experience. I have them but rarely use them.



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[saltysack]

No need......if you want a diffused light then hook your head lamp or photon to your empty Gatorade bottle.


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[Brownnatep]

Thanks for the reply's! Yes I should have been clearer with my question....actually looking for something with less light than 3 or 4 head lights running at the same time. I agree with the minimal lighting completely! Thanks for the Luci comments. I think I will buy one of those and test it to see if its a calm glow.

[Time Zone]

Does anyone have any recommends for low power low weight camp site lighting. I know camp fires are restricted in many places and I have been trying to research a LED type system for general light around the camp site. Thanks for any advise!

How low power?

You can get LED tealights, 10 of them for $10 at bed & bath stores. The ones I have weigh 10g and put out a nice yellow light like a candle flame. I doubt they're bright enough enough to read by, though. They can be a cheap source of CR2032 coin/button cell batteries too, if you have other needs like FitBits and so forth.

My question is - what's the cheap DIY solution to turning your bright LED headlamp into a softer, diffused light? I know I can buy the shade for $14, but I suspect there's another way to do it ... perhaps some type of paper or plastic wrapped around it. Not sure a cylinder shape matters, at least to me ... I can't hang mine without it getting in my way - my tent is just big enough at the apex for me to sit up in there. My head and a hanging lamp can't occupy the same space.

[Time Zone]

PS gatorade bottle ... not sure how that would work. It's clear, so it wouldn't diffuse so much, and I doubt mine would fit inside the neck

[Slo-go'en]

A milk jug uses the right kind of plastic to diffuse light.

I went old school on my last couple of over nighters this fall and used my old candle lantern (after tracking down replacement candles). I was bivy camping and with it hung on a near-by low branch gave enough light to move around and made for a nice ambience.

[Leo L.]

My daughter bought me an inflatable solar charged camp lamp for birthday.
Tried it once or twice, but honestly, I usually enjoy the dark more than artifical light.

While doing actual camp chores I use the headlamp (at the lowest setting) or the smartphone.

[gwb]

I use a Snow Peak Mini Hozuki. It's pricey but I found a deal somewhere. It's light weight, for a camp luxury. It's held up well over the last couple of years. I really like it when laying in my tent and its also nice to leave it on for the early morning starts. If you wander off to take care of business the light makes it easy to find your tent.

[jjozgrunt]

Come the dark, come the bed, no need for a camp light.

[saltysack]

PS gatorade bottle ... not sure how that would work. It's clear, so it wouldn't diffuse so much, and I doubt mine would fit inside the neck

I does work some but a more opaque material like a milk jug would work better.. I heard of somehow using a ballon but yet to try....as others said if it’s dark I’m walking or sleeping...


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[rocketsocks]

Found a string of battery powered lights at my local drugstore, 50% off $2.99 final price, has about 15 led’s. Look in seasonal.

[Christoph]

I strapped my headlamp around my Gatorade bottle and filled it with water. Pleanty of ambient light and you don't bother others by a bright LED shining around.

[saltysack]

I strapped my headlamp around my Gatorade bottle and filled it with water. Pleanty of ambient light and you don't bother others by a bright LED shining around.

Just add lil Gatorade powder.......got colored lights...


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[Slo-go'en]

Come the dark, come the bed, no need for a camp light.

Unless you hike in the fall when it gets dark around 5 PM.

[HooKooDooKu]

Not sure if this is the answer you're looking for, but if you want an LED headlamp that is low weight, my I recommend the Black Diamond Ion Headlamp.
There are headlamps that are lighter, but this is only of the smaller head lamps and only requires 2 AAA batteries to operate and it has a pretty strong light. Haven't tried using mine for night time hiking, so I can say if it is good or bad for that. But it's been great around the camp... and l love that it has a feature that allows you to lock the light so that it doesn't accidentally get turned on while in your pack during the day.

As for the Gatoraid Bottle, when its full of water, all that water acts like a prism. It doesn't diffuse the light the way an opaque milk jug does, but the prism effect helps to spread the light out.

[BuckeyeBill]

Thanks for the reply's! Yes I should have been clearer with my question....actually looking for something with less light than 3 or 4 head lights running at the same time. I agree with the minimal lighting completely! Thanks for the Luci comments. I think I will buy one of those and test it to see if its a calm glow.

Maglite (http://maglite.com)makes a kit for their Minimag AA flashlight with both red and blue lens covers that tones down the brightness quite a bit. For a DIY find some translucent red and blue plastic and cut it to cover what ever kind of light you have.

[BuckeyeBill]

Sorry here is the link for the accessory kit (http://maglite.com/shop/parts-and-accessories/maglite-2-cell-d-test-accessory-1626.html#.WfDD23ZryUk).

[Greenlight]

I'm with the earlier poster who mentioned solar garden lights. They are soft enough that they don't bother the eyes, and powerful enough to see most of what you need to see once your eyes adjust.

[Time Zone]

Maglite (http://maglite.com)makes a kit for their Minimag AA flashlight with both red and blue lens covers that tones down the brightness quite a bit. For a DIY find some translucent red and blue plastic and cut it to cover what ever kind of light you have.

A great time to get such plastic is February 15 when lots of red-plastic wrapped chocolates go on clearance at your local grocery store. Amateur astronomers often recommend it to star party visitors for a cheap DIY way of turning a white flashlight into a red light that doesn't affect your night vision, or at least not so much.

[cmoulder]

Better just to get a headlamp with one of its options being a broad-coverage, low-power setting. The BD Spot has a bunch of options (incl broad beam) and the heavy headband can be swapped out for some 2mm shock cord, making it a very flexible and powerful (200 lumens, if needed) lamp that weighs 2.1oz with lithium batteries (with the 2mm shock cord headband).

Packs start getting heavy when non-essential, "gee, that'd be nice!" items start working their way onto the gear list. :o

[squeezebox]

besides a headlamp, I have a 1 oz maglight knockoff. I keep it hooked to the tent ceiling loop. I always know where it is. Real nice for finding my tent if I take a night time pee break.

[saltysack]

Better just to get a headlamp with one of its options being a broad-coverage, low-power setting. The BD Spot has a bunch of options (incl broad beam) and the heavy headband can be swapped out for some 2mm shock cord, making it a very flexible and powerful (200 lumens, if needed) lamp that weighs 2.1oz with lithium batteries (with the 2mm shock cord headband).

Packs start getting heavy when non-essential, "gee, that'd be nice!" items start working their way onto the gear list. :o

Any pics of that shock cord set up ....assume not adjustable...love my 300lm zebra light single AA..only 1.5 oz with out head strap but strap almost weighs as much as light....1oz...


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[cmoulder]

Any pics of that shock cord set up ....assume not adjustable...love my 300lm zebra light single AA..only 1.5 oz with out head strap but strap almost weighs as much as light....1oz...


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lol, most headbands are mega massive overkill... (except for the e+Lite)

Actually it is somewhat adjustable... need only tie one side with a half hitch on a bight (think 'half a shoe lace' :)) and it can be changed. The little filed section in the middle of the plastic frame (2nd photo) prevents the shock cord from sliding down, keeping it in the center. Takes minimal trial-and-error to get it perfect.

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