View Full Version : Flashlight
Any recommendation on a lightweight, fairly priced, fairly long lasting flashlight?
risingsun
04-22-2011, 23:35
Headlamp or hand held?
I've bought Surefire but now like Fenix.
garlic08
04-23-2011, 00:00
Take a look at this: www.hybridlight.com. I won one at a trail building raffle and it's acting like it's a winner for a handheld. They said they got it at Costco, a two-pack for $20. I don't have a scale, but it feels about the same weight as my Petzl with three AAAs. The hybrid light only has a couple of lithium watch batteries so very little battery weight. It's been working great for the first month I've had it. It's many times brighter than my Petzl.
there's a thousand of them. Hard to go wrong.
Panzer
300winmag
04-23-2011, 01:41
Get a small headlamp like the Princeton Tec Scout that uses 4 coin batteries. It's very light. (And you DO want less weight, right?) Also it has 2 brightness settings and strobe. Four spare coin batteries weigh an ounce.
Face it, holding a flashlight in your mouth while you drool all over it is not fun. Don't ask me how I know. ;)
Eric
Rocket Jones
04-23-2011, 09:05
Energizer has a headlamp at Walmart for less than $5.00. It'll do the job. For backup and handheld, I recommend the Photon Freedom (http://www.photonlight.com/products/Photon-Freedom-Micro-LED-Keychain-Flashlight.html). Light, tiny, versitile.
Energizer has a headlamp at Walmart for less than $5.00. It'll do the job. For backup and handheld, I recommend the Photon Freedom (http://www.photonlight.com/products/Photon-Freedom-Micro-LED-Keychain-Flashlight.html). Light, tiny, versitile.
I'm with RJ. For section hiking I primarily use my Princeton Tec EOS headlamp (3.5 oz w lithiums) and a Photon Freedom for backup (.25 oz). My son has the Energizer and it has served him well at a great price. When I first started section hiking I realized I had to recalibrate myself on what a flashlight is for. When I was a kid I thought a flashlight had to light up the whole outdoors and now just want illumination of my workspace - setting up tent/hammock, cooking, reading, etc. I use the headlamp for night hiking all the time.
I recently bought a Merkava II tritium Glowring (.03 oz), and am thinking of attaching it to the outside of my pack as a help in locating my gear when I step away. Ah who am I kidding - it's a toy but how cool is a glowing stick that stays on for ten years! It's very faint but noticeable as a homing beacon.
I like the Princeton tech stuff. I know many people go with the lightest/most minimal light, but I prefer a AAA powered headlamp that allows me to hike at night.
Headlamp or hand held?
Second person to pose above question.
And, also, what are the functions most important to you (besides what you said above):
Size
Brightness
Waterproofness
Durability
Cost
Any other features you'd like?
Personally, I carry a Princeton Tec Eos most of the time myself.
I have a very light headlamp which is called Cyclops, which I carry "just in case" on daytrips, but it has coin cell batteries which are expensive, so I don't use it much.
The Princeton Tec headlamp uses standard AAA batteries (inexpensive).
By the way, the eGear PICO LED Zipper Lite is a nice little light comparable to the Photon Freedom. REI had a sale on them yesterday for less than $5 http://www.rei.com/product/803136/egear-pico-led-zipper-lite Doug Ritter uses them in his Personal Survival Kits, a strong endorsement IMO.
mweinstone
04-23-2011, 15:18
flashlight? whats that? you mean headlamp? then you want black diamond.
Great ideas! I picked up one of those energizers from WalMart! Thanks for the tips