![\"\"](\"http:\/\/richard.rathe.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/sam-with-the-phial-of-galadriel.jpg\")
- I’m not too fond of headlamps<\/strong> for a few reasons\u2026 they are generally too bright when you are working close, shine in peoples faces when you look up, and kill your night vision.<\/li>
- I’ve had at least a dozen flashlights over the years that have failed, about of half of those failed out in the woods<\/strong> when I needed them. Last trip I had two fail when we were caught out after dark with kayak problems, and a third failed the next day. So that’s three in 24 hours! Some were inexpensive, unknown brands, etc. Caveat Emptor<\/strong> applies obviously.<\/li>
- For the past several years I’ve relied on small cylindrical flashlights<\/strong> from recognized\/trusted brands (Fenix, others\u2026). They are simple machined aluminum tubes<\/strong> with threaded o-ring sealed caps, which makes them very resilient. They also have smart power management<\/strong> electronics so they don’t just go dark but fade out slowly as the battery dies (they “degrade gracefully” as we say in computer science).<\/li>
- Try to avoid on\/off buttons<\/strong> (they get pushed in your pack and then you’ve got a dead light). Twist on\/off<\/strong> is much less likely to fail!<\/li>
- I put my light on a lanyard<\/strong> that I wear around my neck so it is always ready even if I’m not using it. When turned on I let it hang down<\/strong>, which gives enough light to see where my feet are going and I can hold things near\/in the beam to work on, read maps, etc. If I really need to point it at something while I work I put it between my lips.<\/li>
- When I’m camping I generally try to minimize flashlight use<\/strong>\u2026 I’ve learned to pitch my hammock in the dark for example. I might need 30 sec of light to see where to put a strap on a tree, that sort of thing.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
Here are a few pictures to help illustrate the above…<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/richard.rathe.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/flashlight-thoughts-01.jpg\")
Fenix E05 with Lanyard<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n Short lanyard so it hangs at my sternum<\/strong>. Note the knot, this is tied so it will breakaway<\/strong> if you pull on it hard. Better to lose the flashlight than be strangled by it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/richard.rathe.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/flashlight-thoughts-02.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nKeep the barrel about 1\/2 turn back from “on” when not in use to prevent accidental discharge<\/strong> in a purse\/pack\/etc. You can turn it to just before “on” and then use thumb pressure<\/strong> to turn it on\/off as needed (like walking on a trail). Your thumb can also attenuate the amount of light coming out. Cover the light completely for a night vision-saving red filter<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/richard.rathe.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/flashlight-thoughts-04.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nI recently obtained little diffuser caps<\/strong> for this size flashlight. They turn the beam into an area light (for tent, picnic table, etc.)\u2026 Basically an electric candle<\/strong>. (Note that this flashlight stands upright on a level surface without support.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/richard.rathe.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/flashlight-thoughts-06.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nAnd as a bonus… the caps glow in the dark!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/richard.rathe.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/flashlight-thoughts-07.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Some thoughts on camping flashlights… I’m not too fond of headlamps for a few reasons\u2026 they are generally too bright when you are working close, shine in peoples faces when you look up, and kill your night vision. I’ve had at least a dozen flashlights over the years that have failed, about of half of … Continue reading “Flashlight Thoughts”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[268,409,47],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8814","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-camping","category-how-to","category-reviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/redmangrove.org\/rathe.org\/richard\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8814","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/redmangrove.org\/rathe.org\/richard\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/redmangrove.org\/rathe.org\/richard\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redmangrove.org\/rathe.org\/richard\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redmangrove.org\/rathe.org\/richard\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8814"}],"version-history":[{"count":22,"href":"https:\/\/redmangrove.org\/rathe.org\/richard\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8814\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8842,"href":"https:\/\/redmangrove.org\/rathe.org\/richard\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8814\/revisions\/8842"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/redmangrove.org\/rathe.org\/richard\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8814"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redmangrove.org\/rathe.org\/richard\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8814"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redmangrove.org\/rathe.org\/richard\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8814"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
- I’ve had at least a dozen flashlights over the years that have failed, about of half of those failed out in the woods<\/strong> when I needed them. Last trip I had two fail when we were caught out after dark with kayak problems, and a third failed the next day. So that’s three in 24 hours! Some were inexpensive, unknown brands, etc. Caveat Emptor<\/strong> applies obviously.<\/li>