Got an LED flashlight yet?

[KoreaScouter]

One of my ASMs brought one to Spring Camporee, and I was smitten! Push the weatherproof on/off button, and a warm flood of very white light spills from a mini-mag sized flashlight. It's a flood rather than a spot, so it's great for reading, searching for lost/dropped whatevers. The 3 LEDs are guaranteed for 100,000 hours, so you don't need to carry extras. It runs on N-cell photo batteries, and they just don't seem to wear out (maybe it's 'cuz the LEDs draw so little power).

 

The light is unbelievably bright for its size -- the wavelength or spectrum or something is such that the light is so much more brilliant than that from a mini-mag or other flashlight.

 

One of the best things is the price; right around $20 for the mini-mag size.

 

Check these out if you haven't already...

 

KS

[SR540Beaver]

Yep, seen then in the store and played with them. They are cool. Have you seen the "shake" lights? They don't use a battery. They have a magnet that passes thru a coil to generate and hold electricity in a capacitor. You shake it for 30 seconds to a minute to get light for a certain amount of time. They use an LED also. The one I saw is practically indestructible. They had an ad with 18 wheelers running over it.

 

Here is a website for one:

 

http://notanumberinc.com/shakelight/revamp/index.shtml(This message has been edited by kwc57)

[KoreaScouter]

You gotta get in the dark with these things to really appreciate them...play with them in the store and all they'll generate is a "gee, that's cute...".

 

An 18-wheeler, huh? Okay, but are they Scout-proof?

 

KS

[SR540Beaver]

I've yet to see ANY product that is scout proof!

[fotoscout]

My wife wont let me by any more toys, so I bought one for my son. Its the headlamp style, and wow what a light. This one runs off of 2 maybe 3 AAAs. The battery life seems to be endless.

 

The earlier models had no throw to them. Although this one is still more of flood than a spot, it does seem to throw enough light out in front to be useful while your on the trail. I think its an Aurora. Oh yeah, I really like the white light.

 

[Advisor Jim]

I bought a Princeton Tec Aurora LED headlamp about 2 years ago. Everybody I show it to says that is an awesome light. I now have 2 one for Venturing and one for the boat for night fishing.

Bought my wife one,my brotherinlaw, my father, awesome gifts for people!!

If you look around you can get these lightweight headlamps for under $20

Cheap gifts that are well liked by all that recieve them. Work awesome around the house or whenever you need a light some place but you don't have 3 hands.

 

I highly recommend this item to all

 

Jim

Advisor

Venturing Crew 80

Germantown WI.

Gander Mountain Charter

[eisely]

I have had an LED headlamp for two years now. My only complaint about it is that it doesn't throw clear shadows. This makes going over rough terrain in the dark a little bit more dicey. But for food prep, reading, playing cards, and general camp work in the dark, they are outstanding.

[ammPilot]

I've used an LED flashlight for several years, as a private pilot. My first, several years ago, is a very small unit that mounts on a headset's boom microphone; you can change between a night-vision green LED and a white xenon lamp with the flick of a switch. A friend and I also modified a small incandescent flashlight that mounts to a headset earcup, swapping an LED (with current limiting resistor) for the bulb.

 

There are now innumerable LED flashlights, ranging from the little key fob things to headlamps to large flashlights with many LEDs ganged in parallel.

 

I highly recommend LED flashlights. No bulbs to break, vastly lower current drain. They're typically a bit more expensive, but if you use yours frequently, you'll actually make up the price difference just in lower battery costs.

 

- Alan

 

[Owl62]

I have several LED Lights as there are many advanges to using them over incandescent lights - mainly because the LED "bulb" almost never burns out and batteries last MUCH longer with LED lights.

 

My personal LED favorites are:

 

Photon MicroLights. They are very small and light, make excellent key chain or necklace lights, use watch type lithium batteries. Come in three basic types I, II, and III. I is activated only by squeezing the housing. II is activated by a small slide switch, III is activated either by squeezing the housing and holding it or pressing on the other part of the housing and the light will stay on. The III also has three different levels of brightness and three speed of flashing. Photons come with several different colored lights. There is also a covert version that throws a beam and the buld is surounded buy a little tube.

 

I always have a Photon on a chain around my neck. I also put a small dot of velcro on one, with the other dot of velcro on the underside of the brim of all my Scouting and outdoors hats. Make a great little headlight!

 

I also have a LED headlight made by Eveready. Uses three AAA alkaline batteries. has two white lights and one red. Very light, and inexpensive - about $15. I have another LED headlight by RAY-O=VAC that is similar to the Eveready but adds a small 1" reflector with a high intensity bulb (similar to the reflector head of a minimag light. Also uses three AAA batteries. - the high intensity buld burns up the batteries. These LED headlights are MUCH less than other brands and work as well if not better. They are usally available at the regular discount and sporting goods stores.

 

I also have a small Eveready Energizer Folding LED light. Looks like a minature version of their folding fluorescent lantern but this one has two LED tubes. Uses 3 AA batteries and is about the size of a deck of playing card. You can run on either one bulb or two. Runs about 200 hours on a set of batteries. Makes a great tent light in a backpacking tent.

 

I have a few others too, but those are my favorites. I still find myself carrying a regular 2 AA MiniMag light in a belt pouch. - More out of habit than anything.

 

These LEDs are great!

 

 

 

 

[Blaze66]

eisely, I had that same problem with the first led head lamp I bought. I had a Petzl Tikka and I loved it, but the first time I really needed it for night time navigation, it was all but useless. SO when I got back home I bought a Petzl MYO. Best of both worlds. You get the halogen main light for navigation and wide area flood, and it has the three led task light for reading, cooking general around camp stuff. It's like American Express, I never leave home without it!

[OneHour]

Got one from Academy for $14.95 last summer. Still on the first set of AAs! Got an LED headlamp for xmas. Ran it fairly regularly ... still on that first set of AAAs!

 

 

[Owl62]

I currently recommend LED lights to all new Scouts and Scouters.

 

While they cost a bit more, the cost is more than made up for in batteries. The average LED runs about 20 times longer on a set of batteries than does a regular flashlight.

 

I always carry a Photon Micro-Light III on a neck chain and an Eveready LED White/red light headlight now. For my tent I use an Eveready Folding LED light. Not only do these light work well but they take up little space, last a long time on between battery changes, and weigh very little.

 

 

 

 

[KA6BSA]

Many of the smaller Led array head lamps are really good for use as a "work lamp" giving enough light just in the closeby area with all the battery-saving advantages. One of my favorites for long battery life hanging inside your tent is the CMG Bonfire original yellow or the new white/red version. They are really great for that particular use getting your gear organized or reading in bed. I actually like the original yellow one better because of the warm cheery light. The white/red version gives you a distinct choice for battery life but the red light is difficult to focus your eyes for any detailed work.(This message has been edited by KA6BSA)

[Proud Eagle]

I have yet to get and LED. I had a bad experience with head lamps early in my Scouting Carree. An adult in the troop loved them and made very good use of them, so I went and got one. I never really liked the thing.

 

Once all the LEDs started coming out, my general thoughts were, "oh, neat, but too expensive". Then the prices started coming down and people actually started buying the things. I still haven't bought one because none of them really seems to produce as much light as I like. Also, all of the ones I have seen are far nearer to blue than white. I am really not a fan of blue light. It seems all it is good for is blinding people.

 

However, all of you can't be wrong, so perhaps I will look into it.

 

I still like my MAGs. I keep a mini-MAG in my book-bag, one in my apartment, and one in the center console of my car. I also keep a 4-D cell MAG in my trunk. For things like organizing a tent, or setting up camp, I have a Coleman battery powered lantern with a pair of 4" fluorescent tubes. It would be great if MAG would come up with a LED conversion kit for their lights.

[KA6BSA]

There are some Led conversions for the mini-maglite. One I have bought is the Opalec Newbeam kit for $20. It seems to do the job... saving battery life and getting rid of those fussy tiny little bulbs that go black with age or just burn out when you most need the light. Another very small single-AA cell Led that I like is the CMG Infinity Ultra (REI for $20). It comes in a pretty green anodized aluminum case, has a nice an umproved white light bright enough for simple tasks around camp, and has tremendous battery life of 100 hours. I wear one on a lanyard around my neck so it is handy when needed. My son got a Princeton Tech Impact II (REI for $22) that uses 4 AAA's and has a well designed lens in front of the Leds to put the little beam out there... they claim 50 yards, and we find it very usable for a walk around camp in the dark.