Lights For Hiking

[watchmaker]

Originally Posted by Bumpsis

thanks for the feedback, watchmaker.
All these flashlights and binoculars must cost you a fortune. Although, quite a few members of these forums are serious equipment/gadget nuts, you, sir, most definitely take the cake!
But then, without your participation, I'd still be wondering about that LED upgrade, so keep on..
By the way, what's your knife collection like?

Thank you.
Knife collection is big.

Cheers
Watcmaker

[watchmaker]

POWERFUL FLASHLIGHTS
BEAR CUB 220 LUMENS AND SUREFIRE M-4, 225 LUMENS

Hi guys,
I have been testing recently two lights that are very similar in output, although the beam pattern is more open in one of them, and the supply of power is very different from the other.

I am a flashaholic, a disease that is kept in check only by buying and using lights, as I own more than two hundred of them; I am well aware what is good and for what purpose.
Even that these lights are a little big for regular pocket carry, they are excellent lights to carry in a pack if a very powerful light is needed.
The M-4 with the 225 lumens lamp is what I have used for years with satisfaction, except for the $8 per hour that cost to run this light with the four 123’s batteries.

THE SUREFIRE M-4 AND THE RECHARGEABLE BEAR CUB




The M-4 is 9 inches long and quite light in weight, it has a stippled reflector that diffuses the light into a flood, which in my opinion is more flood than it is needed; I would like to see this light marketed with a smooth reflector for more useable throw.
The light is made out of aluminum and anodized with the military type III of hard anodized that leaves the light a green-grey non reflective color.
The Surefire M-4 cost $330 in the Surefire web site and anywhere else.
For more about the Surefire M-4 contact Surefire at www.surefire.com

BEAMSHOTS FROM 26 YARDS, CAMERA AT 12 FEET FROM DEER

BEAMSHOT OF THE SUREFIRE M-4




The rechargeable Bear Cub is made by Black Bear Flashlights; it uses two state of the art Lithium Ion rechargeable batteries for 90 minutes run time outputting 220 lumens. This light is made
using the “host” of a maglite 2 C, which means than after years of hard use when the light is scratched or dented, you can renew it just by buying a new “host” for about $14.00.
The light is also 9 inches long, it has a smooth reflector that concentrates the beam and shoots it a long way.
The light is sold with a Li Ion charger that will charge the batteries in 3 ½ hours, so it is no problem to have it ready for the next morning, fully charged. These batteries last for 1,000 recharges so you have 1500 hours of use before needing another set of batteries.
Before the M-4 can run for 1500 hours it will have spend $12,000 in batteries!
Extra lightweight Lithium Ion rechargeable batteries cost $30 per pair, so carrying an extra pair in a pocket will give you another 90 minutes of white intense light.
When these lights are not used in the trails they make a formidable tactical light for home defense, with the capability of momentarily blinding an opponent.
The Bear Cub is available from the maker for $130 shipped, for more about this light contact www.BlackBearFlashlights.com

BEAMSHOT OF THE BEAR CUB





All the best
Watchmaker

[watchmaker]

For hikers in a very low budget, this is a great light.



DORCY METAL GEAR
1 WATT LUXEON LED FLASHLIGHT

I was walking by the flashlight aisle at Wal-Mart, when I spotted a side rack of these lights and I was instantly attracted because the Dorcy name is recognized as an innovative and progressive name in flashlights having put out in the market quality items before for no too much money.

The light is all made out of metal and is quite heavy (no aluminum here) the package will not say how much it weights, and my electronic fish scale refused to work today Sunday, so I am only guessing it at about 7 oz.




The light works with three AAA batteries that are included in the package, after unscrewing the clicky tail cap you discover a battery carrier for the 3 AAA and after installing them and closing the tail cap you have good illumination.

It is given in the package at 45 lumens and I think that is right, the beam is white enough without any tint of yellow or purple, nowhere in the package is run time mentioned, but I estimate it at five hours, which is a lot.
As I always use Nimh rechargeable batteries the runtime I get is guilt free, this light is a good value and is well made, yes the clip look a little cheap, but it works fine and is very sturdy, it was clamping my pants without a belt securely enough that I was not afraid of losing the light.

It is plenty of flat surfaces in the light, so it is anti-roll, a good feature, another thing I like is the “tactical” click tail cap, the action is very positive.

As always I took a beam shot at 26 yards from my deer head, you can make comparisons with the others lights in the thread, to see how this one perform.



Before I close, I want to tell you about one of the nicest features of the light, the price.
I just pay only $4.00 for it, a bargain for a light of this quality.

Best
Watchmaker

[watchmaker]

3 LED CAP LIGHT
BY MASTER VISION

I have seem them advertised in several catalogues, but never actually used one, and I wanted to know how good the light was and how practical for hunting or hiking.

The cap light is drive by two coin cell batteries # 2032 and reported to last for 75 hours, WOW!
The light weight 1.24 oz. with the batteries installed, which it will endear to many ultra lights hikers, the instructions also report 36,000 Millumes (which I have never hear of them before) as in the industry we use lumens or candlepower to measure the output from lights.

The three LED’s are adjusted to focus at a central spot at close distance and the “white light” has a strong tint of purple.

The light can be clipped only in the underneath of the cap, as if trying to put it on the top of the bill the curved casing will prevent the clips from engaging. I will have preferred that the light be in top of the bill, but in use it really didn’t put any annoying reflections into my eyes.




The cost of the light is only $9,99 so it may be unfair to compare it to my Peltz Tikka with 3 LED’s but that is what I had used for years to hike well marked trails.
My Tikka is a much whiter light and with much more throw in the beam, this light maximum range will be about 20 feet, I shudder to think that some people will use it for hunting and get lost as a reward.

For chores inside the house it will be okay, I see this light could be a help in looking inside the hood of the car and for working at replacing a switch in the wall.



This time it will not be any beam shots as the light is so poor unless is in top of the target that will interfere with the camera.
The information about the run time of 75 hours is printed in the back of the package, while in the interior of the sheet of paper the instructions in English and Spanish give the runtime as 24-36 hours.

Best regards

Watchmaker

[watchmaker]

THE PHOENIX LANTERN
WITH MOTION SENSOR

Hi guys,
I gave this little lantern to my son a few years ago, when he was out camping with the Boy Scouts.
This summer we had opportunity to use it again (after rediscovering it wrapped in a sleeping bag) when we went camping in the Adirondacks Mountains of N.Y.

The motion sensor part of the light come in handy to watch a family of raccoons feeding in some table scraps that we had placed at certain distance. The light been where the food was, every time that they come up to the food, the sensor will detect the motion and light up the scene. That way we in complete darkness were able to watch the raccoons and had a good time.

The light function for five hours on two AA batteries, and for 200 hours in the sensor mode, the rocker switch have on, off, and sensor.
It weights 3 oz without the batteries and the size is 4” by 2.2”. It comes with the cord to hang the lantern from the ceiling of the tent, that way when you move at night it will illuminate the tent without you having to search in the dark for a light.

CMG (Course made good) Phoenix motion sensing lantern.



Cheers
Watchmaker

[watchmaker]

THE BOREALIS FLASHLIGHT, 1050 LUMENS

Three years ago the Borealis flashlight was conceived to be the most powerful military/police flashlight in the world. At 1050 lumens the beam of light is very similar to a two million candlepower spotlight, all that power cased in a 12 ½ inches long, 28 oz. light, that will run for 50 minutes before needing a recharge. Then the light uses a fast RC charger that does the job of recharging the high current batteries in 90 minutes.

Three years ago everybody was in awe of the Surefire M-6, a military/police light that makes 500 lumens for 20 minutes run time on six disposable 123’s batteries, at a cost of almost $12 per twenty minutes run.
When the agency pays for the batteries, all is well, but for the civilians that wanted to have those mega lumens of light, there was no option. Black Bear Flashlights wanted to produce a rechargeable light that surpassed the M-6 and still be affordable for those with mortgages and families, and the result was the Borealis 1050 lumens flashlight.

The light was conceived to make use of a well known flashlight shell that is available anywhere, that way after years of hard use, the shell can be replaced for less than $20 USD and in ten minutes of the owner’s time.
The super-bulb that is almost 3 ½ amps needs some very powerful batteries; those nine AA batteries of high current are housed inside a Rolls Royce battery carrier that has also a charging port on the negative side. Plugging the RC fast charger in this port for 90 minutes, will recharge the powerful AA Nimh batteries.

THE ROLLS ROYCE BATTERY CARRIER AND THE RC FAST CHARGER





The Borealis also has some especial components to cope with the increased heat from the bulb. A ceramic switch/bulb holder, a solid aluminum reflector and a Pyrex lens, take care of the high temperature issue.


The BOREALIS is the highest intensity incandescent flashlight available in the market. Some HID’s lights throw more lumens, but those are considered searchlights and not flashlights; as a HID can take as much as 30 seconds to start up, they are NOT instantaneous as the incandescent flashlights are.

HERE ARE SOME COMPARISON BEAM SHOTS AT 35 YARDS WITH THE MOST POWERFUL MILITARY/POLICE FLASHLIGHTS.
THE CONTENDERS FROM LEFT;
MAGLITE 3 D, MAGCHARGER, ULTRA STINGER, SUREFIRE M-6, AND BOREALIS




MAGLITE 3 D (the most popular police flashlight)




MAGCHARGER




ULTRA STINGER




SUREFIRE M-6




BOREALIS RECHARGEABLE








Black Bear Flashlights spends several hours on each light working on fixing all the internal resistance issues and pro-gold all contacts and components for an increased conductivity. This results in their trademark of intense WHITE light as more voltage reaches the super-bulb. This bulb is not a flashlight bulb, but one made for powerful medical instruments.

THE BOREALIS ROYAL MODEL, WITH THE NEW LOW PROFILE STAINLESS STEEL CRENELLATED BEZEL AND QUICK DETACH SWIVEL.




Police officers have adopted the Borealis for its tremendous throw and flood capabilities; hunters have abandoned their spotlights for the easy carrying of the Borealis, and civilians looking for a powerful light for the car or for home defense are flocking to the Borealis flashlight.
Respectfully

Watchmaker

[watchmaker]

I found another independent review of the Borealis flashlight.


http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/...d.php?t=220352

Cheers
Watchmaker

[watchmaker]

ULTRA FIRE FMR1 REBEL LUXEON
200 LUMENS
ONE CR 123 A BATTERY

I bought this light from Deal Extreme for $23.24 shipped. I was very curious to try one of the Rebel 200 lumen new Luxeons and I think this is the best way to try one inexpensively.

The light has a click on, click off switch and five modes of intensities. The low mode is 30 lumens and is said to last for 24 hours. Another is 100 lumens for six hours, and the 200 lumens mode is three hours; then you have a strobe mode and an SOS mode.

I used a new Battery Station 123 and in the high 200 mode it lasted for ½ an hour, and it gets hot very quick. I don’t know if the poor run time is the fault of the battery that was under-charged, or if the light will perform the same with others 123’s, but that is the results I got.




Due to the small head, the flood effect is quite pronounced and the throw is poor for a 200 lumen light, but I was expecting it to be that way based on experience with other small headed keychain-type lights.




Two hundred lumens in a two inch head of an incandescent will put a level of illumination that is tremendous in comparison to the small head of the Rebel 200 lumens. So we are in a time when we can no longer make an assessment based on the lumens figure, that is when the comparison pictures that I have been taken show the value, as the viewer can see for himself how the different lights with the same value in lumens output perform in real life.

If I consider the low price I like the little light in general, excepting the side switch that can be a little hard to find in a rush, as it is kind of recessed in the head of the light and difficult to find by feel alone. I will have preferred a tail switch such as I have in my Fenix L1D, but it is a tremendous price difference between the two lights, so all things considered I think that the Ultra fire is a great value, and I can put up with the side switch.

After trying to like the clip for a couple of weeks, I ended throwing it away, it is too flimsy and I will not trust it to keep the light in my pocket. The light is regular anodized, but had stood well the use in my pocket with keys and coins.

Here is my usual 26-yard beam shot against my deer head with the Ultra Fire 200 lumens




And here is a beam shot with the 220 lumens Bear Cub rechargeable that sport a two inch head and have a range of 150 yards.




All the best,
Watchmaker

[watchmaker]

STREAMLIGHT TWIN TASK 2 L

It is easy for me to do an objective review of this light. I have been using a couple of them for two years, quite often (not exclusively because I own other lights also for everyday use).

The light has performed extremely well for me. The Twin Task uses for power two lithium 3 volts, 123 batteries, and it have two light sources, one xenon bulb of 72 lumens and three Nichia 5mm LED’s of about 7 lumens each.
The LED mode will last for 28 hours (I have to take the word of the manufacturer for this, because I haven’t done a run time that long). And the Xenon bulb’s run time will last for 2 ½ hours.
The light is quite comfortable in the hand and similar to others 123’s lights, measuring 1.34” wide and 5.43“ long, and weighing at 3.37 oz.

Due to the micro-faceted reflector, the flood with the three LED’s or the Xenon bulb is ample. If you don’t have to illuminate things at a distance the light is useful for chores inside the house or in the campsite or trail.
I have used it mostly with the three LED’s and I have come to believe the run time of 28 hours claimed by the manufacturer because after two years of sporadic use the light is still going in the same battery set.

The switch is on top of the head, as this is not a “tactical” light I found the switch convenient, so does my wife, that have the same model but in Titanium finish.
The focus is adjustable, but even in the tight setting the light have a lot of flood. I have lend my second light to my hunting pal Frank, that left it on the three stand for a week, on returning the light it was just the same in finish having weathered the week without any mark or discoloration. So, I didn’t have any problem dunking it for a couple of hours in a big glass of water to see if it really was waterproof, and yes, it was, so far at this depth.



The beam shot at 26 yards using the xenon bulb doesn’t look impressive at all, and that is because the reflector is designed for extreme flood, but that is okay, this light is mostly for using indoors, walking the dog or for hiking a trail at the most.




In this picture one of my Twin Task have a Velcro tape, this match with the Velcro in my baseball cap, and allow me to have my hands free for doing any chores while directing the illumination where I am looking.



The street price is about $32 USD and I think that it is quite reasonable for the quality of the product, based on my experience with it I can recommend it highly.

Best regards

Watchmaker

[watchmaker]

THE BLACK BEAR 720 LUMENS
RECHARGEABLE FLASHLIGHT

The Black Bear 720 lumens flashlight is 10 inch long and weights 23 oz. It has all the same high quality state of the art components as its bigger sister the Borealis 1050 lumens.

The Black Bear is made on the “host” of the Maglite 2 D., which is one of the advantages of the Black Bear System, as when after hard use, if the light is scratched or dented, a new host can be replaced inexpensively available almost anywhere, and the transfer of parts takes only ten minutes of the owner’s time.

The only difference between the Borealis and the Black Bear 720 (beside the shorter length) is in the shorter Rolls Royce battery carrier (for six batteries) and the reduced voltage super-bulbs.
The light has a 40 minutes run time and outputs an incredible 720 lumens, all this with rechargeable Nimh in the Rolls Royce battery carrier. This unit plugs into the charger for a 4 ½ hours charge.

THE BLACK BEAR 720, ROLLS ROYCE BATTERY CARRIER AND CHARGER




It is almost impossible to talk about the Black Bear 720 without mention its closest competition, the Surefire M-6.
The Surefire M-6 is well known in the tactical circles as the light used by SWAT teams and Special Forces, This light that cost close to $400, is 500 lumens for a run time of 20 minutes, running on six disposable 123 batteries, yes that is right! it uses six batteries, a value of $12 for a 20 minutes run time.

THE BB720 IS NOT MUCH LARGER THAN THE M-6, AND IT HAS A BETTER BATTERY CARRIER




Clearly, the Black Bear 720 lumens is a better value as the batteries are rechargeable, with a life of 1.000 recharges and the run time is of 40 minutes.
When the BB 720 needs new batteries after 666 hours of running, a new set costs only $30.
While the M-6 has only one choice in reflector finish, the light stippled, the BB720 has a choice of four reflector finish, to customize the light to your work. Wildlife officers doing deer census in the field will want the long throw capabilities of the Smooth (mirror finish) reflector, same as firefighters that need to punch a hole in the smoke. Others can use the Orange Peel for a little more flood, and the law enforcement officers will like the capabilities of illuminating an entire warehouse with the extra flood provided by the Light Stippled and Medium Stippled reflectors.



None of the other incandescent flashlights used for military/police work will get near the lumens output of the BB720, the Magcharger is 200 lumens and the most powerful of the Streamlights, the Ultra Stinger, is 295 lumens.
The shorter size of the Black Bear 720 makes it a natural to store in the car, inside the glove compartment, and it is not too heavy to be carried in a trench coat or overcoat pocket and the power in lumens compares to a car’s headlights or to a one and a half million candlepower spotlight, really an amazing performance for a light of this size.

Surefire M-6



Black Bear 720




Like its bigger sister the Borealis 1050 lumens, (12 ½ inches 28 oz.), the BB720 is hand made one by one on a semi-custom basis, using state of the art components and lots of hand labor to reduce internal resistance to make the white light that is the trademark of the Black Bear Flashlights.

All the best
Watchmaker