Flashlights/Headlamps

[whipping_post]

I never thought I'd get back into all this when I started doing a quick search about something else, but now that the bug has bitten me again, I'd like to see what you guys use/recommend for either a headlamp or a flashlight or if you guys have a preference either way.

[dawgchain]

Me personally, Cheap.

They will get lost, damaged, confiscated, or just plain over-used. Get one or two really good ones for "safe" places, but never ak your best stuff to new places you are unsure of.

[Anne]

Yea I bought a big flashlight from Target for like $10 and it's pretty bright and has a flourescent...that I think got wet in Sequiota. But the normal bulb works great and I got it in June and have yet to replace batteries. And I love LED little lights and headlamps. If you're broke like me, wal-mart *even though I hate that place with a passion* has great cheaper lights.

[Sertile]

This is the one I have

LINK!

Hopefully that'll work. I'm not so sure about linking to google. Anyway, it seems to be a pretty popular model, which is likely attributable to it's low price and placement in the Wal-Mart sporting goods section. I know I have one, as does my friend Kory, and I also spotted Max McCoy sporting one in Carthage.

WR, do you have one like this too, or did I just imagine that?

[White Rabbit]

Yup, that's pretty much the one I have, too. Different brand, I think, but basically the same.

You can't go wrong with an LED headlamp. Non-LED headlamps are bulky and don't last long on light, unless they have one of those battery packs that clip on your belts. Not very convenient. But the LED ones are cheap, lightweight, and last for years and years.

As for flashlights, I try have at least one LED flashlight and one standard flashlight. I like the LED ones because they're small, the batteries last for-freaking-ever, and they're extremely hard to break. The only drawback is they're not very bright, so you should have like a big Maglite or just a standard flashlight in your pack for when you need more light.

[piplnr65656]

It all depends on how much you want to spend and what you are planing on doing with it. I work takes me to a lot of underground mines so I have a wheat lamp. It has a belt mounted battery that weighs in at about 4 pounds and then the light that clips onto my hard hat. They make a ball cap that will accept the light but I just normaly wear my hardhat because it keeps water from dripping down my neck. The light will last about 14-16 hours before it starts to dim. They cost about $ 150.00 and are almost indestructable as they are made to stand up in a underground mine. They also make a non mine aproved model for racoon hunters that is about $100.00 but not mine approved.
I used to be a big fan of maglite but I was always having to replace the bulb so I bought a rechargable stream light like what the pilice and firefighters use. It has a halogen buld and 3 led's the halogen will last for about 1.5 hours and then the the leds will last for about 2 days after that. For general exploration a mag lite and a little backup halogen is a great combination.

[piplnr65656]

There are certin things in life that you should just not buy cheap, like parachutes for exmple.

[whipping_post]

It all depends on how much you want to spend and what you are planing on doing with it. I work takes me to a lot of underground mines so I have a wheat lamp. It has a belt mounted battery that weighs in at about 4 pounds and then the light that clips onto my hard hat. They make a ball cap that will accept the light but I just normaly wear my hardhat because it keeps water from dripping down my neck. The light will last about 14-16 hours before it starts to dim. They cost about $ 150.00 and are almost indestructable as they are made to stand up in a underground mine. They also make a non mine aproved model for racoon hunters that is about $100.00 but not mine approved.
I used to be a big fan of maglite but I was always having to replace the bulb so I bought a rechargable stream light like what the pilice and firefighters use. It has a halogen buld and 3 led's the halogen will last for about 1.5 hours and then the the leds will last for about 2 days after that. For general exploration a mag lite and a little backup halogen is a great combination.

I have the one (and several like them)that WR and Sertile mentioned and I have to admit they can light up a room (in an abandoned house full of disgusting things I don't want to remember), but I'm liking the sound of the wheat lamp. I have several Maglites and swear by them, but I want to go for a stream light since another friend of mine swears by them.

I've done the cheap lights, I've done fairly expensive, but I always like to know what others use.

[speelunker]

I love this headlamp. Is pretty pricey, but is bomb proof and great for going underground. It has LEDs for battery conservation, but also has a "torch" when you need it. It also attaches easily to a climbing/caving helmet.
http://store.karstsports.com/pemysb5e3.html

[Sertile]

Actually, my little one's extremely tough considering I got it for peanuts. It's got its fair share of battle damange, and has been submerged for extended periodsof time. It's pretty bright too, with a fresh set of batteries (bright enough to light up a medium-sized room, anyhow) and has a bat-friendly red light, which can be a life saver in a place like Sequiota.

I could see myself investing in a nicer one someday, but I like to wait for my cheaper equipment to peter out before I make my upgrades.

[dawgchain]

I think the best way to outfit yourself would be an L.E.D. headlamp and a incandescent flashlight for everyone in the group, And one person in the group should carry a spotlight.


Anything more than 1MWP is just a pissing contest. You run the risk of shining farther than yo need with a spotlight. In a cave you might shine past an enterance and alert others to your presence. Or wak up bats before you realize they are there.

Use the spotlight sparingly, and keep everything with-in a controlled area so as not to invite danger.


(never really followed this advice myself.... but it sounded good)

[whipping_post]

I have several of the LED headlamps and think they do a pretty good job, but the red light ones hurt my eyes for some reason. I don't want to bother the bats but at the same time, I want to make sure I don't fall into some large hole in a roof either. Since most of my excursions deal with buildings of some type or another, that's my main concern.

After reading a few books about diseases, (no offense intended here), you cavers are a damn scary bunch! You have my admiration. At least with me, I don't like being somewhere that is possibly full of water or where I have to do a lot of bending anymore.

[Anne]

After reading a few books about diseases, (no offense intended here), you cavers are a damn scary bunch! You have my admiration. At least with me, I don't like being somewhere that is possibly full of water or where I have to do a lot of bending anymore.

Yea, I worry a little bit about bat poo, but my bigger concern is the pigeon poo, there's six different types of viral diseases in that crap. And asbestos *yea yea, I say it weird *. I usually wear a respirator in buildings and mills because of that and allergies. But that's another subject.

[piplnr65656]

I love this headlamp. Is pretty pricey, but is bomb proof and great for going underground. It has LEDs for battery conservation, but also has a "torch" when you need it. It also attaches easily to a climbing/caving helmet.
http://store.karstsports.com/pemysb5e3.html

That is a very good lite. Almost everything Petzl makes is the best.

[caver]

Back when I was caving every other weekend I would use my trusty old carbide lamp. Carbide is hard to acquire so most cavers have switched to electric.
I had a Petzl Mega as a back-up and two minimags for triple sources of light. In Carlsbad Caverns I use a modified Tag Lite (original). Which is just a Nite Lite head that coon hunters use. I added a chopper/dimmer
circuit that a guy used to sell. Now for camping and the occasional poking around the entrance of a mine I use a Photon Fusion with a Princeton Tech Aurora as a back-up. I also bought a Shake Light cause I thought it was pretty cool.