Hello Everyone,
I am planning and buying gear for the PCT comming up here in 5 months (2011). I have been looking at flashlight/ headbands for lighting , etc. My plan is to be sleeping at night, but it is very possible I might end up hiking some at night. The main purpose for the light will be for reading at night (about an hour), camp area, cooking, and so on. I have never thru-hiked or done a large amount of camping so my knowledge is limited about how many Lumens I will need for camp tasks/ reading/ and the rare occasion night hiking. The below lights are either 1 AA or 1 AAA

In the Flashlight Catagory;

Quark AA
.2Lm/ 240 hrs,
4Lm /48 hrs
22Lm/ 6 hrs
85 Lm/ 1.5 hrs
109 Lm/ 1.2 hrs
weight---1.8oz---

the Fenix LD01
3 Lm/ 27 hrs
26 Lm/ 3 hrs 8 min
72 Lm/ 1 hrs 28 min
weight---0.8oz---

the Fenix LD10
3 Lm= 70 hrs
13 Lm= 13 hrs
45 Lm/ 4 hrs 40 min
100 Lm/ 1 hr 48 min (strobe)
weight---1.9oz---

In the Headlamp Catagory;
Zebralight H51
.2 Lm/384 hrs; 2.5 Lm/72 hrs
8 lm/ 39hrs ; 30 Lm/ 12 hrs
200 Lm/ .9 hrs; 140 Lm/ 1.7 hrs
100 Lm strobe/ 2.4 hrs
weight---3oz---weight---w/battery

In my research, I see alot of recommendations for these 3XAAA headlamps and I am not sure why they are so popular; I am trying to keep my baseweight for the trip around 6-7 lbs so weight is a pretty big deal. As far as the flashlight I could just clip it to my hat/belt and I would buy a Diffuser Tip; Im not sure how well this works, but it looks to be a good idea anyways.
My plan for backup/emergency is a Photon Light; There are two that seem popular. The Photon Freedom and the Photon-Micro Light II.
-Please give me recommendations for this thru-hike as my mind is tired of research and there are to many good lights out there. I need advice on the primary light and also wich photon you would say is the better for my purposes. Thank you and Bless you for your help...

What do you think about the Fenix LD01 R4? Is 3 Lumens enough for camp/reading? Will a difuser help at that low of Lumens? Is 26 Lumens enough for the cashual and hopefully rare night hike? Look forward to your replies. As I have done more research, the Quark AA does not seem to run so well on genaric batteries. The LD10 weight does not seem worth it, but however if the 10 lumens of the LD10 low-mode is better for camp/reading than the 3 lumens of the LD01 then the weight would not matter. What do you guys recommend? Can 3 lumens provide enough for general camp or do I need the 10? Will the diffuser on 3 lumens be enough? Will the Diffuser on 10 lumens be to much? Thanks you

I used a Fenix L1D (used 1AA at 1.8oz/no bat, do they still make it?) on my 2009 PCT Thru-hike. It was bright enough to hike with (you can snap a red lens cap on the end if you like red light) and lasts a long time. I found that I could use the lowest setting for most camp chores (except packing up as I wanted to make sure I didn't miss something). The lowest setting also worked for most early morning and after dusk hiking. I hiked through all of Oregon with only 1 battery so it lasts along time if you mainly use it just in camp. Even though I had to put one of my trek poles on my pack when hiking with it, I found that having the light held down at waist level gave better contrast of the trail at night since rocks and bumps cast shadows that way and never triped or stumbled. The problem with headlamps is you lose that contrast since the light looks down from high above so you don't get those shadows and thus you can miss roots and rocks that will cause you to trip over and then you'll need those poles to catch you.

Edited by Miner on 12/07/2010 15:58:28 MST.

This would do the trick:

http://www.google.com/products/catalog?gfns=1&rlz=1T4ADFA_enUS399&q=petzl+e-lite&um=1&ie=UTF-8&cid=17201988796053879424&ei=w8H-TNH-L8Gqngf6v-irCw&sa=X&oi=product_catalog_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCgQ8wIwAA#

You can clib this light to your shirt or belt to avoid the 'lack of contrast" issue...

Edited by todd1960 on 12/07/2010 16:27:05 MST.

Yup, it is the best ultra light, light duty, general purpose light out there. It does not excell at anything.
It does everything well enough. And it uses fairly standard computer bat's- two 2032's.

It has a reasonble light.Good for a couple full nights of hiking. Good for around camp. Reliable. You can drop the head band and case, clipping it to your shouder harness. It is waterproof for rain. For a UL packer, it is hard to beat as a main light. 'Corse, a lot of this depends on your night vision to start with. There is a LARGE variation in peoples low light sensitivity.

The lever can be difficult. I have 5 of these and two had hard switches, easily "fixed" with a sharp knife. (One for each pack...)

The first is as old as they come and is loosing some tightness in the swivel. My only other complaint. But, after a couple hundred nights out, I can live with it.

My thoughts only . . .
jdm

I use the Petzl Tikka+ (4 leds, 3AAA batts).

Low works great for reading,

Medium works great for setting up the tent (can see enough of the ground to get good placement), and walking through the woods at night without tripping.

High is needed for finding your way back to your tent at night (unless you have a great memory).

Something about 50% brighter than high is needed to find blazes on trees that sit off the trail at night.

Holding it by both straps at waist level is very easy if you want to use it as a flashlight rather than a headlamp. It's easier to point it around to navigate the trail at night if it's not clipped to your waist too.

Edited by JohnG10 on 12/07/2010 18:14:50 MST.

I prefer a headlamp only. A Photon Microlite II would be a decent emergency backup light.

My choice is the Princeton Tech Scout for its ability to light a trail. Also it's light, waterproof and has 3 light levels and two strobe speeds.

It uses 4 coin LITHIUM batteries for an 80 hour max time so carrying spares is no problem. And the lithium batteries mean it's going to have good power even in freezing temps.

Edited by Danepacker on 01/02/2011 22:57:16 MST.

I've got this light and L-O-V-E it!! It'll cook your breakfast and rub your feet for ya if you twist the bezel counterclockwise three times while singing a secret yodel!

Edited by hoosierdaddy on 12/07/2010 19:34:56 MST.

> It'll cook your breakfast and rub your feet for ya if you twist the bezel counterclockiwse three times while singing a secret yodel!

Hmmmm. All mine ever does is complain that I watch too much football and not pay enough attention to ITS needs.


Seriously though, the H51 is a cool light.

Opinions on this topic seem to vary greatly. In my experience, the more time you spend out there, the less you rely on a bright flashlight. Many night I don't use a flashlight at all. I use the Photon X-light micro, and I find it does everything I need. Check out my review here.

I love the post above! Where has she been my whole life! haha Anyways, I really am at this point Torn between the Zebralight H51 and the Fenix LD01 R4. Anyone have any experience that will pull me one way or the other? I know that its kind of comparing two different apple to oranges (headlamp and Flashlight), but as posted above I'm not so concerned with the style, but rather long lasting battery leaning toward camp use; with the possibility of night camping when needed. So please , if you have any reason why one over the other I would appreciate it. I am going to order tomorrow because all the choices are driving me crazy! Who knew buying gear would take up so much time. I feel like a girl picking out her prom shoes!! haha
So here they are... Whats best for this PCT hike and any reasons why? Also I was wanting more feedback on what backup light (The Photon Freedom or Photon II)

Fenix LD01 R4
the Fenix LD01
3 Lm/ 27 hrs
26 Lm/ 3 hrs 8 min
72 Lm/ 1 hrs 28 min
weight---0.5oz---Excluding battery

Zebralight H51
.2 Lm/384 hrs; 2.5 Lm/72 hrs
8 lm/ 39hrs ; 30 Lm/ 12 hrs
200 Lm/ .9 hrs; 140 Lm/ 1.7 hrs
100 Lm strobe/ 2.4 hrs
weight---3oz---weight---w/battery

I will second to observation that most of the time we don't need really bright lights, but I have to say if you are night hiking with cloud cover or a new moon and lose the trail.. a couple of minutes of really bright light with a good throw is really useful.

All the lights you listed are decent. My favorite is the ZebraLight H51, good level options, good regulation, pretty reasonable weight for a headlamp.

One other light I would add to your list is the iTP A3 Updated. This is one of the best flashlight values: $20 for a high efficiency AAA flashlight with good regulation and a nice range of brightness settings (in lumens: 1.5 for 50h, 18 for 4h 80 for 55min). This flashlight + lithium battery weights just .6oz (18grams)

--Mark

Honestly pick one--you wont regret it.

I'd go with the headlamp but thats because I am more of an oz. weeny then a gram weeny. You will however save some weight and increase battery life with lithium batteries. They are a little but more expensive but worth it in my opinion.

Really... pick one that clips on can stay on your head or chest. You just might want to use both hands.

Thanks for all the replies!! I am going to go with the Zebralight H51/ With the Photon II as my backup. One quick question... Does the H51 work well on regular AA, or do they have to be lithium? As I will be on the trail, there might be areas I cant get to expensive batteries and alkaline will have to do... If it runs well on Alkaline batteries, Then this is the way to go!! Can anyone testify!?

The H51 will work fine with alkalines, but lithium is a bit better and lighter. While not too practical for trail use, look into Sanyo's rechargeable Eneloop batteries for home/casual use. These are regarded as the best rechargables available. Want to go even crazier? Look at www.candlepowerforums.com. There you will find more than you ever wanted to know about flashlights.... And then some.

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?251039-Zebralight-reliability-(the-poll)/page8


i make no judgement or comment on them since i dont own one ... one should however be aware of certain things for any products

for example i bought a set of link cams and found out afterwards that there may be an issue with them disintegrating under certain loads ... not confidence inspiring when its yr only protection for the last 20 feet ... oddly enough not too many people mentioned that fact at the time ...

then there was the time when everyone, their moms, and outdoor mags recommended powershield softshells ...

i get reborn as a sucker every few years i guess

Edited by bearbreeder on 12/08/2010 05:08:48 MST.

MArk-

Where did you find the ZebraLight H51 for $20?

I got a Zebralight H51 a couple of months ago and really love it. It can be as dim or as bright as you need, can be worn on your head, clipped to your pack or shirt, or carried as a traditional flashlight, and runs on a single AA battery for easy replacement just about anywhere.

I used to carry a combination of an iTP A3 flashlight for good throw and a Petzl E+light for reading and camp chores, plus a Photon Freedom in my emergency kit. I've replaced both the A3 and E+Light now with the H51.

The H51 will run just fine with alkaline batteries -- it just won't run for as long as a lithium battery would.

The iTP light can be found for $20, not the zebralight.

As far as the reliability poll, yes the brand has had a few problems. Be sure to keep the light's contacts clean and that often keeps the light trouble-free.

Zebralight participates in those forums and from my limited knowledge, they honestly listen to the customers and take suggestions into consideration when upgrading a light or working on the quality issues.

Edited by T.L. on 12/08/2010 06:30:13 MST.

Regarding the comparison between the H51 and something like the iTP flashlight, a headlamp plays the role of a flashlight much better than a flashlight playing the role of a headlamp.

Even though some of these little flashlights come with headbands or there are various ways to mount them to a hat or clothing, a headlamp will be much better suited to the task, especially when you need to direct the light up or down.

Since the H51 can be removed from the headband quite easily, it really is both a headlamp and flashlight in one package.

I did a thru-hike on one set of batteries (two months). I don't have any objective data but I bet I used my headlamp maybe once a week. During summer it's light out until 21:00 or 22:00 and you'll find you sleep from dark until dawn (which of course comes early). For utility's sake I recommend a headlamp over a flashlight in just about all situations.

Geesh, That pole taken is enough to scare me into a Fenix Flashlight. Thank you for all the posts they have been very helpful. I guess I have a bit to think about.

I did start my 2009 PCT hike with a Fenix L0D Q4(1AAA) flashlight. While I think it was bright enough to work for the whole trail, its small size (and perhaps Olive wasn't the best color choice) worked against it as I somehow left it behind on Mt. Laguna a few miles before the store when I packed up in the morning. So it only lasted a few days before I was forced to use my Photon Freedom light as my primary light until I could replace it. While I think Photons will work for a low use camplite and for use as an emergency night hiking light, I don't think many would want to use them for an entire thru-hike. They don't last long before the LED light starts to fade as the batteries run down. I also don't know what I was doing wrong, but I would often get to camp at nite and find the battery dead in the L0D for some reason so I'm not sure I trust that twist on/off mechanism and prefer a real button. I started carrying it without the battery and then when it got dark, I would put the battery in it.

Most of the time in camp and hiking, you don't need a bright light. But there were a few times when I appreciated the bright Turbo Mode of my L1D Q5 light that I replaced my lost L0D light with. When looking for a campsite after dark, the added throw of a bright light helps spot campsites far off the trail. Also, I loaned it to a hiker so he could find his headlamp he dropped in the dark. He couldn't find it with his backup light, but easily found it ~1/4mile back with mine on full brightness. He lost the same headlamp twice in Washington (the previous time another hiker found it and returned it 2days later). Just before it gets dark, he would put his headlamp over his wide brim hat but leave it turned off until it was dark. Only he sweated alot so he would sometimes take his hat off to wipe the sweat off his head and twice his headlamp fell off the hat. The first time it happened, he didn't have a backup light and still insisted on hiking in the dark to get to a spring. It was funny watching him passing by my camp that night sticking real close to his hiking partner in front who had a light. If the guy in front stopped suddenly, they would have had a collision and found themselves in a compromising position.

FYI, as a very frequent visitor of CandlePowerForums, I'd like to advise you not to worry about that reliability poll and take it with a huge grain of salt, for two reasons:

1 - That poll was posted right after a lot of people were having an issue with the newly released Zebralight H30 a while back, of which the initial batch was recalled by ZL... so it's heavily biased towards people complaining about that one specific issue which was all over CPF for a while and was acknowledged and corrected by ZL

2 - Anyone who has a flashlight problem and googles for answers ends up at CPF, so you see a number of problem reports there that does not represent the general population


I have a Zebralight and it is awesome, well made and reliable.

PS. If you search CPF you can easily find enough reports of problems to scare you off (almost) any brand of light... including Fenix, 4Sevens and uber-reliable uber-expensive brands like Surefire. Huge selection bias in what you see posted there versus the general reality. 4Sevens, Fenix, Zebralight, Surefire, etc all make fantastic lights.

Edited by diplodocus on 12/08/2010 12:57:42 MST.

Thanks Dave,
I read the review and there were very few H51 model people that even posted. It was mostly the other models. At this point I am considering the Fenix LD10, Fenix LD01, and the Zebralight H51. I am leaning towards the H51. I just hope it does not fail on me on the trail is all. Thanks again, I will tell you guys if the Zebralight Fails on me! hah
Have a Happy Holiday and thanks again for all the posts!! I am so glad to have this forum, and everyone here has been more than helpful to me.

Overall, I'd go with the Zebralight... the headlamp feature is just too good to pass up.

But, other notes:
Personally, if you're strongly considering the LD10 and want that size/format of light (AA, clicky), I'd choose the 4Seven's Quark AA over the LD10 any day.

The Quark has several things you will probably appreciate while backpacking:

1- Super low moonlight mode: The moonlight mode (0.2lumens?) is adequate to read by. If your eyes are adapted to the dark, you'll be surprised what you can do with this mode. And as a bonus, using it won't totally destroy your night vision. And the batteries last for days and days on this mode, it's fantastic.

2- Better pocket clip: The Quark pocket clip is a much better/reliable design if you're actually going to use it. The Fenix pocket clip on this one is sort of an afterthought that clips onto the light.

3- Note that 4Sevens rates their lumen output differently than Fenix. 4Sevens uses a more honest "OTF" or out the front lumen output that is actually measured and includes light loss at the lens, whereas Fenix is quoting an estimate of how much is being put out at the LED. So, 100 4Sevens OTF lumens > 100 Fenix emitter lumens.

4- 10 year warranty on 4Sevens is a nice touch. David Chow/his team at 4Sevens back up their products well and are easy to get a hold of.

(As you can tell, I guess I'm kind of a 4Seven's fanboy, but I just think they make very carefully thought out products. All the above being said, the LD10 is also a great light, so you wouldn't be making a bad choice either way.)

If you want AAA format, like the LD01, also consider the 4Sevens Preon ReVO... a bit more money, but it uses a more advanced power regulation scheme (current-controlled rather than PWM, which is hard to come by in such a small light). This results in great battery life for its size on the ReVo. Same comment about 4Sevens using lower-sounding OTF lumens ratings applies here.

Edited by diplodocus on 12/08/2010 13:14:43 MST.

Joshua,
Also remember that many of these "tactical" type lights use complicated circuitry (for a flashlight). The technology goes way beyond sending power to a tungsten filament to make it glow, and thus will inherently have more issues. It's not a bad idea to take a minuscule keychain light for backup.

My goodness there are way to many options. I understand why people are post Just Pick 1! It sure is hard when there are so many options. The Quark Flashlight look pretty great! Anyone have feedback on of all these lights listed, What light will be most reliable and will run on regular batteries and no need the lithium? Lithium might not be available. Also, for night reading how many Lumen's will I need? For camp Chores? Thanks

"What light will be most reliable and will run on regular batteries and no need the lithium?"

All the lights you are considering will be about equal in terms of reliability and performance on different batteries. They all use very similar circuit designs and LEDs.

"Also, for night reading how many Lumen's will I need?"

These questions depend on how the light is focused and personal preference, but generally: You'll be able to read with very, very low lumens... Anywhere from 0.1 to 15 lumens is a comfortable range for reading. You'll use the lower end if your eyes are very dark adapted.

"For camp Chores?"

Anywhere in the 10 lumens to 120 lumens range

Beyond about 120 lumens would usually only be "needed" for lighting up larger areas or seeing further distances. This all assumes your eyes are adapted to the dark.

Edited by diplodocus on 12/08/2010 13:43:46 MST.

Not to push the H51, but its the only light like these that I have. So, here are my thoughts on your questions...

Regardless of the scary poll, you're going to find reliability is pretty even across the board.

The H51 will run regular or lithium.

You only need a couple of lumens to read. The H51 puts out 0.2 lumens on its lowest setting and you'd be able to read by that, but the 2.5 or 8 lumen setting might be better.

For camp chores, you'd only need 10-20 lumens.

And, the H51 puts out a blinding 200 lumens off of a single AA if you need the light. Its the brightest single AA in the world.

On high, it puts my Princeton Tec Eos and Remix to shame, and they use 3 AAA batteries. Though I do believe the Princeton Tecs get longer runtime on high, but I'm not completely sure.

Edited by T.L. on 12/08/2010 13:50:23 MST.

Sorry if I'm posting way too much flashlight info, but one thing that's good to know about lumens:

Lumens themselves are a linear scale of how much light the flashlight is putting out. But your eyes do not perceive lumens in a linear fashion, but in a logarithmic fashion. What this means is that 2x as many lumens will NOT *look* like 2x as many lumens. The visual difference between 10 lumens and 20 lumens is small. Same goes for the visual difference between 100 lumens and 200 lumens. I think the general rule of thumb is that it takes about 4x as many lumens to *appear* twice as bright.

The moral is: Don't get too caught up worrying about small percentages of lumens either way. You won't be able to really see much difference between 75 lumens and 100 lumens for example.

Edited by diplodocus on 12/08/2010 13:51:22 MST.

Dave's right. While I can see the light change between 200 and 140 lumens, it doesn't make a big difference, especially at any distance.

Yes, the Lumen is a measurement of light strength.

What nobody seems to mention is light spectrum. Back in ancient history when we had incandescent bulbs in our headlamps, they put out a warm glow of a fairly broad spectrum. As a result, we could distinguish colors at night with just the headlamp for illumination. But then we converted to LED headlamps, and they have a very narrow spectrum. Some are warm and some are cool, but the spectrum is narrow enough that color recognition gets chancy. Most of the time, I can put up with that. However, color recognition gets important when I am trying to read a paper topo map.

--B.G.--

Totally agree, Bob.

There are a lot of incan light fans on CPF for this reason. The full spectrum is a lot more pleasant to the eye and makes things look more natural. Modern LED lights often make things look sort of washed out.

Fun Fact: All White LEDs are actually Blue LEDs with a phosphor coating that spreads out the spectrum. If you look at the output of a white LED, there is a huge spike in the blue region for this reason.

High CRI (Color Rendering Index) LEDs and so called "Warm White" and "Neutral White" LEDs attempt to address this, but none of them comes close the the full incan spectrum. However there aren't a lot of lights made using the LEDs yet. 4Sevens sometimes has the Neutral White variety, but they are generally limited availability.

"Fun Fact: All White LEDs are actually Blue LEDs with a phosphor coating that spreads out the spectrum. If you look at the output of a white LED, there is a huge spike in the blue region for this reason."

That is interesting, because in the early days of color LED history, Red color was easy, Yellow and Green were harder, and Blue was extremely difficult to produce.

There are some LED products being made for video camera illumination, sort of like a sun gun. A few seem to offer spectrum variability. Color temperature is important to photographers.

--B.G.--

It doesn't have the H51, but beamshots are very useful when picking out a light.

http://www.illuminationgear.com/SIDEBYSIDE27729.html

Sounds Like the Zebralight H51 is the way to go. I will take my chances and we will see.
Thanks for all the help...Zebralight H51 as primary and the Photon Micro-Light II as my backup. Thanks for the advice about Lumens. I was worried the 0.2 Lumens would be to little for nighttime reading, but sounds like it might work.

Have you considered the Zebralight H31?

Only problem with the H31 is that it runs off a CR123 battery. Those are pricey and harder to find compared to AAs.

While I have been a lurker on this forum for a few weeks, this is my first post.

All of the comments have been good, intelligent, remarks about flashlights. Several have posted about www.candlepowerforums.com. I should like to heartily recommend that site.

But, as a member there for about 5 years, I warn you that if you really dive into it, it can become addictive. You can become, like me, a flashaholic; plus spend way more than you ever intended to.

FYI, for my hiking and camping needs, I usually take two lights, at a minimum, one a small keychain light just bright enough to see a keyhole. The other a Fenix E01 (about $15) that yields 10 lumens and runs off of AAAs or rechargeable AAAs. It gets around 11 hours in what they call sun mode and another 10 hours in moon mode.

But, depending on the circumstances, I have a dozen other lights to choose from, if I wish.

Regards to all,

Steve

blah blah blah blah. Tikka 2. hands down. special forces to cops to cavers to thrus. hands down the light of choice. use others at your peril. see you on the PCT bro.

I used a Petzl e+lite for the whole PCT trip. For the AT this year I started with something that threw off more lumens, in the theory that I might be more likely to have to be hiking at night given an early start on the trail. On the PCT I was sort of looking forward to night hiking, but never did; it never got so hot in SoCal that felt that was a reasonable approach.

I think that the e+lite would be pretty minimal for night hiking in forest canopy, but under the stars and perhaps with some moonlight --- should be pretty fine, and if you're night hiking to avoid the heat in the south then the odds are pretty good that the sky will be at least somewhat clear at night.

Bottom line is that I'd just go with the e+lite the whole way. Throw away the hard plastic case, I just carried mine in a snack sized ziplock, and that only to keep the headband from catching on stuff.

The batteries are so light that I always carried a spare pair. They're expensive, however, so find a much less expensive online source and buy several pairs ahead of time, mail yourself a pair every trail month or so (or store in bounce box). These lithium batteries have a very long shelf life.

Very light weight, offers both red and white light options, it's a headlamp, what's not to like? It's certainly plenty of light for use just in camp at night.

Love mine and is going with me on my PCT. I am taking a backup though.

PCT gear list ---> http://thf2.wordpress.com/pct-gear-list/

"I think that the e+lite would be pretty minimal for night hiking in forest canopy, but under the stars and perhaps with some moonlight --- should be pretty fine, and if you're night hiking to avoid the heat in the south then the odds are pretty good that the sky will be at least somewhat clear at night."

Brian,
I have found the exact oposite to be the case. Once your eyes get night adjusted, the lighter skies and moon will actually interfer with letting you see. The effect is really minor, though.

Hey Ryan when are you starting the thru-hike? I am starting May 16th on the account my friend is getting married the 15th. As far as the headlamp I ended up getting a Zebralight H51 for christmas that I am still waiting to try out; I hope it does not break down on me. I also received a Photon Mini II for backup. I was blown away by how bright the little Photon was. Since I am going to be starting the trail behind the herd I hope to meet at least a few people. I have never done anything like this before in my life, but I can't tell you how excited I am!!