Are flashlights necessary in the woods?

Yep I agree, a good headlamp is what you need. I got a cheap led one by energizer for 10 bucks and it works awesome, very rugged and idiot proof.
http://www.bfmsales.com/Images/l/HDL2BU1CS.jpg
Why pay so much for a headlamp? Who needs more settings then on and off?
I don't need strobes and multi levels, I need some light to put up a shelter and make a fire. Mine is orange too, so I can see it easily if I drop it.
 
You wouldn't catch me out in the boonies without my two Mini-Maglights. I keep one in a pouch on my belt and another in my daypack. That one has a head band wrapped around the pouch. Both are filled with fresh AA batteries before I leave home.

After 60 years of bustin' the boonies from deep woods to high mountains and hot deserts, I'll keep my flashlights with me. :)

L.W.
 
I always have a flashlight on me and when I go outside (urban and outdoors), I have two. I don't want to stand in the dark, realising that the batteries from my one and only flashlight leaked or that the electronics don't work anymore. There's so much that can go wrong with flashlights, that I'd never want to rely on one alone. That's why IMO keychain lights are a must. A cheap photon freedom can save you, when your primary flashlight doesn't work, and you won't even notice you have it with you until you really need it.
 
They are not necesarry, but they sure are handy. I carry one powerful light and one not as bright but much longer lasting. There's not much to keep from having at least a little CMG or Princeton Tec on hand. Even the little ARC light on my keychain sure gets used quite a bit.
 
jackknife said:
But hiking around at night, or just finding your way back from a day hike that went on a bit past dusk, your night vission will do, if you let it. .
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Your eyes need SOME light for your "night vision" to work.

I've had a couple times where there was absolutly NO moon or starlight. Couldn't see my hand in front of my face.

I learned long ago to always take a light. With the micro lights like the Photon available, there's no excuse whatseover to not have a light with you.

.
 
The ONE time I went hiking without a flashlight, there were some delays and my wife and I finished hiking down Tuckerman's Ravine on Mt Washington (very rocky -- bad footing) by moonlight. Luckily there was a nice bright moon that night. If it had been overcast we would have been kinda screwed.

Think of it like your first-aid kit. You almost never need it, but sometimes you really do.
 
Like Marty, I'd advocate a headlamp. However, if dealing with a two-legged adversary, I wouldn't want that. I'd want an instant on/off pressure switch handheld light in that case; in other words, one that doesn't provide a bullseye to my forehead. ;)
 
I bought a couple of Petzel head lamps for a couple of my kits. I like having both hands free too. I got the Tak Tikka or whatever it is called, it has something like 3 light settings plus a flashing mode and you can put different colored filters on it. Pretty handy and doesn't weigh much. We had a long power outage a couple of years ago and I had a cheap LED head lamp I used to get around the house and do things like run cords for the generator and such, having my hands free was essential. Too bad I hadn't been as diligent in making sure my sump pit back ups were in working order. :(
 
Brian Jones said:
Like Marty, I'd advocate a headlamp. However, if dealing with a two-legged adversary, I wouldn't want that. I'd want an instant on/off pressure switch handheld light in that case; in other words, one that doesn't provide a bullseye to my forehead. ;)
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Also a good point Brian.
 
I carry a head lamp with 170 hours of life on the lowest setting, and is well enough to set up a camp on a cloudy night. I like the head lamp because it is hands free. I love my super bright Surefire arond the house, but I can watch the light dim over time, and that does not give me confidance for long term use.
 
oldman/Marty said:
I prefer the new Petzel e-lite headlamp. It has several modes including two brightness levels, a strobe and a red lens, is extremely small and super light weight and the battery drain is very low. It comes with a headband and hat clip and fits into a tight plastic case that will fit on a belt.
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I got a Princeton Tec Aurora, very handy. But I've been looking at the e-lite also. Do you have any idea how long it would run on those batteries?

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I know a couple of people who were really inconvenienced because they didn't think to bring a light in the woods at night. Imagine wandering off to take a leak and losing your way back, not exactly overdressed ...

Not much chance of that happening to me. I like lights, I like colored lights, I play with them, I try different setups, but I always have a tinylight and almost always - even in daylight - a bright light like my Surefire E2.

I have a 5 LED Nitecutter in green that's amazingly effective in dark woods. I wish more amber were available. I'm not as happy with red.
 
sure, a headlight is handy if you are wearing it yourself.
But I hate it when you are with a big group of people in the dark, and you get blinded everytime the persons with headlights look at you...
So no headlamp for me. But I will usually carry a small LED flashlight with me in the woods.

Without a light with you it is almost impossible to find something bakc if you have dropped something small( a knife, spectacles,..) in the dark woods.
And coming back the next morning and finding back the same spot isn't always possible...
 
I EDC a Fenix on my key-ring. For me a Light is as essential as a knife and firestarting tools.
Actually i use my Fenix more than the Vic Classic thats also on my key-chain.

But when i'm camping i frequently avoid or at least limit my use of the light at night just to see how much available light there is . I've even walked a few familiar trails at night just using moonlight. however i always have a flashlight on me if i need it. And campfires and stargazing are more fun when you don't have bright lights shining in your face.
 
We are spoiled now with the wide variety of good flashlights available today.
When i was in highschool i used to camp with my old 2 D-cell Maglite. That was reliable but heavy and would really eat up the batteries.
Now i have a keychain led thats brighter than my old maglite, will burn many hours longer and weights about the same as one D-cell battery.
Even the mini-maglite i adopted later is nowhere as light/bright and long lasting as modern leds.
Even some of the hand crank lights are better than the average 70's/80's era flashlights.
 
it really depends on the situation whether i bring a flashlight.

i went caving last month, deep down inside a big hole in the ground. a couple of flashlights and spare batteries came along. you don't want to run out of light down there. i noted that i want to look into a headlamp of some sort. getting in was tricky and getting out was trickier with a hand occupied with a flashlight, or a mouthful of flashlight.

on dayhikes, i don't usually take a flashlight. i expect to be back before dark, and if i get stuck out for the night i am going to start setting up camp before dusk. on overnight hikes, i sometimes bring a flashlight for bumbling around camp at night or for getting into the tent at night. sometimes for reading before sleeping.

i do need to invest in a quality flashlight and/or headlamp. right now i have cheap, sturdy flashlights that don't have great light output. they work well enough, with fresh batteries, but they drop off after about 30-60 minutes to output that is no good for night hiking type applications.
 
I always pack a light or two or three but only use 'em when needed...like when it is dark,to dark to see ,I always pack a flashlight while hiking ,never know I tend to get side track looking at nature and darkness is like clock work..
 
I go night hiking alot. I always got atlist two lights on me.. But i find that if i dont use them my night vision is good for about 90% of the time. Sometimes a light is actualy bad. If i use the light my eyes get used to it. Now i cant see to the sides no more so my vision is only good when im shining the light where im looking. Now if i dont use the light i find i can see very good to the sides of me and the trail. So unless im going down in the valley where i dont get any light or on a new moon i try and not use the lights at all. Just like Pict i find that the mag with 3led converstion is one of the best.. More then enough light and last for a few trips. That also including reading a book at night for a 2-3 hours.

Sasha
 
When I lived in Oregon, a couple of people were killed or seriously injured every year by getting caught out at night and falling off the trail down the mountain. If you can't see where you're going, bad things can happen!
 
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