BOB light

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will62

Joined
Oct 18, 2002
Messages
372
What kind of light do you prefer in your bug out bag, a headlamp, a flashlight, or both? Any reason for preferring one over the other? I personally carry both.
 
I keep a very bright tac light (160 lumen) with a hi/low beam and strobe. Got a pack of 3 from Costco for 20 bucks, and is hands down brighter than most surefires for five times the price. The strobe is great for signaling, since i probably wont be doing any tactical room clearing lol. Also have a low-power LED headlamp, that will certainly light my trail, but will actually last a good while without eating batteries. Ontop of that I have a small clip-on red light for map reading attached to my shoulder strap. Also has a strobe function for signaling. Light can make scary places, not so scary so it's worth it to carry a couple options.
 
BOTH for me! here is my reasoning.......

a headlamp gives me hands free area lighting. In other words, i can perform tasks without having to hold onto a light, wherever i look, there is light.

That being said....having a dedicated flashlight (higher lumens the better) can be useful for searching, pitlamping someone or in conjunction with a sidearm or weapon.

my light choices right now are a SUREFIRE SAINT MINUMUS headlamp, and either a JetBeam M1X Military or a SUREFIRE G2XA 200 lumen plus a Surefire Spares carrier with 6 spare CR123 batts.
 
Both.

I have multiple LED flashlights throughout my house, bags, and vehicle. I also just pick up a Petzl Tikka 2 and might pick up another for my truck.
 
Not all lights are equal...if you can't take any item in the shower with you...don't bet your life on it!

I've got a SureFire that has been good and a NovaTac that was better.
 
Well the one light I prefer on my firefighter helmet is a Surefire G2 LED Nitrolon. I guess that's a headlamp. Helmet goes on your head. :)

Other than that I really like 4Seven's lights. Quark Turbo 123².
 
i have a Petzil Tikka, but it runs on AAAs which are not my standard choice. also have a Ray-O-Vac that tuns on one AA, nice compact light and was reasonably priced.

next headlight will probably be the $40 Fenix that uses one AA. tried a freinds larger, brighter Fenix headlight and it's more than i'm looking for in a headlight.

i've got multiple AA and 123A powered handhelds. for the BOB, both would be nice.
 
I carry a head light, a LED converted mini Maglite, and a hand powered LED light.
I also carry extra batteries and bulbs.
 
Both here as well. Since I often EDC a single cell LED light (Novatac or Fenix), I keep Zebra headlamps in my bags (I think I have a Fenix headlamp in one as well). As Bushman pointed out, the headlamp is handy for hands-free needs. In fact, I probably use my headlamps for about 90% of my backpacking needs and even around the house. What I like about the Zebra headlights is that I can actually sleep with it around my neck (yeah, not safe if you're concerned about snagging and choking yourself); it's immediately handy and doesn't get misplaced. If my pants are on, I'll have my standard LED flashlight (single cell as they are more compact).

ROCK6
 
Remember, in a survival situation/natural disaster/zompocalypse the ability to charge your batteries will be scarce. There's something to be said about being able to grab a pack of batteries from the store, or scrounge them up from a drawer and have light. Use rechargeables in your light, and carry an extra pack of AA's in your kit.
Forgot to mention I also carry a crank-powered light too.
 
both for me......surefire outdoorsman and a princeton fuel headlamp, or black diamond camo spot headlamp.....Like others have said the headlamp keeps your hands free to do other tasks....and the flashlight is used more as a spot light for long distances....
 
I don't have a "BOB", but keep these in my truck for emergencies:
-"Brinkmann ArmorMax 60 Lumen 1AA Flashlight"(had to look that up-actually not a bad little light, with a great beam)
-SF C2L-HA with Malkoff M60WLF dropin and traffic cone
-Zebralight H30w headlamp
-SF M3T bored for 18mm cells, with Lumens Factory HO-M3T LAs
-4x123 carrier, and extra IMR-18500s for the M3T

Had a 6P with Z59 tailcap, a drop-in with strobe, and a F27(blue) filter, but found myself completely unable to resist motivating left-lane pokers with it on the way to work every night. Decided to get rid of it before I lit up an unmarked cop or something. Man, I miss that thing.
The strobe was great with the traffic cone, too.

All those in the truck probably get a fraction of a % of my actual use.
My EDC/outdoors lights get almost all my use away from work, and my work lights get used...well, at work. Since I transition through all that crap nightly and have my work bag with me, I've usually got almost my whole working light collection close by when I'm not in the woods, along with a couple of Li-ion chargers.
Doesn't seem silly when your day starts at sundown, and you combine 3+ hours per night on them.
 
I never used head lamps much in the past. However, my sister in law gave me a couple basic ones for Christmas and I really like how they free up my hands to do work. So I'll be looking into getting a couple good models in the future for sure.
 
Light gear is a Petzl e+Lite, Photon Freedom Micro CN with Photon Clip and necklace, Fenix P3D and Diffuser, Uco Mini candle lantern with ten, 10 hour tealight candles and ten birthday (auto relight) candles.
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Three Black Crater Cord Lock lights, one each on, Bag-main section drawcord, Cook Gear-stuffsack drawcord, Sleeping Bag-drawcord.
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Two additional sets of batteries for each light are included.
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I particularly like the Photon Freedom Micro CN's, Black Crater Cord Lock lights and the Petzl e+Lite's as they give a good range of useful light, are tiny, extremely versatile and weigh nothing!
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Wow, lemme see....

All of these have or do pull duty as "bag lights."
Only one is a headlamp and I am looking for the "right" one to add to the glove box and one dedicated to "bag duty." The smaller lights can be clipped to a hat brim in most cases and do double duty. Nearly all of these lights see daily use. The Gerber has been is constant daily use for maybe five-six years now and turned on/off several times a day for 1 to 10 minutes at a time and I forget when I last changed the cell.

Fenix L2T w/1xCR123A body hanging by the back door
3xAA headlamp w/3 5mm LEDs and a "pre-cree" beamer
Gerber Infinity Ultra,1xAA on the bedstand
Nite Core D20, 2xAA on the bedstand
Fenix TK20 w/2xLithium AAs in the glove box
Fenix TK10, 2xCR123A for spotting "unfriendlies" while walking the lap dogs
Nite Core Infinity Extreme, 1xCR123A in my "purse" or pocket (EDC)
ARC-P, 1xAAA in the pocket of the shorts I am always wearing in the house (EDC)
Fenix E01, 1xlithium AA in my wife's "comms tray" (radios/phones)
UK4AA, 4xAA - electrician's pouch
Surefire L1, Gen 2 in the desk drawer as a backup
Surefire L1, Cree in the "serious bag"

Each was selected for a specific purpose based on its features and all have served admirably. I keep a stock of 50 AAA, AA and CR123As, plus some lithium AAs. I like the single CR123A lights most, but have one 2xCR12A light for the beam. I also have a few small coin-cell lights for bag-grubbing duty.
 
I have a petzle e lite headlamp and also carry a P1d by fenix. I think the headlamp is great to have because it has a few settings. The P1d is great for long distance light and for a great defense if you shine it in someones eyes.
 
Headlamp, krill lights and a low-tech candle lantern that gives a small amount of heat that uses easily purchased tea light candles

And a Photon on my key chain
 
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