Day-hike lighting (flashlights, headlamps) - what do you take?

What lighting do you take along for a day-hike?

  • Flashlight only

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Headlamp only

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Both flashlight and headlamp

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Keychain light or similar

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Nothing

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    0
Petzl XP2. I often don't think about it for day hikes. But that is my go to light. Since going to a headlamp I rarely use a handheld. Sometimes for the extra lumens, but rarely is it necessary. Also, I've done a lot of wildlife work (owl surveys) so I am out there at night a lot. Even camping, when are you using a light but not your hands? I've my headlamp handy in the house for when I have to run out to the shed or take at the compost at night.

TL;DR I love my headlamp
 
Dumb question time: Anyone every used a chem light tied to a stick to illuminate the trail when walking at night? Seems to save my eyes from the glare

Bill
 
I take a small powerful flashlight, a headlamp, and a keychain type light. The woods here on the sides of the riges can be very dangerous in the dark.
 
I take either a solarforce l2 running 300 lumen on high or an old Elektro lumens AA modded with a 300 lumen pill.for batteries i take rechargable AA size lithium batteries pushing 3.6v each for the elektro or rechargable 123`s/18650`s for the solarforce. I also take a modded solar panel from a harbor freight landscape spotlight ( approx 5" x 5"). it weighs nothing and i soldered connectors to fit a charging cradle. this set up gives me 300 lumens direct drive and no fear of the cold eating my batteries leaving me dark because i carry spares and recharge them by slapping the solar panel to my pack via velcro and charging during the day while on the trail or in camp.I overcome the need for a headlamp by doing most things by firelight if i need both hands. But i do tend to build fires that get picked up by passing satellites:)
Yes i am stubborn and just like to ruin my night vision and make it look like god turned on the bathroom light when i`m in the woods peeing at 2 a.m., I carry a modded 140 lumen output AA minimag for the late night shelter search, low light needs ;)
for hands free i have a belt sheath that ratchets to any angle and will hold anything from a minimag on up.
 
I always carry my Black Diamond Spot headlight along with a cheap Energizer headlight and spare batteries for both.
 
I settled on a Zebralight H31, I went CR123 as I use a Steripen so batteries can be swapped if need be, it has several settings- the medium setting (actually M2) is more than adequate for trail hiking at night, at that setting you get almost 23 hours of light :D it also has a retina burning high setting of 220- not really sure what you'd use that for, for around camp the L1 (5 lumens, 3.7 days) or even the L2 (0.5 lumens, 21 days!) works great

it's still pretty light @ ~ 2.5 oz w/ headband and battery

I'll be carrying this lamp for upcoming R2R2R run of the Grand Canyon, we'll be running ~ 2.5 hours in the dark in the morning (and hopefully not at all in the night! :D)

if I don't really expect to use the headlamp (vs planning on hiking in the dark) I often carry the diminutive (1.0 oz!) Petzel e-lite, it's plenty of light for around camp and in a pinch could help you get down the trail


this is at 3:00 AM, we're making a looong 28 mile day hike and needed a head start :) the H31 was outstanding on the medium setting fully lit up the trail, you'd often forget your hiking in the dark



earlymorning.jpg
 
I hear great things about the zebralights, I'm going to need to try one one of these days (now off to CPF for reviews :D). I've handled the e-Lites; they are pretty feather-weight.

Those are some epic day-hikes/trail-runs Mike :thumbup:
 
mtwarden said:
I settled on a Zebralight H31, I went CR123 as I use a Steripen so batteries can be swapped if need be, it has several settings- the medium setting (actually M2) is more than adequate for trail hiking at night, at that setting you get almost 23 hours of light :D it also has a retina burning high setting of 220- not really sure what you'd use that for, for around camp the L1 (5 lumens, 3.7 days) or even the L2 (0.5 lumens, 21 days!) works great

it's still pretty light @ ~ 2.5 oz w/ headband and battery

I'll be carrying this lamp for upcoming R2R2R run of the Grand Canyon, we'll be running ~ 2.5 hours in the dark in the morning (and hopefully not at all in the night! :D)

if I don't really expect to use the headlamp (vs planning on hiking in the dark) I often carry the diminutive (1.0 oz!) Petzel e-lite, it's plenty of light for around camp and in a pinch could help you get down the trail


this is at 3:00 AM, we're making a looong 28 mile day hike and needed a head start :) the H31 was outstanding on the medium setting fully lit up the trail, you'd often forget your hiking in the dark.
Click to expand...

Did you go with the regular H31 or the H31F (flood version)? Also neutral white or regular?
 
I'm kinda cheap, i go with an energiser head lamp and keep a 12 hr glow stick for "just in case".
 
Not really a day trip/hike but I had a headlamp fail and high lumen flashlight eat its batteries in the same night (1:00am)wandering around in the woods in the early spring (maple syrup season). My buddy had the quad loaded down with sap and took the long way out of the wood and I had a 2 mile foggy hike ahead of me when my lights both failed .I had a keychain light with an almost dead battery to find my way over a stream and through 500 yards of cornfield stubble when I almost tripped on a deer . A lesson learned well ,I went out and got a real headlamp (tactikka plus) and carry spare batteries and at least one flashlight and three ways to make fire if I go any farther than to get the mail;)
 
At a minimum, I'd carry just a headlamp: Petzl Tikka XP2. Often though, I'll carry a flashlight in addition to the Petzl headlamp [HDS Ra Tactical 140]. On longer than day trips, I'll carry both above and may even carry a lightweight Petzl eLite as well.
 
surefire E2DL and Princeton Tec quad tac.

My day hikes routinely turn into midnight excursions.

DSCF1246.jpg
 
I usually do my day hikes with my CamelBak and it has webbing on it, so I keep my Streamlight headlamp, sans headstrap, on the shoulder. I also have a couple of little lights from Princeton Tec, IIRC, that are meant as back-ups for headlamps that slide on my straps. Then, I always have a SL Nano on my keychain.
 
I have a Preon and Black Diamond headlamp in the kit I would use for a day hike. I have that basic kit set so that I am using all AAA batteries. Easy to carry spares and if the headlamp is getting weak or if I am stuck and the trip becomes a real situation, I can pull the batteries from the headlamp and use them one at a time in the Preon on low. I would bet that will give me days of low level light and never leave me in the dark. My last ditch light is a Petzel E-lite as well.
 
Thanks to this thread, I'm finally upgrading to a Zebralight. :D

I'm getting the H51w. Looks like it'll be a good mix of throw and spill to offer versatility in camp use or hiking in the dark. I like the color rendition with my neutral Quark Mini, so I figure having a neutral tint in a night-hiking/backpacking light should be nice. My Quark 2xAA is the normal cool tint and very bright; I'll have the best of both worlds if/when bringing both a flashlight and the headlamp. I went with the H51 vs the H31 for AA availability and battery type consolidation.

Considering my smaller backup lights (iTP A3 EOS Upgrade R5 and Photon) and the beam pattern of the non-pure-flood Zebralights, I'm thinking I may only need to bring the Zebralight along on dayhikes. I use trekking poles nowadays, so hands-free lighting is a definitely plus, even when not in camp. From all I've read, it seems like folks navigate trails well enough with the throw on the regular beam Zebralights.

I might even leave the flashlight home when backingpacking. Maybe I'll just bring the flashlight along when purposely hiking in the dark, so I can light things up at a distance.
 
Check out the Fenix E15 for back up, single CR123 and multi modes(low) up to 140 lumens. Very small and tough.
 
Personally for me I take a flashlight every where I go. By flashlight I mean a small AAA Lenix LDO1 that is more of a key chain light then flashlight, and is a standard part of my EDC. But anytime i am out hiking I have my headlamp with me because a flashlight is pretty annoying when you are trying to get anything done at night. I love having a small flashlight in my pocket for quick things but if I am going to be using it for anything important or extended then out comes my headlamp. I would never take a large flashlight and a headlamp and my edc light. Way to much overkill.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top