I picked up a photon micro II the other day and it got me thinking of how many diffrent flashlights i've used over the years. The lights listed here are just the ones i've used for more than a few years, i'm sure there have been many many more that made the rotation for a short while.
My first great (in my opinion) light was the 3 "D" cell mag light. It was cheap, very dependable and built tough. There were many times it's been dropped in camp or on the trail and always kept on ticking. Batteries last for decent amount of time so no bad marks there. Worst case scenario was a bulb out now and again, or dead batteries. Both of which were easy to replace, and if you had them on hand, quick fixes. Downside, heavy and large with heavy and large batteries. Used one or two of these for many years of truck camping.
Second great light was my surefire 6P. It was pretty well made but expensive (to me). It was dependable and much brighter than the mag light. Downside was expensive and short life expensive batteries. It wasn't heavy, but for backpacking which i started doing around this time it was a bit much if you included the carrier with extra lens and extra batteries.
Third great light was my pac-lite. This was nothing more than an led sitting on a 9 volt battery with switch for high, low and off. I used one of these for the last 4 years and i'm still on the original battery. I'm not kidding, going from memory with a lithium battery they estimate 900+ hours or something like that on low. Upside is it's cheap, simple, ridiculously long battery life and it fits in very small space. Downside is you need to hold it or rig up something to hold it if you need free hands. This is where i began my transition into headlamps, still carry the pac-lite as my backup, until my next light.
My newest light is a Photon micro II and i've only had it a couple days and haven't had a chance to use it yet. Potential upsides, small, light, fairly long lasting battery, and simple operation. Potential downsides, never really used the coin type batteries until this one, and my petzl e light discussed in a sec.
My first headlamp was the Princeton Tec Yukon XL. Upside it was very nice for brightness and battery life. Downside, costly, heavy and bulky to wear. I used one of these for a few years until i started backpacking, then i moved to my next light.
My next headlamp was a Princeton Tec Eos. This one was cheaper than the yukon and battery life was pretty decent. It was smaller and lighter also, making it much more comfortable to carry/pack and wear. It was bright enough for camp chores and handsfree operation was nice. I used this one for the last few years or so and continue up until...
The Petzl E light. This one i picked up last month and it was reasonably priced at the local outdoors store. I've seen some decent reviews on it, and it looks to be much lighter and smaller than the Eos. I have yet to give it a trial run since my son was born last month i've been pretty busy :yawn: I don't know if this one is going to make the all time list or not, it seems a little light duty for my style, but i could be wrong.
Anyway, if this thread sparks up anything interesting on your own light progression, or if you want to start a new thread for a progression of your own (like pots/cooking systems or tents etc) i'll be checking them out. This is my first real post that i've tried to contribute something although i've been lurking for awile so be gentle.
My first great (in my opinion) light was the 3 "D" cell mag light. It was cheap, very dependable and built tough. There were many times it's been dropped in camp or on the trail and always kept on ticking. Batteries last for decent amount of time so no bad marks there. Worst case scenario was a bulb out now and again, or dead batteries. Both of which were easy to replace, and if you had them on hand, quick fixes. Downside, heavy and large with heavy and large batteries. Used one or two of these for many years of truck camping.
Second great light was my surefire 6P. It was pretty well made but expensive (to me). It was dependable and much brighter than the mag light. Downside was expensive and short life expensive batteries. It wasn't heavy, but for backpacking which i started doing around this time it was a bit much if you included the carrier with extra lens and extra batteries.
Third great light was my pac-lite. This was nothing more than an led sitting on a 9 volt battery with switch for high, low and off. I used one of these for the last 4 years and i'm still on the original battery. I'm not kidding, going from memory with a lithium battery they estimate 900+ hours or something like that on low. Upside is it's cheap, simple, ridiculously long battery life and it fits in very small space. Downside is you need to hold it or rig up something to hold it if you need free hands. This is where i began my transition into headlamps, still carry the pac-lite as my backup, until my next light.
My newest light is a Photon micro II and i've only had it a couple days and haven't had a chance to use it yet. Potential upsides, small, light, fairly long lasting battery, and simple operation. Potential downsides, never really used the coin type batteries until this one, and my petzl e light discussed in a sec.
My first headlamp was the Princeton Tec Yukon XL. Upside it was very nice for brightness and battery life. Downside, costly, heavy and bulky to wear. I used one of these for a few years until i started backpacking, then i moved to my next light.
My next headlamp was a Princeton Tec Eos. This one was cheaper than the yukon and battery life was pretty decent. It was smaller and lighter also, making it much more comfortable to carry/pack and wear. It was bright enough for camp chores and handsfree operation was nice. I used this one for the last few years or so and continue up until...
The Petzl E light. This one i picked up last month and it was reasonably priced at the local outdoors store. I've seen some decent reviews on it, and it looks to be much lighter and smaller than the Eos. I have yet to give it a trial run since my son was born last month i've been pretty busy :yawn: I don't know if this one is going to make the all time list or not, it seems a little light duty for my style, but i could be wrong.
Anyway, if this thread sparks up anything interesting on your own light progression, or if you want to start a new thread for a progression of your own (like pots/cooking systems or tents etc) i'll be checking them out. This is my first real post that i've tried to contribute something although i've been lurking for awile so be gentle.
