Flashlights for Emergency Prep

Being a noob on flashlights, the comments here will send you into a rabbit hole.

Some have a personal bias towards such or such light, and others will add a solar charger (with a discontinued link – go figure!). The better commenters will be more thorough and add some links.
Be wary, make listing of what is requirement, to what purpose and whom will use. Overly complicated light is out, seldom used means long storage - Alkalines are not reliable (manufacturer says otherwise, never believe company marketing. We all had our electronic devices ruined by leaked batteries).

As you had stated, a 3 day emergency. Spare batteries are a must. Rechargeables - well that won’t recharge without the grid. Throwaway Lithium cells have very long storage life.

Then there is the preparedness of any emergency. Items put in a box and left unattended are going to falter. My personal experience with a dedicated emergency box: I regularly use some items and replace / repair / remove or add to.

There is more than one light. For medical use, needed something I can hold in mouth while performing CPR or bandaging (plastic light versus the all too robust aluminium). For power loss, a light that doubles as a lantern and has very long runtime. For a fire, a light with throw on the lower temperature (4000º K) to cut thru smoke. Then a general purpose light with simple UI and lanyard (amidst the confusion and darkness, too easy to turn off and misplace).

In my parts, winter sleet / snow storm does have some power outages. We use lights frequently but also the humble candle. They provide heat also, albeit a fire hazard. Can warm up some food too.

Edit: some have suggested a light with strobe option (for signaling). The common ‘strobe’ is a rapid alternating flickering meant for deterrence. A beacon mode is what you need. Slow constant 1 Hz flashes signals distress and uses little power.
Spare batteries are a must. Stores will be out of stock or simply won’t be opened. Scrounging about relying on common battery types as AA or AAA is a better choice than CRA123. The 6 volt lantern is outdated and so are the D celled lights. Mixed feeling on C types - may be common in your locality.

Blue’s suggested Sofrin SP10s is an all around good light that runs on AA (NiMH). Unfortunately, may be a confusing UI to a first time user. Long press to off is not first nature, I still get it wrong often.

The light.
simple and easy. Cheap, reliable.
Each person. Little clip top plastic food box.
with…
1 x Astrolux AO1 with a 6 pack of decent AAA cells off the shelf.
or 1 x Jetbeam Jet-1 MK Pro. similar pack of AA cells.
Or/and, A cheap Headlamp each. for around $15 ea.

Have at least one. Much more powerful light there for signalling.
Convoy L2. Convoy L6. C8+, per group or group of groups.

Trick with the small torches is.
Keep them EMPTY of battery. Carry a sealed pack to suit torches.
(They normally have a 10 yr shelf life).
and put first one in when ready to use it.

Plus. one of you try to have a Hand Held UHF/ VHF Radio there.
For emergency contact.
Everybody else WILL be looking for you and others.

Water. and food.
I carried a 3 month rolling over stock of dried. Tinned foods on my yacht for 40 yrs.
But we were influenced by the cold war in the ’60’s.
I was with the Nuclear Missiles in West Germany pointing them to the Kremlin.
An awful lot of sailors. Caravanners, in my age group did so.
Ocean boats. 3 to 6 months at sea. come in for a look
then back out agin if not good.

Water salination tablets are good. Taste like shit.
But you can drink your own piss. SAFELY… If you have to.

We had desal units on yachts to drink sea water.
AND your own wee wee. Hand and electric.
AC MUCH more efficient than DC if you going that way.
EXPENSIVE.

Weather. Clothing to suit.
ANd PLEASE…. Have a spare/second pr of BOOTS or very strong shoes on your feet, or with you.
If your current wearing Shoes get cactus.
You ARE NOT going anywhere far on your feet.
Believe me.
Same as head. and gloves for hands.
Leather garden gloves x 2. a few of those paper face emergency masks.
Hat with peak or preferably a hat with all round brim, chin strap.
Beanie if cold (we in tropics)
Band aids. clips. Plaster bandages/splints.
. and SERIOUS pain pills.
and somebody please have some SUTURES in med kit.
You know how many cut themselves?.

It’s like insurance. Do the best you can.
and just hope you never have to use it.

Have fun.

OH a handful of those little black flat cell lights with LED on the front.
Coupla cents ea,
VERY handy to have everybody stick one in pocket.

I guess that I could tell everyone what kind of light I have in my gear and why.

A few months back it dawned on me that I had a mix of different kinds of flashlights. I knew I wanted to make some changes and streamline things a bit. I considered the same type of battery for all my lights and quickly dismissed that idea. What if I had to restock and the stores were out of the battery I needed? This was also dismissed because of cost.

Then I had what I feel is a stroke of genius. I just had to standardize the controls of the light. Nothing more. This offered me some flexibility but still offered the simplicity of the same UI across the board. I think UI is the proper term here.

Anyway, I wanted something simple that could be easily used by someone half asleep. Something easy to find in the dark. Tailcap controls. That was the answer. Click on, click off. The fact that I had been given a Sofrin SF14 and three Surefire lights over the last year or so was a help. Plus, I have a Nitecore MH25 in my nightstand.

So, now, my bug out bag has a Surefire 6P, my wife has another on her side of the bed. Her KIA has a C cell Costco special in the glove box and, the Sofrin is used at the office. All with the same basic controls.:slight_smile:

I just have to come up with something for my Jeep Cherokee. Any and all suggestions welcome.

Thank you for your insight. You gave me a lot to consider.

What are these “little black flat cell lights” you are talking about?

Wellp, the tried’n’true S2+ in all colors will fit 18650s stock and 18350s with the shorty tube, swap a TIR lens and shorty tube to squeeeeeze in an 18500. Tailswitch, can be backlit with a little effort. Easy to swap LED/driver. Drops in 20mm TIRs for whatever pattern (flood to throw) you want. Find a buck driver to fit, and you could even use a pair of ’123s in a pinch.

Forgot which ones “fit” together, but some Sofirns can now take the shorty tube from the headlamp. Only thing is, they’re only in black, and I don’t think they (yet) sell the shorty tube as a separate item. ’Though all bets are off if anything’s glued.

I have some lights I’m selling over here: https://budgetlightforum.com/t/-/57687 that would be perfect for handing out in an emergency. And the AA and AAA ones are next to free.

You lost me. I have no clue what an S2+ is or most of the other things. I know what 18650s are and ’123s but, that is about all. Don’t forget, I’m a Noob.

Thank you for the offer but, I am not purchasing lights for church members. They can do that on their own.

My goal behind this thread is to gain knowledge and insight from all of you. That way I’ll have an idea as to what I am talking about when approached by church members or leaders.

I guess that I should have started the thread asking about batteries instead of flashlights.

Ah, sorry for the useless plug then. Carry on.

Convoy S2+. Generally the staple of tubelights. Dirt cheap, rock-solid reliable, lego together in all sorts of colors, a wide variety of options now right off-the-shelf, infinitely moddable.

Just goggle it and be… inundated. :laughing:

I’ve never used the S2+, but it looks like the BLF A6 for a few dollars less. The A6 is currently my favorite light. I think either would be an incredible choice.

The S2+ was going for as low as 8bux a pop on GB æons ago. Then all the colors came out, and shorty tubes, and so on, and so on. Trick was to grab those with the crappiest emitters/drivers (eg, 1B with blink-on-low), and just swap ’em to whatever you’d want for cheap.

The orange shorty-tube with super-WW 219A was/is my favorite for quite a while. Looked “coppery” with matching retro WW light, and incredibly pocketable.

Oh! And with a nice 60° TIR lens in front.

TIR?

Is there a class for bonehead Noobs? Basic Flashlights 100 or 101

GIYF…

https://www.google.com/search?q=tir+lens

Just goggle around, take it at your own speed. We were all n00bz once.

That’s quite alright. No harm is done. I would prefer that you’re here giving ideas than not here.

These people don't need to be modding lights .

Instead of the normal sk68 junk that people would suggest I'd take it up a small notch to a Sofirn sf10 at about 7 $ . AA/14500 4 mode so it would be bright enough on high and have decent runtimes on lower modes. A double AA light making much more sense than a AAA since it has 3 times the capacity as a AAA.Everybody has them and they could even be found or scavaged from remotes or kids toys etc if necessary. Any pill bottle or inverted coffee cup could double as a diffuser so any light could become a lantern .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5eEIo_o0hg

I understand the term emergency prep brings thoughts of nukes ,faraday cages and murdering your neighbor for the propane off his gas grill but the reality is probably much more mundane and walking dead won't need 50,000 lumens to get their attention .

Jetbeam Jet mk1 is a great option if you can catch them on sale 15$

I keep preaching about the value of a decent cheap Headlamp and at 12$ the Boruit D10 delivers in a big way .

https://budgetlightforum.com/t/-/49717

people sit around trying to figure out how to keep a stash of energizer ultimate lithium AA batteries for just such an event BUT what's wrong with a small pile of 18650 batteries ? They stay charged for years even if you totally neglect the care and feeding of them . &2 hours isn't that long and most people won't be needing to read war and peace during a black out . I'm guessing most in an emergency would be simply hunkering down... riding it out .18650's are cheap and a ton of power /pound for pound .

S2+ is the Convoy-brand flashlight of choice for the whole forum. It’s the little tube light that could.

Here it is:

Hmm, speaking of which, anyone know where to get an 18500 for cheap (ie, not 5bux for the cell, 15bux for shipping)?

I can’t find my shorty S2+ nor recall if I let someone <coff!> “borrow” it or what. Wanna make another one if need be, and would prefer to not have a Slinky™ inside the battery tube.

Maybe this?

But the Vapcells 18500 (green) seem better :wink:
https://www.aliexpress.com/wholesale?catId=0&initiative_id=SB_20190724073454&SearchText=vapcell+18500

Tangential to the thread —- an elderly neighbor just asked me to find one of those little solar-rechargeable power banks for her cell phone (we live in earthquake country, a few blocks from the locked’n’loaded local fault).

I reminded her the cell tower batteries are only good for 24 hours, but still, that first day could be critical.

Does anyone have a known good source for the little solar battery bank things?

Checking reviews makes me very suspicious that most of what’s offered out there is junk.
In amongst the 5-star reviews is the occasional “too light for claimed battery capacity” and “solar panel won’t recharge” ….
Sturgeon’s Revelation at work.