Thanks gcbryan. So far I'm not afraid of an 18650 on my head, so long as it's only one and it's protected. One thing I'm unsure of is whether I should carry a multimeter with me. I don't see any information concerning whether or not the UF-H3 has low voltage warning/protection.
-Garry
Garry - I picked up a small (3x4") DMM at Harbor Freight a couple of weeks ago, $4.99.
Yeah I have that one (most likely the same - think I got it at $2 on sale). That would be the one I would carry since it's small. It's useless for current measurements (at least for flashlights - see here), but I would only be measuring voltage anyway on the trip (and it seems fine for voltages). I guess it won't be that heavy to carry for the assurance of being able to measure the cells.
-Garry
It may sound silly, but a white balloon is a near-weightless option for a campsite lantern.
An empty milk jug with a scratched CD inserted at an angle has done decent lantern duty as well. Use the cap to make a light holder, point at CD, et voila.
Chicago X, yeah I've actually seen balloons suggested as light diffusers (over at that "other place"). Guess I could carry a few and test it out. I like the milk jug idea (although not too practical for the bike trip) esp. using an old CD to reflect light.
-Garry
(Not my pic. Found on this page.)
-Garry
ok, i might get chastised a bit for this...
but I can't give up my old school lanterns. They just put out sooooo much light. I have the big 2 mantle dual fuel, regular size 2 mantle, a single mantle, and a backpack single mantle. all coleman.
Granted, when I camp, my gear is transported by boat, or dog cart/sled, so I don't bear the weight much, like you would on a bike...
A pint of fuel and you're easily good for the weekend.
Yeah dthrckt, I was wondering about going with a simple small propane lantern like this one. But now that I am changing up the camp stove I'll be carrying I'll be using these smaller fuel canisters instead of the big ones (I carried the big ones last year and hardly used one.) I really don't want to carry the big one just for a lantern. I also have no idea how to judge how much fuel I'd need. Do they make mantel lights for these smaller fuel cans? EDIT: Quick search turned up this one, but it's too expensive! Know a cheaper alternative?
-Garry
my dad has a coleman propane lantern, and my camper has a single mantle propane light. I don't have experience w/ others, but those two aren't as bright as the ones that use naptha (aka, coleman fuel, white gas, etc).
but, that's not to say they aren't superior to electric lanterns - depending on your application/taste of course....
I don't know of cheaper alternatives. but i just checked coleman's site to show you the backpack, single mantle, liquid fuel lantern I have and they don't list it anymore (it is smaller than the standard single mantle).
they do have that one cheaper on their site, but I didn't check shipping
http://www.coleman.com/Products/24757/backpacking-lighting
I looked at them, long ago, and decided the one i have would be as small as I'd go - ie I'd go w/o if I wanted to save weight/space. I also use an msr dragonfly, or big 2 burner coleman stove, so I can go all liquid fuel...
This might help as well:
Garry, this might be an "old idea" but I might still link it:
http://www.solarforce-sales.com/product_detail.php?t=FA&s=19&id=445
They seem to have new Camping Lantern available with tripod stand and the price is a bit lower!
Otherwise, if you don´t have Solarforce compatible host, I would just go with Zebralight AA and sufficient amount of Eneloops.
If only 18650 were available, I would pay attention to modes. Especially that I could have a-low-enough -mode available to maintain maximum runtime if needed.
If you have a P60 host, this here fits perfectly on a L2P:
Can be found here:
And it's only 4 bucks.
I like it very much, I use it with a warm white XP-G drop-in. Just like having a handheld incan bulb.
BTW Garry, great pics.
I especially liked the one where past flood peaks were painted on the wall of a house.
Yeah, where that building of the flood levels were was always a favorite stopping place. It's a little convenience store/grill. We had timed it to get lunch there and were so disappointed when we found the place cleared out! There had been some area flooding weeks prior. Oh well, dug some energy bars out of the packs and moved on.
BTW-that flooding was one of the reasons we ended up riding in the dark. We arrived at a campsite right at dusk (arrived late due to some flat tires) and it was flooded! So we were forced to ride on another 5.5 miles to the next site and hoping it wasn't flooded! (It wasn't.)
-Garry
i got buy , but not in this store