Electronics degrade over time. Solder breaks down, o-rings and seals fail, etc. I’m looking at what would the best flashlights be to keep in LONG TERM storage? Call me paranoid, but I figured with all the old and extra lights I have its been a near zero cost investment… I made a couple of metal trash can style EMP/faraday boxes. Basically, I’ve just tossed my old and unused lights into them. Lets pretend somebody actually wanted to spend money on this project, what flashlight make/model(s) would be the best choice? Never mind the performance requirements, what lights will be good to go if they are pulled out in 15 years, 30 years or 50 years? Batteries are a separate issue, but lets assume any common cell size would be appropriate.
Personally I’d keep a variety if I were doing similar, to maximize versatility and minimize risk of any systematic issue with a specific model leaving me in the dark.
I’m not too worried in general about specific models, but would include at least one Sofirn C01 - it’s small, just about as simple as it gets, and can run on mostly discharged batteries in case the need to scrounge ever arose.
I doubt that solder will break down, o-rings/seals fail, or break down in general when flashlights are stored in benign conditions (i.e., indoor one’s home) even when stored long term. I have lights and other electronics that I packed away in my earthquake supplies 30 years ago and they still work fine when I do my annual supplies check.
I keep several incan D-cell lights, 18650’s, AA NiMh/14500, and several headlights in my supplies some of which use AAA. I want to be able to use different batteries since I figure most batteries will be hard to get if there’s a major earthquake here.
Simplest is always best. 1-mode lights with just 7135s or (ironically) better yet some ballast resistors will pretty much always work. µCs can potentially lose their minds with even a single bit-flip (rare, but can happen in a decade or three). Materials can outgas and cause mischief like fogging on the reflector/glass or corrosion on contact points.
Probably stand a better chance of your stash being struck by lighting than having those things happening, though.
For me personally for extreme long term emergency lights as horrible as they are a crank light + radio should be in the kit.
Do you mind sharing list of items of your supplies for earthquake preparedness?
I live in an area with potential megathrust earthquake and must be prepared.
I don’t mean to hijack the thread but I think it’s still relevant to the topic?
Thank you.
This is a condense list of what I currently have. I’m heavily focused on water treatment and such since I follow the 3-3-3 rules (one dies if 3 minutes without air, 3 days without water, and 3 weeks without food). There are water sources near me so I want to ensure that I can treat any water I might have to get from them so that it’s safe to drink afterwards.
I also have things stored in 3 separate locations in case of collapse, etc.
For water treatment/etc
Katadyn Pocket water filter (0.2 micron filter and in theory good for 50,000 liters)
Katadyn Hiker pro water filter (0.3 micron filter - something to lend to neighbors)
5 Lifestraw water filters
4 Sawyer mini-filters
4 Berkey water filter bottles
Katadyn Chloride Dioxide water treatment tablets
Aquarmir Chloride Dioxide water treatment
Potable Aqua Pure Water Purifier (a pocket size device that makes Chloride Dioxide by passing current through a brine solution)
2 separate tincture of iodine bottles and eye droppers (my last resort)
Polar Pure iodine solution
2 Steripens with batteries
aquarium charcoal for removing chlorine/iodine/etc taste from water
chlorine, ammonia, nitrate remover
coffee filters (remove particulates when filtering water)
100 gallons of water in 5 gallon cans
75 1 pint water bottles
1 pound Calcium Hypochlorite for making bleach
Flashlights/electronics/power/cooking/food
1700 watt generator
2 5 gallon filled gas containers (stored outside so technically not with my supplies)
Blitzwolf solar panel
Goal Zero solar panel
30 18650 fully charged (checked every 6 months)
AA and AAA lithium batteries
30 Eneloops fully charged (checked every 6 months)
2 18650 flashlights with built-in USB charging and batteries in them
4 18650 flashlights with batteries in them
2 AA/1450 flashlights
1 18650 headlight w/built-in charger, 2 USB charged headlights, 2 AAA headlights
BLF lantern
4 li-ion/NiMh chargers (tested to work with solar chargers)
camping matches/long lighters/snap lights/cigarette lighters/matches/candles
2 2-burner camping stoves with extension hoses and tee connector
12 1lb propane canisters
20lb propane tank
48 cans of spam
48 emergency food bars
Misc
500 feet rope/200 feet paracord/2 standard size can openers/2 p-38 can openers/latex gloves/leather gloves
duct tape/eye googles/ear plugs/filter masks/50 33 gallon plastic bags/plastic paint drop sheets/20ft x 30ft tarp
bandages/antibiotics/steri-pads/insect repellent
small and long crowbars/pocket knifes/knives with holsters/3 hardhats/whistle/hatchet/entrenching tool/portable toilet
tool back pack with sockets/wrenches/hammer/diagonals/pliers/screw drivers and bits/electrical tape/duct tape
hand pump for pumping water or gas from another car
sleeping bags/4 person tent
weapons (ok call me paranoid :sunglasses: )
instructions on how to treat water, etc for family members
This man sounds ready.
My man, you can’t just list your entire prepper’s manifesto and inventory and then just gloss over ‘weapons’! (Unless it’s against forum rules… in which case carry on…)
I don’t believe it’s against forum rules so….I currently have a Remington 870 and a 9mm Ruger P89 as my emergency weapons, but I sometimes swap the Ruger out for a S&W 686 when the mood strikes me.
Not that I think that there will be a breakdown in social behavior in the event of a major quake.
@SIGShooter
Very well explained, thank you.
I keep several P60 incan hosts and P60 dropins (about 20 of them in different voltages) as well as Lithium primaries in AA, AAA and Cr123 (good till 2040) all in a metal container as a secondary backup (Solar being my primary backup).
What is it with preppers and spam? Wont canned soup last as long and be equally nutritious?
Me a prepper? I know that term gets thrown around as synonymous with a survivalist but I’m just an average guy who wants to be as prepared as much as possible for an earthquake. No different from a person who has flashlights and batteries in case there’s a power outage. It doesn’t cost that much to be somewhat prepared even if the items are never used, which is my fervent desire. Most people don’t even have the basic supplies needed, water for example, and will suffer either a little or a lot when the next emotionally stimulating event comes. This was somewhat demonstrated by the 1989 Loma Prieta quake which was really a moderate one as these things go.
But to answer your question, I like spam :). However we have enough can food to last our family for 3-4 months just because we buy things in bulk when we go shopping at Costco. Hence my storing 4 can openers in my dedicated supplies where the spam is kept.
Buy Twinkies in bulk. They last forever…
Not sure your age but back in the 70s in the states there was the nuclear scare. Buildings had fall out shelters, people would buy canned food and rice for long term storage. Looks like history repeats itself. Your methodology is spot on. I will likely do something similar one day. I don’t trust these politicians. I don’t know who voted for them to make these foolish decisions. I didnt.
Wow, if you’re preparing for an EMP bomb of some kind, then flashlights should be your last concern. Besides, I don’t think the electronics of a flashlight would be damaged from an EMP, unless it was really close. In which case, the flashlight is probably destroyed from the blast wave.
But to answer your question, any flashlight should last decades or even centuries, if stored in a dry place. Go with something simple, such as a cheap department store light with a mechanical on/off switch. Minimum stuff to go wrong.
Given that I’m reaching 70 end of this year I’m old enough to remember school drills where we had to duck under our wooden desks in the event of a nuclear attack :person_facepalming: . Even then I wondered what good that would do if an instant sunshine gadget went off anywhere within 10’s of miles of us. Lucky I and everyone else didn’t have to find out 
To be honest my kids laugh at me when they think about all the stuff I store. They also laughed at me when I brought 10 flashlights (1 handheld and 1 headlamp for everyone) on a vacation to the Amazon. Their tune certainly change when it became pitch dark under the canopy hahaha. I’m guessing it will be the same if we ever need the supplies and it takes a month or more for aid to reach us.
“Anybody not wearing 2,000,000 sunblock is gonna have a real bad day!”
This would apply if you assume the EMP source is a nuclear weapon, but EMP devices exist that have a blast radius not much more than a grenade! (flux compression generators).
There are also EMPs that use no explosive materials at all.