Time to walk the dogs - two smallish Jack Russells, one a speedy young bitch that runs far and wide, and the other an aging stud that likes to amble, cock his leg every ten feet and dawdle, far, far behind. The fields and forest are but the length of a lane away. The dogs wait impatiently while I kit up.
1. S2+ shorty triple on the hat brim (to see where I’m going)
2. D4 in right hand hand (in momentary mode for chastising Christmas motorists and kids on bikes)
3. C8 in the left pocket (for blinding deer in the furthest field or signalling UFO’s)
4. MT03 over the shoulder (afraid to say that the childish enthusiasm over the Q8 is not enough to deter me from wanting all of the MT03’s lumens for blinding errant bears - the nearest one of which is 300 miles away in the Pyrenees, but hey, I could get lucky)
5. Olight i3s on the neck lanyard inside my shirt (in case the sky should fall on my head)
Check everything, coat on, dogs on leads, hand on door handle - the night awaits, looming darkly. I can conquer anything.
And then the wife steps into the hallway, looks me up and down, and says,“It’s not Armageddon today, sweetheart. It’s tomorrow. You can’t need all those lights, surely? You’re only going out for 30 mins……”
I started walking the dogs with a Thrunite TN4A and a C8 with a Thorfire TGO6 as well but i got tired of having to load up and then unload my pockets again so ended up with just a C8 . If it fails ill rely on the dogs to get me home i dont have to worry about any wild animals here maybe the odd hedgehog but im not to worried about one of them .
I usually only take one (yes, crazy) but will spend 10 minutes staring at my shelf deciding which the lucky one is.
Meanwhile, my big girl is scratching at the door and my little guy is whimpering impatiently.
If that isn’t enough, now that it’s winter (and freezing cold w/snow), it takes another few minutes to get all suited up.
I did for a while have a Nitecore Tube attached to each dogs harness mainly for other people to spot them as a normally walk in the dark with them on the Tarka Trail which is a old rail way line . I stopped when i lost one tube and i realised i dont meet anyone when out walking at 11pm . I use the torch when i need to pick up the dog mess and you know just to shine light for no reason .
I used to put a couple of small 2032 flashing bike-lamps on their collars until I realised that it took away the necessity to have a thrower to hand. Where’s the fun in that if you know where the bloody dogs have gone?
I don’t have a vast collection, less than a dozen lights, I guess. But they all serve a specific purpose. So I know your feeling too, though having just one light would frighten me. I once dropped the only light I had out walking once on a moonless night - a situation I will never replicate again.
Our goto flashlight for walking our 2 small dogs is the Supfire M6 modified by Richard at Mountain Electronics. It puts out over 4,000 lumens and has a great balance of flood and throw. Our main concern is coyotes, so we’re always on the lookout especially when it’s dark out. Here’s our “bigger” dog with the M6:
XTAR H3 Warboy headlamp on low (but it’s got 1000 lm available when necessary). Absolutely need a headlamp for #2 pickups.
either Acebeam EC50 II or Supbeam X60, depending on where I’m going. If there be skunks, coyotes, bears, etc, then it’s the X60. If I’ll be walking under a bridge, also the X60.
Utorch UT01 on keychain as backup. It can put out a fair bit of light, albeit for a short time.
My “skunk light” has saved me from late-night peroxide treatments at least 4 or 5 times.
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