What would you take for a trip to south/east Europe?

LED Flashlights – General Info
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(thrunite TN12/olight s20), (thrunite T10, olight S15), the i3s, black diamond revolt(or storm, if you do not want usb recharging), a handful of lithium AA/AAA, some 123s, a few 3400 panasonics, some sanyo 14500s, a xtar MC1/Miller ML-102, <12in micro usb cable (for the revolt and the charger), a bullet car charger (see pic, can usually accept 12-24v DC), and a amazon kindle charger (see pic, selected for is tiny size, can take 100-240v AC)

you can also get one of those solar panels. If you do, I recommend you build you own power converter, it is sometimes more efficient, and you can pick how fancy or simple it should be.

edit: or you can use a 12/24v solar panel, and a car plug, and use the car adaptor to change the voltage.
edit edit: see MPPT wiki if you are going to go solar.

If you do it right, all your lighting gear/ related parts should fit in a ziplock bag.

11

I’m taking a 3 week vacation to NE Europe this summer, and to be honest I don’t think that the light selection is all that important. In my experience a couple of reliable AA lights with good runtimes and spares is more than sufficient. Unless you’re going to be out in the deep woods for many days the brightness of the lights and runtime isn’t critical.

I’m basing this on 2 vacations I took last year, one to the Amazon and the other to Uganda. For the first I carried a Convoy S2 (1.4A), a Zebralight H52 and Tank007 E09 (talk about non-common battery types :laughing:. I had more than enough light and only went through 1 spare 18650 and AA NiMH. For the second I carried a ShiningBeam Caveman and a Tank007 tk566. Again I had more than enough light and only had to replace the battery in the Tank007 once.

When it’s dark enough 10 lumens is bright enough for most things. In fact at night the lower the low the better it was in most cases.

For the upcoming trip I’m taking the Caveman (or perhaps my Starry SA22), the Tank007 566 and the Tank07 E09. I’ll also have 2 battery replacements for each but I doubt I’ll need them.

If you don’t want to take NiMH’s due to heat, then I’d just go ahead and get Lithium primaries.

In my thinking the most important things are reliability, runtime, battery type, size, and brightness. And reliability is about 90% of the total.

12

Ok guys, thank you so much for your answers :slight_smile:

Some night hiking in woods/not woods will take place, but only for maybe 3-4 times at max, so that is not critical. I think I have over-considered the light problem…sorry, can’t help it!
So, now I think it is best if I stuck to AA and CR123A Lithium, and that drives me to the light I could take, keeping reliability in mind.

I don’t have that much trusty AA-powered lights :

- the SA-22 from the group buy, but it is definitely too big/bulky.

- Zebralight H502c, should be ok, but not waterproof, even if Zebralight says so

- L3 Illumination L10, sounds good

  • Thrunite Neutron 2A, a bit on the “big” side

maybe it’s time for me to buy some new one :smiley: Olight S15?

Regarding CR123A :

- Sparks SF3 & SG3

- Zebra H31fc (idem, not really waterproof?)

- Jetbeam DDC10

  • Olight S10

and that’s all. I have some others, but they are budget oriented, and I won’t trust them that much. Xtar WK42 looks really good, stop tempting me!
I also may have found an HDS clicky 120 high CRI…these are told to be very reliable, but also very expensive. Worth it? I was willing to test one for some times now.

For now I’d take Olight S10 and L3 Illumination L10. I am tempted with Olight i3s as a backup, even if it’s a AAA, and one of the Zebra (H502c of H31fc) as a headlamp. If I decide to buy the HDS, I’d also take this one.
(What I didn’t say is I have to choose for my wife too, so at least two lights for each).

13

I would bring zebralights because they are sooo efficient on lower modes
h52w would be my choice since you can buy AA batteries everywhere
are you going to visit Slovakia as well? if yes then you are more than welcome to visit :slight_smile:

14

Hi, don’t know what to suggest really but, if you pas throw Albania let me now(I live in Tirana ), and then i can suggest some nice places to see, can recharge your lights :p, and also give a beer (if I would have some free time that is ) !

By the way i can do this from everyone from BLF, since here are very helpful generally and I am having a lot of fun here.

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That’s why I like so much BLF :heart_eyes: Thank you both so much for the offer :beer:
Unfortunately, I don’t plan to go to Slovakia or Albania…but maybe some day!

I’d also be glad to share a beer with any nice BLF member if they come in Brittany :party:

PS: Now I have a doubt about my box of CR123A batteries, if you have an idea Help me spot fake Panasonic CR123A batteries

16

Can you get a good solar charger?

I would take 3 lights, SA22, P1A and Xintd X3

P1A - small and two modes 12hr low 1hr high (Substitute with any equivalent 1AA light you have with long time low mode(s), zebralights probably better for higher efficiency

SA22 - runs on rechargeable NiMH and has 2 low modes which should give good runtime and has high output with decent throw. Substitute for other 4AA lights if available/better options. Only problem is i don’t know the runtime on the low modes, but if you can measure current you should be able to calculate runtime, assume its a linear driver, and if its buck then you will get better then your calcs so win/win.

Xintd X3 - 26650 has more capacity then 18650 (not by much but every mA helps) and has many modes available and is a good quality reliable light. Substitute with any 26650 light you may have (if you have 26650 cells), and many modes (with good low). If you don’t have 26650 lights or cells consider good quality 18650 throwy light you have with highest capacity cells you have or are willing to buy.

I don’t know what you have already

Don’t trust manufacturer runtimes on lights, they may not be as inflated as chinese lumens but are still often quite inflated and the last thing you need is no light when you thought you had many hours left.

Only buy a solar charger from a reputable name brand or thoroughly reviewed and tested (recently) because they are often made poor quality and inflated specs.

NiMH does okay in high temps, not bad from what i understand. Rechargeable li ion will take a beating in longevity, you will make it through your trip fine i assume but you might take years off their expected life expectancy.

17

You’re right, I should consider a solar charger. I think I’ve seen some reviews recently, I’ll look into that.

Thank you for the explanation about each light. SA22 and Xintd X3 are unfortunately too big, each grams will count. I don’t have the Xintd X3, but I think I’ll put it on my “to buy” list :smiley: I don’t have 26650 batteries and/or lights yet, will be a start.

18

What lights do you have?
Since size and weight are so critical that adds another wrinkle

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Here’s a quick list of lights I have and I could consider taking, size-wise. Some are SS, so weight will leave them out. I also have plenty of P60 hosts, but they’ll be too big I think.

http://tof.canardpc.com/view/e91b6839-4f90-4bfe-9011-4a728e159f1c.jpg

I can also consider buying new lights (I can always considering that), like the Xtar WK42.

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I am not familiar with a lot of them, but my list of 3 was based on NiMH and li ion (rechargeable is good even if you can’t recharge often), throw and bright for the odd situation where they come in handy and low and efficient for long runtimes and frequent use.
If you were going to take 20 CR123s then why not a few lights instead?

Ultimately if you want to go with minimalist i think the SA22 and a solar charger and 8AA (4 charging and 4 in light) would do most situations, but i would be hesitant to go with 1 light only, so why not SA22, soalr charger, 8AA and a couple 1AA with long runtime lows.

If you can’t get a solar charger then your 20 CR123s and 3 lights with low lows and bright highs.

21

I won’t take them all (especially if they are fake as I suspect), but I was planning to take 4 lights (2 per person), and 2 spare batteries per light at least. Less if I find a correct solar charger…but they seem to be big or inefficient…

In the past (long time ago) I did the same type of trip with just 2D and 2AA Maglites (yes it was in the “before-led” era), and ended running out of batteries, but I don’t remember how much spares I had, nor the practical runtime of these Maglites. I tend to favour small lights, I don’t think I’ll need much power. Maybe I can take the Sparks SG3 instead of the H31fc, it has a great powerful turbo mode though.

22

I have an older version of this solar charge Amazon.com and it works fine charging 4 NiMH batteries. If I was charging less than 4 I would plug this one http://us.sanyo.com/Battery-Products/AA-2-Pack-with-USB-Charger into the output port of the Goal Zero battery charger so that it doesn’t constantly go on/off if the sun is occluded.

23

I come back to taunt you with my Olight S20-L2. :wink:

If you run it on the lowest mode you can have it running continously for more than three weeks on a single 18650. Not very bright, but bright enough to find the way to the bathroom in the dark or rummaging in the luggage if you don’t want to disturb others or destroy your eyes adaptation to the darkness. And easy to increase the level if needed.

Add a small silicone diffuser and you have a great tent/camp lantern for hiking as well.

And if needed it runs fine on two CR123s…

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you have a point, this would be a great light for the OP

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You do not need any special equipement. First of all, you need two light sources - flashlight and headlamp. Both water resistant. Ideal is combination of Nimh AA battery in pocket flashlight and 18650 headlamp. You need some spare reachargeable batteries. There is no problem to buy alkaline AA batteries almost everywhere. If you have some USB adapter and usb charger for you batteries, take it. You can charge your batteries is some cafes. Also you can tell some man in villages that you need water to drink and if it is possible to charge your batteries for a half hour. That is reason for take really good USB power bank with solid input - XIAOMI for example.

26

I agree with street on most of his points: you only (need) a headlamp. That being said, it is extremely useful to have some form of flashlight. Make sure it takes rechargeables + primaries (JIK), and has a low low and a decent high.
I disagree on his battery considerations, but that is just me.

I am going on a group backpacking trip this summer, and I am debating whether I need a flashlight at all gasp.

The reason behind me recommending the black diamond revolt was: small, can be recharged via USB, can take (3)AAAs if needed (I recommend lithiums), decent efficiency, mode arrangement (has dimming), and different leds (flood, spot, RED (more useful than you might think)).

the olight S15 is cool because you can get 2 extra extension tubes (total of 3 AA) for a better runtime.

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The Black diamond revolt sure looks interesting, but non regulated, and also cool white without an easy way to mod it.

I’ve tried some various lights in various situations this week, and I think the Olight S20-L2 you pointed will do great. I’ll have to find a way to mod it to neutral or warm, but it should be doable if it’s like the S10 :smiley:

Lithium AA are more expensive (for me) than CR123A. Zebralight H502c is really nice for close-up tasks, but its lack of reflector is a real handicap for what I’ll do I think, as I tend to end up in high mode with it… Size and weight matter a bit, so I’ll avoid solar charger, and I’ll probably end with these lights:

Me: Spark SF3 and Zebra H31fc
GF : Olight S10 and Spark SG3
Backup : L3 Illumination L10 (small, runs on AA) and Olight i3s (with lithium AAA)

plus very probably an Olight S20-L2 with a 3400mAh 18650.

With 8 CR123A (one in each light and 4 spares), that will be waaaay overkill I think, but I can’t help it, I’m a flashaholic :cowboy_hat_face:
Anyway, these should be light and small enough to remain unnoticeable. The headlamps will probably get the most use, so I’m not still 100% for the S20…maybe an Armytek Wizard instead? But they are expensive, and suffer from firmware bug (?).

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Its not more lights you need, you need the most power you can get away with, 3 lights is more then good enough (4 or more is overkill) but you want as many batteries as you can

29

I think flashlights with AA/AAA will be better to find extra batteries when needed.
In Europe it is not easy to find 18650 format and also cr123a.