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I went on a trip this weekend and one of the guys had these.
http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templ ... hasJS=true

We were in a huge room in the cave and when he turns both of them on, on his helmet, along with his princeton tec .......whatever the big one is. it lit that room up like crazy, it was amazing how much light they put off.

They list for $40 but I just went to cabella's and bought 2 of them for $20 each. They produce 65 lumens, 50 meter range and 3 watts, 6 hour time, 2 AA. I made the mistake of pointing one at my eye when i hit the button and now im seeing sun spots ;)

I can't wait for my next trip so I can use these in the big trunk lines, etc.

Looks good. Does it really have 6 hour burn time? That'd be great! One of the reviews on the Cabella's Web site says 2 hours, so I wanted to make sure. How'd you snag them for $20? A sale in the store that's not online?

Well I don't know yet, I just got them today. As everything is advertised, its probably a 2 hour burn time. I didn't know they were on sale till they were rung up , but they are bright ;)

I had an Energizer 3 watt light. It got submerged in 2.5 feet of water for several minutes. Later the switch went flakey. Energizer sent me a check for $25 after I returned it and they inspected it.

My real point/question is: I've seen lights at Target that claim more than 3 watts - I forget the actual numbers. If memory serves, they also run on 2AA batteries. Can anyone share their experience with those?

- les

Well, right now Wal-Mart sells a Coleman LED flash light that runs off of 3 AAA's which says it produces 115 lumens, 75m distance, 6 hour burn time, but doesnt say the watts. I was going to try that one out but I didn't like how bulky is. The Cabelas light I just got is still low profile, the coleman one is just bulky.

I am currrently using a Fenix L2D on the side of my helmet.

It is waterproof, has multiple brightness levels (up to 180 lumens!) and very long runtimes if you don't run it on "turbo" all the time. But you can get 8% off and free shipping with the coupon code CPF8. If purchased from the fenix store, they will guarantee it for life and shipping from Georgia is very quick for those of us in TAG.

https://www.fenix-store.com/product_inf ... cts_id=362

Features:
* Utilizes a Premium (Q5) Cree 7090 XR-E LED with a life of 50,000 hours
* Two modes of output, selected by turning the bezel (patented)
* General Mode: 12 lumens (55hrs) -> 53 lumens (10.5hrs) -> 107 lumens (4hrs) -> SOS
* Turbo Mode: 180 lumens (2.4hrs) -> Strobe
• 28 days of survival use (2 continuous hours per day on the lowest setting)
* Digitally Regulated for Constant Brightness
* Uses two 1.5V AA ( Alkaline, NiMH, Lithium ) batteries (not included), inexpensive and widely available
* 14.7cm (L) x 2.1cm (D) or 5.8 in (L) x 0.8 in (D)
* Made of aircraft grade aluminum
* Durable Type III hard anodized finish
* 56-gram (or 2.0 oz) weight (excluding batteries)
* Waterproof to IPX-8 Standards
* Toughened ultra clear glass lens with AR coating
* Push-button tail cap switch
* Capable of standing up securely on a flat surface to serve as a candle
* Batteries not included
* Includes a holster, a lanyard, two spare o-rings, and a rubber switch boot

Yeah, the small Fenix lights are nice.

I wear a Fenix L0D around my neck (inside my suit) as a light of last resort (also handy for reading survey compasses): runs on a single AAA (and isn't much bigger than that) and will supposedly give 8 hours of use on the lowest settings (7.5 lumens), which so far seems accurate.

https://www.fenix-store.com/product_inf ... cts_id=191

It's not cheap ($46 or so) but I'm a bit of a light geek

Maybe Fenix will make a headlamp someday, their handhelds are nice.

Steven Johnson wrote:
Maybe Fenix will make a headlamp someday, their handhelds are nice.

They actually are in the process of designing a headlamp, but no word on when it will be released or what its specifications might be, but I have high hopes for it.

Great idea to carry the L0D around your neck!

YuccaPatrol wrote:They actually are in the process of designing a headlamp, but no word on when it will be released or what its specifications might be, but I have high hopes for it.

Maybe they will let some cavers beta-test it

I have a 3 watt MiniMag mounted on my helmet and it's good but not GREAT. But it's a back up and suitable as such.

Another vote for Fenix lights. I've had an L2D mounted to the side of my helmet for a couple of years now, and the bezel and tailcap are well abraded but the light still works great.

Chads93GT wrote:Well, right now Wal-Mart sells a Coleman LED flash light that runs off of 3 AAA's which says it produces 115 lumens, 75m distance, 6 hour burn time, but doesnt say the watts. I was going to try that one out but I didn't like how bulky is. The Cabelas light I just got is still low profile, the coleman one is just bulky.

115lm sounds rather like a Cree (or maybe a Seoul) LED run at around a Watt (350mA). Off 3xAAAs, that output wouldn't be sustainable for 6 hours, so it's likely that'd be the peak on fresh cells, with some gradual decline as they flatten.

3xAAA is about the worst battery configuration. I'd avoid it if possible. It will start out nice and bright and rather quickly begin dimming.

A 2xAA with regulated output will burn brighter at least twice as long.

I hear talk, time to time about better batteries. I have energizer rechargables right now, are there some out there that will hold more power for the money?

The worst thing about the Energizer batteries are the "fast" chargers they come with. They tend to cook the batteries leading to lower capacities and shorter lifetimes. Any charger that will charge in an hour or less is charging too quickly for maximum performance and lifespan.

I've had the best luck with the MAHA Powerex 2700mAH rechargeables available from Thompson Distributing. I charge all of my batteries using the MAHA MC-9000 battery charger they sell. It is expensive at $60, but it has special modes to recondition your batteries and can measure the actual capacity of each of your batteries. Nothing I have used comes close to giving me the best charge as well as the longest lifespan for my batteries.

If you don't want to mail order for batteries, I've found that the Duracell 2650mAh compare very favorably with the Powerex brand.

Another good option is to use the newer technology "low self discharge" batteries. Their capacity is not quite as high as regular NiMH batteries, but they hold their charge for a very long time, so are more suitable to being charged and then stored. Regular NiMH batteries can lose 1% of their charge each day just sitting around. The best brand is the Sanyo Eneloop (2100mAh) which are kind of hard to find on the shelf. But some of the Duracell "pre-charged" rechargeables on the shelf are actually re-badged Eneloops. You can tell if they are Eneloops because the top of the battery is white instead of black and they are made in Japan instead of China. And the white colored Eneloop charger is an excellent charger but takes a good long while to charge.

wow. . . after writing all that I realized I think I know a little too much about my batteries. . . .