If your heels be nimble and light, you might get there by candlelight.
This is Tuesday, and tonight my regular gaming group meets.
It was much warmer two weeks ago than it is today, and it turned out to be a dark and stormy night. We found out how dark when the electricity failed. The inside of the house was suddenly pitch dark, cave dark, like the inside of a cow.
There was no problem since I always carry a small flashlight in a pouch at my belt.
(Please click on all pictures to see if a larger image is available.)
LED flashlights seem to be all the rage today, mainly because they use so much less battery power that they will shine for far longer than traditional incandescent bulbs. The big problem with that, of course, is that LED lights generally have a really hard time putting out the lumens. I've always figured that a light which shines for a long time is not as useful as a light which will allow me to clearly see what is creeping up in the night and getting ready to pounce.
The bad boy pictured here uses a xenon bulb, which is bright even when compared to most incandescents. That little sucker puts out about as much light as one of those big black flashlights that you see the cops using. It is certainly bright enough to cause spots to appear in anyone's eyes, and two weeks ago I managed to light up the whole room simply by turning it on and pointing it at the white stucco ceiling after the power died.
The problem is that the batteries are pricey, and will only last for 50 minutes of burn time even if fresh. That doesn't bother me any since I consider my flashlight to be one of the tools in my self defense kit, and I want to have a bunch of light right away if I get nervous while in the dark.
But few people actually have the discipline to make sure that their lights have fresh batteries, and they generally don't keep the flashlights somewhere accessible if they suddenly find themselves sightless. My buddy who hosts the weekly gaming session managed to find his penlight in a kitchen junk drawer, but only after I had used my own always ready flash to give him back his sight. If I hadn't been around and he had been trying to paw around, blindly trying to come across his flashlight in that disorganized pile of odds and ends using touch alone, then he would probably be better served just by sitting still and waiting for dawn.
There would have been no real inconvenience even if I wasn't there, though. Chris is a smoker, so he had a butane lighter in his pocket. But what would have happened if our host was alone? Even his stove uses electric sparkers instead of old fashioned pilot lights, so your grandmother's trick of turning on a few burners until she found the candles wouldn't have done anything but fill the house with dangerous fumes.
I decided to get everyone at the gaming session a few self-contained lights, the type that doesn't use batteries. Knowing that at least one of them would be consigned to the junk drawer, I bought a number of those lights that we have all seen on TV.
The box proudly proclaims that it is a "Environment-Protect Torch for the 21st Century", which seems rather odd since it uses a principle discovered back in 1831. You can find a neato interactive animation that explains the whole thing right here.
So you just pull the flashlight out from wherever it is stored, shake it for a little while, and then you can use it to see what you are doing.
Like most LED lights, I found the output to be very disappointing. No matter how much you shake it, it never gets bright enough to read without a great deal of eyestrain. It fills a very limited role, mainly as something useful in a non-defensive emergency, but there are a great many more efficient choices out there if you are disciplined enough to keep rotating your battery stock. It should work well enough for most of the gaming group, though.
But I also wanted something smaller that they could carry around in the glove boxes of their cars. I was wandering around Ebay when I found the perfect little after-Christmas stocking stuffer.
Yet another flashlight that is touted by the manufacturer as being environmentally friendly, this device has a lever that folds away when not needed to reduce the footprint. Push a switch and the lever pops out, ready for squeezing.
It only takes a few seconds of pumping away for the piggy to be ready to go. They say that it uses a dynamo, but I never really understood the difference between a dynamo and a simple DC generator. If there is anyone out there who is good with electricity, please feel free to clue me in.
Although piggy uses LED's to light up it's snout, same as the LED bulb in the bigger flashlight I discussed above, I found the light output to be fairly adequate at short range. You can even comfortably read as long as piggy is right up against the page. This is probably due to the fact that there are two LED bulbs in piggy's snout, as opposed to a single LED in the larger flashlight mentioned above.
The problem is that the larger flashlight is supposed to be waterproof, which piggy most definitely is not. Piggy is also rather flimsy when compared to the big boy, so I wouldn't want to carry him around in anything but a protected environment where he would be safe from shocks and impacts. He isn't going to go into the toolbox, for example.
These devices admirably fill the role for which they are intended, mainly so that lazy people who want to have a working flashlight after years of thoughtless neglect will be able to navigate around their own homes or change a flat tire at night. If that describes you, then you should really look in to getting one of these things.
The electricity at my buddy's house was off for several hours. How did we continue to game for the next three hours when I mentioned before that my own high-intensity light would dim and go out after 50 minutes? Well, it seems that our host had several candles that his wife neglected to take along when they were divorced. Chris used his lighter to set them ablaze, and they provided enough light so we could continue to pretend to be stalwart adventurers who lived in a Medieval setting. In fact, the soft glow of the candlelight fit the mood rather well.
I can see why the ex-wife left them behind after cleaning out the rest of the candles, though, since they emitted an odor very similar to my dogs when I take them for a walk in the rain. Maybe next week I'll get him some candles that have a pleasant scent.
I'm thinking something along the lines of apple and cinnamon.
Comments (15)
There are some LED lights that are extremely bright--Single 1 and 3 watt systems, and arrays with 9 or so standard LED's. I'm much more likely to keep fresh AAA batteries than I am the special ones the high output Xenon bulbs take. I've got a Xenon light velcro'd to the bedroom pistol safe, but use the LED array lights for most purposes.
I recently bought a batch of crank lights that were on clearance for $3 each. I put one in each car, and one in the junk drawer. With the LED lights, you get 20 minutes of dim but adequate light for a minute or two of cranking. In a year or two when I actually need one, the battery won't be dead.
Posted by sevesteen | January 22, 2008 6:26 PM
Posted on January 22, 2008 18:26
http://www.NovaTac.com - I carry the EDC120P and the ever-indulgent wife has the EDC120T. Good for about 10 days at the minimum level (0.3 lumens), a lot less time at 120 lumens. 'Normal' level is 30 lumens
Tiny little thing that clips to your belt so it's always there.
With the 'P' (Programmable) model's flat tail cap you can stand it up at 0.3 and use it like a candle.
Posted by KCSteve | January 22, 2008 8:40 PM
Posted on January 22, 2008 20:40
A dynamo is pretty much another name for a DC generator. The reason people use a separate term, I think, is because AC generators are much more common.
Posted by Mulliga | January 22, 2008 10:29 PM
Posted on January 22, 2008 22:29
I think you would be pleasantly surprised if you checked out the newer quality LED lights. Even Surefire is moving into them. I put a Nite-ize led bulb in a 2AA Maglight and think its great. Pelican and Streamlight led lights are terrific.
Posted by Joe | January 22, 2008 10:45 PM
Posted on January 22, 2008 22:45
If you want serious light, you have to go LED. About a year ago Cree came out with an LED that was twice as efficient as the then dominant Luxeons. Now you can get 200+ lumens for almost two hours on a pair of CR123A batteries (not continuously due to overheating issues), or 120 lumens for close to 5 hours. Your Surefire Xenon bulbs only put out about 80 lumens. Other advantages is that there is no filament to break so the LED flashlights can handle harder shocks.
I've got an earlier version of this that tops out at 160 lumens. We can meet up at the Powder Room if you want to take a good look at it.
Kind of pricey, but the performance is worth it.
You can pick up quality CR123A batteries for $1 each if you know where to look...
Posted by Ludwig | January 23, 2008 12:27 AM
Posted on January 23, 2008 00:27
That's is certainly a strong endorsement, Ludwig, as well as a real eye opener when it comes to performance. I had no idea that LED tech had advanced so far, and I am certainly going to look in to getting an LED light if for no other reason than to have longer burn time.
But, so far as the lithium batteries are concerned, keep in mind that I said I don't have a problem with cost. It's nice to see where I can get them on the cheap, and I thank you kindly for the heads up, but the real point of the post is that I needed to supply my gaming buddies with something they could throw in a drawer for ten years or more and still have it work.
That means I had to go with some of those self charging lights, and those lights are rather dim.
James
Posted by James R. Rummel | January 23, 2008 12:57 AM
Posted on January 23, 2008 00:57
Ludwig is right. here's my rap:
CREE, in Durham NC, is 9 miles from me.
their Q5's are much better than xenons.
(i have a G2 from Surefire and it's xenon)
although i don't own stock in Cree or work
for them, they are the latest and the best.
225 lumens...a self-defense option at night.
bottom line: LED's are great. it's the
ON/OFF control of the flashlight (not the
LED bulb) which is the source of most of
the problems.
Posted by turkeydance | January 23, 2008 7:13 PM
Posted on January 23, 2008 19:13
About the shake/self-charge flashlights, NightStars are the best. The primary issue is one of energy production. They use the best magnets and have good coils, so you get more energy per shake. Second, they have the best LED.
This kind of flashlight is for emergency backup - you never need to worry about batteries. No batteries can be very important if you are on a long hike (the infrared LED model was originally made for special forces in Afghanistan) or in a region affected by a natural disaster (hurricane, etc.). The website has plenty of testimonials you might find useful to set appropriate expectations for utility.
I can bring a NightStar and my Fenix P3D to the Power Room sometime, if you want to see what they are like. The NightStar makes enough light to be useful. Think of it as being a notch brighter than a full moon on the snow.
Posted by Ludwig | January 23, 2008 9:37 PM
Posted on January 23, 2008 21:37
I have several non-Piggy versions of that hand-powered light and think that it's a good thing to have stashed around here and there. The cheapness allows you to stock up.
But, now that I've seen the Piggy version, I'm wondering if I need to buy more.
Posted by Murdoc | January 24, 2008 12:17 PM
Posted on January 24, 2008 12:17
Have a Surefire G2 on the desk, and one in the truck; at the time I got them no LED I was aware of came close to their output. And I had a chance to pick up one of the 105 lumen spare lamps, just in case.
The LED tech has really jumped ahead over the last couple of years. I've got one of the shake lights a friend gave me, and it's both brighter and holds a charge longer than any I've seen before.
Posted by Firehand | January 24, 2008 10:48 PM
Posted on January 24, 2008 22:48
I had a dynamo light 15 years ago--my hand got tired rather quickly when using it (squeezing it like the piggy light). Shake lights--not impressed. I do have a little Princeton TEC sqeeze light on my key chain, a some Mini-Mag AAA lights attached to Micro Leathermans and another in my left front pants pocket. Got a couple Monkey Lights (found at a bike store, and at a Scout Shop).
I decided to make sure I had a light handy after reading about a guy at the WTC who had a light and helped people get out on 9/11. Also, I used to work underground, one place where there were battery-powered emergency lights and another where the emergency lights ran off a motor generator with battery backup power--and an annual inspection to check the batteries.
Posted by Sam L. | January 27, 2008 12:42 AM
Posted on January 27, 2008 00:42
I think that "dynamo" is late 19th-century slang for "dynamo-electric" generator, as distinguished from "magneto-electric" generator, or magneto.
Permanent magnets vs. generated fields.
Posted by Justthisguy | January 27, 2008 3:19 AM
Posted on January 27, 2008 03:19
But, so far as the lithium batteries are concerned, keep in mind that I said I don't have a problem with cost. It's nice to see where I can get them on the cheap, and I thank you kindly for the heads up, but the real point of the post is that I needed to supply my gaming buddies with something they could throw in a drawer for ten years or more and still have it work.
The CR123 lithium batteries used in Surefire-style lights generally have a 10yr shelf life.
Posted by Mopar | January 27, 2008 9:32 AM
Posted on January 27, 2008 09:32
We've got a couple of "Forever Flashlights" at home that were gifts. Like your experience, you have to do a lot of shaking to get not enough light to do anything useful.
Of course, in England (where they call flashlights "torches") they have a nickname for a certain activity enjoyed by many males which they call "charging the torch". Maybe I just don't have enough experience to get a good charge built up in it.
In our 72hr kits, we have little 9V LED flashlights. SEA-PAL Survival Model. They have a slight glow all the time so you can find it easily. Because it's running off of a big old 9V battery it will keep the glow going for something like a couple of years. Once you click it into normal mode, you still get something like 20-30 hours of normal light which is good enough to read or navigate around with. Very waterproof and very rugged.
Now if someone would just make Lithium 9V batteries so I could keep them in reserve for years and years I'd be all set.
Posted by TheGunGeek | January 28, 2008 2:41 PM
Posted on January 28, 2008 14:41
I second the recommendation for the Nightstar brand, particularly the CS model, which is entirely waterproof, to the extent that the on/off switch works by induction. I keep one in the house, and one in the car. Ditto with a pair of 4 D-cell Maglites, which have the benefit of heft. There are also a couple of Mini-Maglites floating around, tricked out with NiteIze accessories, and I personally carry a Pelican M6 2390 (LED). For power outages, I keep a couple of small LED lanterns from Sahalie, two Grundig/Eton hand-crank emergency radios which have LED light built in, and enough candles and tealights for a week.
Posted by Jurjen S. | February 2, 2008 4:49 AM
Posted on February 2, 2008 04:49