Emergency Lights

[lumen64]

What are good small emergency flashlights. Yoiu know, lights that will keep a charge even when stored for months or years?

 

[aggiegrads]

Anything that uses a lithium battery should be fine. Give us more details of the intended use and your price range and we can give you recommendations.

 

[lumen64]

Pretty much something about the size of a mini-mag but LED.
Something to use in the car or in the house in case of a power outage.
I have a couple of Streamlight Tasklights, a bunch of nite-ize modded mini-mags,and a Gerber Cornea.

 

[KeyGrip]

Look at the Inova X5. On brand new lithium batteries (which last for years without leaking or loosing too much power) it'll put out light for, well, I'm not quite sure how long. I've heard 20 hours, and I think it's realistic. The Peak Pacific on a lithium AA will do around 12 hours regulated, definitely more with the optional 2AA body. Both lights are rugged, and made by respected manufacturers. I think either will do the job well.

 

[h2xblive]

Maybe a Streamlight ProPoly 2AA LED?

 

[Saiga]

i recently bought a streamlight proploly 3 C, had it shipped home so i won't get to play with it for another month or so. supposedly has 40+ lumens and a total runtime of well over 300 hours, though i realize it's not regulated and won't put out 40 lumens for all that time, it still should make a great SHTF light.
the best deal anywhere on these ( $33) was from some tool company in mississippi, tyler tool, i believe. google that or StreamLightOutlet if you're interested.

 

[Sharpdogs]

The Inova X5 is a must have since it can be powered by batteries that have been depleted by other lights. I read the other day about a guy who keeps a Safelight https://edcdepot.com/merchantmanager/product_info.php?cPath=5&products_id=92 in the mesh pocket of his bugout bag. This way he can find his bag in a hurry. Plus in the glow mode they sip the battery power. I have had ones that lasted years on the same battery.

 

[olrac]

Deal Extreme has a variery of inexpensive Led lights that would fit the bill some with certain features and some with other features. You should take a look and see whitch features would fit your requirements.

 

[mvanmeter]

for a true "emergency light", I really like the Pelican PL2480 kit.

http://www.ambientweather.com/mopl2480.html

mine has always been where it was supposed to be and worked when needed.

 

[scottaw]

Welcome lumen64, judging by 4 posts, you seem new here.

Anyways, as stated above, basically any lite with a lithium battery is gonna be there when you need it, they discharge themselves much slower than alkalines.

On a totally different note, i don't worry much about "emergency" lights, b/c i always have my EDC (every day carry) light in my pocket. Give it a try, i recommend the fenix P2D or Surefire L1. They're both small enough to have on you at all times, that way in an emergency, you know right where your light is, and if you're using it every day, you'll be keeping fresh batteries in it. (hopefully).

 

[Windscale]

I have a few winding (crank) lights. They will retain their charge for many many months. Even if not, you will only need to wind them up for half a minute and you will have light. No batteries needed. Cost very little. Most with 3 to 5 LEDs thus providing sufficient brightness in emergencies.

Then there are cheaper Chinese Proton copies. They are everywhere in the house and attached to many zippers in clothes.

 

[saildude]

+1 on the Streamlight ProPoly 2AA LED - I just got 3 of these and so far so good - I like the approx. 16+ hours of well regulated light in the first test with 2000 mah NiMh Eneloop cells - running plain Alk cells - more later about their run time - nice spill for walking around and decent reach - weather proof and rugged design - and they are not a real shiny thing like a Fenix that might grow legs. I think that I will be giving the ProPoly 2AA LED's for Christmas presents to friends that are not into flashlights but do have a need for a good light for emergencies.

I also have a Pelican 2440 LED 4AA - it is the light from the PL2480 Emergency Station with a Photo Lum body that hangs in the entrance way to my condo.

I also have some 2D Mag LED's ( had the mags and swapped in the LED module ) ProPoly 4AA LED & Luxon, Fenix L2D-CE and a few others.

mb

 

[Marduke]

I have a few winding (crank) lights. They will retain their charge for many many months. Even if not, you will only need to wind them up for half a minute and you will have light. No batteries needed. Cost very little. Most with 3 to 5 LEDs thus providing sufficient brightness in emergencies.

Then there are cheaper Chinese Proton copies. They are everywhere in the house and attached to many zippers in clothes.

Except for Freeplay, those crank lights use rechargeable lithium ion coin cell batteries. So yes, batteries are needed. Problem with these is that they can overdischarge or be overcharged, and there is no protection from either. If either happens, the light will never hold a charge again, and there is nothing you can do about it. So, if you leave one sitting in an emergency box for 5 years, chances are high that it has over discharged, and will refuse to hold a charge for more than a few seconds when you really need it.

I also have about 20 of the Fauxton's sitting everywhere, and hand them out like candy to friends and family.

 

[Windscale]

Except for Freeplay, those crank lights use rechargeable lithium ion coin cell batteries. So yes, batteries are needed. Problem with these is that they can overdischarge or be overcharged, and there is no protection from either. If either happens, the light will never hold a charge again, and there is nothing you can do about it. So, if you leave one sitting in an emergency box for 5 years, chances are high that it has over discharged, and will refuse to hold a charge for more than a few seconds when you really need it.

I also have about 20 of the Fauxton's sitting everywhere, and hand them out like candy to friends and family.

Most of my crank lights have a proper rechargeable battery inside, not a coin cell, but normally one with 40 mah. They do hold their charge quite well and are difficult to get over-charged or discharges as I would give them a wind-up for 10 seconds or so now and again. I do agree with what you say. But a little bit of looking after will contain the problem. And I always bring one with me when I had to go to the wilderness for a few days just in case everything else failed. But so far, fingers crossed.

 

[bitslammer]

As stated before a good battery is perhaps more crucial than the light itself in the "emergency pack" scenario.

Lithiums hold charges for a long time an also withstand harsh temps better. If you do want NiMH look into the newer types like the Eneloop that hold their charge longer than the normal MiMH.

Finally there are the self charging kinetic or solar types that have their uses as well.

 

[NeonLights]

Pretty much something about the size of a mini-mag but LED.
Something to use in the car or in the house in case of a power outage.
I have a couple of Streamlight Tasklights, a bunch of nite-ize modded mini-mags,and a Gerber Cornea.

If you like the Nite-Ize modded MiniMags, why not just drop some Energizer lithium cells in those for your emergency lights? I use lithium powered MiniMags with LED drop-ins for emergency lights in all four of our cars. Will hold their charge for at least 6-8 years, and be very resistant to heat and cold. The Energizer lithium AA batteries are available at Walmart for around $2 each.

I have more than a half dozen different MiniMag drop-in LED's that I've acquired over the years, but the Nite-Ize is my new favorite. It isn't the brightest, but is readily available for less than $5, puts out a lot of light, seems to be very durable, and has great runtime. Can't be beat for the price.

 

[kelmo]

A headlamp with lithium batteries.

 

[filibuster]

A headlamp with lithium batteries.

Such as the Petzl e+lite. It uses two CR2032 lithium coin cells which will run it 40 hours easy with good light and another 60+ with dim light. Has a red led and three white leds, super light weight, can be clipped on to things, used as a headlamp or hung on anything else and can be pivoted to just about any position. You can easily tape extra batteries to it or throw more in it's carrying case. I don't know of any other emergency light that is more versatile for it's size and weight than the e+lite.

 

[MarNav1]

Inova X5, Peak McKinley highpower, Lightwave 3000 or 4000, Eveready folding lanterns.

 

[dlrflyer]

It's tough to beat Gerber Infinity Ultra or Inova X1 for inexpensive long-running light. But, I'd get AA lithiums to power them if you don't want them ruined by leaking alkalines.