Flashlight for emergency travel go bag

[jacobd]

Skilhunt H150.

Magnetic, efficient, and small. Runs on NiMH, Alkaline and Lithium AA sized batteries. Multiple charging options and it won't break the bank.

 

[TPA]

I think more important questions are: where will you be using it? Will there be services nearby? Will there be stores open? Will you be able to get supplies? Will you have regular access to electricity?

I get sent to natural disasters, so my requirements are much different than most. I'm also away from home about 300 nights/year. For normal travel, my go-to is a Sofirn SC31 Pro (18650 rechargeable), and Rovyvon A5 on my keychain, with a BLF LT1 Mini lantern in my suitcase. Note that all of these are rechargeable. Two of them have battery gauges and illuminated power buttons. Because of this, I'm reminded to take care of them and charge them frequently. FAR more reliable than some random flashlight in your bag which you've not touched in months.

For off-grid, I tend to use primaries. After a major natural disaster, you're not getting power, nor batteries, possibly for weeks or months at a time. A Costco pack of batteries is a known variable and makes budgeting very easy. I know how long my lights and have many of them labelled on the outside with their runtimes. I know how many batteries I have, thus I know how many total hours I can expect with my supplies.

 

[FastTurtle]

The title sounds far scarier that it really is. I'm not sure of a more appropriate name. From time to time, my work have my travelling to fix or address things. Sometimes I might need to take my personal vehicle, but quite often, I am taking another vehicle such as a rental or company car. I once had to fly. I hate transferring things between vehicles such as cell phone charging cable, universal cell phone mount, 12v cigarette accessory port charger, notepad, sunglasses etc... To that end, I created a small traveling go bag. This was not meant to be an end of the world, survive off the land type deal. If I get called up to go somewhere, from a traveling perspective, I have this small bag with some essentials needed to travel somewhere. So far, it been working great except for a flashlight. Now I typically have a small flashlight on me but there been a few times where I didn't.

I am looking for some recommendations on a small flashlight that I can store in the bag mentioned above. I might need the light once a month or I might need it every 6 months. Battery wise, I would like to stay with the AA size. Simply because if it came down to it, I know I can get some replacement batteries at a near by 7-11, mini-market or even the hotel shop. I am not opposed to rechargeable. If recommending a recharging light or battery, I would need an accompany charging solution that can be used while traveling. While I am firm believer in getting the right tool for the job and willing to spend some money, I also believe in being financially prudent.

I'd look for a cheap 3x AA LED battery like you can find at Walmart/Harbor Freight. Nothing fancy but good enough to be useful while using standard batteries. Too many folks are overthinking the solution when a cheap one works fine in this case and yes, I have multiples of them around the house as they're cheap enough to toss when the fail after a decade or so.

 

[orbital]

+

Small form factor 21700 light and 4 spares,,, five 21700s' total
90 Watt Hours {Wh} of runtime w/ 5000mAh cells

How many boxes of AA batteries would that be?

 

[vicv]

I think a stream light 1L-1AA like others have recommended. But I think that using alkaline AAs should only be for an absolute last resort. I would use CR123s and a couple of spares in a small case. Use alkaline if those all run out.

 

[letschat7]

Alkaline is safer than lithium especially with the unskilled user.

 

[thermal guy]

When you say lithium you mean lithium ion right. I think he's saying to use primary lithium batteries as they don't leak

 

[letschat7]

Any. Drop crush or mix used with new and they explode.

 

[iacchus]

Any. Drop crush or mix used with new and they explode.

Can be handy.

 

[DaveTheDude]

Why has nobody recommended the Lumintop Tool ??? Runs on AA alkaline, NiMH, lithium primary, or 14500 li-ion cells. Inexpensive: available in everything from aluminum ($20) to something fancier like copper ($30) or titanium ($40-50, but harder to find, and may involve waiting for Ali Express). When running on 1.2v or 1.5v cells the light will produce about 280 lumens on the highest output level: li-ion cells will jump the output into the 650 lumen range for version 2.0 (using either an XP-L HD LED or Nichia 219CT LED), and 900 lumens for version 3.0 (using an OSRAM P9 LED). Available in both cool white (6000k) and neutral white (4000k -- v.2.0 only).

Food for thought.

 

[tex.proud]

I keep a AA Zebralight in my sling bag with a spare AA battery in a battery locker from countycomm.

Zebralight

Battery Locker

Carry On!

 

[jz6342]

My choice would be my daily carry -Streamlight Protac 1L-1AA. This is mostly due to the fact that it can run off 1 CR123, 1 AA OR 1 AAA if you're really desperate (I just found that out a couple weeks ago).

 

[Monocrom]

Yup, same.... Streamlight 1L-1AA is an extremely underrated light in SL's vast catalog of models. It's a personal favorite that I keep close-by. Keep in mind I have a collection of lights numbering in the hundreds, possibly thousands of models. Yes, this SL is that good.

 

[thermal guy]

Any. Drop crush or mix used with new and they explode.

Never experienced that ..but, ok.

 

[jacobd]

Alkaline is safer than lithium especially with the unskilled user.

Disagree. A "Emergency travel and go bag" light is likely to be left unattended often, and Alkaline batteries WILL ALL LEAK EVENTUALLY. Acid burns from a leaking alkaline are just as dangerous but far more likely. A lithium primary will sit for years just fine, and as long as he doesn't throw it in a wood chipper he'll be just fine. Alkaline's will eventually ruin your light, it's as simple as that.

 

[thermal guy]

Disagree. A "Emergency travel and go bag" light is likely to be left unattended often, and Alkaline batteries WILL ALL LEAK EVENTUALLY. Acid burns from a leaking alkaline are just as dangerous but far more likely. A lithium primary will sit for years just fine, and as long as he doesn't throw it in a wood chipper he'll be just fine. Alkaline's will eventually ruin your light, it's as simple as that.

Yes! This.

 

[Toulouse42]

By all means have some Alkalines available but NOT stored in the flashlight. Your life might depend on having light when you need it. Lithium primaries for long term storage are a must. IIRC AA lithiums and CR123A lithiums are different chemistries.and the AAs are inherently safer than CR123A.